World of Warcraft Motes and Primals Guide

Motes and Primals are new types of items that can be found in the popular MMORPG game the World of Warcraft. They were created in the release of The Burning Crusade expansion, and are classified as types of materials of considerable valueable. As such, Motes are often labeled the “new” Essences by the player community, as prior to the expansion, Essences, now virtually obsolete, were of similar design and value to that of Motes today. This article will explain to you the different type of Motes, where to get them, how they are transformed into Primals and what these Primals are most commonly used for.


There are 7 different types of Motes, and they are named after the elements of Shadow, Water, Life, Earth, Mana, Air and Fire respectively. All Motes can be combined into a Primal, simply by right clicking ten Motes of a similar element. For example, right clicking ten Motes of Shadow will result in the Motes combine into a Primal of Shadow. There is little use for Motes in their original form, but great demand for Primals, as they are used widely by many of the professions.

How to get primal and motes

The first mote a player is likely to encounter is the Mote of Shadow. Hellfire Peninsula, a Zone within the World of Warcraft, is full of hostile creatures classified as Demons, and as a general rule, all Demons in the Outlands have a chance of dropping Motes of Shadow when killed.


The second mote, the Mote of Water, can be easily ‘looted’ from the corpses of dead Shimmerscale Eels found in Terokkar Forest. Motes of Life can be ‘herbed’ from the ground by players skilled in Herbalism, while Motes of Earth can be mined from the earth by players skilled in Mining.


The Mote of Mana is the fifth type of Mote you will come across. You can obtain them by killing Elementals found in the Netherstorm area. Motes of Air have a chance of ‘dropping’ from all Air Elementals killed in the Outlands, while the last Mote, the Mote of Fire, can be obtained by either killing Fire Elementals, or also by players who possess a high skill level in Mining.

Primal and motes value

As mentioned above, Motes are usually grouped in denominations of ten and then ‘sundered’ into a Primal. In terms of value, Primals of Shadow and Primals of Earth are worth the least, and are usually sold for between 2 to 5 gold per primal on the Auction House. In the middle of the scale are the Primals of Mana and Water, which can be sold for approximately 20 gold per primal. The most expensive Primals are without doubt Primals of Fire and Air, due to their relative rareness. They are priced from upwards of 30g per piece on the Auction House!

The reason Primals hold so much value can be attributed to their usefulness. Like their predecessors the Essences, Primals are needed in virtually every profession – Blacksmithing, Tailoring, Leatherworking, Engineering, Enchanting, Jewelcrafting and even by Alchemists. As such, the market for Primals is very active and they can be found being bought and sold in large amounts rapidly on the AH every day


In conclusion, gathering Motes, and turning them into Primals to be sold, can be an enticing method for any World of Warcraft player looking to make some extra gold. As such, exactly like how the Essences were once heavily sought after, one can often find a great many players ‘farming’ for these extremely lucrative Motes and Primals day and night, on their adventures in the game that is the World of Warcraft.