For World of Warcraft players gold represents power, status, and access to the finest luxuries Azeroth has to offer. But where does all that wealth come from? Astute prospectors know that some expansions provide far more lucrative opportunities than others when it comes to striking it rich. Follow along as we dig into the history of WoW to unearth the reigning riches age for ambitious gold farmers.
The Origins of Fortune
In WoW’s early days, gold-making was simple but slow. Raw fortune from killing enemies and selling vendor trash represented the bulk of earnings. Farming nodes out in the world to sell crafting materials made up the other meager revenue stream. Crafting professions themselves provided little income due to low demand and few profitable recipes. The Auction House languished with only basic commodities being traded. Gold making as a strategic enterprise simply didn’t exist yet for most players.
Meanwhile, intrepid farmers sought hidden treasure troves out in Azeroth’s nooks and crannies, striking lucky occasionally on rare recipes or materials. Occasional ultra rare drops like the Zulian Tiger from Zul’Gurub or the Ethereal Soul-Trader pet from Netherstorm provided isolated windfalls for the fortunate few. But by and large, reliable and steady gold income remained elusive during these early pioneering days.
For those interested in the strategies of this era, especially at the pivotal level 60, you can delve deeper into the methods and locations with this comprehensive guide: How to Farm Gold at 60 in WoW.
The Pandaria Gold Rush
But all of that changed with the arrival of the Mists of Pandaria. This exotic eastern kingdom brought with it an unprecedented explosion of gold-making methods and strategies for enterprising prospectors.
Daily Cooldowns
Multiple daily cooldowns dazzled farmers with reliable returns on minimal time investments. Planting, tending, and harvesting the new Tillers Farm generated steady yields of crops and materials to sell at the Auction House. The farmville-style gameplay kept the gold flowing day after day.
Crafting professions gained lucrative transmutes like Living Steel for blacksmiths and rare gem transmutes for jewel crafters. Alchemists in particular benefited from transmuting ghost iron to trillium bars, wild jade, and meta gems for large recurring profits. These cooldowns rewarded proficient crafters with daily income.
New Economies
Entirely new gathering and crafting economies sprang to life, stimulating demand for never-before-seen materials and items. The aforementioned farm crops brought an agricultural economy into the game for the first time. Rare gems and ores like Ghost Iron introduced new resource markets at both the raw and crafted levels.
The brand new Windwool cloth produced tailoring items that actually sold at the Auction House since Pandarian gear remained relevant throughout the expansion. High-end crafts like spell thread tailored gear and crafted PvP blues drove profits for skilled crafters.
Fun Farming Options
For farmers tired of grinding the same old mob camps, Pandaria offered engaging new farming opportunities with randomized rewards. Treasures of the Vale provided chests full of gold, materials, and more which spawned unpredictably across the zone. The Tillers farm included fun daily quests rather than dull dailies which had players slaying vermin and delivering dog treats.
The Isle of Thunder’s rare mob camp and treasure chest farming rotation became wildly popular. Since spawn points and chest contents were random, each lap provided exciting variety and decent wealth per hour.
For the first time, WoW incorporated diverse, enjoyable activities for obtaining steady gold incomes beyond repetitive mob grinding and node farming. Pandaria made riches both accessible and fun.
The Garrison Gold Factory
Pandaria showed that innovative economic systems could make amassing gilt engaging. But the next expansion took things even further. Warlords of Draenor implemented the now-infamous Garrison system which essentially minted gold for industrious commanders.
Mission Madness
Your Garrison offered two main paths to fortune. Followers could be sent out on gold farming missions and return laden with wealth. During early Warlords, these mission rewards became so extravagant that massive nerfs were needed. But they remained reliably profitable, providing passive income for nearly zero effort.
Resource Empire
The second avenue lay in building a resource empire within your Garrison. A Lumber Mill churned out mountains of timber. An Herb Garden harvested bushels of herbs. Your Mine extracted thousands of ore daily. Savvy builders erected crafting structures like Enchanter’s Studies and Engineering Works to produce profitable materials from all those resources. Meanwhile, the Trading Post exchanged garrison supplies for crafting components, sorcerous elements, and valuable gear upgrade items. An entire economic engine hummed away within those Garrison walls, printing gold around the clock!
Trading and Profiteering
Your Garrison also served as the center for trading operations. Rare crafting reagents like Savage Blood and gear upgrade items brought outrageous early profits. Managing pricing, supply, and demand allowed merchant princes to establish monopolies on key material markets. Buy low, craft, or flip for higher returns, repeat!
Of course, other players contributed heavily to market supply from their own Garrisons. This influx of materials allowed traders to buy and sell goods with shocking efficiency. Nowhere else in WoW history did raw capitalist principles combine so effectively with MMO gameplay systems.
By the end of the expansion, the economy was utterly flooded with goods, supply outpacing demand in an endless glut. No other expansion before or since has matched the sheer wealth generation of that initial Garrison bonanza. For a time, Warlords brought nearly every WoW player into the gold-making scene.
The Current State of Affairs
Today, the economy has settled into a comfortable equilibrium. Legion’s mission tables and world quests provide steady income streams, while Battle for Azeroth’s commodities offer markets players understand well enough to profit from. Raw gold farms and common resources sell reliably, but massive wealth typically comes only from lucky rare drops like mounts. Generally, rising prices have reduced profit margins across the board.
Will History Repeat Itself?
Will we ever experience another golden age like Pandaria or Draenor? While unlikely, it’s always possible Blizzard has another economic paradigm shift planned that will usher in unprecedented fortunes. Until then, farmers make reasonable, if modest, incomes through well-understood activities like world quests, old raids, and the ever-present Auction House. Of course, riskier, high-effort methods like mass prospecting gems or resetting markets can still yield big payouts. Dedicated goblins keep innovating new ways to earn gilt.
Remembering the Glory Days
But those seeking to understand WoW’s golden eras need look no further than Pandaria and Draenor. Never before or since have opportunities abounded so abundantly. For a brief, glorious period, everyone could make riches hand over fist, whether lion or lamb, tycoon or pauper. We may never witness such a time again. But those pioneering farmers will always remember those heady golden days when fortune flowed as free and fast as the waters of the Vale of Eternal Blossoms.
