Do Shapeshifters Dream of Electric Sheep?

I watched Series Two of 'Fringe' this week. A friend sent it over from Australia because it hasnt been released in New Zealand yet, and it wont be until July. Its funny how your mind relates things but over the week I've made more and more connections to WoW
As Cat and I tend to do, we watched 22 episodes over the space of two evenings. We use the adverb 'quaff' to describe our habits when a new series arrives. We did it with Firefly, with Eureka, with the Sanctuary. About 5 years ago I introduced Cat to Star Trek:DS9 and Star Trek:Voyager. Fourteen series in under three months - I personally cant imagine a better way to watch it.

Anyway back to Fringe. Many of you wont have watched the show, but in its most basic form its a story set across two parallel universes where each side is in a constant struggle for survival. Without any spoiler alerts being required you cannot simply describe it as good v evil, and in many ways describes Azeroth and the battle between Horde and Alliance.

In Fringe, the different universes are very very similar, yet subtley different. It describes perfectly how the two auction houses compare for each faction on Caelestrasz.

Take for example the Savory Deviate Delight recipe. When they dramatically changed the drop rate of this in November there was a massive change in the pricing on both AHs. Today you can pick it up for 50s on the Horde side but interestingly its still around 100g Alliance side. The reasons are, of course, obvious, but there is nothing to stop the item being farmed or transfered across the neutral AH. But there is a massive gap between the two sides, and I have no doubt this gap will remain.

Glyphs is another example. As Foo eluded to - Moonvengence is back. Oh man is he back!

After a couple of weeks absence he reappeared and clamped down the glyph market so tight, if you put a lump of coal into it you'd have a diamond in the morning. With thresholds ranging from 10g to 25g (dependent on inks) I posted 16 glyph types yesterday.

Horde side there are glyphs with minimum buy outs of 300g+, fewer sellers (although as a ratio of the entire AH not fewer glyphs) and far far less locking down of the market. Money is being made by everyone in the glyph market horde side as we were alliance side until Moon returned.

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In Fringe there is a character know only as The Observer, and in many ways this is all I can do horde side. The differences continue - herbs are cheaper on horde. Enchanting mats more expensive. Pre-Cata cloth is ridiculously expensive both sides.

To have a massive impact on your opposing faction you have two options.
1. Have a mass of toons both sides with varying professions.
2. Use the Neutral AH a lot

Funds finally hit level 85, but as a tailor/enchanter she has limited ability to impact on the horde market. If I had to limit myself I'd want an enchanter, a JCer and a scribe. As this would require two toons I'd take Alchemy as my fourth profession. Next I'd take the production professions of tailoring, BSing and LWing. Much as I love it, Engineering would come next with the gathering professions

Unforutnately I've one horde toon and only one of the top four professions covered. When Funds was in her 30s I dropped inscription for Tailoring, a decision I regret to this day - inscription is not something that can be powered leveled. With two daily researches and books of glyph mastery now costing 200g+ each, anyone starting out now has a long road to being competetive. Trainer taught glyphs are not the pot of gold in that profession.

Could you transfer over a glyph business across the neutral AH? We of course you could, but you'd need a friend with a lot of time and patience. 350 glyph types would take a while to move across. And even then, you would have to keep supplying it with means more visits to the neutral AH. Basically you would have a severed supply line which would further complicate an already time consuming way to make gold.

The Neutral AH is our only route beween the two 'universes'. And the risks of using it are known.

But there might be a third way...

I need to find a a player(s) horde side that want to work for me. Its something others have made great use of but not a technique I have used myself. I'd soon do the work myself to maximise profit but it now seems I have little choice.

So today I start to find someone to employ horde side. I have decided on find a JC first - I have ore I need shuffling. But, like the neutral AH, there are risks. If I send off stacks of ore to a player whats to stop them running off with it? Its not like I know many people horde side and none of the ones I know are JCs.

I dont know if there are any horde Cael readers but if there are let me know.

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And finally back to Fringe. I highly recommend it. Pop down to your JB-HiFi and try Series One - you'll likely get it for 30 bucks. Not bad for two nights worth of viewing :)