How To Make Gold In World of Warcraft

Before we get into all the nitty gritty details of making you a ton of gold in Azeroth, it would probably be a good idea if we discussed what kind of economy exists here. You see, the principles of a Free Market Economy are in existence, though there are some limits in place to make sure that people don't go stabbing each other in the back and taking their money.

The first limitation of the economy is that while you might beg, barter or trade your goods, most often, you will use the fairly easy to access Auction House to get the job done for you. It's easy, it's convenient, gives you up to 24-48 hours of time, and charges a fairly low fee for auctions (boy could I use a piece of that action). On the flip-side, Bind-on-Pickup (BOP), Bind-on-Account (BOA), and Soulbound items cannot be sold on the Auction House or traded openly.

Of course, there are plenty of other things you can do as well. Everything from being a mercenary and running people through instances, street vending in trade chat for things people need or just grinding away are all decent ways to make some gold.

The biggest advantage you will have besides the knowledge of the game is an imagination. Your imagination and sheer brainpower are your most powerful assets in the hunt for shiny things. Keep that in mind, you will need it.

Mount recipes and items can be worth quite a bit of money. Components to make a Chopper or Mechanohog for instance are easily mined, skinned, or obtained and with a decent engineer at your disposal, you can make a few hundred to a few thousand gold a pop. Quite a bit more if you happen to have an alchemist with the recipe for Vial of the Sands (obtained through Archaeology).

Deathwing really did a number on this place. Everywhere you look is either broken, on fire, plagued by cultists, or just plain rebuilding. But big changes mean big opportunities to those with the right kinds of skills...

1. Looking for Obsidium? The Regrowth area (phased after the quests are complete) in Hyjal is the place you want to be. It's great for both mining and herbalism. Beware various fiery fiends that have recently taken up residence.

2. Uldum is your new best friend. Besides being an awesome zone in it's own right, it's the best place to run for elementium, pyrite, and whiptail. Crockalisks make great targets for skinners as well.

3. Some herbs can only be gathered in certain zones, picking up an addon like gatherer will help you out immensely.

4. Truegold is a powerhouse moneymaker because you need it for all types of upper level armor and weapons crafting. Trick is the materials. Set yourself up with an alchemist who can transmute living elements into volatile air (in Uldum) and then turn around and transmute those materials into Truegold and you'll have yourself a nice little gold factory. Requires: 1 miner, 1 herbalist, 1 alchemist. All 525 level.

5. Guild benefits are not to be dismissed lightly, even if you like the loneliness of being unguilded, you can't deny the advantages of joining a high level guild.

6. Archeology is the WoW equivalent of long-haul trucking. That being said, there are some rare items you can get that are quite lovely. Mounts, pets, odd items, and even some super high level weapons.

7. No matter how much you try to avoid Vash'jir, you're going to end up there anyways. Try to enjoy the quests while you run it. This counts especially for herbalists as you're going to need Ashzaras Veil to level to 525. There is a node in Hyjal, but nowhere near as much as you're going to need.

8. Like skinning? Like Tol Barad? Check out the crockalisks in the swamp next to the center in the PvP area. Everybody has to kill them for the daily and many players camp the area specifically for the leftovers.

9. Worried about getting your gear level up? Don't be. you can go a very long way by getting exalted rep with each faction. Every faction in the expansion offers some 359 epics at exalted, though they do differ in which classes they're for. Also of note is Tol Barad, where tokens can buy you some very spiffy gear and trinkets. With the recent 4.2 patch, 359 gear can also be purchased with Justice Points (JP).

10. High level guild feasts are BOP. But that doesn't stop many guilds from stocking up on the mats for them. Get your fishing up, there's no excuse now that you can get skill ups from the daily quest.

To be continued...

Northrend used to be seen as a barren frozen wasteland inhabited by monsters, spiders, and hapless treasure hunters. Don't worry, it still is for the most part, but the Northrend of today is diverse in temperature, habitation, and exploitation...

1. Gold is in decent quantities for the expansion, doing quests won't make you really rich, but it will pay the bills and then some. All the cool stuff from Outland is back in this expansion, which brings us to...

2. Daily quests are back with a vengeance, including cooking and PvP dailies, almost all of which pay out a pretty decent sum of gold, XP, and more.

3. The best fishing pole in the game currently can be had for the player with enough spare time to get exalted with the Kalu'ak.

4. Sholazar Basin is a gold mine for any gathering professional. Beware though, competition is pretty fierce and faction combat can break out at any time, especially around Nesingwary Base Camp.

5. One of the best places to get Chilled Meat (used extensively in cooking dailies) is in Howling Fjord at [79,74] right on the water. Look for the seals and start whacking away and you'll have multiple stacks in minutes.

Outland is as beautiful as it is diverse. Indeed, Outland is the major hub of the game at this point for higher up players and is one of the best places to be earning money right now. No, it's not the only place, but you can make some serious gold here. Just be aware that everyone else with the expansion is probably thinking the same thing you are...

1. Making gold in Outland is easy. Especially after you stop running away from the scary monsters and your pants dry.

2. If you have the tenacity to get your professions skilled up to 375, you will discover some professions have nifty specializations!

3. No matter how many rocks you get, your mining only goes up by one point per every qualifying rock node you mine.

4. The price of an arcanite bar may have dropped, but the transmute has no cooldown now! (Which means you can still make some serious gold with this when the timing is right).

5. Motes are easy to get if you know where to look. Life in Zangarmarsh, Mana in Netherstorm, Fire in Shadowmoon, and Shadow, Earth, & Air in Nagrand. Otherwise just look for corresponding elementals in Outland.

6. Flying mounts are really fun and necessary for making more money because of areas you can get access to as well as safety and efficiency that a flying mount can provide to a gathering operation.

7. Engineers have gotten a few nice upgrades since the expansion came out. Mana and health injectors sell great, mote extractors are really useful, and they even get specialized mounts that can be built.

8. If you are level 80, doing Outland Loremaster achievements are their own reward. You can make hundreds of gold doing quests that are much easier than they previously were.