Gold makes the world of Azeroth go round. Having a lot of gold means being able to afford many rare and powerful items. With Cataclysm Classic out, there are new ways and methods to farm gold to fund your endgame journey. This guide will divide each method into different categories: Professions, Classes, Combat, and Auction House trading. There are many avenues to make a lot of gold in WoW, so we'll explore each in depth.

Best Money Making Professions in Cataclysm

Many items in WoW require materials processed by certain professions to craft the final product, meaning that crafting materials will always be in high demand. With Cataclysm Classic, there are a couple of notable materials that can help you make some bank. Leveling a profession will always be the steadiest and most reliable way of earning gold long after Cataclysm’s end. All that matters for professions is the current expansion’s materials and items, but for the sake of Cata Classic, we will talk about the most recent valuable items.

Mining

Some ores and gems in Cata Classic can be obtained by mining, which can feed into two other professions: Jewelcrafting and Smelting. Certain ores are currently valuable since they are commonly needed for higher-level crafting, which include:

  • Obsidium Ore: Found on Mount Hyjal and Deepholm. Can be prospected for Carnelian, Zephyrite, and Jasper
  • Elementium Ore: Found in the Twilight Highlands and Uldum. Can be prospected for Nightstone, Hessonite, and Alicite
  • Pyrite Ore: Found in the Twilight Highlands. Can be prospected for Amberjewel, Demonseye, and Dream Emerald
  • Inferno Ruby / Ocean Sapphire: Found only on Rich Elementium Veins in the Twilight Highlands

These ores, in particular, can be smelted into the necessary bars required for Smithing and Engineering items that can be crafted into Truegold.

Herbalism and Alchemy

Potions are a staple in every raider’s kit since they provide some much-needed stat buffs and other benefits. Potions require materials only available through Herbalism. You also feed materials into your Alchemy levels by leveling this gathering profession. Alchemy also refines some raw materials that cannot be done through Smelting. Here are some potions and their requisite materials that remain in demand for this expansion:

  • Flask of the Draconic Mind: Requires Whiptail, Cinderbloom, and Volatile Life. Materials can be found at Twilight Highlands and Uldum.
  • Flask of the Winds: Requires Azshara’s Veil, Whiptail, and Volatile Life. Materials can be found at Mount Hyjal and Twilight Highlands.
  • Flask of Steelskin: Requires Cinderbloom, Heartblossom, and Volatile Life. Materials can be found at Uldum and Twilight Highlands.
  • Potion of the Tol'vir: Requires Whiptail, Cinderbloom, and Volatile Life. Materials can be found at Twilight Highlands and Uldum.
  • Truegold: Requires Pyrium Bar, Volatile Air, Volatile Fire, and Volatile Water. Materials can be found at Twilight Highlands and Uldum.

Players can’t keep their flasks and drink it too, so the supply and demand for it will always be equal, especially since the current raids of Cata Classic will require players to get as many stat buffs possible. As for Truegold, this material is required in massive quantities for the most expensive item in the game, The Vial of the Sands.

Archaeology

This profession has a few items like pets, mount items, and unique Heirloom gear that can be sold for a good amount of gold. As mentioned earlier, you can obtain the precious Vial of the Sands through archaeology. Though this profession takes time, it does have the biggest gold returns.

Best Classes for Farming Cata Classic Gold

For players looking to farm as much gold as possible, choosing the best class for the job is the first step in optimizing the process. While every type can be used for grinding, there are specific characters that can farm faster or more efficiently. The best jobs are the ones with significant AoE damage and/or high movement speed or abilities. Here are the best specializations for gamers to choose from:

  • Rogue The main reason why Rogues are considered okay for farming is because of their escape tool. Most gold-grinding sessions happen in the open world, which makes characters susceptible to PvP situations in certain areas. With this class, they can use their invisibility to hide and escape when in danger.
  • Mage Mages have some of the strongest AoE-damage abilities and can quickly move from place to place. While they may be extremely powerful, they are very fragile, so it is prudent to have consumables ready to buff you and provide recovery.
  • Druid This class is arguably one of the best for grinding resources. Their flying form allows them to travel more efficiently than other jobs, which saves a bit of time. In addition, Druids are powerful and balanced fighters with decent AoE attacks, which makes them effective in farming.
  • Paladin This job is also considered one of the best gold farmers in the game due to their excellent capabilities in combat. They have potent offense and defense abilities while having incredible movement speed. This allows Paladins to quickly finish grind spots and move to other areas.

While not every farming method requires players to kill mobs, several grind spots are infested with dangerous enemies, so being able to eliminate these obstacles can make gathering easier and safer.

The Howling Fjord is one of the best places to farm mobs.

Most Profitable Combats in Cataclysm

You can always make gold by cracking a few skulls in WoW. In Cataclysm Classic, there are a few combat activities in which you can earn some gold, whether that be short term or long term.

Heroic Dungeons

Cataclysm Classic will introduce new dungeons into the rotation, with Blackrock Caverns, Throne of the Tides, Vortex Pinnacle, The Stonecore, The Lost City of Tol’vir, The Halls of Origination, Grim Batol, Deadmines, and Shadowfang Keep. Dungeon mobs can be skinned with the Skinner profession, where said skins can be sold for some gold in the Auction House.

Old Raid Farming

Older pieces of transmog, gear, and mounts remain valuable in content like TBC and WotLK. With older raids, you can easily clear them with a group using the current item-leveled gear in Cataclysm Classic. This means that you can effectively one-shot raid bosses while ignoring mechanics to farm for their boss-specific loot. Old raids like Molten Core, Naxxramas, and Icecrown Citadel will be far easier with a small group, if not solo if the raid is old enough.

Rare Mob Farming

Rare mobs like Poseidus and Aeonaxx have mounts that are bound on equip, meaning that if you already have their mounts, you can sell them at the Auction House for a large sum of gold.

Skinning

This profession is a direct result of getting into combat. Since some mobs intrinsically have hides that can be sold in the Auction House, killing them in regular combat allows you to skin them and sell them on the market for some gold. For Cataclysm Classic, you gather these skins from mobs in their respective zones: Savage Leather (Orgrimmar), Deepsea Scales (Vashj’ir mobs), and Blackened Dragonscale (Mount Hyjal Dragonkin mobs). Since these mobs will constantly spawn, you can make a steady stream of gold by doing pure combat and skinning the remains.

Auction House Trading

This gold farming method is timeless, regardless of the game's current expansion. This adage is just as true in real life as it is in WoW: Buy low, sell high. Some materials in the Auction House are sold for a lower price than what they are usually sold for in the market. Buy the item if you are confident that reselling the item for a higher price is viable. This method is by far the easiest way but requires a lot of knowledge of the trends in the player market. The market can be volatile at times, so you will need to be fast when it comes to trading.