WoW Blacksmithing Gold Guide

WoW Gold Guide --> Professions Gold Guide ---> Blacksmithing Gold Guide (you are here)

Blacksmithing

Blacksmithing just might be my least-favorite profession for making gold. While there are definitely players out there who cash in on blacksmithing, it has some major faults: 

Most expensive profession to level up 

While I think the change in Cataclysm which offers multiple skill points for rare and epic recipes will alleviate this problem, Blacksmithing still is likely to be by far the most expensive profession to level up. 

Since you need such large quantities of materials to level up, it artificially drives the price up of trade goods, especially around expansion time. It is very hard to turn a profit off any Blacksmithing goods when an expansion comes out for this reason. 

Click Here To Get WoW Crusher- #1 Arena and Gold Guide

One of the most popular professions (high competition) 

Blacksmithing is easily one of the most popular professions. I think this stems back to Burning Crusade when every warrior in the game wanted to get a Stormherald. Now, there are just way too many blacksmiths running around and not enough buyers for their goods.  

Very few low-risk methods for earning gold 

I really do not mind the first two things that much: it is okay to invest a lot of gold in a profession if it is going to make you money in return, and if there is a lot of competition it generally means there is also a lot of profit to be had. 

The main problem I have with blacksmithing is that the recipes are very expensive and the auction house fees to list plate and weaponry are very high. As a result, if your high-ticket item does not sell within the first few times you list it on the AH (and BoE epics and rares are usually slow to sell), you can easily lose all of your profit and then some. 

You have to be very picky about what you list on the Auction House so that you do not lose all of your profits to AH fees. 

With that said, I do think you can make money off of Blacksmithing, but I recommend sticking to a set plan of recipes. Here are what I believe to be the most profitable Blacksmithing recipes: 

BoE Epics

I love making BoE epics to sell for gold, because these items are never made by people who are just looking to skill up. They require Chaos Orbs, so it is not likely that players will be cranking these out left and right in order to level up quicker (for the most part). 

Here are the most profitable items, in order (most profitable to least profitable). Of course, prices could vary server-by-server so be sure to check it out ahead of time: 

·         Elementium Earthguard (epic BoE tanking shield) 

·         Hardened Elementium Hauberk (epic BoE tanking chest) 

·         Elementium Stormshield (epic BoE healing shield) 

·         Elementium Deathplate (epic DPS chest) 

·         Light Elementium Chestguard (epic healing chest) 

All of these items can be profitable, and I recommend keeping a few of each (once you have the money anyway) on hand to sell when the price is right. However, if you can only afford to make a few, the Elementium Earthguard is a very valuable epic.

Why? Because the shield is one of the tanks most important pieces of gear and you cannot tank if you have bad gear. Tanks who do not have an epic tanking shield will buy one (or their guild will buy it for them). This shield also has hit rating on it, which is sometimes hard to find as a tank.  

The same logic goes behind the high price of the Hardened Elementium Hauberk. Many level 85 tanks will buy these until they can replace them with higher level heroic / raiding gear. These two epics will essentially become part of the "starter" set for any level 85 tank. 

The chest pieces are good for all 3 specs, but know that the DPS chest piece has a lot more potential buyers (DPS-specced Warriors, DKs, and Ret Paladins), whereas the healing chest-piece is only for Holy Paladins. Several of the DPS chest pieces can easily sell in a day whereas the healing chest piece might only sell one every few days, depending on server population. 

What About Epic Belts and BoE Rare Weapons?

Stay away from the 3 BoE epic belts. They are itemized horribly and will be used by many blacksmiths to skill up. These are not viable ways to make money. 

Also, stay away from the level 85 BoE rare weapons. The auction house fees required to list such a weapon can often be in excess of 20g per list. This eats away all the profit if the items do not sell. 

Ebonsteel Belt Buckle

This is the only item Blacksmiths will produce that will sell in mass quantities. Every level 85 player on the server will buy one of these each time they upgrade their belt. 

Now, the competition is also high on these, but if you buy materials in the morning (when they are cheap) and sell the belt buckles in the evening, you can usually net an easy 10-15 gold profit (and they sell quickly). Just make sure you check the AH to make sure someone did not accidentally saturate the market and drive the prices way down. 

Other Items - PvP Sets 

The blue PvP sets can also be a great way to make gold as a Blacksmith. However, you do not want to craft any of the rares that you can skill up off of. I also do not recommend trying to make the Holy Paladin PvP gear since the market is incredibly tiny (most paladins PvP as ret!).  

Taking in those qualifications, try making these items: 

·         Bloodied Pyrium Breastplate 

·         Bloodied Pyrium Helm 

·         Bloodied Pyrium Legguards 

All of these can be sold at a mark-up over what they cost to make. Check the auction house before you craft them to make sure the market is not saturated, and charge a minimum of 40g mark-up over what you paid for the materials (otherwise you may not recoup your listing fees).

Item Level Jump Armor

As mentioned in more detail in the Leatherworking section, players (especially tanks) will be eager to buy any type of tanking gear that gives them huge ilvl upgrades. This includes gear around level 58-62 (Outland gear) and 68-72 (Northrend gear).  

Outland Gear:

The Fel Iron Plate Set, especially the belt, pants, boots, and bracers, all should be able to be sold for 15-30 gold a piece. You will have to check your auction house for the current going rate, but sometimes you can net an easy 10-15 gold profit on each of these items if you can find Fel Iron cheap enough. 

Northrend Gear:

The Colbalt gear, particularly the tanking gear levels 68-70, should be able to fetch a decent mark-up once players get out of Northrend. Check the auction house first of course, and if you can find cheap Colbalt Ore, you might be able to turn a profit off these. 

Blacksmithing Conclusion

Here is your simple plan for making several hundred gold (to several thousand gold) per day from just a few minutes of Blacksmithing: 

·         Check the Auction House for cheap materials and buy them whenever you see them. 

·         Craft BoE Epic Chestplates and Shields and sell them for 100-200 gold more than the materials cost (about 20% mark-up is good). 

·         Craft the Bloodied Pyrium Breastplate, Helm, and Legguards and sell those for 40-50 gold mark-up on whatever the materials cost. 

Craft Ebonsteel Belt Buckles and sell them whenever the supply on the Auction House dips low.

---> Next: WoW Enchanting Gold Guide 

Tired of losing in arenas? Want to get the best PvP and raid gear?

If you answered that question with a yes, then you need to get WoW Crusher.

Created by top raider, gold maker, and gladiator Marcko, it contains the secret strategies used by pro arena players, top raiders, and players who have hit the gold cap multiple times! If you are broke or are losing your 10 weekly arena games, you MUST get this guide. Click here to get it now!