World of Warcraft: Forever launches on November 4, and Blacksmithing comes with about 200 new recipes, rare plate and mail for every role and a camp forge. The leveling changed in one simple way: almost every recipe that turned grey between 155 and 330 in Classic now does so 25 points earlier, so each metal is needed 25 points sooner. This WoW Forever blacksmithing leveling guide is the cheapest 1-300 route we could build from the beta client’s skill-up data. It reaches 225 with about 70 Copper, 320 Bronze, 225 Iron and 340 Mithril Bars, no Steel and trainer recipes only.
How solid this is: every skill threshold on the route comes from the beta client’s game data (build 1.60.1.70374, October 13) and matches SeeMeta’s Forever Blacksmithing table. Skill 1 to 225 can be tested in the beta, and WoW-Professions’ beta-tested route confirms the learn levels for half of our steps; the others are our estimates from a rule that fits every tested recipe, each with a tested fallback. Skill 225 to 300 is untested everywhere, because Artisan needs character level 35 and the beta stops at 30. Craft counts are our estimates from Classic’s skill-up formula.
Quick Answer: Blacksmithing 1-300 in WoW Forever
- Route to 225: Rough Sharpening Stones to 25 (plus one Sharpening Wheel at 20), Rough Grinding Stones to 50, Coarse Grinding Stones to 70, Copper Chain Belts to 80, Rough Bronze Leggings to 95, Patterned Bronze Bracers to 140 (with Heavy Weightstones from 100 to 105), Green Iron Bracers to 175, Solid Sharpening Stones to 182, Heavy Mithril Gauntlets to 208, Mithril Coifs to 225.
- Bars to 225: 70 Copper, 317 Bronze, 225 Iron and 338 Mithril Bars, plus about 280 stones and 214 Mageweave Cloth. That is about 950 ore. From 225 to 300, about 910 Thorium Bars on paper.
- Cost, our estimate: under 1 gold of vendor goods to 225 (38 Green Dye) plus 55 silver for the first three ranks. The bars are the real cost: even at vendor sell prices they are worth about 20 gold, and the auction house will charge several times that in launch week.
- Gates: Journeyman at skill 50 and level 10, Expert at 125 and level 20 (Ironforge or Orgrimmar only), Artisan at 200 and level 35 (Booty Bay only, both factions).
- The catch: after 235 every affordable skill-up needs plans whose Forever source nobody has found yet, and past 290 the only plans with a known source are dungeon drops in Blackrock Depths and Stratholme.
Do Blacksmithing Recipes Go Grey Earlier in WoW Forever?
Yes, by 25 points for almost everything you level with. We compared the 244 original Blacksmithing recipes that exist in both the Forever beta client and the Classic Era client (build 1.15.9): 185 go grey earlier in Forever, 175 of them by 20 to 45 points, and 169 by exactly 25. WoW-Professions’ note that most recipes turn grey 25 points earlier holds.
| Grey in Classic at | Recipes | How much earlier in Forever | Examples (Classic grey, Forever grey) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 90 or lower | 8 | 0, except two stones by 25 | Rough Sharpening Stone 55, 55; Coarse Sharpening Stone 80, 55 |
| 95 to 150 | 23 | 0 to 30, about half by 25 | Copper Chain Belt 115, 110; Heavy Grinding Stone 150, 125 |
| 155 to 200 | 28 | 25 for 25 of them | Patterned Bronze Bracers 180, 155; Bronze Warhammer 185, 185 |
| 205 to 260 | 58 | All 25 | Green Iron Bracers 215, 190; Steel Plate Helm 255, 230 |
| 265 to 330 | 56 | All 25 | Mithril Coif 270, 245; Thorium Bracers 295, 270 |
| 335 and higher | 71 | 48 unchanged, 17 by 25 | Lionheart Helm 340, 340; Imperial Plate Boots 335, 310 |
The yellow threshold moved by the same amount for all 244 recipes, and 137 of the 144 plans in both clients dropped their skill requirement by exactly the grey shift. Trainer learn levels aren’t in the client, but every recipe WoW-Professions’ testers learned fits that rule: Coarse Grinding Stone at 50 (Classic 75), Rough Bronze Leggings at 80 (105), Patterned Bronze Bracers at 95 (120), Heavy Grinding Stone at 100 (125), Solid Grinding Stone at 175 (200). We use it for the steps nobody has tested. One trap if you check this yourself: the Classic Era client also holds Season of Discovery recipes under the same names (Golden Scale Gauntlets, for example) with unshifted thresholds, so compare by recipe ID, not by name.
What it means for your bars: the Mithril recipes now run from about 175 to 225 instead of 200 to 250, so Expert ends in Mithril, and Artisan needs Thorium for 75 points instead of 50. We ran a standard Classic route through Classic’s thresholds with the same formula:
| Bars, 1-300 | Standard Classic route | Our Forever route |
|---|---|---|
| Copper Bar | 380 | 70 |
| Bronze Bar | 220 | 317 |
| Iron and Steel Bar | 325 (125 of them Steel) | 225 (no Steel) |
| Mithril Bar | 340 (250 of them after 225) | 338 (all before 225) |
| Thorium Bar | 762 | 914 (225-300, on plans of unknown source) |
| Silver and Gold Bar | 10 | 0 |
Copper drops because Forever’s Coarse Grinding Stones arrive at 50 instead of 75 and cover the stretch Classic filled with copper gear. Thorium rises about 20% because Thorium recipes take over at 235 instead of 260.
WoW Forever Blacksmithing Trainers and Rank Requirements
WoW Forever has Apprentice and Journeyman blacksmithing trainers in every capital except Darnassus, but Expert is only taught by Bengus Deepforge in Ironforge and Saru Steelfury in Orgrimmar, and Artisan only by Brikk Keencraft in Booty Bay, for both factions, according to Zockify’s beta trainer data. Rank gates are from Icy Veins’ beta table.
| Rank | Skill cap | Requirement | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apprentice | 75 | Character level 5 (Icy Veins; WoW-Professions saw no level check in the beta) | 10 copper |
| Journeyman | 150 | Skill 50, level 10 | 5 silver |
| Expert | 225 | Skill 125, level 20 | 50 silver (WoW-Professions) |
| Artisan | 300 | Skill 200, level 35 | 4 gold 50 silver |
The other three costs are wow.gg’s Forever values for Alchemy; we expect Blacksmithing to match. Reaching 150, 225 and 300 each earns one account-wide point for the WoW Forever Legacy System, whose Working Overtime perk raises skill-up chances. Buy a Blacksmith Hammer from the supply vendor next to your trainer; most recipes need it.
| # | Where | Trainers (rank, coordinates) | Faction |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stormwind, Dwarven District | Dane Lindgren (Apprentice, 64.1, 37.0), Therum Deepforge (Journeyman, 63.7, 37.0) | Alliance |
| 2 | Ironforge, the Great Forge | Groum Stonebeard (Apprentice, 52.3, 41.9), Rotgath Stonebeard (Journeyman, 52.4, 42.6), Bengus Deepforge (Expert, 52.6, 41.5) | Alliance |
| 3 | Darkshire, Duskwood | Clarise Gnarltree (Journeyman, 74.0, 48.6) | Alliance |
| 4 | Dalaran, Alterac Mountains | Alard Schmied (Apprentice and Journeyman, 19.6, 63.2) | Alliance |
| 5 | Undercity, War Quarter | Basil Frye (Apprentice, 60.2, 29.1), James Van Brunt (Journeyman, 61.3, 30.6) | Horde |
| 6 | Bandarion Keep, Tirisfal Glades | Angus Hammerhand (Apprentice and Journeyman, 21.2, 45.8) | Horde |
| 7 | Booty Bay, Stranglethorn | Brikk Keencraft (Artisan, 29.0, 75.6) | Both |
| 8 | Orgrimmar, Valley of Honor | Ug’thok (Apprentice, 80.8, 23.7), Snarl (Journeyman, 79.6, 23.3), Saru Steelfury (Expert, 82.4, 23.0) | Horde |
| 9 | Thunder Bluff | Thrag Stonehoof (Apprentice, 39.4, 56.7), Karn Stonehoof (Journeyman, 39.4, 55.1) | Horde |
| 10 | Crossroads, the Barrens | Traugh (Journeyman, 51.3, 28.9) | Horde |
| Dots | Apprentice only | Alliance: Smith Argus, Goldshire (41.7, 65.5); Tognus Flintfire, Kharanos (45.3, 51.9); Delfrum Flintbeard, Auberdine (38.2, 40.9); Alphonse Dumas, Riverglades (64.4, 82.0). Horde: Dwukk, Razor Hill (52.0, 40.7); Guillaume Sorouy, The Sepulcher (43.2, 41.1); Gur’dok, Riverglades (60.0, 46.2) | Both |
WoW Forever Blacksmithing Leveling Route 1-225
The cheapest way to level Blacksmithing from 1 to 225 in WoW Forever uses stones wherever Forever’s earlier thresholds allow it and spends bars only on the cheapest recipe of each metal. Until a recipe turns yellow, every craft is a point; at grey, it gives none.
| Skill | Recipe (yellow / grey) | Crafts | Materials | Recipe from |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1-25 | Rough Sharpening Stone (15 / 55), one Sharpening Wheel at 20 (20 / 25) | 24 + 1 | 26 Rough Stone, 1 Copper Bar | Known with Blacksmithing; Wheel from the trainer at 20 |
| 25-50 | Rough Grinding Stone (45 / 85) | 25 | 51 Rough Stone | Trainer, learned at 25 in the beta |
| 50-70 | Coarse Grinding Stone (50 / 75) | 38 | 77 Coarse Stone | Trainer, learned at 50 in the beta |
| 70-80 | Copper Chain Belt (70 / 110) | 11 | 69 Copper Bar | Trainer, about 30 (our estimate; 35 in Classic) |
| 80-95 | Rough Bronze Leggings (120 / 150) | 15 | 90 Bronze Bar | Trainer, learned at 80 in the beta |
| 95-100 | Patterned Bronze Bracers (125 / 155) | 5 | 25 Bronze Bar, 10 Coarse Grinding Stone | Trainer, learned at 95 in the beta |
| 100-105 | Heavy Weightstone (100 / 115) | 6 | 6 Heavy Stone | Trainer, about 100 (our estimate); Heavy Grinding Stone works too |
| 105-140 | Patterned Bronze Bracers (125 / 155) | 40 | 202 Bronze Bar, 81 Coarse Grinding Stone | Trainer, learned at 95 in the beta |
| 140-175 | Green Iron Bracers (165 / 190) | 37 | 225 Iron Bar, 38 Green Dye | Trainer, about 140 (our estimate); tested by 165 |
| 175-182 | Solid Sharpening Stone (175 / 185) | 11 | 11 Solid Stone | Trainer, about 175 (our estimate); Solid Grinding Stone tested at 175 |
| 182-208 | Heavy Mithril Gauntlet (200 / 220) | 28 | 168 Mithril Bar, 112 Mageweave Cloth | Trainer, about 175 (our estimate) |
| 208-225 | Mithril Coif (225 / 245) | 17 | 170 Mithril Bar, 102 Mageweave Cloth | Trainer, about 195 (our estimate) |
Five notes on the route:
- Make about 90 Coarse Grinding Stones in total. The 38 you make from 50 to 70 give points; the Patterned Bronze Bracers need about 90, so make the rest on the spot (about 106 more Coarse Stone).
- Train Expert at 125. Journeyman stops at 150, and Expert is only in Ironforge and Orgrimmar. Whether Journeyman trainers teach the recipes Forever moved below 150, such as Green Iron Bracers, is untested.
- If a trainer won’t teach an estimated recipe yet, use WoW-Professions’ tested step for that range: Bronze Warhammers (8 Bronze Bars, a Strong Flux and a Medium Leather each) from 140 until Green Iron Bracers appear, Solid Grinding Stones from 175, Mithril Plate Pants (12 Mithril Bars) from 185 and Steel Plate Helms from 215.
- Weightstones no longer need cloth. In the beta data every weightstone takes a single stone, so the Heavy Weightstones from 100 to 105 cost six Heavy Stone.
- Keep your Rough Grinding Stones. You end up with about 25; the rare gloves and chain belts below need 4 each.
WoW-Professions’ beta-tested route to 225, run through the same formula, needs 114 Copper, 497 Bronze, 75 Iron, 290 Steel and 401 Mithril Bars (their own list, rounded up per step, says 532 Bronze, 294 Steel and 432 Mithril), plus 82 Weak Flux, 27 Strong Flux (about 6 gold at the client’s vendor prices) and 68 Medium Leather. Ours needs about 430 fewer ore, no Steel (each Steel Bar also takes a Coal) and no flux. The price is six learn levels we estimated and 214 Mageweave Cloth for the Mithril pieces.
Blacksmithing 225-300: The Untested Part
Blacksmithing 225 to 300 in WoW Forever can’t be tested before launch, because Artisan needs character level 35. The thresholds below are from the beta client; the route is our plan on paper. Dense Sharpening Stones are the last cheap trainer recipe. After them, the trainer only teaches Mithril, Truesilver and Arcanite pieces with expensive reagents, so every affordable step needs plans that Zockify lists as “source not known yet”.
| Skill | Recipe (yellow / grey) | Crafts | Materials | Recipe from |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 225-235 | Dense Sharpening Stone (230 / 235) | 16 | 17 Dense Stone | Artisan trainer, about 225 (our estimate) |
| 235-265 | Radiant Belt (255 / 275) | 33 | 334 Thorium Bar, 67 Heart of Fire | Plans, skill 235, source unknown |
| 265-285 | Radiant Boots (285 / 305) | 20 | 280 Thorium Bar, 80 Heart of Fire | Plans, skill 265, source unknown |
| 285-300 | Radiant Leggings (300 / 320) | 15 | 300 Thorium Bar, 60 Heart of Fire | Plans, skill 280, source unknown |
Thorium Bracers (230), Blessed Plate Bracers (255) and Thorium Leggings (275) work too; they swap the Hearts of Fire for Power Crystals and 20 Blue Sapphires but need about 300 more Thorium Bars. If no plans turn up, Merchant’s Favor is the only source we know: the plate lines’ Wristguards (skill 225) and Waistguards (250) cost 90 Favor each and carry you to about 285, at 16 to 24 Thorium Bars plus Sandpaper, Sulfuric Acid and gems per craft. From there to 300 the only plans with a known source are dungeon drops: Dark Iron Plate in Blackrock Depths, Serenity and Corruption in Stratholme. SeeMeta lists Thorium Greatsword and Inlaid Thorium Hammer as trainer recipes, but the plan items those recipes had in Classic are missing from the Forever client, which is likely why SeeMeta counts them as trainer recipes. We wouldn’t count on them.
Blacksmithing 1-300 Shopping List
This is the full shopping list for our WoW Forever Blacksmithing route, from expected craft counts. Add 5 to 10% for unlucky yellow crafts.
| Material | 1-225 | 225-300 (on paper) | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rough Stone | 76 | 76 | |
| Coarse Stone | 182 | 182 | |
| Heavy Stone / Solid Stone / Dense Stone | 6 / 11 / – | – / – / 17 | 34 |
| Copper Bar | 70 | 70 | |
| Bronze Bar | 317 | 317 | |
| Iron Bar | 225 | 225 | |
| Mithril Bar | 338 | 338 | |
| Thorium Bar | 914 | 914 | |
| Mageweave Cloth | 214 | 214 | |
| Green Dye (1 silver) | 38 | 38 | |
| Heart of Fire | 207 | 207 |
Green Dye is sold by Tailoring and Leatherworking supply vendors in the capitals. Bronze Bars are smelted from one Copper and one Tin Bar into two, so the 317 Bronze take about 159 Copper and 159 Tin Ore.
Bars Needed per Bracket and What to Mine
Bar demand for WoW Forever Blacksmithing is close to zero until 70, because stones carry you there. Then each metal takes its turn: Copper and Bronze to 140, Iron to 175, Mithril to 225 and Thorium for everything after.
| Ore | Our route uses it at | Ore needed | Vein skill (Classic) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Copper Ore, Rough Stone | 1-140 | 228 ore, 76 stone | Mining 1 |
| Tin Ore, Coarse Stone | 50-140 | 159 ore, 182 stone | Mining 65 |
| Iron Ore, Heavy Stone | 100-175 | 225 ore, 6 stone | Mining 125 |
| Mithril Ore, Solid Stone | 175-225 | 338 ore, 11 stone | Mining 175 |
| Thorium Ore, Dense Stone | 225-300 | 914 ore, 17 stone | Mining 245 (Small Thorium) |
Forever’s node data isn’t public, so the vein skills are Classic’s. If your Mining keeps pace with Blacksmithing, you can mine everything to 225 yourself, because Mithril (Mining 175) arrives exactly when the route needs it. The squeeze is at 235: Thorium recipes start there, but Small Thorium Veins need Mining 245. Our WoW Forever mining leveling guide has the zone route for every ore: Arathi Highlands for Iron and early Mithril, Tanaris for Mithril and the first Thorium.
Rare Leveling Plans and Spell Power Plate
WoW Forever Blacksmithing adds ten lines of bind-on-pickup rare mail and plate for levels 12 to 50, an early and a later line for each of five roles, which is what our WoW Forever professions guide means by rare plans for leveling. The September beta forum report of rare boots at skill 35 that level 10 characters can wear checks out: the client has three rare Copper Boots plans at skill 35, required level 10 (Gemmed: Strength and Stamina; Strange: spell power and Stamina; Glowing: Intellect and healing). Where those three plans come from isn’t known.
| Role (from item stats) | Mail line, levels 12-25 | Later line, mail at 30-35, plate at 40-50 |
|---|---|---|
| Physical damage: Agility, Strength, Stamina | Veteran’s | Officer’s |
| Tank: Defense, Strength, Stamina | Guard’s | Sentinel’s |
| Spell power tank: Defense, spell power, Stamina | Protector’s | Warder’s |
| Healer: Intellect, healing, Stamina | Acolyte’s | Prefect’s |
| Spell power melee: spell power, Strength, Stamina | Crusader’s | Justicar’s |
The early lines are the easy ones to get: the belt (skill 45), gloves (80), boots (85), Silvered Chain Helm (95), Shirt (110) and Leggings (125) cost 30 Merchant’s Favor each, and the gloves, helm and leggings also drop in the Deadmines, Ragefire Chasm, Shadowfang Keep, the Stockade, Blackfathom Deeps and Razorfen Kraul. Most need Pristine Leather from Skinning. The later lines’ gauntlets, pauldrons, wristguards, sabatons and waistguards cost 60 or 90 Favor. Four bind-on-equip uncommon sets with spell power and Strength come on top, and those you can sell: Sterling Silver mail (skill 100 to 125), Hard Gold mail (145 to 175), Shining Mithril plate (195 to 235) and Blessed Plate (240 to 280). Their plan sources aren’t known yet.
Camp Objects and New Materials
Blacksmithing’s three camp objects in WoW Forever are the Sharpening Wheel, the Anvil and the Master Forge. Each adds the profession’s Strength buff to a campfire, but the Master Forge is the one that matters for crafting: the beta client requires it for 65 recipes, from the Clutchlord’s and Goregasher pieces that turn yellow at 290 to most skill-300 weapons and armor, including every recipe that uses a Legionite Bar.
| Object | Skill | Reagents | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sharpening Wheel | 20 (yellow 20, grey 25) | 1 Rough Stone, 1 Copper Bar | Trainer |
| Anvil | 140 (yellow 140, grey 145) | 5 Bronze Bars, 2 Coarse Grinding Stones, 2 Medium Leather | Blueprint from Gilnid in the Deadmines |
| Master Forge | 300 | 1 Golem Heart, 5 Thorium Bars, 2 Rugged Leather | Unknown |
The new bars are endgame only. Azerothium Bar shows up in 10 Blacksmithing recipes, Heavy Thorium Bar and Legionite Bar in 17 each, mostly at skill 300; the earliest are Thorium Cestus and Thorium Greatmace at 250 (90 Favor each). Miners smelt Azerothium from 2 Pitchblende and 1 Coal and Heavy Thorium at a Molten Foundry, and Alchemists transmute Legionite from a Heavy Thorium Bar and a Fel Crystal. Copper Rod is a new 1-bar trainer recipe that greys at 15; enchanters turn it into a Runed Copper Rod.
Merchant’s Favor, Dungeon Drops and Craftsman’s Writs
Zockify counts 60 Blacksmithing plans with a Merchant’s Favor price in WoW Forever: 30 at 30 Favor, 10 at 60, 16 at 90 and 4 at 120. You earn Favor from Waylaid Crates and spend it at the Azeroth Commerce Authority camp at Three Corners in Redridge (10.5, 72.7) or the Durotar Supply and Logistics camp west of the Crossroads (49.7, 29.5). Favor is per character, and at 300, 1,000 Favor buys the Blacksmithing Certification and the account-wide “the Blacksmith” title.
Blizzard’s October 1 beta notes made “a number of recipes intended for Blacksmithing and Leatherworking as random drops in dungeons” available. Zockify’s drop list for those dungeons has the early rare plans above and the Anvil Blueprint. Craftsman’s Writs (tradeable, 75 to 200 reputation per turn-in) ask for two items on our route, Rough Bronze Leggings and Solid Sharpening Stone, and Radiant Belt from the paper route; make a few spares.
What to Keep or Sell While Leveling Blacksmithing
- Keep: Rough and Coarse Grinding Stones (the bracers and rare plans eat them), and a few Rough Bronze Leggings and Solid Sharpening Stones for writs.
- Sell: sharpening stones and weightstones to melee players, and Green Iron Bracers or Heavy Mithril Gauntlets on the auction house if anyone bids.
- Vendor or disenchant: everything from Copper Chain Belts to Mithril Coifs is uncommon, so an enchanter can turn it into dust.
What We Don’t Know Yet
- Learn levels for Heavy Weightstone, Green Iron Bracers, Solid Sharpening Stone, Heavy Mithril Gauntlet, Mithril Coif and Dense Sharpening Stone. All follow a rule that fits every tested recipe, but nobody has tested these.
- Where the plans for Blacksmithing 235 to 300 come from, and the sources of the rare Copper Boots, Blessed Plate and the Master Forge.
- Whether Armorsmith and Weaponsmith still need skill 200 and level 40, as in Classic. All five specializations are in the beta client’s Blacksmithing data.
- Whether Forever’s skill-up chances follow Classic’s formula. Our craft counts assume they do.
FAQ
Where is the blacksmithing trainer in WoW Forever?
Every capital except Darnassus has Apprentice and Journeyman blacksmithing trainers in WoW Forever, for example Snarl in Orgrimmar’s Valley of Honor and Therum Deepforge in Stormwind’s Dwarven District. Expert is only taught by Bengus Deepforge in Ironforge and Saru Steelfury in Orgrimmar, Artisan by Brikk Keencraft in Booty Bay.
What is the fastest way to level Blacksmithing 1-300 in WoW Forever?
Use stones while they give points and the cheapest recipe of each metal: grinding stones to 70, Copper Chain Belts to 80, Rough Bronze Leggings to 95, Patterned Bronze Bracers to 140, Green Iron Bracers to 175, Heavy Mithril Gauntlets and Mithril Coifs to 225, then Dense stones and Thorium plans. That is about 340 crafts.
Does WoW Forever have Armorsmith and Weaponsmith?
Most likely. Armorsmith, Weaponsmith and the three Master Axe, Hammer and Swordsmith specializations are all in the beta client’s Blacksmithing data, and Zockify reports their quests in the client too. The requirements can’t be tested in the level 30 beta.
Sources: Blizzard’s systems panel recap and beta development notes (October 1 and 8). Beta data from SeeMeta, Zockify, WoW-Professions and Icy Veins; the game data of the beta client (build 1.60.1.70374) and of Classic Era, read via wago.tools; rank costs from wow.gg. Maps: Blizzard Entertainment, from Warcraft Wiki’s map files.