Judging by the /who searches within the game interface, World of Warcraft players often start the game with characters that are advertised on help sites as being easier to level than some others. At other times they may want a challenge and decide to go for something that is said to be a challenge, such as a priest or mage.
However all characters in the game face the same difficulty. Earning enough money to pay for training every two levels, and levelling profession skills, can be difficult and having sufficient gold to buy the first mount at level 20 can seem an impossibility.
Make a Rogue to Pickpocket and Earn Gold
It's actually not that hard. The first thing to consider is starting up a Rogue. Rogues have the huge advantage over other characters of having an extra specialist skill, that of pickpocketing. Most humanoid mobs can be pickpocketed before they are killed including the Defias in Elwynn Forest and Westfall, all ogres, murlocs and more.
A successful attempt at pickpocketing always produces some money as well as the possibility of boxes which can be unlocked and used to level the rogue's lockpicking skill (and which contain more money and items), poisons and a variety of grey items which can be vendored for cash. Few rogues struggle with cash.
The rogue is also a very powerful toon and can often carry out with ease quests which a paladin or warrior would find difficult.
Rogues can Pick Locks
Rogues can also learn, at level 16, to pick locks. This is a skill which is important to level up because it's another excellent way to earn more gold. Other players whose characters cannot open boxes that have dropped will need them opened and many rogues charge a fee for this service.
Lockpicking can be slow to level and can only be trained to a maximum of five times your level. In other words, if the rogue is level 20 then lockpicking can be trained to 100. Learn Where to Level Lockpicking as another way of earning WoW gold that only the Rogue can perform.
Loot Every Corpse for the Money and Items
The next thing to consider is that every single corpse which is killed will show a sparkle above it. This means that it can be right clicked upon and looted. Again at very low level the items are mostly very low value grey junk which should be vendored, but it is this grey junk which when sold to a vendor will provide the toon with sufficient money to buy food and pay for training.
Incidentally, grey junk in the game is characterised by having its name in grey text. There are also items with white, green, blue, purple and beige text but the items most likely to drop will be grey, white or green. Blues are rarer, purples really rare and beige items are classed as heirloom. Of course, as the rogue gets to higher level these items and all the other loot becomes more valuable, and so it's vital to level the toon up. It's also necessary to increase the rogue's level to increase the skill level of Lockpicking and whatever the gathering skills are to collect higher grade items.
Professions for Earning Game Gold
Once the character has reached the nearest town it is time to think about which profession skills to level. Although every World of Warcraft character can learn riding, fishing, cooking and first aid, there are two additional slots for the major professions which should be utilised. For a new character with very little money there are two obvious combinations: skinning and mining, or skinning and herbalism.
Both can be very lucrative, although mining is easier to level than herbalism and can bring in large sums especially at high level. There is a tracking button which can be set next the mini map utility provided as part of the game, and once activated for either Herbalism or Mining, every time a yellow dot is spotted on the mini map the character can attempt to get to this node and loot it.
Use the Auction House and Vendors to Avoid Dropping Items
Think carefully before vendoring low level items which are not grey. The first white items to drop from looted corpses will most likely be white text equipment which can either be equipped to the character if the stats are better than the equipment it is already carrying, or sold to a vendor. At low levels linen cloth will also drop and this can sell in the auction house for quite good prices, especially in stacks of 20 pieces.
Boar meat, small eggs, and other cooking items can be auctioned as well and of course all the ore, herbs, skins or whatever the gathering professions are can be sold too. By the time the character is level 10 there should be more than enough money for training and levelling. Just remember to loot every corpse, utilise gathering professions and Rogue pickpocketing, and if bag space is insufficient buy bigger bags in the auction house as soon as possible (16 slot bags should be plenty).
There are almost always vendors located nearby if full bags become a problem so it should never be necessary to drop items for lack of space.
Rogues can Earn Lots of WoW Gold Quickly
The Rogue is a great character to start up for money making in the game of World of Warcraft. It is versatile and can be a real asset in any set of toons, for there will always be boxes which drop and doors needing unlocked somewhere. Picking pockets then backstabbing the mobs successfully is great fun, as is vanishing suddenly if the attacks and aggro gets too much!
For more information, the article Why Does a Player Need World of Warcraft Gold contains some excellent advice, and Powerlevel with WoW Gold Without Going Broke yet more hints and tips on what to do and what not to do whilst levelling to earn game gold.
Gillian Buchanan - Gillian has over 40 years' experience in hand knitting and crochet, having learned to do both as a small child. For two years she authored ...
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