Cataclysm Blacksmithing gold preview (Patreon)

Let’s take a look at the goldmaking opportunities in blacksmithing in Cataclysm. Blacksmithing

Are weapons good this time?

Weapons are the most impactful items in the game for performance, and blacksmithing is usually the only profession that gets to craft weapons. Entry level weapons sold really well in Wrath, but in Cataclysm we have less options in phase 1. The strongest weapons this time are item level 346, which means they are outclassed by raid gear, as well as the archeology weapons players are already farming.

Epic armor

I made a lot of gold selling the various epic armors in wrath classic that had the same item level as naxx 10 gear. Blacksmiths this time around can craft item level 359 chestpieces and belts for the various archetypes of plate classes. The recipes are bought from a vendor, and I expect these to be very consistent sellers.

Belt buckle

The main blacksmithing enchant makes a return in Cataclysm as we get a new version of the belt buckle to add sockets to belts. This is a very fast seller as it is the best enchant on belt for pretty much everyone. The raw gold potential is usually a little limited, but pyrium bars are required and will be limited early on, so I expect prices to be nice.

Entry level gear

Outside of the 346 weapons there are some other entry level crafts across various item levels. I expect the sale rate will generally be a little low as there arent really any item level 346 options as far as I can tell. Entry level PvP gear could ba thing as well, as there are recipes that were added at some point, but I don’t see them on the wowhead database.

Overall verdict?

Blacksmithing looks a little worse for launch compared to wrath, mostly due to the lack of ilvl 359 weapons, that being said the crafts we do have should be quite strong sellers, particularly as we have a large gap until raids open up. The belt buckle is also a very consistent seller. Overall I think it’s a good profession for gold, but not quite on the level of Jewelcrafting and Inscription.