Thread: 4.3 PTR - Maelstrom Shatter

So, the new patch has hit the test realms. I happened to run into this while looking through the new data on wowhead:

Maelstrom Shatter - Spell - World of Warcraft

Looks like we will be able to shatter [Maelstrom Crystal]s into [Heavenly Shard]s.

At 2 heavenly shards per maelstrom crystal ratio that we will probably see the price of heavenly shards decrease because of the increased supply.

This looks pretty nice. Finally a use for all those Maelstrom Crystals! Good that i bought 400 of them for 40g each (avg of 60g on my server).

But let's see what consequences this has:

1. Price of Maelstrom Crystals will rise a bit, and the ratio of MC : HS will be ~1.6 : 1. Why 1.6? Shouldn't it be 2:1? No! Think of it: Many ppl will only think of one-step-manufacturing: Buying MC => Shattering them => Selling HS. So they only see the profit from the Shattering (whereas we see the next step: getting mats for scrolls!). And if you buy MC for let's say 50g while HS are at 90g, you'd make 10g profit only - i don't think ppl will risk THAT.

2. The profit of [Stormforged Shoulders] will need to be recalculated, depending on MC prices: 16*Elementium Ore + 8 Obsidium Ore = 1 HS (or 1.3 if i remember right with the Guild perk), whereas 1 MC = 2 HS ==>
- Without Guild perk: 16*EO + 8*OO = 1/2 * MC
- With Guild perk: 16*EO + 8*OO = 1/2 * MC * 1.3

3. Since MC become more attractive for shattering, there will be less available for Enchanting i guess

I'm planning on stocking up on MCs too. The bad thing about the other enchanting mats: They move so fast at good prices RIGHT NOW that i don't want to stockpile them. Not yet at least. I got two tabs full of dust (as side-product which i can't really sell with profit), but Essences + Shards sell with over 100% RoI atm.

Shards will be a tough one, along with the crystals. I can definitely see shards dropping price pretty heavily, potentially half or more. The question is what will happen with MC prices.

Something to think about... a lot of players will be switching to the new raid instance. That means the MC farm fest that Firelands is right now will decrease considerably, which could very likely decrease the supply of MCs on the market for a few weeks or few months even, at least. Some people will still be raiding Firelands, but those people will potentially be hitting Heroic mode and not Normal mode. That gear will more often get used than sharded, again for at least a few weeks or months. That too decreases the supply of MCs.

So, could we potentially see, at least at the start, a dramatic spike in MC prices?

To begin with, the floor pricing of MCs will pretty much be set by the pricing of Heavenly Shards. IF a MC is selling for less than 2x HS, then it's easy profit. More likely though, MCs will start to see for a premium over 2xHS. Anything under that price and it will get bought to shatter, leaving only those at or higher than 2xHS. With a decrease in supply of MC and an increase in demand of MC for new gear enchants, it should push MCs up a decent bit, at least early in 4.3.

I have over 1000 MCs that I bought at 90g or less and will continue to stockpile.

I think an item to consider is if the new instances award 140 or 70 VP. I'm guessing 140vp per, so people are still going to be running them even after they've gotten all their drops. I don't think the drought on MC's will last long (1-2 months depending on server progression).
I'm definitely stockpiling MCs heavily now, mostly so I don't run low during this potential drought and I can exploit it for higher returns on scrolls.

*edit* spelling