Route: Set Your Gold Targets (So You Stop Feeling “Behind”)

If you don’t set clear targets, you’ll always feel broke—even when you’re earning well—because you’re spending randomly. A progression player sets targets like a raid leader sets assignments: everything has a purpose.

A practical TBC gold target list looks like this:

• Basic flying (Expert Riding + mount): your first mobility unlock at level 70. This isn’t “luxury.” It’s access to faster gathering loops, safer travel, and many daily hubs that assume you can fly.
• Epic flying (Artisan Riding + mount): a long-term economic multiplier. It doesn’t just make you move faster—it makes your farm routes viable during peak hours because you can tag and leave before competition does.
• Enchants + gems for your “core set”: the gear you wear to raids most weeks. If you enchant everything you replace instantly, you’ll go broke. If you enchant nothing, you’ll be declined and underperform. You want a smart middle path: fully finish your core set first, then upgrade selectively.
• Weekly raid budget: repairs + consumables + occasional respec costs. Even if you’re frugal, progression is wipe-heavy, and wipe-heavy nights burn resources.

The most helpful mindset: separate your gold into two piles

• Progression pile: flying, enchants, gems, consumes.
• Lifestyle pile: mounts, cosmetics, vanity crafts, random auction buys.

Your progression pile is what gets you invited and keeps you invited. Build that first.

Route: The Reliable Gold Model (Steady + Burst, Not “One Magic Farm”)

The biggest mistake players make is trying to find one perfect gold farm. In TBC, one “best farm” doesn’t exist because:

• competition changes by server and time of day,
• prices swing week to week,
• your class and gear change what’s efficient.

Reliable gold comes from two income streams:

• Steady income: predictable gold you can earn even on busy evenings (dailies, cooldown crafts, short instances, leftover quest gold).
• Burst income: higher spikes when you have time or you catch a good market (prime gathering routes, high-demand primals, weekend dungeon sessions, selling crafted consumables before raid nights).

If you only do burst farms, you get stressed when spots are crowded. If you only do steady income, you grow slowly and feel stuck. The combination is what funds epic flying and keeps you raid-ready every reset.

Route: The Fastest “No-Skill” Gold Most Players Ignore (Quest Gold at 70)

If you hit level 70 by grinding dungeons, you often have a hidden gold mine waiting: entire Outland zones full of unfinished quests. At level cap, experience rewards convert into gold, and you also get:

• vendor trash,
• greens to vendor or disenchant,
• reputation progress that unlocks discounts and rewards.

This is one of the most reliable ways to fund basic flying quickly because it doesn’t depend on Auction House prices or contested farming spots. It’s also flexible: you can do it in 20–40 minute chunks.

How to do it like a progression player:

• Pick one zone and finish it completely instead of bouncing around.
• Turn in stacks of quests efficiently (plan your loop so you don’t fly across the map for one turn-in).
• Vendor everything that isn’t a real upgrade (or disenchant if you have Enchanting).
• Save “hard elite quests” for later when you can group quickly.

This method is especially good if your schedule is tight: you can log in, do a compact chain, log out, and still progress your gold.

Loot: Daily Quest Gold Routes That Actually Fund Progression

Daily quests are the backbone of “I can always afford raid nights.” They’re not always the highest gold per hour, but they’re the most consistent—and consistency is what pays for enchants, consumes, and repairs without panic.

A smart daily strategy has three rules:

1. Only do dailies you can complete fast.
2. Stack dailies in one region to reduce travel time.
3. Choose dailies that also unlock valuable rewards (rep, items, access).

Below are the daily hubs that matter most in TBC-style progression. Not every hub is available on every ruleset at all times, so think of this as a menu: you pick the hubs your server’s phase supports.

Loot: Sha’tari Skyguard (Skettis) — Short, Fast, Repeatable

Skettis dailies are famous because they’re compact and fast once you’ve unlocked them. They also double as reputation progress toward useful rewards.

What makes Skettis good for gold:

• The quests are close together.
• You can finish them quickly with flying.
• The route is easy to “habit stack” into your daily routine.

How to run Skettis efficiently:

• Start at the Skyguard outpost, grab the day’s quests, and complete them in one loop.
• Don’t overkill mobs—finish the objective and leave.
• Keep your bags clean so you don’t waste time managing loot mid-route.

Progression note: Skettis is also one of the easiest daily routines to keep even when you’re busy, because it doesn’t require long travel across multiple zones.

Loot: Ogri’la — Dailies That Also Improve Your Power

Ogri’la is a great example of a daily hub that supports progression indirectly:

• you earn gold,
• you earn reputation,
• you access rewards that matter for pre-raid and early raid power.

Why Ogri’la works for raid-focused players:

• The hub is designed as a repeatable loop.
• The quests are structured for regular completion.
• It’s often paired with Skyguard routes for an “outland daily block.”

Efficiency tips:

• Learn the terrain so you don’t waste time landing and re-taking off.
• If the area is crowded, finish your quickest quests first and leave; don’t fight for the slow objectives.

Loot: Netherwing — The “Gold Engine” (But It Often Requires Epic Flying Rules)

Netherwing is one of the best-known daily networks in TBC because it can be both gold and long-term mount progress. On many TBC-style rulesets, Netherwing dailies are designed around fast flying access and can require epic flying skill.

Why Netherwing is powerful:

• Multiple dailies in one theme area.
• Strong “routine value” if you run it daily.
• Additional progress from Netherwing Eggs (rep acceleration that also has economic value if you’re competing for time).

How to treat Netherwing as progression funding:

• Use Netherwing as your steady income anchor: run the core set daily, then add one more farm method if you need extra gold.
• Keep a consistent time window (same time each day) so your run becomes muscle memory and stays fast.

If you’re trying to fund epic flying, Netherwing becomes extra meaningful because it’s part of your loop after you unlock the speed multiplier.

Loot: Cooking and Fishing Dailies — Tiny Time, Real Value

Cooking and fishing dailies don’t always look impressive on paper, but they do something extremely valuable for progression: they give you consistent gold in a very short time, plus occasional useful materials and recipes.

The biggest advantage: they’re low stress and easy to maintain even during heavy raid weeks. If you’re the type who struggles to farm for long sessions, these dailies can be your “minimum daily deposit” into your progression budget.

Loot: Shattered Sun Offensive (Isle Dailies) — The Late-Phase Gold Flood

When the Shattered Sun daily quest network is available on your ruleset, it becomes one of the most powerful steady income sources because there are many dailies clustered into a single zone.

How to run it efficiently:

• Do the island dailies in one sweep.
• Turn in in batches.
• Vendor or mail loot immediately so your bags stay clean.
• Don’t let “just one more daily” trap you into exceeding your planned time window—consistency is more valuable than occasional over-farming.

Progression advantage: these dailies also push reputation rewards that can improve your gearing and preparation options.

Loot: The Daily Limit and Why It Matters for Your Routine

Daily quests are capped per day in TBC-style systems (commonly discussed as a 25 daily limit in later TBC patch structure). This matters because:

• you don’t want to waste your daily “slots” on slow or low-value dailies,
• you want to pick the quickest, highest-value set that fits your schedule.

A progression player doesn’t aim to do “all possible dailies.” They aim to do the best set they can do consistently.

Loot: Farming Materials That Always Sell (Even When Prices Change)

If you want reliable Auction House income, you farm materials that:

• are used in raiding consumables,
• are used in popular crafts,
• are used every week (not one-time leveling purchases).

That means your focus should be: primals + herbs + ores + enchanting materials + key leathers + cloth.

The Primal Market (Your Most Reliable “Progression Demand” Category)

Primals power multiple systems at once:

• crafted gear,
• profession cooldowns,
• enchants and consumables,
• resistance and progression crafts.

That’s why they remain valuable even as content phases change.

The key to reliable primal income is flexibility. You need:

• a primary farm spot,
• a backup spot,
• a “quiet hours” plan.

Here’s how to approach primals without losing your mind to competition.

Primal Air (Nagrand / Elemental Plateau style farming)

Primal Air is often one of the most contested primals because it’s used in many high-demand crafts. Your goal isn’t to “own the plateau.” Your goal is to:

• farm in off-hours,
• farm your backup spots when it’s crowded,
• sell in smart stack sizes when demand spikes (usually before raid nights).

How to increase your success rate:

• Never fight to the death over tags. If the area is packed, rotate to a backup route and keep earning.
• If you have gathering professions, layer your loop so you pick up herbs/ore while hunting air elementals.

Primal Fire (Hellfire / Shadowmoon / high-density elemental areas)

Primal Fire demand stays strong because it fuels:

• crafted items,
• consumables,
• profession cooldown ecosystems.

Practical approach:

• Farm fire in zones where you can chain-pull and minimize travel time.
• If your class struggles with downtime, pick camps you can sustain without long drink/eat breaks.

Primal Water (Zangarmarsh / water elemental areas)

Primal Water tends to be more stable because it’s not always the most glamorous farm, which can reduce competition compared to Air and Fire.

Efficiency tips:

• Pick a route with multiple water elemental groups rather than a single camp.
• If you’re a skinner or herbalist, pair it with nearby leather/herb routes for extra value.

Primal Mana (Netherstorm / mana creature routes)

Primal Mana is often farmed alongside other Netherstorm value:

• herbs and ore,
• cloth drops,
• instance access loops if you combine with dungeon farming.

If your server’s mana primal market is volatile, consider:

• selling as motes when primal prices crash (some buyers prefer motes),
• holding primals for raid nights when craft demand rises.

Primal Shadow (Shadowmoon Valley / dark elementals)

Shadow primals can be excellent when:

• your server has heavy caster demand,
• craft recipes require it,
• shadow resist prep increases demand.

Shadow farming is also a good “quiet hours” choice because some spots are less popular than Air or Fire.

Loot: Herbs That Fund Your Raid Week

Herbalism is a classic “always useful” gold engine because raid consumes don’t stop being needed. Herbs that commonly matter in TBC-style raiding include:

• base Outland herbs used in potions and elixirs,
• higher-value herbs gated by flying and route knowledge.

How to farm herbs reliably:

• Build a loop you can run without thinking.
• Prioritize consistency over “perfect route.”
• Sell in sizes raiders actually buy (often 5s, 10s, or 20s depending on herb and server habits).

If you’re funding progression, your best herb strategy is to sell before raid nights when consume crafting spikes.

Loot: Ore That Stays Valuable (Even If You Don’t Blacksmith)

Mining is powerful because it feeds:

• Blacksmithing crafts,
• Jewelcrafting prospecting,
• Engineering,
• general crafting materials that never stop moving.

Your mining gold becomes more reliable when you:

• include multiple ore types in your loop (don’t chase only one rare node),
• farm during non-peak times when possible,
• pair mining with a primal/cloth farm so you still earn even if nodes are taken.

Loot: Cloth and Leather (Low Glamour, High Reliability)

A lot of players ignore cloth and leather farming because it feels “low value,” but progression markets love stable inputs.

Netherweave cloth

Netherweave is used constantly:

• Tailoring leveling and crafts
• First Aid bandages (and bandages still matter in some progression scenarios)
• Bag crafting
• Spellthread and cloth ecosystem

If you farm in humanoid-heavy areas while doing other objectives, netherweave becomes passive gold.

Knothide leather and specialty leathers

Leather supports:

• drums ecosystem,
• leg armor kits,
• popular crafted pieces,
• profession leveling.

If you already kill beasts during your routes, Skinning turns those kills into a second income stream with almost no extra time.

Loot: Dungeon Gold Methods (When You Want Gold Without Open-World Competition)

Dungeon farming is your best friend when:

• open-world spots are crowded,
• you want raw gold + vendor value,
• you can consistently clear fast with your spec.

The core dungeon gold logic:

• Raw gold + vendor loot is guaranteed.
• Disenchant value can be huge if you have Enchanting.
• Cloth + crafting materials become extra profit.

A reliable approach is to treat dungeon gold as “burst sessions”:

• One focused hour on a dungeon you can clear smoothly.
• Vendor, disenchant, list materials.
• Stop before fatigue makes you sloppy (sloppy clears lose gold per hour fast).

Popular choices depend heavily on your class and your server, but the best dungeons for gold are usually the ones where:

• mobs are tightly packed,
• trash drops are consistent,
• travel and downtime are low.

If you’re a tank-capable class, your dungeon gold options expand massively because you can form groups quickly and run repeats without waiting.

Loot: Profession Income You Can Count On (Cooldowns and High-Demand Crafts)

Professions are where gold becomes stable even when you’re busy. The best profession income for progression has one trait: it’s time-gated or demand-gated.

Tailoring cooldown cloths (steady, predictable value)

Tailoring specialization cooldown crafts can be a weekly paycheck because many players want the cloth but not everyone wants to maintain the cooldown routine.

If you’re using tailoring for progression, two important truths:

• cooldown cloths are often used in powerful sets and popular crafts,
• specialization can increase output efficiency, which often improves profit potential.

The progression advantage: you can log in, craft your cooldown, and log out—your gold engine keeps running.

Alchemy transmutes (steady and scalable)

Alchemy offers a similar “log in, do cooldown, profit” pattern through transmutes and high-demand crafting:

• primal conversion transmutes,
• Primal Might-style crafts (especially when crafting demand is high),
• elixir or flask production if you’re supporting your raid week.

Alchemy also supports your own raid readiness: the less you rely on buying consumes at peak prices, the more stable your weekly budget becomes.

Enchanting (turning loot into liquid gold)

Enchanting is one of the most underrated progression gold tools because it converts unwanted drops into materials that always sell to raiders:

• shards,
• essences,
• dust.

If you run dungeons regularly, Enchanting can turn your “trash” into a consistent sellable stream. This is especially strong if you combine it with:

• short dungeon farms,
• questing at 70 (disenchant greens),
• crafting shuffles when materials are cheap.

Jewelcrafting (consistent demand, especially around raid prep)

Jewelcrafting stays relevant because:

• players constantly upgrade gear and need new gems,
• certain cuts and metas stay in demand,
• prospecting can turn ore into higher-value gem outputs.

A reliable JC approach:

• cut what raiders actually buy (the “standard” stat gems),
• sell when players are gearing (often right after raid resets),
• keep your inventory small and focused (too many cuts leads to wasted listings).

Cooking and Fishing (small effort, surprisingly consistent)

Cooking and fishing support two markets:

• your own raid prep (food buffs),
• the server economy (raiders buy stacks of food ingredients and finished foods).

If you’re time-limited, this is the best “low effort, never useless” profession pairing.

Extraction: The 30–60 Minute Daily Gold Routine (Progression-Friendly)

A routine that fits your real life is the routine you’ll actually do. Here are two progression-ready templates you can run without burnout.

Extraction: 30-Minute Plan (Steady Income + One Market Item)

Goal: fund consumes, repairs, and incremental savings toward big purchases.

• Do your fastest daily hub loop (Skettis/Skyguard or a compact hub your server supports).
• Add one short gathering loop on the way (herbs or ore) OR one quick primal camp.
• Mail all sellables to a bank alt immediately (so you don’t forget and vendor something valuable later).
• List your items in common raider stack sizes.

This plan wins because it’s repeatable. Repeatable beats “I farmed five hours once” every time.

Extraction: 60-Minute Plan (Steady + Burst Session)

Goal: make visible progress toward epic flying and expensive enchants.

• Run your daily loop (same as above).
• Add a burst session:
• a short dungeon farm (if you can clear quickly), OR
• a high-demand primal route, OR
• a full herb/ore loop route you know well.

The secret is to stop at 60 minutes. If you push until you’re tired, you start making slow decisions and your gold per hour collapses.

Extraction: Weekly Plan (So Your Raid Week Is Always Funded)

A simple weekly rhythm that works:

• Reset day: list materials and gems early (demand spikes as players prepare for raids).
• Two “burst” days: do your longer farm session or dungeon session (1–2 hours).
• All other days: do the 30-minute steady plan.

This keeps your gold stable and prevents the “I have to farm all weekend because I’m broke” spiral.

Extraction: Spending Priority (Where Your Gold Should Go First)

The fastest way to feel rich is to stop spending like a lottery player. Progression spending is about return on investment.

Priority 1: Mobility that unlocks income

• Basic flying is usually the first big purchase because it increases your farm efficiency and unlocks daily hubs and routes.
• Epic flying is a multiplier, but it’s a second-step purchase: don’t cripple your raid readiness to buy it early unless you have a plan to fund enchants and consumes right after.

Priority 2: Finish your “core set” enchants and gems

Raid leaders don’t judge you by whether your leveling boots are enchanted. They judge you by whether your main raid pieces are finished:

• weapon enchant or weapon enhancement plan,
• key stat enchants,
• proper gems (especially if you need hit or specific thresholds).

Finish your core set first, then upgrade as you replace gear.

Priority 3: Raid consumable stability

A smart goal is not “I always buy the most expensive consume.” It’s:

• “I always have what I need for the night.”
• “I never show up empty and borrow from others.”
• “I can sustain wipe nights without panic.”

Priority 4: Long-term systems (professions, bank alt organization, cooldown networks)

Once your weekly raid costs are stable, invest in systems that reduce future stress:

• profession cooldowns,
• crafting networks,
• organized storage,
• market timing habits.

This is how you become the player who’s never broke.

Practical Rules: Reliable Gold Without Burnout (Copy These)

1. Always maintain two income streams: one steady, one burst.
2. If a farm spot is crowded, rotate immediately—don’t waste time competing.
3. Sell before raid nights when demand spikes.
4. Mail sellables to a bank alt and keep your raiding bags clean.
5. Don’t enchant every temporary piece; finish your core set first.
6. Stop buying random upgrades right before raid—plan purchases the day before.
7. Track your weekly “raid burn” costs so you know what you must earn.
8. Avoid risky Auction House gambling unless you already have a stable income base.
9. Time-gated profession cooldowns are free gold—use them consistently.
10. Quest gold at 70 is the best “no-competition” income—finish zones methodically.
11. Don’t farm only one item; build a route that produces multiple sellables.
12. If you can’t commit to long sessions, commit to short sessions daily—consistency wins.
13. Always vendor or disenchant immediately after farms so your gold becomes “real.”
14. Don’t buy gold or use shady services—progression isn’t worth bans or lost accounts.
15. If you need epic flying, treat it like a raid goal: set a weekly target and stick to it.

BoostRoom: The Fast Path to “Always Raid-Ready”

Gold problems usually aren’t “you don’t know one secret farm.” They’re a planning problem: no routine, no priority system, and no connection between gold earned and progression goals.

BoostRoom is built to help you turn gold into real progression power:

• A routine that matches your schedule (30–60 minute plans that you can actually sustain).
• A spending priority plan so your gold becomes flying, enchants, and raid readiness—not random purchases.
• Guidance on which farms and profession cooldowns make sense for your class and role, so you don’t waste time on low-value loops.
• A raid-readiness focus: you don’t just earn gold—you show up prepared and get invited more.

If you want to stop scrambling and start progressing smoothly, treat gold like a system. BoostRoom helps you build that system.

FAQ

How much gold do I need for basic flying and epic flying in TBC?

Basic flying typically means Expert Riding plus a flying mount, while epic flying is Artisan Riding plus the epic mount. Costs can vary by discounts and rulesets, but epic flying is a major investment that most players fund through dailies, quests at 70, and material farming.

Is questing at level 70 really good gold?

Yes. Experience converts into gold at level cap, and you also earn vendor loot and materials. It’s one of the most reliable “no competition” gold methods.

What’s the most reliable gold method if I only have 30 minutes a day?

Short daily routes (Skyguard/Skettis or other compact hubs) plus a quick gathering or primal loop. The key is consistency: small deposits every day fund raid readiness.

Should I rush epic flying before I’m fully enchanted?

Only if you have a plan to immediately stabilize raid costs afterward. Epic flying increases income potential, but being under-enchanted can hurt invites and performance right now.

What should I farm if the Elemental Plateau or popular primal spots are crowded?

Switch immediately to a backup: herbs/ore loops, less popular primal types, or a short dungeon farm. The best gold farm is the one you can do without fighting other players for tags.

Are professions worth it for gold if I hate farming?

Yes. Tailoring cooldown cloths, Alchemy transmutes, Enchanting conversions, and Jewelcrafting cuts can all provide steady income with minimal daily time—especially if you’re consistent.

When is the best time to sell materials on the Auction House?

Often before raid nights and shortly after weekly resets when players are gearing and crafting. Demand rises when people prepare for content.

How do I stop going broke from raid consumables?

Build a weekly budget, run a steady daily routine, use profession cooldowns if available, and buy materials in advance (not at peak prices right before raid).