If you’re fairly new to World of Warcraft, to the point of still trying ot figure out the most efficient ways of leveling, the only way you probably know how to make gold is by selling loot from kills to vendors. Of course, some people beg or dance on mailboxes, but you and I have our dignity, don’t we? So instead, let’s talk about legitimate and even faster ways of earning gold.

Why do you need gold in WoW?

Remember when you got your driver’s license? All you wanted was some wheels to get you around town faster. But your Dad wouldn’t give you the keys unless you earned money to put gas in the tank, right? In WoW it’s pretty much the same thing. For the current WoW patch, you can buy a mount at level 30, which will put you back a total of 45 gold for training and a mount. But when patch 3.2 comes out soon, you’ll be able to get a mount at level 20! You can’t make that kind of gold by selling grays from the starter zones! And with our power-leveling tips on this site, you’ll be getting to level 20 or 30 even faster than most people. So you’d better start learning how to get your cash flow moving.

1. Learn the Fishing skill and catch Deviate Fish at the ponds in The Barrens called Lushwater Oasis, Stagnant Pools, and Forgotten Pools. These fish sell for big money on most servers and you can get them at any fishing level.
2. Train two gathering professions and sell everything on the Auction House. (See box to right.)
3. Use sites like WoWEcon and Allakhazam to help you set your prices. Remember to choose your server and faction on WoWEcon because every server has a different economy.
4. Continue to gather lower-level ores and herbs even if they won’t level up your profession because everyone needs these materials (e.g., Blacksmiths and Engineers always need Copper).
5. If you choose Enchanting and you get a green quest reward that you can’t use, disenchant it and sell the shards on the Auction House.
6. Use the Auctioneer add-on and read the manual!

You must balance your desire to power-level with the fact that you will absolutely need gold to buy a mount. Obviously, gathering herbs and figuring out Auction House prices takes time away from your power-leveling. On the other hand, what good is it to be level 70 and have no mount??