Blacksmithing is a primary profession in World of Warcraft: Forever and goes up to skill 300 as in Classic. The Forever Hub data knows 219 recipes, 197 of them new in Forever and 60 from Merchant's Favor. This guide shows the cheapest route the leveling calculator finds with these recipes.
With your own auction house prices, a different start skill, trainer recipes only or without certain recipes, the Blacksmithing leveling calculator works the route out again.
Why Blacksmithing is worth it in Forever
With 219 recipes in our data Blacksmithing is the second-largest crafting profession after Leatherworking. The core are armour sets in five variants that differ only in gem and target class: from skill 45 to 130 the Acolyte's, Crusader's, Guard's, Protector's and Veteran's chain sets – belt, gloves and boots plus the silvered helms, shirts and leggings for 30 favor each without reputation. From 150 to 250 follow the Justicar's, Officer's, Prefect's, Sentinel's and Warder's sets; gauntlets and pauldrons cost 60 favor at Friendly, wristguards, sabatons and waistguards 90 favor at Honored. At 300 the Justice and Glory sets wait, as does the Enriched Thorium armour (120 favor, Honored).
The old Classic epics are all still there – Arcanite Reaper, Lionheart Helm, Titanic Leggings, Hammer of the Titans – but every one of these 22 unchanged recipes now requires the Master Forge, as do all 65 station recipes from skill 285. The Master Forge costs a Golem Heart, five Thorium Bars and two Rugged Leather and is built from 300. The Sharpening Wheel (skill 20) gives the group 34 Strength in place of the Strength of Earth Totem.
Mining and the new bars
Mining remains the partner, but the dependencies go further than in Classic. Heavy Thorium Bars are in 37 recipes and can only be smelted at the Molten Foundry, Mining's tier-3 station. Legionite Bars (17 recipes) come from the Alchemy transmute, Azerothium Bars (ten) from Pitchblende and Coal in Mining from 275. Other professions supply Sulfuric Acid (30 recipes), Sandpaper (25), Pristine Leather (30) and the Malleable Essence of Nature (27), whose source our data does not know. Pyrite, Bauxite and Pitchblende, the scarce Mining materials, are behind acid, sandpaper and Azerothium.
Blacksmithing awards three Legacy points at skill 150, 225 and 300. The 60 favor recipes cost about 3,500 favor in total; the Merchant's Favor guide counts 61, one is missing from the recipe data.
Trainer ranks
Without the next rank the skill stops at the cap. Each rank is taught 25 points before the end of the previous one:
- Apprentice: skill 1–75, from character level 5
- Journeyman: skill 50–150, from character level 10
- Expert: skill 125–225, from character level 20
- Artisan: skill 200–300, from character level 35
The route from 1 to 300
Without prices the calculator sorts by reagents per expected skill-up, trainer recipes first: about 301 crafts for 270 skill points, rounded up – with luck you need fewer.
| Skill | Recipe | Crafts | Colour | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1–10 | no suitable recipes in the data | – | – | – |
| 10–15 | Copper Rod | 6 | orange → green | Trainer |
| 15–20 | no suitable recipes in the data | – | – | – |
| 20–25 | Sharpening Wheel | 6 | orange → green | Trainer |
| 25–35 | no suitable recipes in the data | – | – | – |
| 35–40 | Glowing Copper Boots | 6 | orange → green | Recipe item |
| 40–45 | no suitable recipes in the data | – | – | – |
| 45–50 | Acolyte's Chain Belt | 5 | orange | Merchant's Favor |
| 50–57 | Azure Skyforged Wristguards | 8 | orange → yellow | Recipe item |
| 57–62 | Azure Skyforged Gauntlets | 6 | orange → yellow | Recipe item |
| 62–69 | Azure Skyforged Chainmail | 10 | orange → green | Recipe item |
| 69–75 | Acolyte's Chain Belt | 6 | orange | Merchant's Favor |
| 75–80 | Acolyte's Chain Belt | 5 | orange | Merchant's Favor |
| 80–85 | Guard's Chain Shirt | 6 | orange → green | Recipe item |
| 85–95 | Brass Knuckles | 10 | orange | Recipe item |
| 95–105 | Bronze Dory | 10 | orange | Recipe item |
| 105–140 | Sterling Silver Gauntlet | 36 | orange → yellow | Recipe item |
| 140–144 | Anvil | 4 | orange → yellow | Recipe item |
| 144–150 | Sterling Silver Shoulders | 8 | yellow | Recipe item |
| 150–154 | Justicar's Belt | 4 | orange → yellow | Recipe item |
| 154–160 | Hard Gold Boots | 6 | orange | Recipe item |
| 160–193 | Hard Gold Bracers | 35 | orange → yellow | Recipe item |
| 193–204 | Hard Gold Gauntlet | 12 | orange → yellow | Recipe item |
| 204–219 | Mithril Claws | 16 | orange → yellow | Recipe item |
| 219–225 | Shining Mithril Boots | 7 | orange → yellow | Recipe item |
| 225–250 | Shining Mithril Gauntlet | 29 | orange → yellow | Recipe item |
| 250–255 | Justicar's Gloves | 6 | orange → green | Recipe item |
| 255–270 | Blessed Plate Bracers | 15 | orange | Recipe item |
| 270–279 | Arcanite Blacksmith Hammer | 12 | orange → green | Recipe item |
| 279–285 | Blessed Plate Bracers | 10 | yellow | Recipe item |
| 285–292 | Clutchlord's Grips | 8 | orange → yellow | Recipe item |
| 292–295 | Clutchlord's Support | 3 | orange | Recipe item |
| 295–300 | Clutchlord's Stompers | 6 | orange → green | Recipe item |
Bridge the gaps (1–10, 15–20, 25–35, 40–45) with your trainer's unchanged Classic recipes, which the Forever data does not list one by one.
Shopping list
These are the materials the whole route needs, by amount:
| Material | Amount |
|---|---|
| Thorium Bar | 591 |
| Copper Bar | 466 |
| Gold Bar | 342 |
| Mithril Bar | 301 |
| Silver Bar | 264 |
| Truesilver Bar | 195 |
| Heavy Grinding Stone | 186 |
| Bronze Bar | 184 |
| Rough Grinding Stone | 96 |
| Coarse Grinding Stone | 96 |
Plus 22 more materials in small amounts; the full list with price fields is in the calculator.
New recipes in Forever
197 of 219 recipes are new in Forever. The trainer teaches 3 of them, 60 are sold for Merchant's Favor by the trade factions and 134 come from recipe items. 65 recipes need a camp station: the Master Forge (from skill 285).
For the camp, Blacksmithing makes the Sharpening Wheel (from skill 20), the Anvil (from skill 140) and the Master Forge (from skill 300).
How the calculator works
Colours follow the Classic rule (orange from the learning skill, grey from the trivial skill), the skill-up chance in yellow and green the common community approximation (grey − skill) / (grey − yellow) that Blizzard never confirmed. For every point the calculator picks the recipe with the lowest cost per expected skill-up; the formulas are explained in the calculator under "How it is calculated".
15 recipes have no trivial skill above their learning skill in the data and are left out.
Pitfalls on the route
- Acolyte's Chain Belt (45–50 and 69–80) stays orange unusually long with trivial skill 125, but needs two Pristine Leather and two Strange Dust per craft. Without a skinner nearby the Skyforged pieces made of plain copper (50–70) are the better choice.
- 195 Truesilver Bars. The Shining Mithril Boots and Gauntlets (219–250) cost three to six Truesilver each. Enter a price for Truesilver and the calculator switches to thorium recipes such as the Blessed Plate pieces (from 240) or the Justicar's favor recipes.
- 342 Gold Bars go into the Hard Gold pieces (145–204). Without gold ore, take the Mithril Claws (195–235) or the Justicar's Gauntlet (175, 60 favor) earlier.
- Nothing works from 285 without a Master Forge. Clutchlord's Grips, Support and Stompers are station recipes. Alternatives up to 300: Blessed Plate Helm (275–315), Blessed Plate Chest (280–320) or the Prefect's Waistguard from the trainer (270–290).
15 recipes have no trivial skill: four chain shirts (85), the five chain leggings (100) and chain helms (130) of the sets and the Master Forge.
Sources
Frequently asked questions
How do you level Blacksmithing from 1 to 300 in Forever?
The calculated route has 29 steps with about 301 crafts, from Copper Rod to Clutchlord's Stompers. The leveling calculator adapts it to your prices and recipes.
When do I need the trainer for Blacksmithing?
Before you reach the caps: 75 (Journeyman), 150 (Expert), 225 (Artisan).
What is new for Blacksmithing in Forever?
197 recipes in the data are new, 60 of them for Merchant's Favor; 65 recipes need a camp station. On top come the camp features Sharpening Wheel, Anvil and Master Forge.
