We Need To Talk About Inscription

We Need To Talk About Inscription

Blizzard, you can do better.

Something a bit different today: Not a gold guide, but a suggested idea and a way to make the world feel a little bit more unique and the players a little bit more special.

 

Background to Inscription

Inscription was how I made my first gold cap. in 2010 Glyphs changed to become permanent, like this:

This is what Glyphmas 2010 looked like when I had 4000 pre-made glyphs ready for the changes that came in Cataclysm. Can you remember when 45g was a lot of gold? Seems pitiful now!

Players, including gold makers, were worried that because glyphs were becoming permanent, no one would want to buy them ever again. So on the day of the change, every player went to the auction house and bought the glyphs they needed.  What we didn’t see coming was post-Cataclysm, and into Mists of Pandaria, glyphs became a huge, fast moving commodity.  Players routinely spent hours milling, crafting, and posting 4 of every glyph on the market.  And there were a lot of glyphs.

Making Glyphs was hard work

Here’s all the steps that I used to do!

So hard, that I wrote 5 part guides on how to do it step by step with TSM3

Legion Changes

Vantus runes were invented, and players with scribe alts were worried that they couldn’t get the inscription quests done. Yet more worries.

Battle for Azeroth Inscription

In Battle for Azeroth, your inscription max is now 150, and you learn either Zandalari Inscription or Kul Tiran Inscription

We have three inks, books, scrolls of unlocking (lockpicks!?), contracts for increased reputation gain, vantus runes, cards and off hands.

 

Inscription is currently a mess, and keeps changing every expansion.

Stop giving Inscription all the little bits and pieces leftover that no other profession wants!

 

Inscription Appearances Glyphs

Inscription used to deal with spells, abilities that you used to buy from your class trainer, but which were removed from the game.

Now, Inscription is more concerned with appearances.  Here’s the latest glyphs added to inscription in Battle for Azeroth:

1. [Glyph of the Dolphin] Your Aquatic Form now appears as a Dolphin.
2. [Glyph of the Humble Flyer] Your Swift Flight Travel Form appears as your more humble racial flyer.
3. [Glyph of the Tideskipper] Your Aquatic Form now appears as a Tideskipper Dolphin.

The Gold Queen’s Suggestions for Changing Inscription

1: Rework Inscription to Dye Master.

2: Dye Masters create

• Glamours.  Glyphs that change your appearance, example the mage tower challenge, the current minor glyphs
• Dyes for your armor
• Tattoo and Scar dyes

 

Ink Masters in World of Warcraft 9.1

*throws gold at computer monitor*

— 🔥🔥Fiery🔥🔥 (@Fiery25123) May 18, 2018

 

Amor Dyes

Just a bit of clarification, but current armor colors are hardcoded into each set. Dyes would require additional palettes mapped to each existing item. That's a TON of work. Like, 2+ years worth of work for an entire team dedicated to. Unlike @Diablo, @Warcraft != made for that.

— Tiapriestess (@Tiapriestess) May 18, 2018

I’m told that changing the code for all the old armor would be painstaking.  However, could new armor be crafted with a placeholder for colours 1-6? And instead of doing all the armor, what about just the cloak? This would take it from being

[A Cloak]

to [Long Cloak with Colour 4] or [Medium Cloak with Colour 1] or [Short Cloak with Colour 6]

 

Oh, and players love scars.

 

Tattoos and Scars for Everyone

Dye Masters would produce tattoo and scar dyes.

Tattoos would be individual changes, and could work almost like a semi-translucent ‘shirt’ that you change at the barber’s chair.  You remember the barber? That totally empty and unused place?  It should be used.  I would install a tattooist in there also!

 

Tattoos and Scars would be linked to achievements.  Killed Deathwing?  Earn the ability to add a [Deathwing’s Claw] scar to your chest.

Only one scar at a time, so players would choose their most prestigious achievement, or maybe one that matches their transmog, or their roleplay, or anything! That’s the point, its individual choices.

 

Just killed G’hoon, final boss in Uldir? You should walk away looking like you’ve been beat upon!

 

Marked by Deathwing

 

About the Author

Warcraft’s longest running Gold Making blog, The Gold Queen is written by Alyzande since 2010. Working on her 14th level 110, she has 9 years expertise in making gold, 19,000+ achievements, 1593 days played, over 39 million gold earned, and now playing World of Warcraft Legion live on www.twitch.tv/thegoldqueen  The Gold Queen blog teaches you how to make gold playing Warcraft using ethical trading, auction house flipping, crafting, reselling, snatch lists, and farming gold making. Want more updates on Warcraft Battle for Azeroth? Support my Patreon for exclusive pre-release Gold Guides