Blacksmithing is one of the 11 primary professions which can be chosen in WoW. If you decide to become a Blacksmith you will need a Blacksmithing Hammer which you can purchase at one of the trade supply or general good vendors in any of the bigger cities. To begin with you will need to visit your Blacksmith trainer who will learn you this profession and can also teach you to craft new and better items as you go.
As a Blacksmith you will need loads of ore which can be mined from the veins that are scattered all across Azeroth and Outland. There are several ways to obtain these ores and the best way is by taking Mining as your second profession so you can gather the ores yourself because the ores are really procy on the Auction House.
Blacksmithing is actually quite easy to level up as long as you have access to the much needed ores. With Blacksmithing you will learn to make nice items. At first you will primarily be making Weapons and Mail Armor. At a certain point you will start learning how to craft better Weapons and Plate Armor. Plate Armor is worn by Death Knights, Paladins and Warrior which makes Blacksmithing a perfect match for these classes.
As you continue to level up your Blacksmithing you will be asked to specialize yourself in either becoming an Armor Blacksmith of Weapon Blacksmith. As an Armor Blacksmith you will still gain access to most of the plans that allow a Blacksmith to craft weapons though and this also goes the other way around. If you do specialize in Weaponry or Armor you will be able to learn several patterns that teach you how to create several rare items. The choice isn’t that heavy though because you will still be able to create most of the good stuff that the Blacksmithing profession offers you anyway.
Especially when you reach the higher levels of Blacksmithing it becomes interesting because you will be able to make nice & shiny epics! The items you can make can be either worn by the Blacksmith or can be placed on the Auction House to earn some gold. Besides epic armor and weapons you can also create Belt Buckles. These can be used on belts. Once used you will see that you receive a socket on the belt which allows players to place a gem in their belt which makes the item better.
You also have the advantage of being able to create Socket Bracer and Socket Gloves. You can apply these two on your gloves and bracers to create a socket in your Bracers or Gloves which will also allow you to place a gem in them. Socket Gloves and Socket Bracer are two items that become soulbound once created which means that the Blacksmith can only use these himself and that they cannot be sold.
Altogether, Blacksmithing can work out really nice for people that wear Plate Armor. If you choose to make Mining your second profession Blacksmithing is quite easy and cheap to level though you can make nice amounts of money out of money out of it at later levels.
If you want to get the most out of Blacksmithing, then check out our WoW Blacksmithing Guide for more on leveling your character and making tons of Gold, plus a video review of Penn’s Professions Guide one of the most comprehensive and coolest World of Warcraft Professions Guides available.