Gold in Forever works much like Classic, with three new pieces: Waylaid Crates and Merchant's Favor, camp objects, and a Professions Legacy tree. During the beta, Blizzard also cut a lot of vendor prices to slow down gold farming. This guide covers what we know works, what we don't know yet, and how not to lose money on day one.
Honest caveat: nobody knows what will sell at launch. SenseOS says so directly, and beta auction house prices (goldcap and others) don't reflect a live economy. We're not quoting any AH prices.
1. Gathering is the safest start
Every crafter who's leveling needs raw materials, and two of the gathering professions can be picked up for free:
- At level 3–4, a starter quest offers a manual (Mining for Dummies, Wild Harvest or Pelt Collecting for Beginners) that teaches the profession and adds +2 skill.
- Scarce materials to hold or sell well: Frilled Lichen, Rosecap, Stranglevine (herbs); Pyrite, Bauxite, Pitchblende (ore); Pristine Leather, Hide and Scale (skins). Source: SenseOS.
- Supply is lower now. There are fewer Poor Copper Veins in starter areas, and each creature can only be skinned once (Oct 1 beta notes).
- Two gathering professions together (Herbalism + Mining or Skinning) is still the simplest way to earn gold.
2. Waylaid Crates and Merchant's Favor
Empty Waylaid Crates drop in the open world and in dungeons, and you can buy them on the AH. Fill one with any one of the bundles it accepts, then hand it in at your faction's trade hub. Alliance hand-ins go to Marcy Baker (Azeroth Commerce Authority, Three Corners in Redridge). Horde hand-ins go to Dokimi (Durotar Supply and Logistics, west of the Crossroads).
| Sealed crate | White | Green |
|---|---|---|
| Apprentice | 5 Favor | 10 Favor |
| Journeyman | 10 Favor | 20 Favor |
| Expert | 15 Favor | 30 Favor |
- Your first crate starts Shipping Label: 50 Favor and 2,000 reputation, one time only.
- Crates that take crafted goods (Fabrics, Ingots, Parts) are the green ones and pay double.
- Examples (wow-professions): Apprentice Ore takes 20 Copper or Tin Ore. Apprentice Herbs takes 20 Peacebloom. Apprentice Textiles takes 40 Linen or 20 Light Leather. Apprentice Parts takes 16 Handfuls of Copper Bolts.
- Favor buys recipes, Profession Certifications (1,000 each, need 300 skill, account-wide title), the Packmule Treat (1,500), tabards (200) and the Pack Kodo mount (6,000, level 60 and Exalted).
- Performance Bonus (Legacy, 3 ranks) gives a 5/10/15% chance to double the Favor from a crate.
- Sealed crates bind on pickup, so fill them on the character who'll spend the Favor.
Is it gold? Not directly. A turn-in pays a little silver, but mostly it's Favor. The gold angle is that you're not buying recipes, and you can sell empty crates and crate materials to other players.
3. What got nerfed (don't build plans on these)
- Crafted wands (common and uncommon) vendor for 1 copper (Oct 15 notes).
- 94 crafted items vendor for less as of the Oct 15/16 build. The Bronze Mace dropped from 11s 19c to 8s 98c (Wowhead datamining, via wowforever.ninja).
- In short, vendor shuffles are mostly dead. If you try one, add up every material cost first.
4. Crafting angles worth testing at launch
These are reasonable bets, not proven earners:
- Healing Potions are First Aid recipes now, so they're cheap for anyone to make. The market could be crowded.
- Mana potions and elixirs (Alchemy), armor kits and mail (Leatherworking, which took mail from Blacksmithing), bags (Tailoring), Goblin Sapper Charges and fireworks (Engineering; fireworks make 5 now), and Bronze Tubes (Zockify notes Alliance quest demand).
- Enchanting as a service in trade chat.
- Camp objects: a Camp Tent (rested XP) or Fish Bowl might find buyers in groups, but camp objects are placed, not sold, so this depends on how players use them.
5. Legacy perks for gold
The Professions Legacy tree includes Bartering (cheaper vendor purchases), Bountiful Harvest (gathering), Performance Bonus (crate Favor), Working Overtime, Master Chef, Luremaster and Dedicated Study. Each character can spend 16 points at launch. Read the tooltips in game, because we're not guessing at exact values.
Common mistakes
- Trusting beta AH prices or old Classic gold guides.
- Crafting to sell to vendors after the Oct 15/16 cuts.
- Turning in crates on an alt that won't spend the Favor.
- Selling scarce mats (Pitchblende, Pristine leathers) in the first hour.
FAQ
What's the fastest gold at launch? Probably two gathering professions, but nobody has real data yet.
Can I buy gold-making recipes with Favor? Recipes are sold for Favor at the trade hubs. Which ones are profitable will only become clear after launch.
Will you update this? Yes, once the real economy settles after Nov 4.
Sources
Images: the header and crate card were made by Systematic with the Systematic wallpaper and brand colours. The Legacy screenshot is © Blizzard Entertainment, from the Blizzard News Deep Dive recap.
This is a fan guide written by Systematic for the community. World of Warcraft © Blizzard Entertainment. We're not affiliated with Blizzard. Everything here comes from the beta and the launch client, and things can change before the Nov 4 launch. If you spot something that's off once the game is live, or you have a better route, post it below!
Edited 1× by Malietho Solin
