Gathering Professions

Perhaps the simplest method of farming gold is to use both your professions early in the game for gathering professions, such as Mining, Herbalism and Skinning.

Mining
Herbalism
Gathering Routes
Skinning
Gathering Zones Levels 1-10
Gathering Zones Levels 20-30
Gathering Zones Levels 30-40
Gathering Zones Levels 40-50

Introduction

The time to gather is only seconds away from your normal XP grind and after smelting the ore into bars, stacking your leather and herbs, you can sell them in the Auction houses of Ironforge or Ogrimmar for some decent cash. Alchemy and Mining seem to sell better in the early game, but ultimately the choice is at your discretion, so we’ll put together some numbers in order to help you make a more informed decision.

Also, you’ll want to download and install some Custom Tradeskill UI’s; Curse’s Gatherer UI http://www.curse-gaming.com/mod.php?addid=44 is an excellent choice for Miners and Herbalists. This UI automatically logs any ore/herb deposits you come across while adventuring. The deposits are marked by green or red circles on your world/mini map and if you place your cursor over a symbol, the UI will tell you what resource (Silverleaf, Copper etc) can be farmed from that deposit. The UI will even give you an estimate of how long it will take to refresh the deposit and how many units are available. This makes gathering especially easy once you have leveled up your skill. You can simply pull up a world map and scan which deposits you want to hit and plot out a route gathering all your materials in minimal time.

Mining

Mining is a great cash cow because there are multiple professions, which require various metal bars to create items. Engineering and Blacksmithing (and more specialized weapon smiths and armor smiths) assure a solid demand for metal bars in the Auction House. Mining can also yield expensive gems and specialty items. Plus the stones for blacksmithing can be vendored or sold in the Auction House for decent cash.

You’ll also want to have an enchanter put a modifier enchantment on your gloves to have +5 mining skill.

Here are some numbers regarding metal ore:

Metal Bar	Skill Level	Approx. AH Price (each)
[Copper Bar]	1	4s70c
[Tin Bar]	65	3s33c
[Bronze Bar]	65	5s
[Silver Bar]	75	15s
[Iron Bar]	125	15s
[Gold Bar]	155	24s
[Steel Bar]	165	25s
[Mithril Bar]	175	17s
[Truesilver Bar]	230	42s50c
[Dark Iron Ore]	230	72s
[Thorium Bar]	250	25s25c

Stones used in blacksmithing are also very profitable and usually come in higher quantity than metal ore from mineral veins.

Stone	Found in	Approx. AH Price (each)
[Rough Stone]	Copper Vein	80c
[Coarse Stone]	Tin Vein	8s33c
[Heavy Stone]	Iron Vein	6s
[Solid Stone]	Mithril Vein	5s
[Dense Stone]	Thorium Vein	15s-25s

** Update : [Dense Stone] value have sky rocketed since the Darkmoon Faire has been introduced in patch 1.6, These are required for miners to earn Darkmoon tickets to build up faction and rewards. A good idea is to save your stone until the faire arrive (1st week of every month) then you can sell over double the average price.

Bear in mind that these prices are simply a sampling and prices will vary and fluctuate on any given server depending you population and rule set (pvp/pve). It is a good idea to take a look at the prices in the AH on your server and modify your farming strategy accordingly. http://wow.allakhazam.com is a great research tool for finding mineral deposits; simple type a mineral like Mithril into the search field and click the item at the top, then select the zone you want to farm from a list. A map will display all the mineral deposits in a zone. Depending on the minerals you are farming, Mining can net you anywhere from 5g – 50g/ hour.

Arcane Crystal (level 55+)

With new profession recipes being released after patch, mining strategies and server economies change. Mining [Arcane Crystal] for blacksmithing is currently a booming business and can be very profitable. [Arcane Crystal] can fetch anywhere from 18g – 25g (20g seems to be average) in the Auction House and are very much in demand right now. [Arcane Crystal] are rare, drop rate have been increased since patch 1.5 and are found in Rich Thorium Veins. Burning steps, Ungoro, Winterspring, and Eastern Plaguelands seem to be hotspots for the [Arcane Crystal] drops. A good idea would be to wait till the server population is low (late night or early morning) and farm the thorium veins.

Herbalism

Herbalism Basics

Herbalism is another gathering profession that can yield quite a bit of cash if you are willing to put the time into farming. It’s not much and you can do it as you adventure. The benefits are that herbs are abundant and they respawn quickly. As mentioned in the Mining section, Curse’s Gatherer UI is extremely helpful, as is http://wow.allakhazam.com
Like mining you can search for an herb and pull up zone maps for where to find the deposits. Gatherer will then record them in your world map so you don’t have to shift between http://wow.allakhazam.com and Warcraft. Like mining you can put a +5 modifier enchantment on your gloves to increase your Herbalism skill.

Stone	Skill Level	Approx. AH Price (each)
[Silverleaf]	1	1s50c
[Peacebloom]	1	1s
[Earthroot]	15	4s50c
[Mageroyal]	50	3s50c
[Briarthorn]	70	10s
[Stranglekelp]	85	15s
[Swiftthistle]	85	25s
[Bruiseweed]	100	6s20c
[Wild steelbloom]	115	27s14c
[Grave Moss]	120	39s
[Kingsblood]	125	17s
[Liferoot]	150	7s40c
[Fadeleaf]	160	40s
[Khadgar’s Whisker]	185	12s45c
[Wintersbite]	195	41s50c
[Ghost Mushroom]	200	99s
[Firebloom]	205	11s50c
[Goldthorn]	215	25s
[Dreamfoil]	250	60s
[Gromsblood]	250	70s
[Mountain Silversage]	285	70s
[Plaguebloom]	285	42s50c

As you can see from chart, [Wild steelbloom] and [Kingsblood]are the most in demand among the common plants. The problem is that most of these herbs are only found in certain areas that may be farmed extensively by other players. Grave moss, for instance, is only found in high concentrations in Duskwood and Wetlands. Use http://wow.allakhazam.com to pull up a map on where to find them. Wild Steelbloom can be found in large quantities in Stranglethorn Vale and Arathi Highlands among other areas. Ghost Mushrooms are found off of elite mobs in Maraudon instances.

Gathering Routes

* Nerfed strategies, you can only reset an instance 5x an hour.

If you are planning on gathering herbs and selling them in the Auction House your route throughout Azeroth is important since some zones are better for picking herbs than others. Time is a factor as is zone population and risk of death. As mentioned before, [Kingsblood] is one of the most profitable common herbs because of demand from faction turn in quests for the Thorium Brotherhood, and its use in healing and mana potions.

Alterac Mountains (level 35+) - One of the best routes for gathering [Kingsblood] and other herbs while on the way ([Goldthorn], [Fadeleaf]) is to plot a route starting in the Alterac Mountains and leading up into the Hinterlands. If you follow the outer mountain ridge surrounding the Alterac ruins you can find lots of Kingsblood plants. Follow the north road up into the Hinterlands, and then follow the mountain ranges east to collect [Sungrass] and [Fadeleaf]. This route can net 20g from the auction house for only 30-45 mins of collecting.

* Scarlet Monastery (level 35+) - If you have a love of repetitive tasks; you can even farm [Kingsblood] and [Fadeleaf] from the Scarlet Monastery instances. Being a rogue will help though since you will need to stealth past, or kill a few mobs first. Go to SM Library for [Fadeleaf], it’s a 100% spawn (second room) resetting the instance every time you get one. To reset an instance simply invite a friend, leave the instance, then leave the group. For [Kingsblood] , go to the graveyard; there are 2 picking plants for [Kingsblood] in there, just pick, then reset. You can make 20-30g/ hour this way.

Stranglethorn Vale (level 40+) - Another nice little path is in the surrounding roads of Lake Nazferiti in Stranglethorn Vale. [Fadeleaf] and [Kingsblood] are abundant around the lake and surrounding coasts. [Wild steelbloom] grows in the northern and western mountains. [Khadgar’s Whisker] grows through out Stranglethorn Vale as well. A few rounds about the lake, mountains and coast can net upwards of 100 gold per trip.

Blasted Lands (level 45+) - Another route is Swamp of sorrows to Blasted Lands to collect [Fadeleaf] and [Gromsblood]. Take a look at the Swamp of sorrows map of fadeleaf plants http://www.thottbot.com/?m=21502 If you start at the northern central area of the zone and move southwest you will come across many fadeleaf plants to pick. This path leads directly to the Blasted lands. If you follow the southern road around the bend to Nethergarde keep there should be [Gromsblood] plants on the right and left. If you are flying in via griffon it might be a good idea to follow the road around Blasted lands and up into the swamp of sorrows, then double back to Nethergarde keep for your exit. One of these runs can net about 20-30g for a quick 30 mins of work.

* Dire Maul (level 50+) - Farming Dire Maul east is also a decent place for gathering herbs and you don’t even need Herbalism. Simply zone in to the instance on the eastern side of Dire Maul and kill the whip lashers to the left. They are pre-grouped and thus great AoE’ing with a mage or warlock. The loot tables can be found on http://www.thottbot.com but the plants can drop [Dreamfoil], [Briarthorn] and [Blindweed]. Additional drops like [Living Essence] and items can result in net gain of 20-40g per hour depending on drops.

Skinning

Skinning can be a lucrative profession as well, since like Mining and Herbalism, it takes little more than a few seconds between adventuring. Here are some stats on leather supplies and the level mobs you need to farm. Leather is in high demand because Engineers, Tailors, Blacksmiths and of course Leatherworkers need it to craft their goods.

Stone	Mob Level	Approx. AH Price (each)
[Light Leather]	1 - 16	2s
[Light Hide]	1 - 16	3s19c
[Medium Leather]	17 - 30	3s
[Medium Hide]	17 - 30	5s
[Heavy Leather]	31 - 40	7s
[Heavy Hide]	31 - 40	14s
[Thick Leather]	41 - 50	7s50c
[Thick Hide]	41 - 50	12s
[Rugged Leather]	50 - 60	15s
[Rugged Hide]	50 - 60	15s

Unfortunately, without leatherworking you can’t make the higher end leather trade supplies. That’s ok because unless you plan on going the route of elemental or tribal, leatherworking as a compliment to skinning is not very profitable. However, staying on the supply side and gathering resources with skinning can net you some cash. The best way to gather the skins to place in the Auction House is to farm skinnable humanoids. Farming skinnable humanoids kills two birds with one stone. Being humanoids, the mobs will drop coin. Skinnable corpses will allow you to glean some leather working supplies for extra cash. Here are some spots to find higher-level skinnable humanoids.
If you decide to stick with skinning for most of your career, you’ll want to pick up [Finkle’s Skinner] drops off of The Beast+ in Black Rock spire and adds +10 to skinning. You can also put a skinning enchantment on your gloves for +5 skill as well.

Hillsbrad Foothils (level 30+) - In the central part of Hillsbrad foothills, north of Southshore, you’ll find a cave with Cave Yeti and Ferocious Yeti. These mobs drop decent coin about 1s a piece and they are skinnable. The yetis also have a chance to drop dome decent loot. The yeti can even be AoE farmed if you have a mage or warlock. Just gather them up with a wand or have a melee do it. You can make 5-10g here per hour as a good start.

Alterac Mountains (level 30+) - Giant Yeti in Alterac Mountains will also yield a lot of leather and coin since they are skinnable humanoids. You can find these mobs around the mountains surrounding the Ruins of Alterac. They can be skinned for [Heavy Leather] and [Heavy Hide] which sells moderately at 50s a stack. You can make about 5-10g per hour here.

WinterSpring (level 45+) - Winterspring is a good place to kill skinnable humanoids. The Ice Thistle yeti around everlook and off into the East near the Ice thistle caves will drop 4-6silver and can be skinned for rugged leather. The Yeti also have loot tables with a few blue and purple items.

There are lower level Feral Scar yeti in Feralas also which are good for looting/skinning. The ones in the west center area are around level 45 and the ones in the north Rage Scar Vale area are 48-50. Skinning will only net about 5-10g per hour, but the drops are an added bonus as is the skinning skill ups and XP if you need them.

Un’Goro Crater – Devilsaur (Level 50+) - Devilsaur mobs are usually level 53 elites that wander around the southern part of the zone near the entrance from Tanaris. Skinning [Devilsaur Leather] can be extrememly profitable. The leather sells for about 5g a piece. Devilsaur mobs are fairly uncommon so it’ll take some tracking work (Hunters will do well here) so you can hunt down 4-5 inside an hour for at least one Devilsaur leather per piece which translates into 20-25g per hour.

Block Rock Spire/Wetlands (level 55+) - Later on, you’ll want to skin high level elite Dragonkin mobs like Rage Talon Captain and Chromatic dragonspawn and in Black Rock Spire to get Dragonscales, which are used for Dragonscale armor and can fetch 1-3g each. There are also elite dragon mobs called Red Dragonspawn in the easter mountain pass of the Wetlands. You can skin Red Dragonscales off these as well. You can farm 20-40g/hour depending on your group and how many dragons you can kill. Molten Core (level 60) Molten core mobs will also yield [Core Leather] for Chromatic and Dark Iron armor. Guilds usually run Molten Core raids and thus designate a guild skinner to gather up the leather, so you’ll have to be creative if you want to farm core leather. If you find a way, these leathers will be very valuable.

Level Progression

Gathering professions should occupy your two primary profession slots on up into your 40’s. We’ve talked about all the tips of the gathering progressions and how to make them profitable from an end game perspective. However, as a new player or simply a new character, it’s important to start out on the right foot so that you can easily gather enough gold to purchase Spells, Equipment and a Mount (level 40)

It’s important to start out knowing which zones will be appropriate to level and gather items. It’s recommended that as a novice player without any gold (Assuming a new player or new server) start with two gathering professions, Skinning and Mining are preferable since Herbalism supplies like Silverleaf and Peacebloom don’t sell well in the Auction House. Leather supplies, however, are in great supply and have a healthy demand from other production professions as we have discussed. Mining starts out fairly lucrative since the earliest metal you can mine is copper, which as we said sells for at least 50s - 1g/stack.
Also remember to train Fishing, cooking, and First Aid as secondary professions before you leave to start leveling. Characters that don’t have these profession trainers in their starting cities may have to wait until they are a few levels higher so they can travel to major cities like Stormwind, Ironforge, Ogrimmar, The Undercity, etc. Remember to pick up a fishing pole/skinning knife/mining pick as soon as you are able. The reason you want to train all three secondary professions is that you won’t have to spend silver on food and bandages, which, over time, can add up and cut into your gold supply. You fish out sustenance, cook it up at a local camp, fashion bandages from cloth looted off of humanoids to heal yourself in battle. A frugal play style will reward you in the end.

Gathering Zones Levels 1-10

Level Mining (65)

Herbalism (50)
Skinning (50)
Fishing (100) with buffs

Most any starting zone (levels 1- 10) will be plentiful with copper veins, Silverleaf and Peacebloom plants, humanoids for cloth and beasts for leather. Here are some zones that are filled with all of these:

Trisfall Glades (Horde)
Elwynn Forest (Alliance)
Dun Morogh (Alliance)
Durotar (Horde)

Remember to utilize your downtime wisely, and farm every bit of trade material you can. Granted at earlier levels you will have limited pack space for equipment and quest items, that’s why it’s important to farm the trade materials so you can buy pack space. If you come across a body of water, spend a few minutes fishing there for a food stock as well as some sill level increases. This is another reason you want to spend your time wisely, as you level your skill levels should increase also. Level zones and the skill levels required for certain profession skills correspond. In other words you won’t want to waste time going back to lower level zones to farm skill-increases so its best to do it as early as possible and continue throughout your adventuring.

 

Submitted by justdocool on Mon, 05/07/2007 - 13:54.

• Login or register to post comments