This weeks Summer Challenge: Outland Mount Roundup

Blizzard have announced the arrival of the Summer Challenges. This weeks Summer Challenge is known as "Outland Mount Roundup".  And you have a better chance of obtaining a mount known as "Netherwing", the "Talbuck"and the Sha'tari's Skyguard mount, by grouping together and completing the quests in the area. I personally already own the "Netherwing" and "Talbuck" mounts and so have no interest in this expedition. From what I understand all you need to do to gain the best XP and Rep is to group with other players,  go to Outland and start completing quests for the three factions of the area.

The quests have always been there, if you can't find any, then chances are you already completed them when you were levelling up through Outland.

What achievements are obtainable in relation to completing Outland Quests.

Additional to obtaining the mounts there are several obtainable achievements in the Outland areas which include the following:

• Leading the Cavalry (given when you own 50 mounts)
• Mountain o' Mounts (given when you own 100 mounts)
• Flying High over Skettis (given when you become exalted with Sha'tari Skyguard)
• On Wings of Nether (given when you become exalted with Netherwing)
• Skyshattered (given when you defeat Captain Skyshatter in the Dragonmaw race, on Netherwing Ledge)
• Mag'har of Draenor (given when you become exalted with the Mag'har)
• Oh My, Kurenai  (given when you become exalted with the Kurenai)

Summer Challenges Announced

We have recently heard that Blizzard have announced some Summer challenges to give us players another way to pass the time while waiting for the new expansion to come out. Blizzard basically state that its to give us a reason to go out into the near forgotten areas which we once passed while levelling up our characters, such as Outland which has been pretty much forgotten about since Cataclysm was released. Their reason, for us to obtain rare mounts, rare achievements and rare items.

Image from www.wow-europe.com

These challenges encourage players to group up and visit certain areas which Blizzard have announced the "Challenges" are based, and to do things that they do not normally do anymore. (Basically trying to get players to play the game again, instead of hanging out in the cities twiddling their thumbs waiting for Mists of Pandaria).

My opinion on why Blizzard have made the Summer Challenges

My opinion on this is that Blizzard have only done this to try and reduce the number of players that hang around the main cities, such as Stormwind. Prior to Cataclysm most level 80 (the then top level) used to hang out in Dalaran, since Cataclysm was released when you visit or pass through Dalaran in Northrend its basically a ghost town, and most level 85 players have made their homes back in Stormwind or other major cities in Azoroth.

Site Regeneration: Simple design for SimplyWarcraft

As you may have noticed SimplyWarcraft has undergone another facelift, this is simply because they dynamic design which we had made a couple weeks ago is not very easy to work with and the search engines do not like it one bit. So we have revered to a simpler new design which we have put together, and hopefully you will still be able to find exactly what you need.

Whats new?

Popular Posts

Many of our pages get several thousands of views each month, so down the right side you can see the most popular posts over the last 7 days on Simply Warcraft! Who knows you might find it useful or interesting.

How to stay up-to-date on our content

Remember you can subscribe to our RSS feeds at anytime you wish by clicking on our "Feeds" located on the bottom left menu bar so you can stay up to date with the information that SimplyWarcraft.com provides.

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If you find any of the information on this site useful please feel free to share it on Facebook, twitter or any other social network through the "Share" buttons located on each of the posts that are on this site.

Visitor Poll: What do you think?

We are always wanting to know how to improve SimplyWarcraft and your input is very valuable to us. Please take a moment to complete the poll located on the top left. 

Videos: Simply Fantastic

At the bottom right of all our pages is a quick section containing videos which will appear in a popup window near the top of the screen, we know this may not be an ideal placement, and we are working on improving the visibility and usability of this inspiring tool. Hopefully we will get to showing you some cool world of warcraft content videos. 

Stat Counter: Rising up the ranks

For the first time we have added a visitor counter to the bottom left of the site, we know that these are very old fashioned however we want you to know that you are not alone when viewing SimplyWarcraft.com over 70,000 people have visited the site in the past two years of us going live. Its quite an achievement for such a little site. A little site with a big heart! 

What we have recently done today:

Categorising the posts to be more accessible

We understand that there is a lot of different sections to the main navigation bar down the left and starting on the 23nd June 2012 we have gone through all our pages and placing them in simpler and more useful categories for you to find. This will make it easier for you to locate the information that you need.

Going through the posts for content consistency

We know that the site has been through three major design changes and many of our older posts are now looking a bit worse for wear. This means that we have been going through all 206 posts which we have made through the years and making them look in keeping with the rest of the site. Making sure that they are easy to read and easy to understand and find and that images and videos are not too large for the page itself. 

Mists of Pandaria Talent Page Updated

We have recently heard that Blizzard have updated their Mists of Pandaria talent trees for the upcoming expansion. Hopefully this latest talent tree will accurately inform us what talents for each of the classes will be available when the new expansion goes on sale.

Further information on this can be found on
http://eu.battle.net/wow/en/game/mists-of-pandaria/feature/talent-specification#f!

How to restore a recently destroyed, sold or disenchanted item

Right you are here because you have either sold, destroyed or disenchanted an item recently or you just want to find out how you can restore an item back to your account for future reference. This is a quick guide that I have put together to assist you further on this quest of item restoration using the new Battle.net "self-service" item restoration.

Right here we go...

Guide to restoring lost items

1. Visit the following Battle.net page - - - https://eu.battle.net/support/en/restoration

2. Click on the "Begin Item Restoration" button

Caption to image above: Click the button

3. Login to your Battle.net account

4. Select the character which you lost the item on.

Caption to image above: Select your character 

If you do have restorable items you will see the following:

5. You then click on the image of the item you wish to restore it will move to the right column.

6. Click the continue button and the items are sent to your in game inbox immediately. 

7. Click the "Restore Items" button and you're done!

OR (if you don't have any restorable items)

Caption to image above: (no items restorable)

Item restoration through Battle.net

We have recently heard through Blizzard's European website that items that you have recently removed or changed on your account can be restored back to how they were, this applies to:

• Items that have been recently destroyed
• Items that have been recently disenchanted
• Items that have been recently sold. 

How Blizzard have done this is through a "self-service" section of Battle.net accounts, which I am assuming will save moderators a lot of time, and use their time to help players with real problems, not for acting stupidly. 

How often can the "item restoration" form be used?

The item restoration form can be used once every 30 days, this is surely to prevent players from abusing the system if they find a way. And its most likely only available with items that have been sold to vendors (regarding recently sold item restoration) and not applicable to items sold in the Auction house.

What items is "item restoration" not applicable for?

• Items that have been traded
• Items that have been used in crafting
• Items that have been "used" (most likely meaning consumed)

How long does it take to get my item back?

Sold and destroyed items will appear immediately in your account when you complete the "automatic item restoration" form.

If the item has been disenchanted it must be reviewed by Blizzard Customer Support before it is processed, this is most likely so they can also remove any items created during the disenchanting process. When you put a request in for a disenchanted item restoration, your "ticket" is placed in a list for customer support to review and they will deal with it as soon as they can. If there are lots of "disenchanted item tickets" then it will take longer than if the ticket list is shorter. When it has been completed however you will receive an in game message informing it has been accepted/declined, if it has been accepted then you will also receive the restored item in that letter.

How much does it cost?

Nothing - its FREE!

How many items can I restore?

The self-serve item restoration form provided by Blizzard in your Battle.net account can be used once every 30 days however you can restore up-to 50 items on one form submission to Blizzard. 

Why is the item i want to restore not showing up in the list?

If an item is not showing in the list then this means you cannot get it back.

I just changed faction - the item i want back isn't in the list!

Additionally if you have just had a faction change, any items recently sold, disenchanted or destroyed will not show up in the list anyway.

Mists of Pandaria BETA: Game Login Screen

If you have ever wondered what the login screen for mists of pandaria may look like, then the above screenshot that I have taken from my BETA account will be somewhat interesting to you. Obviously this is BETA which means that the final login screen may (and most likely will) change when it is officially publicly released to the rest of world of warcraft players who have not had the privilege of being part of the BETA testing scenario.

One thing I can say about this login screen design is, light, airy and fantasy. Probably a more friendlier looking design for potential new players to the world of warcraft, mists of pandaria when it is released at the end of either this year 2012, or early next year 2013.

Mists of Pandaria BETA: Create a level 85 character from a template

I have not been on Mists of Pandara BETA for a couple of months now, after installing their latest patch update I have notice some very good improvements to the BETA experience.

Instead of selecting a pre-made character through Battle.net account you can now create a level 85 character of any Faction, Race and Class through the character interface, which says "Template Character" once you have logged into your BETA account.

This makes the experience much more enjoyable, the only thing missing in my mind is the choice of what professions your character should have pre-installed. I created a female Pandarian Monk (Level 85) however she was pre-installed with Jewelcrafting and Enchanting. Neither of which I have any interest in whatsoever. Its most likely that Blizzard are working on these two professions currently and therefore prefer the newly created level 85 characters to have these professions. Either way they can be changed at anytime you wish, however you will have to learn new professions from scratch.

Making Gold: Through Mining

If you are anything like me and like tedious chores which few people do and result in you with a pocket full of gold. Then you will find this page very interesting and intriguing.

I personally only do gathering professions, Mining being the main one which I enjoy the most. I enjoy it the most simply because its easy to do and the things you collect will sell for a LOT of gold per item (not per stack).

As you progress through your mining the higher the level of the items profession skill the more the gold you will find in your pocket after selling it at the Auction house.

What ores are the most profitable to farm?

The most profitable ores currently in World of Warcraft: Cataclysm are the following:

• Elementium Ore
• Obsidium Ore

What else can you find while mining elementium and obsidian ores?

However while mining you will also find the following elements

• Volatile Earth
• Volatile Water
• Various gemstones

They can be found in the higher levels of Eastern Kingdoms, Deepholme, etc. 

How much do they sell for?

On my server the current auction house prices are:

• Elementium Ore: 14 Gold per item
• Obsidium Ore: 12 Gold per item
• Elementium Bar: 32 Gold per item (2x Elementium ores make)
• Obsidium Bar: 34 Gold per item (2x Elementium ores to make)

Where is the best place to find Elementium and Obsidium Ores?

To put it simply - Deepholme, its a miners paradise!

Is there a guide for me to quickly level up my mining?

Yes be sure to check out the following guide i wrote it for people like you!
Levels 1 - 65: http://www.simplywarcraft.com/2010/06/when-to-get-mining-training.html
Levels 66 - 125: http://www.simplywarcraft.com/2010/06/66-125-mining-skill-guide-screenshot.html
Levels 126 - 525: http://www.simplywarcraft.com/2010/06/126-175-mining-skill-guide-right-now.html

Update to site design

As you may have guessed if you have visited SimplyWarcraft before, we have updated our overall site theme to a more modern and dynamic design. You can still do everything that you did before and find the links in the same place. You can search through the individual posts using the pop out menu located near the top right.

We hope that you like the update and be sure to "Like" any content that you find useful!

Mount Spotlight: Spectral Gryphon

I managed to convince one of my friends to buy a month subscription for World of Warcraft and I was awarded with several gifts, one being the "Spectral Gryphon". Its an amazingly beautiful Gryphon which is still quite rare to see around the World of Warcraft.

As a note, you have to go into your battle.net account and allocate the mount to one specific character that you have. You do not get this mount for all your characters unlike the ones you buy from the Blizzard Store itself.

I love collecting mounts and to me the Spectral Gryphon is something very special! Its transparent blue body and beautiful wings are just amazing to watch. The Spectral Gryphon is highly rated by myself and its right up there in my favourite world of warcraft mounts with the Spectral Steed.

Its really fun to fly around Stormwind the number of whispers commenting on the mount itself are sometimes overwhelming, mostly positive. Obviously negative comments are also given by players of World of Warcraft who are jealous and want it for themselves. Some not so bright players even ask to buy the mount even though its not tradable.

If you have found this post useful or have any further questions please feel free to comment below and I will update the page with the information that you require. 

Buy a real: World of Warcraft Region Alsace Frostmourne Sword

Now you can own this amazing looking product, be the envy of your World of Warcraft friends. 

Click the image below to view the product