Blacksmithing in WoW Forever: leveling route and where the gold is

Blacksmithing is a big, hungry profession, and Forever made it bigger: 506 recipes, 197 of them new. The leveling route in our data is 28 steps long and finishes with a step that needs 720 Thorium Bars. If you're not mining your own ore, read this whole page before you start.

The good news is that the early game is full of things melee players actually buy, and a smith with a mining alt has more ways to turn ore into gold than anyone else.

What's new in Forever

Most of the new recipes are armor. Plate gauntlets (21) and plate boots (20) lead the list, but the sets that matter for launch are the new mail pieces in the 90–180 range: Hard Gold, Sterling Silver, the Skyforged helms and the Acolyte's / Crusader's Silvered Chain pieces. That's gear people wear while leveling, which means people buy it.

At skill 313 there's a block of Glory and Justice gear we can't see the items for yet. It's past the old cap and clearly later content, so don't plan around it.

Your camp pieces are a Sharpening Wheel at 17 (a Strength buff for everyone at the fire), an Anvil at 137, and a Master Forge at 300 that some recipes need.

Shopping list

The bottom of this list is cheap and the top is brutal. Thorium and Mithril together come to over 1,200 bars, plus 300 Golden Pearls for the last step alone. Mats for the suspect steps flagged in the route below are left off this list.

ITEMVENDORMINMEDIAN

Thorium Bar6s 0c——

Mithril Bar4s 0c——

Golden Pearl1g 0s 0c——

Sandpaper2s 50c——

Sulfuric Acid1s 25c——

Steel Bar60c——

Solid Grinding Stone2s 0c——

Rough Stone2c——

Bronze Bar50c——

Mageweave Cloth2s 50c——

Heavy Stone60c——

Heavy Grinding Stone1s 0c——

Iron Bar2s 0c——

Silver Bar1s 0c——

Coarse Grinding Stone10c——

Thick Leather3s 0c——

Shining Silver Breastplate29s 35c——

Rough Grinding Stone5c——

Gold Bar6s 0c——

Truesilver Bar12s 50c——

Coarse Stone15c——

Solid Stone1s 0c——

Arcanite Bar50s 0c——

Dense Grinding Stone2s 0c——

Shadowgem2s 50c——

Black Pearl10s 0c——

Green Dye25c——

Dense Stone2s 50c——

Star Ruby50s 0c——

— = no listings in the latest scan on US·NORMAL·HORDEPrices from AHledger

Skill route

Sharpening stones and weightstones get you to 110, with skeleton keys mixed in, which open locked boxes and chests for anyone without a rogue handy. The middle stretch is bronze and iron armor, then mithril plate from 197 to 243 and Arcanite Skeleton Keys to 255.

Two steps use a breastplate made from an item that doesn't exist in Forever's item data, so they're flagged. The last step, Prefect's Waistguard from 255 to 280, is a new recipe and is absurdly expensive. I'd look for a cheaper path before buying for it, and we'll update this when one turns up. There's no route data past 280 yet.

1. 1–35
   44×Rough Sharpening Stone

   44× Rough Stone

   1153555learned automatically
2. 35–47
   15×Coarse Weightstone

   15× Coarse Stone

   29404755from the trainer
3. 47–65
   27×Rough Grinding Stone

   54× Rough Stone

   15456585from the trainer
4. 65–85
   25×Silver Skeleton Key

   25× Silver Bar25× Rough Grinding Stone

   60758595from the trainer
5. 85–89
   4×Heavy Grinding Stone

   12× Heavy Stone

   82100112125from the trainer
6. 89–107
   21×Heavy Weightstone

   21× Heavy Stone

   89100107115from the trainer
7. 107–110
   4×Heavy Grinding Stone

   12× Heavy Stone

   82100112125from the trainer
8. 110–122
   12×Golden Skeleton Key

   12× Gold Bar12× Heavy Grinding Stone

   110125135145from the trainer
9. 122–127
   6×Iron Buckle

   6× Iron Bar

   122125127130from the trainer
10. 127–135
    12×Golden Skeleton Key

    12× Gold Bar12× Heavy Grinding Stone

    110125135145from the trainer
11. 135–140
    7×Patterned Bronze Bracers

    35× Bronze Bar14× Coarse Grinding Stone

    120125140155from the trainer
12. 140–147
    10×Silvered Bronze Boots

    60× Bronze Bar10× Silver Bar20× Coarse Grinding Stone

    113135150165from the trainer
13. 147–153
    6×Green Iron Bracers

    36× Iron Bar6× Green Dye

    147165177190from the trainer
14. 153–168
    15×Shifting Silver Breastplate

    15× Shining Silver Breastplate15× Unknown item 211422

    Suspect step: this recipe uses items that don't exist in Forever's item data (likely a Season of Discovery leftover). Don't buy mats for it until it's confirmed in game.

    153175190205from the trainer
15. 168–180
    14×Solid Sharpening Stone

    14× Solid Stone

    168175180185from the trainer
16. 180–190
    15×Shifting Silver Breastplate

    15× Shining Silver Breastplate15× Unknown item 211422

    Suspect step: this recipe uses items that don't exist in Forever's item data (likely a Season of Discovery leftover). Don't buy mats for it until it's confirmed in game.

    153175190205from the trainer
17. 190–197
    10×Golden Scale Bracers

    50× Steel Bar20× Heavy Grinding Stone

    167185197210from the trainer
18. 197–210
    18×Heavy Mithril Gauntlet

    108× Mithril Bar72× Mageweave Cloth

    185200210220from the trainer
19. 210–215
    7×Mithril Plate Pants

    84× Mithril Bar

    190205215225from the trainer
20. 215–220
    7×Steel Plate Helm

    98× Steel Bar7× Solid Grinding Stone

    195210220230from the trainer
21. 220–227
    8×Heavy Mithril Breastplate

    128× Mithril Bar

    210225235245from the trainer
22. 227–232
    6×Dense Sharpening Stone

    6× Dense Stone

    227230232235from the trainer
23. 232–235
    4×Heavy Mithril Breastplate

    64× Mithril Bar

    210225235245from the trainer
24. 235–240
    7×Heavy Mithril Boots

    98× Mithril Bar28× Thick Leather

    215230240250from the trainer
25. 240–242
    3×Big Black Mace

    48× Mithril Bar3× Black Pearl12× Shadowgem3× Solid Grinding Stone6× Thick Leather

    212230242255from the trainer
26. 242–243
    1×Truesilver Breastplate

    12× Mithril Bar24× Truesilver Bar4× Star Ruby4× Black Pearl2× Solid Grinding Stone

    225240250260from the trainer
27. 243–255
    14×Arcanite Skeleton Key

    14× Arcanite Bar14× Dense Grinding Stone

    243250255260from the trainer
28. 255–280
    30×Prefect's WaistguardNEW

    720× Thorium Bar120× Solid Grinding Stone180× Sandpaper180× Sulfuric Acid300× Golden Pearl

    255270280290from the trainer
29. 280–300 · no recipe for this range in our data yet

Making gold while you level

Stones sell themselves. Rough and Coarse Sharpening Stones and Weightstones are the first thing every warrior and rogue wants at the AH. You're making them anyway, so post them in small stacks.

The new mail sets are your mid-level product. Hard Gold and Sterling Silver pieces land right where hunters and shamans are replacing quest greens. Check what's listed before you craft, because the first week will have every smith on the realm leveling through them.

Skeleton keys are a niche, but a steady one. Plenty of people have lockboxes and no rogue friend.

Trainers and recipe vendors

What I'd actually do