Enchanting Guide : World of Warcraft General Discussions

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This guide is to help people to get their enchanting up to 225 for the least amount of money possible. People all the time say that enchanting takes so much money to raise. Really, that is true. It does take more to raise it then pretty much any other proffesion, but it pays off, with being able to make money effortlessly later.

A couple things to keep in mind:

This guide was created for use with the standard Enchanter/Tailor setup. This is by far the most common setup, since neither require a gathering skill. Also, you can get a lot of your Enchanting materials materials cheaply through the use of your Tailoring. And as an added bonus, if you are a caster class that wears cloth, you can also make your own armor, and enchant it, too.

This guide was written as if you are just starting your character. Most proffesions are built to be worked up as you level your character, which is seen in tailoring by the fact that, as your tailor skill rises, you will keep needed the cloth dropped from higher and higher level mobs.

This guide can also be used if you already have the money, and you just want to find the most economical path to get to 225. If this is the way you want to use this guide, just ignore all parts that make reference to Tailoring, and where to get your Chanting materials. Just by them from the AH at the lowest prices possible. No one wants to waste money, do that?

Also, this guide does not really take into consideration the Greens/Blues you are going to be getting along the way as you level. Many of those make good dischanting fodder, such as those with "less that popular" stat increases on them, or items that are flooding the AH.

Disclaimer: This guide does not lay out the only way to get to 225 Enchanting cheaply. There are many strategies, and this is only one of them. Also, what is considered "cheap" on my server (Zul'Jin), may not be so on your server, although there should not be a huge difference on prices of similar items.

Get Enchanting to 225 for Less!


--Notes: What will you get from a Dischant?

When you DC (Disenchant) an item, there is a pattern to learn to know what you will get. First off, there are the catagories of materials. There are "Dusts", "Essences", and "Shards" (rarity in that order; White, Green, Blue). Dusts come from Green armor, Essences come from Green weapons, and Shards come from Blue gear (items or weapons). Note that there is often a chance that you will get something higher. From Green armor, there is a decent chance that you can get an Essence, and a low chance to get a Shard. From Green weapons, there is a decent chance to get a Shard.

As for what kind you may get (ie Strange Dust vs. Soul Dust), that is normally determined by what "tier" the item is. There are not many Greens under level 10, so the first "tier" is level 1 to 19. These are Strange Dust, Mystic Essences, and Small Glimmering Shards. With Essences, you may get a Lesser Essence, or a Greater Essence. Part of this is chance, part is where in the tier the item it. The higher it is in the tier, the better the chance of getting a Greater instead of Lesser (although you can get multiples of each, and they are interchangable, with 3 Lesser = 1 Greater). Shards normally go Small in one tier, to Large in the next, and then Small of the next kind in the tier above that and so on. Shards follow a little more of a chaotic tier, going by about 6 levels or so, instead of 10. Level 1 to 19 is usually going to be Small Glimmering Shard, while 20 to 25 or so will be Large Glimmering Shard. 26 to 29/30 will usually be Small Glowing Shard. 30 to 36 will usually be Large Glowing Shard.

As I go with the guide, I will have notes on what levels and what kind of gear you can normally get the required materials from.

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--Notes: Shards. Use or Not Use?

This is highly debatable, as shards are the most expensive thing you will be using from Enchanter 1 to 225. Normally, the Blue item that these would DC from are worth more to sell then the Shard itself. Even then, if you are just trying to level chanting, using Shards is not very cost effective. Up to about 225, you can skill up chanting without using shards. In this guide, I will try to avoid them as much as possible.

But, you may get a Shard from DCing something else, such as a Green armor piece. Then what? Well, there are a couple of options. First, is to try to sell a chant that uses it. Then, take that money, and buy more Greens with it. Second, if you cannot find someone to buy a chant from you, you can sell the Shard directly on the AH. Enchanting supplies have no AH fees at this time, so it does not matter if no one buys it for a little while.

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Enchanting: 1 to 50

When you first grab chanting, you will have your formula for the Runed Copper Rod, Disenchant (DC), Enchant Chest: Minor Health, and Enchant Bracer: Minor Health.

Get the Copper Rod for your Runed Copper Rod from the Enchanting Guild, but do not buy a Magic Essence from the guild (that is, if they have any in-stock, which is limited).

You should have a stock of linens most likely, from leveling on humanoid mobs. If not, then try farming humanoids for linens. Once you have several stacks of linens, get Course Thread from the Tailoring guild merchant. For each 3 bolts of linen (2x linen cloths each), and 1 Course Thread, you can make Brown Linen Robes. Try to get at least 5 of them (30x Linen Cloths and 5 Course Threads). This is the most economical Green you can make for now (this may take a lil tailoring to get the pattern for it).

DC these Brown Linen Robes, and you should get at least 1 Lesser Magic Essence out of them, and several Strange Dusts. If you dont get a Lesser Magic Essence, you can either get some more linens, and do the proccess over again, or check the AH for an inexpensive singe Lesser Magic Essence.

With the Lesser Magic Essence, make your Runed Copper Rod. Now you can begin enchanting! You should have gained some skill points from DCing the robes (which is good, since DCing will never give you skill points again lol). We are going to focus on Enchant Bracer: Minor Health, and Enchant Chest: Minor Health, as they only use 1 Strange Dust. In the begining, these will stay Orange for quite a while (this means they will give a skill point every time).

--Notes: Gathering Linens

One thing I did with this Brown Robe/Minor Health strategy, was I went out to the newbie areas, and offered these chants in exchange for 12 linens. For a lowbie, this can be a good deal, getting +5 HPs for a stack of "useless" (hehe..) linens. So, you have used 1 Strange Dust, and have the linens to get at least 2 back, and sometimes more.

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Now, if you are a Mage, you can make yourself a Lesser Magic Wand with 1 Simple Wood, and 1 Lesser Magic Essence. It is a decent wand for level 5-ish, but not worthy of making just for skill-ups.

--Note: Orange vs. Yellow Formulas

This can be a hard decision to make; wether to use more materials for a Orange Chant (garaunteed skill-up), or less for a Yellow Chant (very likely skill-up). My general rule of thumb is this: If the yellow chant uses 50% or less of the materials that the Orange uses, than I make the yellow. When a formula first turns yellow, it will have a very high skill-up chance (about 5/6), lessening (about 1/4) as it starts to head towards turning green (green = nearly no skill-ups).

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Enchanting: 51 to 90

Ride out the 1 Strange Dust chants for as long as you can (as long as you are getting at least 1 skill up for 3 chants, or until it turns green). If this becomes unprofitable before 50, then start to use up your Lesser Magic Essences (which you should have some from DCing all of those Strange Dusts) on Enchant Chest: Minor Absorption, which is gained at 40, and uses 2 Strange Dusts and 1 Lesser Magic Essences. After that, you should have the Enchant Bracer: Minor Stamina. This is attained at 50, and requires 3 Strange Dusts, and should still be yellow at the time when the 1 Strange Dust formulas grow unusable.

--Note: Tailoring to this point

If possible, try to keep your tailoring level equal to your enchanting. Farm for linen (and other cloths as you level) in areas where you are making good experience. Humanoids also often have good Green loot drop rates (you will start to get more Greens as you level higher). Basically, try to keep leveling up Tailoring, using the patterns that use the least amount of materials. When you get to a Green piece of gear (DC'able), then make several, as long as they do not require anything expensive, and then DC them all. Try to keep making Green pieces of Cloth armor that are around the same level as you, and maybe a bit above. If it is lower level, then you are probably having lower returns off of DCing them (less materials). If the Green armor you are making is far above your level, then you are probably having to buy many more materials to make it, and you are getting less (or no) drops of the coth that you are using.

So, just feed your tailoring with the cloth you are getting as drops from humanoid mobs. Keep the level of the gear you are making equal to your level, and then balance out your tailoring skill to be equal with your Enchanting skill. This will keep a good flow of cloth coming in from mobs to skill up your tailoring, and then taking the Green cloth armors you make and DC them to level your Enchanting. If all these levels are kept even, then you will stay calibrated to get maximum returns from both Tailoring and Enchanting at minimal costs out of pocket.

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Enchanting: 91 to 115

At around 100, your 3x Strange Dust Chant (Bracer: Minor Sta) is going to turn Green, making it unprofitable. But, a little before that time, it will most likely start having worse and worse returns, as far as skill-ups (around 80 to 90). When this starts to happen, turn to Bracer: Minor Strength, which requires 5x Strange Dust. This should last until about 115 before turning Green. Exact times when Enchants will turn Green (low chance for skill up, ie. Dont Use) are found here.

--Notes: What Do I Do With All of These Enchants?

At lower levels, chants do not sell for much, if anything. People will undercut each other to the point that most will give away low chants for free. Dont let this discourage you. At a point around 190 or 200, that all changes. Just over the course of a couple skill points, the value of your chants skyrocket, and you become one of the most profitable proffesions.

But what do you do until this time? It is hard to sell the chants for anything, since most people have something better already. You can shout on the trade channels that you are offering them for free, with donations accepted, which some people do. When it all comes down to it, though, you cant always find someone who will take it for free, as crazy as that sounds. There may be too many people shouting in IF/UC offering them, not many people on, etc. For this reason, I always kept a spare bracer, chest piece, paid of gloved, and boots with me. You can enchant the same chant over and over on one piece, as long as you choose to "over-write" the previous one. This is wasteful, but works in a pinch.

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--Note: Minor Beastslayer, and Other Bought Formulas

Keep your eyes open on the AH (which you should always should be) for dropped formulas. Most at lower levels are really not worth it, except for one. Enchant Weapon: Minor Beastslayer. This one is great, as it is the cheapest chant that makes weapons glow (glows light red). It only requires 4 Strange Dusts, and 2 Greater Magic Essences. Many people will have 1g, and want to make their weapon glow. You can be the generous soul who will make their weapon glow for 1g, and if you farmed for the materials to make the Green gear you DC'd the Dusts and Essences from, you can have less than 1s in it!

As you gain up in skill, dropped formulas become more and more nessacary, until you reach the higher levels (235+ or so), when that is all there is.

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Enchanting: 115 to 145

Unfortunetly, there are not going to be any more Dust only chants for a while, but there are still plenty of good, cheap chants. The next one would most likely be Shield: Minor Stamina. This requires 1x Lesser Astral Essence and 2x Strange Dust. The Lesser Astrals can be easily made by Tailoring 6 or 7 Azure Silk Pants and DCing them. You should receive a couple of Lesser Astrals, and maybe even a Greater Astral, which, when right-clicked, turns into 3 Lessers. If you get any Soul Dusts from the Azure Pants, save them in the bank for later use. You have tons of Tailor Patterns to make for the Strange Dust at this point, although you will probably not be skilling up Tailoring while making them. You can also keep a close eye on the AH, for Green weapons level 20 to 28/29. These should DC into Astral Essences.

Around this point, you are going to have to suck it up, and buy the materials to make your Runed Silver Rod. Ask guildies for help on the silver Rod (Blacksmith made, if I remember right), and the Shadowgem (harvested while mining). This rod will be required for your chants from here on (until the next rod formula).

When the Shield: Stamina chant gets played out, move to Enchant Chest: Health. This is basically the same, although it requires 4 Strange Dust instead of 2, and then the same 1 Lesser Astral Essence. This should last you to 145 before turning green.

Enchanting: 146 to 180

After Chest: Health gets worn our, either by turning green, or by just not giving enough skill ups (dropping below about 60% chance of skill up), then it is time to move on. If you have any Strange Dusts sitting around, use them up on Enchant Boots: Minor Stamina if you have it, which requires 8 Strange Dust each, but is a dropped formula, thus it has to be bought (unless you are lucky enough to get it as a drop from a mob).

If you can get it (and it is pretty common) I would suggest picking up Enchant Bracer: Lesser Strength. It requires only 2 Soul Dust, which can be DCed from Green Armor levels 22 to 29 or so. You should have several patterns for getting Green items within that range with Tailoring. This formula can be learned at 140, and can ride you through to 160.

At 160, you should get Enchant Chest: Greater Health from the trainer. This formula only requires 3 Soul Dust, also very easily collected from your level 20-ish Tailor patterns. This formula should not turn green until 180. At 170, you can start to use Enchant Boots: Lesser Stamina, which requires 4 Soul Dusts, and does not turn green until 190.

--Note: Tailoring Green Items for Level 20 to 29

There are not a whole lot of level 20 to 29 Green items to make with Tailoring, as the Greens really start rolling in after level 30. But, you should be able to scoure the AH and find some Green items into double, and even single digit amounts of silver if you look hard enough (which you should be).

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--Note: Undercutting = Profit

As you gain Shards, and decide to sell them, you may run into undercutting. This is known through pretty much every sellable item in the AH, but it particularly bad with Shards. If you are desperate to sell your Shards, you may put them up at a lower price then what is on the market. Normally, when one person does this, then the next person could very likely undercut you, and then the next person may undercut them, and so on a few undercuttings. Always, always, always watch the prices of Shards, even if you are not in the market at the moment to buy or sell. This chain of events may begin, wether you are involved or not, and it is best to be prepared to benifit from it.

When you see Shards up for about 1/2 their regular price, which is more common that you think for the above reason, buy them all (if it is possible). Then, hold them for about a day, and then check the price again. More than likely, it will have gone back up a little bit (or a lot). At this time, you can either choose to put them back up for sale, or start advetising cheap chants that use them. I have used this method before for Large Glowing Shards (which normally go for between 5 to 6g a piece on my server), grabbing them up for 2g50g a piece, and then turn around to sell +5 dmg to 2H weapon chants for 4g50s a piece (using Vision Dusts that I DC'd from Greens that I farmed for and made myself). They sold like crazy, since the average price of that chant on my server is about 6g to 7g. As you can see, that was a nice profit, so keep an eye out for these undercutting wars, and profit off of them.

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Enchanting: 180 to 200

Although you can keep using Boots: Lesser Stamina to 190, at about 185, it will start to have deminished returns on your skill-ups. So, at 180, you should get Enchant Bracer: Strength, which requires 1 Vision Dust. Vision Dusts are DC'd from level 30 to 38/39 Green armors. A good Tailor Pattern to DC for Vision Dust is Black Mageweave Vest, which requires 2 Bolts of Mageweave, and 3 Silken Threads. The Bracer: Strength chant should carry you through to 200.

Enchanting: 200 to 215

It is best to use Bracer: Strength until 200, as it starts to get more expensive here, unless you start selling chants regularly. What you want to do, is start watching the AH, with the filter set to Rares level 30 to 36. Look for Blue items (weapons or armor, although weapons are usually priced too high) that are 2 to 3g or less BO, or Blues with unpopular stats that are still at a low price, and on Short or Medium Auction duration. Try to collect as many cheap Blues as you can, DCing them for Large Glowing Shards.

You have a pattern for a Blue at this point, Icy Cloak, which can make for a very good Blue to DC for LArge Glowing Shards. The Frost Oil is the most expensive part of the pattern, and it can be gotten for around 1g a piece on my server, and even less if you know the Alchemist. Also look for Gem-studded Leather Belts, which Leatherworkers will sometimes put up for only about 2 to 3g buyouts or so.

Once you have gotten several Large Glowing Shards, you can DC for Greater Mystic Essences from level 30 to level 36 Greens, be it Weapons (garaunteed for Essences or better, but cost more in the AH), or several Green Armors (you can make these inexpensively, but it will take a few). Also be sure to DC any Green Weapons you find through your early 30s (level 30 to 35), as they should yield the Mystic Essences.

With the Mystic Essences and Large Glowing Shards in hand, wait in the major city of your side (Iron Forge or Undercity) for people to shout that they need weapon enchants. They will usually be happy to get a +3 dmg to 1H, which glows white. Or, they may be wanting the cheaper glow they can get, which then goes back to your Enchant Weapon: Minor Beastslayer, which is worth holding some low-end chanting materials for. Either way, they go home happy, and you go home with some money, and some skill-ups if they bought +3 dmg to 1H (which 5 times out of 7, that is what they want). This should get you from 195, when you get the Weapon: Striking, to 205 easily, with minimal time casting it as a yellow (these chants are time consuming to get up the materials, so you dont want to have a 50% chance of a skill-up for each sale) and should make you a decent amount of money.

At 205, you will learn Enchant Cloak: Greater Defense, which requires 3 Vision Dusts. You already know where to get the Vision Dust, and as a bonus, people will buy this chant. This chant should get you to 215. While you are collecting Vision Dusts, if you get any Nether Essences (which come from the same tier as Vision Dusts), use them for Enchant Bracer: Intellect, which you get at 210. These will provide solid skill-ups to 215, as it will be an orange formula to that point.

Enchanting: 215 to 225

At 215, you will get Enchant Boots: Stamina, which uses 5 Vision Dust. This will chant will stay orange up through 220, at which time you get Enchant Chest: Superior Health, which requires 6 Vision Dust. While Boots: Stamina should still be orange, people will buy the Chest: Superior Health.

--Notes: 225 and Beyond

At 225, you will be capped until you reach level 35, which you are, most likely by this time. After 225, things are not so cut-and-dry. Pretty much all of your skill-ups are going to come from selling enchants, unless you have a decent reserve of money to spend on it, as chants are going to start require more amounts of more expensive materials. Also, beyond 225, your ability to make money and keep advancing is often times linked to how many rare formulas you can get. These are often very rare drops, so farming for them becomes next to impossible, and your only valid option for getting these is through the AH.

You will have to start very regularly checking the AH to see what rare formulas are available, and may have to spend long hours shouting for some of them, such as Crusader. But, it can all pay off, as enchants above 250 are expensive, and the competition narrows, as the weak-hearted drop out of the race. It takes lots of luck getting rare formulas from the AH, lots and lots of bartering for materials, and lots of advertising, as people who will pay 100g+ for an enchant are not flooding the streets of Ironforge/Undercity. But its not unheard of to make a steady 200g+ an hour profit for a 300 Enchanter with the right rare formulas on the right day.

So, I hope that some people have read and enjoyed this guide, and happy enchanting!

Note: I DID NOT CREATE THIS, I AM MEARLY SHARING IT WITH YOU