WoW Forever Mining guide

What Mining does in Forever

Mining gathers ore, stone, and gems from veins and smelts ore into bars at a forge. Blizzard's own Forever writing treats the ore node as a social moment: the Deep Dive recap describes other players as competition "for an herb node, mining node, or enemy tag" who can become someone worth stopping for.

Mining camp objects

Blizzard confirms that every profession has three campsite objects learned at different skill levels, that the first comes at skill 20 from trainers or camping NPCs, and that advanced objects come from Blueprint recipes dropped by specific dungeon bosses. Blizzard does not name Mining's objects. Wowhead's beta data does:

Wowhead's Camping overview lists the beta reagents: Rough Stone and a Copper Bar for the Lodestone, Heavy Stone, Iron Ore, and a Silver Bar for the Rock Garden, and five Thorium Bars, two Dense Stone, and a Truesilver Bar for the Molten Foundry (reported). The Rock Garden is the notable one: a camp object that produces ore nodes.

The shared Camping guide covers campfire capacity and the one-hour object cooldown.

Where to learn Mining

Wowhead reports that starting-zone trainers teach only Apprentice Mining, and that an early quest can grant Apprentice Mining through the Mining for Dummies reward (reported). Full trainers in capitals and towns teach Apprentice through Artisan once you meet the skill and character level requirements.

Neutral trainers in the beta, per Wowhead:

• Messana Crestwind, Shen'dar Village, Zephras Isle
• Halavuul Cragwind, Valanaar, Zephras Isle
• Pikkle, Gadgetzan, Tanaris
• Grungle, Powderfuse Port, Riverglades

All four are reported beta NPCs, not launch documentation.

Ore veins by skill

Wowhead's beta table lists these minimum skills (reported). Each vein turns yellow, green, then gray as your skill rises past it.

Wowhead also reports that a vein usually takes several swings to empty, but grants at most one skill point per node. Gear raises your effective skill: Miner's Cape (+2), Goblin Mining Helmet (+5), Enchant Gloves - Mining (+2), and Enchant Gloves - Advanced Mining (+5) (reported).

Smelting and the new bars

Smelting happens next to a forge. Wowhead reports smelting grants skill up to 185, though it often takes several smelts per point. Key beta recipes (reported):

• Bronze: one Copper Bar plus one Tin Bar
• Steel: Iron Bar plus Coal, skill 165
• Dark Iron: eight ore per bar, skill 230
• Thorium: skill 250
• New: Smelt Azerothium, skill 275, from the trainer
• New: Smelt Heavy Thorium, skill 300, from the trainer

Wowhead names three new endgame bars: Legionite, Heavy Thorium, and Azerothium. It says Legionite currently appears to come only from Alchemists transmuting Heavy Thorium Bars, and that Heavy Thorium Ore is new, with locations still unknown (reported).

Mining can also yield Pyrite, Bauxite, and Pitchblende alongside ore. Wowhead calls them Scarce materials and says drop rates and which ore gives which are not yet known (reported).

Blizzard's Legacy article says Bountiful Harvest "helps you find additional Scarce resources when mining, herbing, or skinning." The shared word suggests these are the items the perk targets, but no Blizzard text names them.

A leveling plan for launch

No one has published a verified Forever route. Until one exists, level by the beta skill thresholds above:

Train each rank before you hit its cap. In Classic Era, the baseline Forever builds on, ranks cap at 75, 150, 225, and 300, and Wowhead's Classic guides put the Journeyman, Expert, and Artisan character-level gates at 10, 20, and 35 (Wowhead Classic Blacksmithing guide). Forever's gates are unpublished, so treat those numbers as a guide.

Keep your Rough, Coarse, and Heavy Stone. Beta camp recipes above use them, and a Blacksmith or Engineer partner will want them.

Pairing, class, and gold

Wowhead's beta guide recommends Herbalism as the second gathering profession, or Blacksmithing or Engineering if you want to craft with your own bars (reported). It says no racial ability affects Mining in Forever. Druids, Hunters, and Warlocks gather more easily thanks to stealth, travel form, pets, and Feign Death.

For gold, Mining needs no upfront investment beyond a Mining Pick from any Trade Goods vendor. Keep Find Minerals active so veins show on the minimap.

Mining and the Legacy system

• Bountiful Harvest: extra Scarce resources while mining (planned)
• Working Overtime: better skill-up chance in all tradeskills (planned)
• Dedicated Study: daily cooldown for faster skill gains (planned)
• No Tradeskill points: challenges list only non-gathering professions (confirmed)

Blizzard's Tradeskill challenges award points at 150, 225, and 300 "for each non-gathering primary profession," so Mining itself earns none. Pair it with a crafting profession if you want those points. The Legacy guide covers the 16-point spending cap.