Are you ready for GuildFest 409?

It’s almost that time again; you just got over the thrill of All Hallows Eve and are ready for some new stuff to waste your coin on. Guildfest is just around the corner for prime (May 31^st to June 16^th) with an auction held Saturday, June 15^th, at 9PM eastern.  A great feature about this fest is… its free! I love the pay fests with the great gifts we get, but getting new toys for myself or inventory for my shop without cutting into my funds is just as good.

For those interested in the history of things this fest came around after some discussion by the Guild Leaders of Theren to hold a fest to celebrate the defeat of Lyras. It’s held each year around this time at the old Theren Festival Grounds and themed on guilds. If you’re new to fests, this is a great way to see if saving coin on unique items you’d pay bunches more for thru a trader shop is your kind of thing! As with all fests you’ll find new and repeat shops and items, merchants to do alterations, raffles and an auction at the end to try your luck at purchasing a rare item.

So how does one get ready for a fest?

• Save up coppers!  Being a trader I probably shouldn’t be telling you this… but that * item name here* just MIGHT be available again at this fest at appraisal, not trader markup, price. Unless you’re spoiled/rich/etc and just gotta have it now, than feel free to line my pockets!
• Clean your vaults and bags.  Have stuff you don’t need, get rid of it! Get the largest bags for storing things, train up your stamina/strength, sell things you’ve never used and sell those bundles/pouches (money maker!). This is a great time to profit by reselling items, even if you’re not a trader.
• Do your research.  Elanthipedia makes a fantastic article that many people work at updating with a map, shop list and item details. You can even check out last year’s fest to see what was available then. The Witch’s Workshop has good information for preparing for an alteration.
• Set your budget.  Don’t think you’ll have coin after the fest, just make sure you prioritize what items you really want to get. Even if you might not need an item now you may find it a good idea to buy it now. Some items aren’t sold again and you’ll end up paying much more later to get it. Again, you don’t need to be a trader to profit from purchasing items to resell later!
• Schedule your day.  DragonRealms Calender will list some of the merchant visits and events. Twitter posts will also update you on the going ons. Talk with other fest goers to hear rumors too.
• Have fun.  You’ll find many events going on to join, merchants and others to chat with and games to play. Even if you don’t get a chance to buy that limited item or get picked for an alteration by that jerk of a merchant (some roleplay this way, no offense meant), socialize anyways! Just sitting at the lists is an event in itself.
• But be patient (and prepared).  Not all shops may open at the beginning. Merchants try to do as much work done as they can, but you can help them! Make up some ideas of work you might want done BEFORE a list even opens and have the materials on hand. Don’t expect you’ll be picked, some only do the work for one person and others will complete entire lists. There are merchants who are super friendly, do work for much more coin than you’ll ever have or for weird items you’d never want, or have terrible manners.

See you there! I might have bought too much so please help me up if you see me on the ground somewhere 🙂