Blacksmithing in Forever is still the plate and weapon profession. Two things changed: recipes change colour earlier than in Classic, so each one stops giving skill sooner, and six mail recipes moved to Leatherworking. The beta capped Blacksmithing at 225, so that's as far as our tested route goes.
TL;DR: pair it with Mining. Level on sharpening and grinding stones up to 70, then on Copper and Bronze gear. Choose Armorsmith or Weaponsmith at 200. Above 225, nothing has been tested yet.
The basics in Forever
- Ranks: Blacksmithing uses the same four ranks as Classic Era: Apprentice (75), Journeyman (150), Expert (225) and Artisan (300). The cap is still 300.
- Character level to train: Zockify lists Journeyman at level 10, Expert at 20 and Artisan at 35. SenseOS notes that the client files don't contain level requirements, so these numbers are unconfirmed until launch.
- Slots: you get two primary professions. Cooking, First Aid and Fishing are secondary, so you can learn all three on top.
- Unlearning: open the profession window (K) and click the red X. Your skill and every recipe you know are gone.
Trainers: Expert is taught by Bengus Deepforge in Ironforge or Saru Steelfury in Orgrimmar.
Leveling path by skill range
| Skill | Craft |
|---|---|
| 1–25 | Rough Sharpening Stone / Rough Weightstone |
| 25–50 | Rough Grinding Stone |
| 50–70 | Coarse Sharpening Stone |
| 70–75 | Runed Copper Gauntlets |
| 75–80 | Runed Copper Belt |
| 80–95 | Rough Bronze Leggings |
| 95–125 | Patterned Bronze Bracers |
| 125–150 | Bronze Warhammer |
| 150–165 | Green Iron Bracers |
| 165–185 | Golden Scale Bracers |
| 185–200 | Heavy Mithril Gauntlet |
| 200–210 | Steel Plate Helm |
| 210–225 | Mithril Spurs (rare drop plans), or keep making Steel Plate Helms |
| 225–300 | ⚠️ Not yet routed. The beta stopped Blacksmithing at 225 |
Because recipe colours change earlier, it's normal for a recipe to turn green sooner than an old Classic guide says. Move to the next recipe when it does.
Specializations
According to Zockify, specs open at skill 200 and level 40. You choose Armorsmith or Weaponsmith, and a Weaponsmith later picks Axe, Sword or Hammer. Switching means unlearning. The quest steps haven't been confirmed for Forever.
Best class & profession pairings
- Blacksmithing + Mining is the default pairing, because bars are most of your cost.
- Warriors and Paladins can wear their own plate and use their own weapons and stones.
- Rogues and Hunters use sharpening stones too. Just don't level Blacksmithing for mail anymore, because mail is mostly Leatherworking's now.
- The October 1 beta notes made some Blacksmithing dungeon-drop recipes available, so tanks and DPS who run dungeons will pick up plans as they go.
Key recipes & rewards
- Sharpening stones and weightstones are steady consumables at every tier.
- Steel Plate Helm and the Mithril gear are your 200+ pre-raid pieces.
- Sharpening Wheel: your first camp object, at skill 20. It's a Strength buff that doesn't stack with the class buff it copies. Blizzard's earlier recap called it attack power.
- Smelting is a Mining skill. New in the data are Smelt Azerothium (275) and Smelt Heavy Thorium (300).
Your camp objects
Forever adds Camping. A cook places a Basic Campfire, and each player can add one profession object to it. A camp holds 3 objects, and the objects share a 1-hour cooldown. Sit at the camp for 1 minute and you become rested and pick up the buffs. Camp buffs don't stack with the class buffs they copy. You get the first object at skill 20. The more advanced objects come from Blueprints that drop from dungeon bosses.
Blacksmithing objects: Sharpening Wheel (first, at skill 20), Anvil, Master Forge.
Legacy points
Per SenseOS, a crafting profession gives 1 Legacy point each at 150, 225 and 300, so 3 in total. Each character can spend 16 points at launch. The Professions tree has Working Overtime, Bountiful Harvest, Bartering, Performance Bonus, Master Chef, Luremaster and Dedicated Study. Hitting 300 also opens up the profession's Certification: 1,000 Merchant's Favor for an account-wide title.
Gold tips
- Vendor shuffles were cut. The Oct 15/16 build lowered the vendor price of 94 crafted items. The Bronze Mace dropped from 11s 19c to 8s 98c (Wowhead datamining, reported by wowforever.ninja). Do the maths before you craft to vendor.
- Waylaid Crate: Ingots takes bars (Copper, Tin, Bronze) for Merchant's Favor. If bars are cheap, filling crates can beat selling them.
- Stones and weightstones sell all the time. Gear only sells if it's actually useful at that level.
Common mistakes
- Following an old Classic guide's colour ranges. In Forever they come earlier.
- Expecting to make mail for Shamans and Hunters. A lot of that is Leatherworking's now.
- Leveling past 225 blind. We'll update once launch data is in.
FAQ
Armorsmith or Weaponsmith? Pick the recipes you'll actually wear or use. Forever-specific spec rewards haven't been confirmed yet.
Do I need Mining? It's not required, but it saves a lot of gold.
Sources
Images: the header and milestone card were made by Systematic with the Systematic wallpaper and brand colours. The third image is a camping screenshot © Blizzard Entertainment, from Blizzard News.
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!
