World of Warcraft Vanilla: Fast Gold Guide for Alliance Humans Starting Area

1. Understand How Gold Is Earned Early On

Making gold in WoW Vanilla is more challenging than in modern versions of the game, especially for new players at the start. Early on, you’ll mostly be working with silver and copper, but a few clever strategies can help you quickly build a stash to afford bags, skills, and perhaps a weapon upgrade by level 10-15. Let’s dive into key methods for earning gold efficiently as a Human in Northshire Abbey and Elwynn Forest.

2. Questing Efficiently for Maximum Rewards

Questing in the starting area offers not only experience but also copper, silver, and items to sell. Complete all quests in Northshire Abbey to gain experience, practice combat, and collect useful vendor loot. Key quests include:

• "Kobold Camp Cleanup" and "Investigate Echo Ridge": These beginner quests have you fight kobolds, which drop copper and sometimes cloth scraps. Complete these quickly and loot everything.
• "Wolves Across the Border": Hunt wolves for meat, which can be used in cooking or sold to vendors or other players.

After completing these, head to Goldshire and continue taking quests. Chain-questing here will give you more items and copper, helping you maximize your gold gain per level.

3. Loot Everything and Vendor Trash

Picking up all items dropped by enemies is a must. Even low-quality (“gray”) items have value when sold to vendors. Early on, every copper counts. Here’s what to look for:

• Gray Weapons and Armor: These are vendor trash but will get you copper and silver consistently. Inventory space is limited early on, so prioritize gray items over very cheap items like single pieces of meat or cloth.
• Cloth Items: Kobolds drop Linen Cloth, which can be sold to vendors or used for crafting later if you decide to pick up Tailoring. Selling stacks of Linen Cloth on the Auction House (AH) is a great way to make early silver if there are enough players on your server at low levels.

4. Professions for Profit

Choosing the right professions early can give you a steady income:

• Skinning and Herbalism/Mining: Gather professions are highly profitable and have no significant cost to train or level up, which makes them ideal for beginners. Skin wolves and other animals for Light Leather, which sells for silver to other players or on the Auction House.
• Fishing and Cooking: While not gold-heavy, Fishing and Cooking can provide food for self-sustenance and occasionally for sale. Fish like Small Fish can be cooked and sold or eaten, freeing up your silver for skill training instead of food.

5. Farm Kobolds for Cloth and Candles

One of the best ways to farm early gold is by repeatedly killing kobolds in the Fargodeep and Jasperlode Mines:

• Candles: Kobolds drop these frequently, which stack up in your inventory and sell decently to vendors.
• Linen Cloth: As mentioned, Linen Cloth is a constant drop from kobolds, and selling stacks of 20 Linen Cloth on the AH can net you several silver.

Since kobolds respawn fairly quickly and have predictable paths, you can farm them consistently without having to go far.

6. Auction House: Making the Most of Limited Items

While the Auction House in Vanilla is quite sparse in the early zones, it’s still possible to earn more gold by selling rare finds:

• Linen Cloth and Light Leather are always in demand and tend to sell well on the AH.
• Consumables and Bags: Any bag you find should either be kept to expand your inventory or listed on the AH for a good amount of silver.

Remember to check the AH for prices before listing items. It’s better to undercut other sellers by a small margin to ensure your items sell quickly.

7. Killing Wolves and Bears for Meat and Leather

The wildlife around Elwynn Forest is another solid option for early gold:

• Meat Drops: Wolves and bears in Elwynn drop meat, which is useful for Cooking and can sometimes be sold on the AH.
• Light Leather: Skinning wolves and bears gives you Light Leather, which sells decently, especially if you make leather into Light Armor Kits (requires Leatherworking). These kits stack and are always in demand by leveling players.

8. Take Up Tailoring Temporarily

Tailoring is easy to pick up since Linen Cloth is widely available in the starting zones. Here’s how to make money with this profession early on:

• Craft Linen Bags (6 slots): Bags are in high demand, and making 6-slot Linen Bags with Tailoring can yield substantial profit. Even if you don’t continue with Tailoring, the early Linen Bags will make you some early-game silver. Bags are a bottleneck for inventory space in Vanilla, and players are always looking to buy them.

9. Level Grinding at Kobold and Gnoll Camps

If you’ve completed the main quests and are just shy of level requirements or need extra gold, grinding on kobolds, gnolls, and other easy mobs is an option. This strategy yields:

• Consistent Loot Drops: These camps offer predictable and steady loot, which you can then vendor for silver.
• Respawning Resources: The Northshire Abbey kobold camps respawn quickly, allowing you to grind without much downtime.

10. Save for a Mount, Not Just Skills

While spending silver on training can be tempting, try to save for your mount early if you’re planning to make gold consistently. Having a mount at level 40 can improve your farming efficiency. By level 10-15, having a small stash of gold will put you ahead.

Final Thoughts

Earning gold in WoW Vanilla starting zones takes patience, but these methods will give you a strong foundation. Focus on maximizing your income from vendor loot, professions, and limited AH opportunities. With consistent grinding and smart selling, you’ll have enough gold to buy essential items and skills as you progress. Stick with these strategies, and you’ll be well-prepared to take on the challenges and rewards of higher-level zones.