The short recommendation
Pair Blacksmithing with Mining and choose it for a specific armour, weapon or guild-crafter goal. It is one of Classic’s most material-hungry professions and is rarely the cheapest first-character money maker. Keep stone as well as ore: sharpening stones, weightstones and many skill-up recipes need it.
What Blacksmithing actually feels like
Blacksmithing makes mail, plate, weapons, rods, keys and weapon consumables. Its value is concentrated in particular recipes rather than every trainer item. A committed specialist with rare patterns can matter to a guild; a casual Blacksmith who buys every bar at auction often reaches 300 with less gold and little unique output.
Skill 1–300 route
| Skill band | Main materials or targets | Practical route |
|---|---|---|
| 1–75 Apprentice | Copper Bars and Rough Stone | Sharpening stones, basic armour and early rods |
| 75–150 Journeyman | Bronze/Tin, Coarse Stone, Silver | Grinding stones and economical bronze crafts |
| 150–225 Expert | Iron, Steel, Heavy Stone, Mithril | Bracers, grinding stones and Mithril components |
| 225–300 Artisan | Mithril, Thorium, Dense Stone, rare bars | Imperial Plate, Thorium crafts and specialist recipes |
Stay on an inexpensive recipe or reliable node while it remains productive. Move when skill-ups become too slow or the next material tier is genuinely cheaper—not merely because a guide’s number says so.
Training gates and special decisions
- Train each rank before the skill cap; Artisan access requires the high-level trainer path.
- At 200+ skill and level 40, choose Armorsmith or Weaponsmith only after checking the recipes you want.
- Weaponsmith later branches into Axesmith, Hammersmith or Swordsmith; changing course is expensive.
- Dark Iron Bars are smelted at the Black Forge inside Blackrock Depths and require the relevant Mining knowledge.
Materials worth checking before you sell
“Keep” means check its use and current value. It does not mean fill a bank forever; sell materials when funding mounts, spells or bags creates more value for your character.
What 300 skill is for
Armorsmithing
Specialist plate and resistance recipes reward deep pattern investment.
Weaponsmithing
Rare weapon recipes can create meaningful guild demand but are expensive to acquire.
Consumables and utility
Dense Sharpening Stones, Weightstones, rods and keys provide repeatable smaller sales.
Best classes and pairings
Warrior and Paladin have the strongest thematic fit, but wearing plate does not automatically justify the cost. Choose Blacksmithing because you want its recipes or guild role, not because the trainer is nearby.
Common Blacksmithing mistakes
- Dropping Mining and then buying hundreds of bars without a budget.
- Vendoring stone while leveling Mining.
- Choosing a specialisation before identifying the exact recipes it unlocks.
- Assuming crafted levelling armour will always beat dungeon and quest rewards.
- Counting rare-pattern profit without the acquisition cost.