4.0.1 To-Do List: You Are Not Prepared!

Unless something mighty funky happens, one week from now, WoW Patch 4.0.1 will be upon us. This includes all the changes to just about everything in the World of Warcraft that doesn't include new content.

Here is a short list of some of the things changing:

• New launcher
• New gem stats
• New glyphs
• New stats
• New abilities
• New 31-point talent trees
• New gear
• Reforging

Pretty much everything you know about your character now is changing.
But, there's a week left. Time enough to get prepared. To that end, here is my to-do list:


1) Decide on new specs
Nothing more important than learning and understanding which talents you need. There are gobs of talent builders online and Elitist Jerks surely has some things to tell their readers. There will be a talent wipe and the first thing you do when you log on after the patch will be to restore your talents. Know what you are going to do.

2) Get a full set of glyphs
The glyph system has changed significantly and the details of many well-known glyphs have changed as well. The big change being that you'll obtain a glyph, learn it, and then be able to insert it on your glyph ui quite freely. Have your friendly neighborhood inscriber make up a full set of every glyph available for your class and then put them in the bank until next week so you can learn them right away. There will be new glyphs later on for new abilities, but this will get you off and running next week.

3) Check out your gems
I think that casting classes have fewer problems than melee do, but you will want to make sure that the gems on your gear remain useful. Many gems are changing color. Many disappearing stats are to be replaced with something else. Like Defense Rating. If  you have a defense rating gem on your character, I can't begin to imagine what it will be after 4.0.1, but they won't be defense rating. But Thotbot knows! Do your research.

4) Acquire some combination 346 Emblems of Frost and Emblems of Triumph that you are not going to spend.
There is a significant transition of our heroicy type badges to the new currency of Justice Points. It's moderately long and complex but it boils down to the fact that 346 of these badges will be able to be carried forward into The Cataclysm and will be useful for buying gear that you can use in Cata heroics at level 85.  These badges are your nest egg for level 85. (And, incidentally, 346 of these badges will turn into 4006 Justice Points on the day 4.0.1 hits. That is the hard cap: 4000 JP)

However, you can only carry forward this many points.  If you get more now, that's fine if you want to buy more Tier 10 gear (but why would you do that?), but any frost or triumph badge you have in excess of 346 will turn into gold when the Cataclysm comes. Any other badges you might have (Justice, Heroism, Valor) will turn into gold on the day 4.0.1 drops.

5) Decide which alts are going to turn all their badges into gold on the day 4.0.1 goes live. 
Not all alts are created equal. I'm a major altaholic, this I know. But I have never ever expected most of them to seriously raid or anything like that. I'm inclined to turn many frost and triumph badges loitering about on several alts into Emblems of Conquest now and just take the money next week. It's not going to be a get rich quick scheme of any sort, though, so I may just let everybody keep everything in case they get called up to the majors in Cataclysm.

6)Mind your PvP points.
All variations of PvP currency-- honor points, arena points, marks of honor,  Venture Coins, etc-- are also converting to a singularly flat number called Honor Points. The conversion rate for this is much more complex however. But once again, there is going to finally be a hard cap of 4000 Honor Points. If you have more than that for 4.0.1, you might try spending the excess. If not, anything you have over 4000 will be turned into gold on Dec. 7.