Cataclysm - understanding motivations

When WotLK was released sardonic was in around level 45 and Catreann had only just hit 70. Therefore the huge driving forces of change that an expansion brings has only been experienced by me from a peripheral perspective. When Cataclysm hits I will be right in the middle rushing in the torrents with thousands of other players on my server.

Preparing for this is the key, but if you start to get into too much detail too early you risk missing the bigger picture which may send you off in the wrong direction.

In the real world, to receive money from someone else there has to be a reason. Of course, these reasons vary widely but basically breakdown into a short list:

Want To (e.g. trip to cinema, charity)

Need To (e.g. food, rent)

Have To (e.g. taxes)

WoW is no different - and as soon as you find out what will make people give you gold then you have cracked the problem of how to make gold.

Looking at this in simplistic terms, the motivations when playing WoW come from the person behind the keyboard. These reasons can be broken down into a very simple list:

Want to play the game well

What constitutes playing 'the game well' is debatable. Some would argue that having 8000 achievement points meets this criteria. Or having a gear score over 6000. Or being at gold cap. Or being the /2 troll of the week.

Each and every player has a different definition of what it is to play well - and for us to make the most gold we have to be able to tap into some of these ideas and profit from them.

Gear

This has always been a huge motivator, for both the min/max hardcore raider down to the 'look at me, look at me' e-peener. It is why GearScore is such a successful addon. With any expansion comes new gear, and very quickly the gear you are wearing right now, the gear you have been smashing your head off the wall for against Boss X Y or Z for weeks, will be useless. No doubt there will be items that will remain with you for a number of levels, but I would suggest that the vast majority of us will arrive at level 85 with perhaps one or two purples, a bunch of blues and a smattering of greens. But fear not, your GS will have increased because items made with professions a little above 450 will be ilvl 300+.

Questing

When an expansion comes out, and forever after, people quest. The vast majority (and it doesnt seem to be any different in Cataclysm) of quests revolve around Kill x of this, collect Y of that. But occasionally there are quests which resolve around bring a certain number of items that can be purchased from the AH. Many of us are lazy (myself included) and will happily spend 20g on something saving us time and effort farming the item ourselves. Redridge Goulash was one such quest - where tough condor meat was problematic to acquire at the level you got the quest. A later example was 'Just a few more things...' where you had to find an engineer to make you an Overcharged Capacitor, else you were stuffed. Generally people want to level quickly and efficiently, and are willing to pay to achieve this.

Professions

As we head off towards level 85 we will undoubtedly be levelling our professions to 525 as well. Gathering professions have no overheads, but the others all require materials which we aren't always able to supply ourselves. Again in a drive to be the best, a lot of players will pay to give themselves the edge. If you think back to release of WotLK when stacks of herbs were 100g each or when cobalt bars went for 20g and you'll see what I mean. Also with the expansion comes two new races, and many new characters will be created, who will also level professions. Demand will increase for all raw materials.

Vanity

With a new expansion come new toys. Silly trinkets, mounts, pets. Many of us like to have them, many of us need to have them. Generally completely useless, but in terms of status these are deemed very important by a lot of players. Lil XT anyone?

Practical

Never forget the obvious - some people are are just the time who are organised and are willing to pay to accommodate this. Here I am talking about things that only you know about. An example is bags. Bags are a totally personal thing - other than the achievement for the Gigantic Sack, and the other one for getting 7 extra bag slots in your bank, no one knows what bags you have. Its like the food you eat/drink - no one knows, no one cares - except you.

The Great Unknown

And finally there are the things we just don't know about. Archaeology, Reforging and who knows what else which may not immediately throw up obviously ways to make gold, may well still be huge earners in the future.

Tomorrow I'll continue my broad thoughts focusing on how you get that they want to buy.