WoW Forever Gold Farming Guide: Best Ways to Make Gold

Best ways to make gold in WoW Forever

There's no single fastest way to make gold in WoW Forever. The right one depends on how much gold you can put up front and whether you want coins tonight or a bigger return in a few weeks. This table is a decision aid, not a ranking that fits every player.

Method	Starting gold	Effort	Best phase
Gathering professions	Almost none	Active, travel-heavy	From level 5 onward
Mob farming	None	Active	While leveling and at 60
Fishing	A pole and lures	Low attention	Any time
Crafting professions	Materials	Research-heavy	Once prices settle
Questing at level 60	None	Active	The first days at 60
Dungeons	None	Group play	52–60 dungeons
Alt farming	Leveling time	Medium	After your main is set
Auction House flipping	Large	Market watching	Once you have spare capital
Investing	Large	Patience	Weeks before new content

A sensible order is raw farming or gathering first, then crafting, then flipping and investing once you have gold you can afford to tie up. The sections below follow that order.

Plan your first gold targets

Target	Cost	Source
Apprentice Riding, level 40	100 gold training; first mount reportedly included	Developer interview as reported by Dving; some guides, such as Warcraft Tavern's, also list a 20 gold mount. See our mounts and riding guide
Journeyman Riding, level 60	1,000 gold training; first mount reportedly included	Same; Method and Warcraft Tavern list the epic mount at 200 gold
Class training, levels 1–60	206–207 gold for every class	Blizzard beta development notes, updated November 2
Dual spec, level 40	Not announced	Our dual spec guide
Gift of Galloping (+10% mounted speed, 15 days)	150 gold at the Black Market	Gamewave, September 30 (pre-launch)

Our read: keep the riding money aside while you level. Spending every coin on materials or flips at 38 is how players end up walking at 40.

Gathering professions for gold

Gathering is the cleanest way to start a WoW Forever gold farm. Training is cheap, the nodes are free, and every new crafter on your ruleset needs the output. Blizzard's New Player's Starter Guide confirms you get two primary professions, so a gatherer can take two of these three:

• Herbalism feeds Alchemy, the busiest consumable market.
• Mining feeds Blacksmithing and Engineering, and smelted bars fill Ingots crates.
• Skinning feeds Leatherworking and costs no extra travel while you quest.

The Legacy perk Bountiful Harvest raises Scarce materials from all three by 20% per rank, doubling them at rank 5 (our Legacy guide).

Herbalism

The high-value herbs sit at the top of the skill range. Warcraft Wiki lists Black Lotus at Herbalism 300 (Winterspring, Eastern Plaguelands, Burning Steppes, Silithus and outside the Dire Maul portals), Plaguebloom at 285 (Eastern and Western Plaguelands, Felwood) and Gromsblood at 250 (mostly Felwood, plus Blasted Lands, Desolace and Dire Maul East).

Black Lotus is the one everyone fights over, and Forever changes its math. Gamewave reported on September 30 that Mister Graphed, a Black Market vendor in the Riverglades, sells it for 50 gold with no quantity limit. Our read: a picked Black Lotus rarely sells far above what that vendor charges, so treat 50 gold as its ceiling and spend your route time on Plaguebloom and Gromsblood, which see less competition. Tauren herbalists should also know that Cultivation now needs a character level of at least the herb's skill divided by 5 (Kaivax, September 24).

Mining

Ore demand peaks early, when every Blacksmith and Engineer is racing up the skill ladder at the same time. Don't skip the cheap tiers. Copper, Iron, Mithril and Thorium keep selling long after you outlevel them, because every new crafter has to pass through each tier. Blizzard also cut the number of Poor Copper Vein nodes in the starting areas on October 1 (Kaivax), so early copper is scarcer than it was in Classic Era. Our mining guide maps every ore by skill and zone.

Skinning

Skinning is the low-maintenance pick. There's no route to plan and no rare node to chase, because you skin what you were already killing for experience. That makes leather close to pure bonus income while you level. Since October 1, a creature can be skinned only once before it disappears (Kaivax), so groups should agree on who skins.

Mob farming in WoW Forever

Mob farming is the simplest gold method of all. The trick is choosing targets with useful loot tables, and humanoids are usually the best, because they tend to carry:

• Coin
• Cloth
• Uncommon (green) gear
• Recipes
• Consumables
• Rare Bind on Equip items

Loot everything, vendor the gray items and list the rest. Beasts give you leather to skin and little else, so a humanoid camp beats a wolf field for raw gold.

Dire Maul East farming

Dire Maul East, the Warpwood Quarter, is an endgame farm with a wide loot table. Its demons are the draw: Warcraft Wiki lists the Warpwood Quarter as a Felcloth source, because the cloth drops from demons rather than humanoids, and names the dungeon's eastern wing among the best places for Demonic Runes. Gromsblood also grows inside (Warcraft Wiki). Player reports on drop rates vary widely, so don't farm it for one item. Count the whole clear: cloth, runes, herbs, coin and the odd recipe.

Fishing for gold

Fishing is slower than active farming, but it needs little attention, which makes it a good fit for time you'd otherwise spend idle. Fish feed Cooking, and some feed Alchemy. Warcraft Wiki says Stonescale Eels, best fished in Azshara's deep water from around skill 180 with a lure, go into Stonescale Oil for high-level raid potions.

Your income is capped by your casts per hour, so treat fishing as steady side money, not your main source. Forever adds two helpers: the Legacy perk Luremaster gives up to a 50% chance of an extra fish while a lure is active (Warcraft Tavern), and Fishing camp objects add uncommon and rare fish for an hour (our Legacy and camping guides).

Crafting professions for gold

Crafting turns cheap inputs into finished goods, and it scales further than gathering once you know what sells. Every crafting profession can earn, but these six carry the bigger markets: Alchemy, Blacksmithing, Engineering, Enchanting, Leatherworking and Tailoring. Our professions guide compares them and the 600-plus new recipes in depth.

Run one check before every craft:

Profit = sale price − materials at market value − Auction House cut and deposit

Materials you gathered yourself still have a price. If your herbs would sell for 50 gold and the potion they make sells for 40, crafting lost you 10 gold. Also remember that vendoring crafts is weaker in Forever: Blizzard lowered the vendor sell price of many profession-made items on October 16 (Kaivax).

Alchemy

Alchemy is arguably the strongest gold profession because its products get used up. Nobody keeps a potion forever, so potions, elixirs, protection potions and transmutes sell again every raid night. One market shrank, though: Forever moved standard Healing Potions to First Aid, so any character can brew its own, and Alchemists make the Discolored line instead (Warcraft Tavern; Icy Veins). Count on selling elixirs, flasks and protection potions, not basic heals. One Classic staple to watch is Greater Fire Protection Potion: Warcraft Wiki lists it at Alchemy 290, made from Elemental Fire, Dreamfoil and a Crystal Vial, and it absorbs incoming fire damage. Price the three reagents, compare them with the listed potion after fees, and craft only if the margin is still there. Our alchemy guide has the full recipe list and leveling route. Forever's raids open on December 9, and our raids guide covers the flasks they call for.

Enchanting

Enchanting doesn't mass-list the way potions do. Much of the money comes from rare formulas and from enchanting other players' gear for a tip. Enchant Chest - Greater Stats, which adds 4 to all stats and needs Enchanting 300 (Warcraft Wiki), is the classic example. Learn a sought-after formula early, while few players on your ruleset have it, and you can advertise it in Trade chat again and again. The old shortcut of crafting wands for vendors no longer pays, though. Kaivax's October 8 beta notes repriced them: a Lesser Magic Wand sells for 1 silver 10 copper, and even the Greater Eternal Wand, the top of the line, sells for just 25 silver.

Questing at level 60 for gold

Quests turn into a gold source once you hit the cap. Since patch 1.10 of the original game, the experience a quest would have given a max-level character pays out as extra money, and Warcraft Wiki puts the rate at 6 copper per XP point. Our math: a quest worth 10,000 XP pays about 6 gold on top of its normal reward. Forever's beta stopped at level 30, so confirm the payout on your first hand-in at 60. When you get there:

• Finish the high-level zone quests you skipped while leveling.
• Pick up dungeon quests for your next runs.
• Complete the chains you abandoned halfway.
• Sell or vendor rewards you won't wear.

This isn't an endless income, but it can fund your first crafting batch or your first flips.

Dungeons for gold

Running dungeons with friends pays even when you don't need the gear. It works like mob farming with a group, and a full clear of a level 52–60 dungeon such as Blackrock Depths, Dire Maul or Stratholme drops coin, cloth, greens, Bind on Equip items, recipes and crafting materials. Sell what nobody needs and split the gold, or roll on the expensive Bind on Equip drops. It isn't the top gold per hour, but it feels like playing rather than farming. Our new dungeons guide lists the nine dungeons that are new in Forever.

Alt farming in WoW Forever

The best raid professions and the best gold professions often aren't the same. A raider may want Alchemy and Engineering on their main, which leaves no room for Herbalism or Mining. A second character fixes that. Give the alt one of these pairs:

• Herbalism and Mining
• Mining and Skinning
• Herbalism and Skinning

Mages are the long-standing Classic choice for a farming alt, because they can pull and kill mob packs together. Wowhead's Classic guide on Mage AoE leveling and farming covers the method, and our Mage guide lists what Forever changed for the class. Leveling the alt takes time. Once it's done, the alt is a standing gatherer, and you never drop and relearn professions on your main. The Legacy guide's gatherer/crafter build suits it.

Example: a Warrior raider keeps Mining and Blacksmithing on the main. Their Mage alt runs Herbalism and Skinning, sends herbs to the main's guild Alchemist, and lists leather on the Auction House on raid nights.

Auction House flipping

A flip is a purchase below an item's usual price, relisted soon after for more. Your margin depends on the market, so watch an item for a few days before you commit gold. Warcraft Wiki puts the Auction House cut at 5% of the winning bid at your faction Auction House and 15% at the neutral goblin houses in Booty Bay, Gadgetzan and Everlook, with a deposit based on the item's vendor sell price and the listing length. Those are Classic rules; Blizzard hasn't published Forever-specific auction fees, so read the deposit line before you post. Forever's Auction House gained an equippable-level column on October 16 (Kaivax).

Buy when supply is high and demand is low, such as late nights and quiet weekdays. Sell into demand:

• Raid nights
• New content days, such as the December 9 raid opening
• Busy PvP weekends
• Profession leveling rushes

Good flip targets are items whose prices swing: Staff of Jordan (a Bind on Equip epic world drop, per Warcraft Wiki), rare pets, rare recipes, Bind on Equip epics and cosmetic items. A seller who needs gold right away will sometimes list one far below its usual price. Flipping needs capital, and a bad read can lose most of it, so start with small amounts.

Blizzard's Temporary Economy Hold is worth knowing about if you move a lot of gold. It restricts trade, mail, guild banks and the Auction House on accounts suspected of real-money trading. Kaivax wrote that "if you are just playing the game normally, it is unlikely you will ever see this restriction applied to your account," and a hold that clears leaves no permanent strike (Blizzard forums).

Investing in WoW Forever

This is flipping's slow cousin. Instead of buying today to sell tomorrow, you buy something you expect to be worth more weeks later. Two forces drive it:

• Inflation: a new server starts with almost no gold, and every quest reward, mob drop and vendor sale adds more over time.
• Future demand: materials for content that hasn't opened yet, such as the December 9 raids, rise as raiders prepare.

Good candidates are materials with limited supply, reagents raiders will need, rare recipes, and useful items listed near their vendor price. Our read: don't stockpile Black Lotus or Arcane Crystal for a price spike, because the Black Market's 50-gold listing limits how high either can go.

BRD pickpocket farming for Rogues

Rogues have a gold farm other classes can't copy. Pick Pocket works from Stealth, and Warcraft Wiki notes that humanoids typically have pockets while beasts don't. Blackrock Depths, a level 52–60 dungeon full of humanoid packs, lets a Rogue sneak from group to group and pick each one clean without a fight. It turns class utility into coins and items. It isn't a reason to roll a Rogue, but if you already play one, it's another tool. Our Rogue guide covers the class in Forever.

Waylaid Crates: a gold method only Forever has

Waylaid Crates are Forever's own use for spare materials. They drop from ordinary world mobs from level 10 and ask for specific gathered or crafted goods. Fill one and deliver it at the Azeroth Commerce Authority camp (Alliance) or the Durotar Supply and Logistics camp (Horde) for Merchant's Favor, which buys profession recipes, titles and the Pack Kodo mount. Warcraft Wiki's Merchant's Favor page describes the currency as "worth a considerable amount of gold."

Before you list your whole bag, ask whether a recipe or more Favor from those vendors would serve you better. A recipe that unlocks a better craft may beat the quick sale. Our Merchant's Favor guide has the crate payouts and vendor lists, and the WoW Forever hub collects the rest of our coverage.

Want a hand with this?

If you would rather not grind this part yourself, WoW Forever profession services are listed on FullBoosts. Read the publisher's rules before you buy any service from anyone, FullBoosts included — a marketplace listing isn't publisher permission.

FAQ

What is the fastest way to make gold in WoW Forever? In the first weeks, gathering and mob farming, because they need almost no starting gold. Once you have capital and price knowledge, crafting for profit and flipping on the Auction House can earn far more.

Which professions make the most gold in WoW Forever? Alchemy on the crafting side, because potions and elixirs get used up. For gathering, Herbalism, Mining and Skinning all sell well; pair one with the crafting profession it feeds.

Is fishing worth it for gold in WoW Forever? It is, as low-effort side income. It rarely beats active farming, but you can fish while doing something else, and Forever's Luremaster perk and Fishing camp objects add extra and rarer fish.

Does First Aid make money in WoW Forever? Not through the old vendor trick. Blizzard cut vendor prices for many crafted items on October 16, so check a bandage's sell price before you craft. First Aid now also makes Healing Potions (Warcraft Tavern; WoW Handbook), though every character can learn it, so the market for basic heals is thin.

Is Enchanting a good gold profession in WoW Forever? Yes, mostly through rare formulas. Disenchanting can pay, but a sought-after enchant such as +4 to all stats on chest lets you charge fees or take tips again and again. Crafted wands sell to vendors for a few silver at most since the October 8 beta notes, so they're no longer a vendor farm.

Does Auction House flipping pay off in WoW Forever? Often, if you know your prices. Count the cut (5% at your faction Auction House, 15% at a neutral one), the deposit, how fast the item sells, and how long your gold sits in it.

Is a gold farming alt worth leveling in WoW Forever? Yes, when your main uses both profession slots for crafting. The alt covers Herbalism, Mining or Skinning, and your main keeps its raid setup.

What are good investments in WoW Forever? Limited-supply materials, reagents for the December 9 raids, rare recipes and useful items listed near vendor value. Skip Black Lotus and Arcane Crystal, which a Black Market vendor in the Riverglades sold at a fixed 50 gold in the beta.

Related guides

• WoW Forever professions guide
• WoW Forever alchemy guide
• WoW Forever mining guide
• Merchant's Favor guide
• Mounts and riding guide
• Legacy system guide
• Riverglades guide
• Raids guide