Fly Through the Fire

"What's that, up in the sky?"
"It's a bird!"
"It's plane!"
"Um...I think it's a druid auto-flying into a mountain."

That's right; it's that time of year again.  The time to go around honoring or desecrating every bonfire you see to get some pretty flowers to spend on stuff, AKA Midsummer Fire Festival.  The only coverage I've seen this year on the holiday from a gold-maker's perspective came from Just My Two Copper, so I figured I'd give my own attempt at spreading the word.

The biggest change this year is the re-introduction of the Captured Flame non-combat pet.  This little guy can be yours for 350 Burning Blossoms, which are easier than ever to get this year.  A typical max-level character can get enough for two just from grabbing all the fires, including the ones in enemy capital cities.  With diligence to the dailies and queueing for the holiday boss each day, it may even be possible to reach enough for 3 on each max-level character.  (Though if you're uncoordinated like me, you may not be doing the Torch Catching daily each day.)

Initially, these were going for about 10k each.  That price of course decreased as more supply entered, and currently there are some on my server for 3k.  However, these will almost certainly come back up in value once the holiday is over and supply has essentially disappeared.  Whether or not they'll go back up to that 10k mark remains to be seen, but personally, I see them being the next Swift Lovebird.

Now, you may be saying "Swift Lovebird was a mount and completely new.  Captured Flame is a pet that took a couple years off."  This is quite true, but there are a few factors to consider.  Many people are taking a break from WoW right now, and even many of those that are online aren't grabbing fires.  Many people started playing during the Captured Flame's hiatus, so it's new to them.  And of course, MoP will be adding pet battles, which most people agree will drastically increase the demand for pets.

The best thing is, most of the time required for this achievement doesn't even have to be spent at your keyboard.  Hop on a flight path, then go grab a sandwich, do some dishes, etc.  Or, you know, read a blog.  The holiday is even useful for toons that aren't max level yet.  My 75 rogue got to 78 just from fires.  If nothing else, it's something different than doing the same quests for the billionth time.

Oh, and one more minor detail:  Captured Flame is Unique, so you can't have more than one at a time in a character's bags or individual bank.  There are a couple of ways to get around this.  The preferred way would be keeping them in a guild bank, but if you don't have one of those of your very own, the mail can work as well.  Just send them all to an alt you're not currently using.  Just keep in mind they'll return to the characters you sent them from in 30 days.