Every two years, Blizzard drops a big update to their mega selling MMORPG World of Warcraft. And yet, most players miss a fantastic opportunity to make massive amounts of gold from that expansion release. You’ve probably heard that you can make a LOT of gold when a patch hits or when new content is updated on the server, so why don’t more people take advantage of an expansion as a fantastic way to fill their coffers for the next two years?

How Expansion Gold Making Works

The idea is simple. When an expansion comes along, the entire game economy is turned on its head. Players no longer have any idea what’s valuable or what things should sell for. It’s because the demand goes up so high and the supply is so low. It’s not just the items already in the game, however. Players will also be looking for lower level items this time around because of the influx of new alts in the form of Goblins, Worgens, and the new race/class combos.

What You’ll Need

So to take advantage of this surge of interest in low level items, you should start stockpiling certain items that will almost assuredly resurge in value after cataclysm launches. Because no one will be in Outland or Northrend and because most lower level players will be in too much of a hurry to farm their own stuff, you can sell items from those areas for HUGE markup and make a massive profit, but only if you stock up now.

The Risks and Rewards of Planning

If you plan now, you can make a lot of gold, but only if you know exactly what to stock up on. Some items will completely lose their value when cataclysm comes out and will never regain it. Others will be worthless for weeks until demand suddenly rebounds after everyone hits level 85. So, there is a risk for sure that you might stockpile the wrong items or sell them at the wrong time, but there is also a big chance for profit if you plan properly, well in advance.

If you’re serious about preparing for Cataclysm when it releases on December 7th, you need to have a plan. The number one most important thing you can do in that plan is have gold set aside through careful investments. Do that, and you’ll be ready to sell out at key moments and make a tremendous profit off of the inundation of new lowbie characters and professions that surge through your server. Have fun first and foremost, but don’t forget to make a tidy little profit.

If you haven’t heard yet, Cataclysm – the third expansion for the mega-popular World of Warcraft – is hitting the store shelves on December 7th of this year and will sport all sorts of new features that will fundamentally change how you play the game. But, which new features will have the biggest impact and how can you best prepare for them when the game finally launches? Here is a rundown of what you should be watching for first and foremost.

New Class/Race Combos – Other than the overhaul of Azeroth, the biggest buzz point right now is the wave of new alts that will be inundating the game when it relaunches on December 7th. Players will be loading up as Dwarf Shamans, Troll Druids and Night Elf Mages (among a dozen other new combos). Additionally, we have Worgens and Goblins joining the ranks as new races.

Stat and Talent Changes – In the 4.0.1 patch, we’ll see the overhaul of our classes finally which will completely revamp the talent trees and set into motion another two years of tinkering and tweaking to get the balance just right. With all those changes come a reload on the enchants, gems, and gear we all use. How much will those things change once half our stats are removed from the game?

Revamped Professions – They aren’t changing as much as the rest of the game, but the professions will be getting a big overhaul as well. That means things like glyphs becoming learned, jewelcrafters getting new dailies and all sorts of new transmutes to complement the new items. Look for other new features as well like random stats on crafted gear.

Guild Leveling System – This is a big one as it will drive a lot of guild membership in the new version of the game. With a hard guild cap of 600, and a load of new bonuses available for guild members who are active, there will be lots of reasons to be in a good guild, which can cost you gold and time.

There are dozens more additions to the game – all of which will have a profound impact on how you play your characters going forward, but some changes will have a more immediate impact. How much gold will you have when you need to replace your glyphs, revamp your enchants, level up new alts, and get into a good guild where you can take advantage of all those new rewards? The big question here is preparation and if you’re not prepared, it will be hard to take full advantage of all the new fun stuff.

Whenever a new expansion hits for World of Warcraft, people sit back and try to figure out how much gold they are going to need. Most of the time, they estimate too little and end up sitting by broke and annoyed for the first month or two of the expansion. But, if you sit down and clearly map out what things will cost and how much gold you REALLY need when the new content hits the servers, you can prepare for it much more readily.

Common Expenses

There are a lot of small expenses that most people forget about. It costs money to train new skills, professions and pets. You’ll also need to pick up consumables to speed along the levelling process and most characters will need to buy new gear when they reach Level 85 so they can start playing in the dungeons or raids right away (unless you do full progression). You’ll also need to pay for things like the new flying upgrade and if you have any alts that you want to level up, those are even pricier. Sit down and make a full list of all these expenses and know for sure how much gold you need BEFORE you set foot in Cataclysm.

Professions and Farming

One of the biggest expenses in a new expansion is the upgrade cost for a profession. It costs a lot of gold to get any crafting profession from 450 to 525 and if you’re one of the unlucky few with Blacksmithing or Jewelcrafting, even more gold than everyone else. So, make sure you have enough cash on hand to reach the new cap. Also, get the right farming professions in place to speed it along if at all possible.

New Stuff

There’s a lot of new stuff coming your way in Cataclysm – from epic flying in Azeroth to new race/class combos to a variety of new ways to play your current classes. Gold is a must so make sure you plan accordingly before we get to December.

How much gold you need for an expansion really depends on what you hope to get out of the game. If your goal is to get every new item, upgrade, and piece of gear that has fallen into the game since the last expansion, you’ll need a LOT of gold on standby. If you just want to reach Level 85 and enjoy a few raids, you need far less, but you still need a good stash, especially when you take inflation into account for the new consumables and crafting goods. Be ready and the xpac will be much more fun.