Chock full of engineering tips

Engineering tips
A side note about the Target dummies and Compact Harvester kits. Don’t forget to click on them when they break down/get destroyed. You’re able to loot them for almost as much of the materials needed to make them, making it very easy to keep your supply full. In the new patch, you can now make fused wiring from a recipe you can buy in Winterspring, but I usually just get them from the wreckage of target dummies.

Engineering bags – type tool in the search bar of the AH whenever you go to it. A lot of times, the Fel Iron Toolbox will be posted really, really cheap. I’d advise bidding at around 5 gold, buyout as high as 6-7 gold. This item takes 10 Fel Iron bars to make, so if you want to bid on them, and have an engineering buddy make them, that’s your decision. I hadn’t seen it on the AH on Daggerspine in a while, so when a lvl 70 paladin 375 Goblin engineer posted he was looking for work, I asked him to make 4 of them for me, my mats and a 1g tip each. He had never heard of it! So, I asked him to wait while my mage alt warped to Exodar to pick up the schematic from engineering supplies (4 gold), and I gave the recipe to him in lieu of a tip. Horde players, the schematic is in Silvermoon, btw.

It’s a 24-slot Engineering materials bag that is invaluable. Keep it in one of your bank slots, and bring it out when you’re ready to make stuff. I wouldn’t advise keeping it on your person, because only engineering mats can go in it, whereas anything will fit in your regular bags.
Matter of fact, I’d advise against keeping any specialty bag in your equipment bag slots. Soul bags, enchanting bags (maybe you can keep at higher levels, to D/E stuff you find on runs), mining bags, herb bags……keep it in the bank. You’re not always going to find enough stuff to fill a specialty bag, but you’ll fill a regular bag quickly.

Buy Mageweave/Runecloth/Netherweave bags as soon as possible, because smaller bags limit your farming time (try to get Traveler’s bags or Mooncloth bags if possible, because Netherweave bags are BOE, and you might be replacing them later with 18-20 slot bags). You’ll only really buy them on the weekend, since everyone is on, and trying to sell off their items to make a few silver. Sell your used bags during the week, to make the most money on them. You might stumble onto some deals during the week, but they’re few and far between.
1/21/08 Update: I’m going to try to have my soul pouch on my 3rd bag slot, and consolidate my normal buffing items and engineering bombs into my 2nd bag slot. I’ll carry a bag with me to be able to switch out to carry normal items, but at least all the souls will still be in the bag. I just haven’t encountered situations where I really use up a lot of souls. Normally I’m good with just one. Maybe in situations where I sacrifice my voidwalker?
Check engineering suppliers as well. You can buy Gyrochronomatum from them for around 27-30 silver (depending on your rep), and immediately post Gyrochronomatum on the AH for about 2 gold each, because Gyrochronomatum and Frost Oil are required for turn-in quests at level 35 in the Badlands.
If you’re lucky enough to be able to find great deals on Gyrochronomatum in the Auction house, and you don’t have to make them, good going. If not, be prepared to make quite a few, for the Compact Harvester kit and other goodies.
Additionally, you can buy Silver contacts for around 1 silver each. Don’t – even - think of making Silver contacts. 1 Silver Ore or Bar go for 50 silver to 1 gold each on the servers I play on, making it stupid to waste the mats. Save Silver bars to sell or use in JC/Blacksmithing. A 20 stack of silver contacts (probably more than you’ll ever need, unless you go Goblin) will cost you 20 silver, but would have cost you 2-4 gold in potential profits on the AH.

Also, for low levels, they’re a great source for Coarse Blasting powder. Coarse and Heavy stones are in high demand, so they sell for 2-3 gold a stack regularly, but Dense and Solid stone are usually dirt cheap for some reason. Use maybe 20 Coarse stones to boost your skill levels at the appropriate time, and never make it again. You can buy Coarse Blasting Powder for 48 copper, so a stack would cost you less than 10 silver. If you’re a miner, either sell the Coarse stone, or if you have a Blacksmith, send it to them, because they can always use it for making Golden rods and twink armor.

Check the Auction house! A lot of times, people will post engineering parts for dirt cheap (quitters or powerlevelers), and it’s more economical to buy them off the AH, and post the raw materials that YOU farm for more money than you spent. Look under Trade Goods for the Parts/Explosives/Devices sections to see what engineering goodies you can hopefully buy cheaply, or bid on.

Update 11/19/07 – If I start a 3rd account, I’m going to constantly be on the lookout for engineering parts and tools. Daggerspine had steel bars posted individually for 60-77 silver when I wanted to make the Gyrochromatic (xxxx) Adjuster, but I was able to find the Adjuster for 40 copper in the AH later on, multiple times. I’d also advise constantly scanning for goggles in the AH, so you can just sell your mats on the AH.

My theoretical Auction house alt would now be scanning for gems/pearls, Recipes for all professions, Engineering parts/tools/explosives/para (which would pick up the Parachute Cloak)/goggles/Deepdive Helmet/Gnom (which would capture all gnomish devices)/Gobl (which would pick up all goblin devices)/Mech (which would pick up the Mechanics overalls and mechanical dragonlings), Mageweave cloth, and bags.

If you do buy mats off the AH, look for a price difference in mats. The price of Ore and the price of Bars will vary. You could buy 20 Mithril bars for 10 gold, and then buy 20 Mithril ore for only 5 gold. Check before you buy. If you take up engineering, take up mining, or have an alt that does, so you can smelt your own bars. I powerleveled mining on one character on each of my accounts, so I could have someone who could smelt Mithril. There was such a price difference between ore and bars that it was a cost-effective decision; and I needed a lot of mithril bars, way before the toon could survive in areas that had mithril veins.

10/25/07
Be aware that when you’re powerleveling engineering, a lot of items will be used in other recipes. I hate wasting a potential skill point, so I always try to anticipate my needs, and make the items in bulk when I’ll get a skillup from them, instead of later when they’d be grayed out. The Flying Tiger Goggles are used in the recipe for the Green-Eye goggles, which is used in turn for Fire goggles. Don’t vendor them if you’re going to use them for Fire goggles later on, if you found a helm that you’re going to use in the meantime. In the same spirit, make 2 Mithril mechanical Dragonlings at level 250+ Engineering (it stays orange and yellow for a long time, so you might use the 250’s-260’s for some other items first), because you’ll be using one at level 300 to make an Arcanite dragonling (If you’ve picked up the recipe on the AH). Make 2 for each toon you have that has engineering, or maybe hold off on it and have your twink do it later.

On my Ally account, I’m going to powerlevel my lvl 22 Gnome Warlock to 225+ engineering so she can make 8 Parachute Cloaks for my other characters (and she’ll get some skill points too), and then they can Slowfall like my mage does. You don’t get that much of a float time, but as long as you do it before you hit the ground, it’s all good. Think H.A.L.O. – High Altitude, Low Opening, and you’ll be fine. It’s wise to equip your parachute cloak when using the Transport: Gadgetzan trinket, because I’ve read stories of people appearing 50 feet up in the air, instead of appearing in the transporter.

11/6/07
I just powerleveled my lvl 22 Dwarf hunter Ryoushigishi to 225 Engineering, and I did it the smart way, for once. Once I unlock Artisan level Engineering, I usually make Big Bronze Bombs from 150-170 or so, so I’ll have enough bombs to keep me stocked. Quit doing that!!!! I need to not do that anymore, because it wastes potential skill points that I could have used on making Bronze Frameworks and Gyrochronomatum, which are used in the bombs and devices that I really want to make a lot of, like Explosive Sheep (decent choice for low level Paladin Engineers), Compact Harvester Reapers, and Goblin Land Mines. Mmmm, I love land mines. 394 to 506 damage to the enemy that steps on it, and I believe it also does AOE damage to enemies close to the one who triggered it. I’ll have to check it while doing some chain trapping practice. Edit: It does do AOE damage.

One good thing about having 225 engineering is…….I can equip my Parachute Cloak! I love that they gave it a cooldown of only 30 seconds or so. I also bought 2 Spellpower Goggles Xtreme on the AH at 1 gold each, which is way cheaper than buying the mats. 2 Star Rubies would cost about 6 gold alone, not to mention the leather. I sent 1 to Ryo, and the other to Gwiddonyn (Gnome Warlock). There’s definitely less farmers on the Daggerspine Alliance side, compared to Horde Demon Soul. I had bought the Xtreme goggles for Clockwrkmage (mage) earlier off the AH, so I only need to make them for Tsuris (Shaman), Hangfire (Druid) , Kishigishi (Paladin), and maybe one for Doomslinger (Twink hunter), for when she grows up and gets out of lvl 19 BG’s. My warrior and Rogue don’t need them, and I’ll be making green LW helms for them soon anyway.

12/26/07
Where are the best places to powerlevel engineering? Undercity is the best for Horde, hands down. You can perch on the counter, talk to the trainer, and use the forge and anvil right behind him (not to mention that he also gives the Gnomish/Goblin engineering quests at level 30). If you need mats from your bank or the mailbox, the wheel design of UC is more convenient than the sprawl of Orgrimmar. Thunder Bluff has their apprentice engineering trainer on a mountain, past a mine full of low level mobs, so it’s not even worth considering going to that one. Silvermoon has the trainer around the corner from the forge, with the bank a little walk away.

For Allies….Blizzard doesn’t like you, and thinks you need to exercise. Ironforge has the worst setup that I’ve seen, placing the trainer in the northeast corner, the Forge in the middle, and your bank near the entrance. It’s almost simpler to have your alts mail you mats instead of getting them out of your bank, since there’s a mailbox right by the trainer. Stormwind has the engineering trainer across the plaza from the forge, but your bank and mailbox are all the way across the city. I’d recommend going to Gadgetzan at level 20 if it’s possible for you, just for the sheer convenience of having your bank/mailbox/forge/trainer all in the same little area. If you get killed on the way over, just ghost travel to the city, log out, log back in, and resurrect at the graveyard east of the city.

1/10/08
Since Ryoushigishi hit level 30, I was able to complete the Gnomish Engineering quest, all in Ironforge. They’ve done a lot of tweaking to the game during the last patch, simplifying it so that you don’t have to go to Booty Bay to turn in and access Gnomish Engineering schematics. At least, that’s what I’ve found on the Alliance side. When Thrillkiller takes up Engineering in Undercity, I’ll find out for Horde side. They also changed the Gnomish goggle stats, much like the White Bandit Mask. Before, the Gnomish goggles gave about 9 Strength and 9 Agility, which would be good for a level 30 leatherwearer (mail wearers have Blacksmith created helms), but now it gives 9 stamina and 9 spirit, with + 11 magic damage and healing. Kind of a mix between the Spellpower goggles and the other +9 stamina goggles XXXX. Not worth making, especially considering that you have to use 3 of the previous goggle recipes to make this one.

1/21/08
I’m rethinking having Paladins go thru Gnomish engineering, dropping it, and picking up Goblin engineering. The only 2 reasons I was going to do that was so that they could make the Gnomish Attack Chicken and the Death ray, both of which are BOP. However, the attack chicken just Crits for 1 damage, and buffs you with a attack Squawk, which I think speeds up your attack speed. The Death ray is supposed to do good damage, but I hardly ever have it equipped, since I usually have my attack pet trinkets in that slot. I’m going to do it on my Ally account, since I’ve already gotten to 31, and picked Gnomish, and gotten the schematic for Lil’ Smokey. For Horde side, I’ll just go Goblin from the start. It’ll be nice to try out Goblin engineering, since I’ve made 4 gnomish engineers so far, and know exactly what each device does. It’ll definitely be nice to have the “Big One”, and other high damage/large area bombs.