How to Be a Successful Blacksmith in World of Warcraft

Blacksmithing is an excellent profession for Warriors and Paladins, or anyone looking to outfit people in their guild. You can make weapons, armor and some useful trade goods as a Blacksmith. Here are a few tips to help you get some soot under your nails and some fire in your veins!
Step 1Decide if Smithing is right for you. If you are a Warrior or Paladin, Blacksmithing will provide you with all the weapons and armor you could need until around level 30. From there, you will probably be buying or finding better armor, but you can still make some good weapons. If you are not a mail or plate wearer, you may want to consider another profession. Gathering professions are much better moneymakers.

Step 2Take Mining as your secondary profession. This is essential! The vast majority of the materials you will use for smithing will be metals and stones, both of which can be found through mining. You will also find a few gems while mining, many of which are used for smithing.

Step 3Make friends with a Leatherworker. A multitude of Blacksmithing plans require leather, from Light all the way up to Rugged. If you do not have an alternate character that does Leatherworking, make friends with someone who does. This will save you lots of time and money.

Step 4Make some Greens! As with any building profession, Green (uncommon) items sell much better in the Auction Hall than White (common) items. Making and selling Green items will take a bit longer, but is a much better long-term investment of time for Blacksmiths.

Step 5Be diverse. Make a few of every item you can. This will not only give you a good idea of how useful things are, it will help you establish a customer base! Make yourself useful to a variety of people!

Step 6Watch the trade channel. Lots of people will advertise for a Blacksmith to install some Mithril Spurs or to make them an Enchanting Rod. Be that Blacksmith! There could be a tip in it for you!

Step 7Sell those Enchanting Rods! Demand has always been high for Enchanting Rods, and it will continue to be high. Make Rods whenever you can and post them at the Auction House. Arcanite Rods, in particular, fetch an extremely high price! While they are expensive, making a single one can usually bring in enough cash to pay for making another.

Step 8Choose, and choose wisely. When you hit 210 Blacksmthing Skill and Level 40, you can specialize in either Armor or Weaponsmithing. In general, Armorsmithing is recommended for players that wish to outfit themselves and/or their guild with fine armor (both mail and plate) while Weaponsmithing is regarded as the profession that makes more money. Be SURE you choose which will benefit you more! Once you begin the quest series for either Armor or Weaponsmith, you CANNOT go back!

Step 9Choose again. Weaponsmiths can further specialize in Axesmithing, Hammersmithing or Swordsmithing at Level 50 and 260 Blacksmithing skill. This basically comes down to personal preference. Most of the weapons made with the various specializations are very similar, so it really comes down to which you prefer using: Axes, Hammers or Swords.