Aldor Rep and Gold Farming Spot - Netherstorm, Level 70
UPDATED 5/30/2008: This is still a great place to farm for those choosing to become Aldor and another solid location for leatherworkers, but sadly the two mobs here no longer drop Motes of Shadow. Despite the claim by some that the drop rate for Marks and Fel Armaments has been nerfed, I have not found that to be entirely true. Though the Wowhead drop rates have changed since I first wrote this, I decided to leave them because I feel the originals are still more accurate than the current data or the negative word-of-mouth.
Whether you are looking to rapidly advance your reputation with the Aldor or just make some decent gold, you should try the Arklon Ruins (42,71) located southeast of Area 52 in Netherstorm (Wowhead | WowWiki). This is a must-grind area for those looking to gain reputation with the Aldor, but is also a sweet spot to farm gold and leatherworking items.
Ther are two mobs to farm here: Artifact Seekers and Felblade Doomguards. They both have excellent drop rates for:
- Mark of Sargeras (WowEcon | Wowhead) drop: 36.1%-56.1%
- Fel Armament (WowEcon | Wowhead) drop: 1.8%-3.6%
Remember that grinding drops in WoW means that you will have to kill many, many, many of mobs to see a decent return - that is the nature of the game. Just like with any other mob you can expect to cut a swathe through anywhere from 5-20 of these before your first mark or armament even drops - then they will drop en masse and abruptly dry up once again. That%26#8217;s WoW for you.
When sold in bunches these can be worth quite a bit of gold in the Auction House. Although it appears there is a general decline in the value of Marks of Sargeras, 75 silver is still not bad if you are able to sell 100 at a time. The real winners here appear to be the Fel Armaments: appropriate given their drop rate: every time one drops it%26#8217;s as good as having gold deposited to your bank.
As you can skin the Artifact Seekers, this gives skinners a bonus to farm their Aldor reputation here. With a 15% chance to drop Fel Hides, they make a great skinning mob. Casters and hunters beware, however, as they cast mana burn and can make your grind more difficult.
You can get a lot of great tips like this in Valkor%26#8217;s Gold-Making Guide. It%26#8217;s my new favorite guide - I pretty much use it constantly because it covers complex gold-making techniques in a way that%26#8217;s easy to understand. And at 100+ pages, it%26#8217;s definitely comprehensive.