ExpCarry Blogger

WotLK Mining 1-450 Guide

05 Aug 2023

9131 Views

Mining Upgrade in WoW Classic WotLK, ExpCarry Guide

Just like Herbalism, Mining enables players to collect essential resources that feed into crafting a variety of items across other professions. As a Miner, your main task is to excavate ores and transform them into bars, primarily used in Blacksmithing and Engineering. In this comprehensive guide, we'll guide you on how to advance your Mining skill in WoW Wrath of the Lich King, pinpoint the locations of professional trainers, share top-notch ore farming routes, and more.

General Insights about the Mining Profession

Mining is one of the handful gathering professions you can master in WotLK Classic. Embracing this profession shifts your focus towards gathering resources rather than crafting items. The bars you produce from smelting the collected ore are the foundation for Engineers and Blacksmiths to fabricate class-specific equipment, handy tools, and other functional items. Unrefined ore is also a precious commodity for Jewelcrafters, as they sift it to retrieve raw gems for further crafting of valuable gemstones.

Distinct Features of Ore Gathering in Wrath of the Lich King

Upon learning Mining from a professional trainer, you will unlock a new skill, "Find Minerals", in your skill book. This skill aids in tracking the position of nearby ore on your mini-map, dramatically facilitating the pursuit of mineral spawn points and accelerating resource gathering.

Once the Find Minerals skill is unlocked, simply open your skill book and use it. Subsequently, the closest ore spawn points will begin to populate your mini-map. A yellow dot signifies a lucrative mineral gathering spot. To mine ore, you need to procure a Mining Pick in advance and keep it in your inventory. A single hit is all it takes to shatter mineral deposits and collect all embedded resources.

When you encounter ore, go ahead and collect it. Nonetheless, it's crucial to remember that not all minerals are available for interaction. The tooltip that appears as you hover over the ore will help decipher whether your current profession skill level is sufficient to gather this resource. The color of the word "Mining" in the tooltip signifies:

Nonetheless, the acquisition of "grey" ore will not guarantee a boost to your Mining skill.

A red color indicates a shortfall in your current professional level to gather the ore. In other words, you're unable to interact with it just yet.
An orange hue suggests that although gathering this ore is possible, there's a chance your attempts might be unsuccessful. However, every successful gathering will unquestionably boost your Mining skill.
A yellow color means that gathering this mineral is feasible without any substantial hurdles. Occasionally, your attempts might fail, but successful resource accumulation will contribute towards enhancing your crafting skill.
A green color implies that you can gather this ore effortlessly, with your attempts barely failing. However, the probability of elevating your Mining skill is remarkably minimal.

Grey suggests that you can accumulate this mineral without any complications, and your attempts will consistently be successful.

Smelting Ore in Wrath of the Lich King

After learning Mining, you gain not only the ability to track ore on the mini-map but also to create bars through Smelting. This skill, which miners can use when near a forge, allows you to process ore into bars designed for crafting items through Blacksmithing and Engineering.

A unique feature of the Smelting skill is that it provides an additional way to level up Mining. After collecting minerals, smelt them into bars to enhance your profession skill.

How to Learn Mining in WoW WotLK

The art of Mining incorporates several tiers of progression:

Apprentice and Journeyman. To learn the foundational skills of ore gathering, you can turn to profession trainers located in your faction's capital cities. Upon reaching a significant city, interact with a city guard and request their assistance in locating the trainer you need. For Mining, select the conversation options "Profession Trainer" followed by "Mining". Consequently, a marker will be highlighted on the map signifying the trainer's location.

Expert. To elevate your ore gathering skill above 300, seek a Mining trainer in either Outland or Northrend. This location allows you to enhance your craft up to level 375.

Artisan. To advance your profession beyond level 375, venture to Northrend and consult one of the Grand Master Miners. You'll find these NPCs at various locations as listed below. Training under these experts enables you to upgrade your craft up to the level 450 threshold.

Grand Master Miners in Northrend:

Alliance:

Fendrig Redbeard - Borean Tundra.
Grumbol Stoutpick - Howling Fjord.

Horde:

Brunna Ironaxe - Borean Tundra.
Jonathan Lewis – Howling Fjord.

Neutral:

Jedidiah Handers - Dalaran.

Mining Leveling in Kalimdor and Eastern Kingdoms (1-300)

Craft Leveling 1-65

Mining leveling begins with gathering Copper Ore, which can be found in low-level locations. As soon as you reach skill level 50, visit your trainer and upgrade your proficiency to Journeyman to continue leveling Mining up to 150.

Craft Leveling 65-125

Once you have become a Journeyman, head to Hillsbrad Foothills, Redridge Mountains, the Barrens, Loch Modan, or Darkshore. Gather the ores listed below until you reach skill level 125:

65-100 – Copper Ore
65-125 – Tin Ore
75-125 – Silver Ore

Craft Leveling 125-175

At skill level 125, visit your trainer and upgrade your proficiency. At this point, it will be hard to progress as only one type of ore will guarantee skill advancement. In general, continue to gather the same resources as before, and when you have slightly increased your profession level, head to Arathi Highlands, Badlands, or Thousand Needles where you can gather the following minerals:

125-175 – Iron Ore
155-175 – Gold Ore

We recommend you to choose a circular route for gathering ores to cover as much territory as possible.

Craft Leveling 175-225

At skill level 175, you will be able to mine Mithril Ore. If you were leveling Mining in Arathi Highlands, go back there and continue gathering ore. Otherwise, head to Tanaris or the Hinterlands.

175-225 – Mithril Ore

Craft Leveling 225-245

Once you've leveled Mining to 225, visit your profession trainer and upgrade your proficiency. Then continue to gather the same ore as before until you reach skill level 245.

Craft Leveling 245-300

At skill level 245, you will be able to mine from small Thorium veins. At skill level 275, you will be able to gather resources from rich Thorium veins. With their help, you will quickly level up Mining to 300. We recommend you to move to the Blasted Lands, Un'Goro Crater, Felwood, or Silithus. Gather any minerals there that can enhance your Mining skill to some extent.

245-300 Thorium Ore

Mining Leveling in Outland (300-375)

Craft Leveling 300-325

During the leveling of Mining from 300 to 325, you need to gather Fel Iron Ore. There is a lot of it in Hellfire Peninsula. Explore the location along the edge of the zone (along the mountains) and gather everything that is marked on the mini-map with a yellow icon.

Craft Leveling 325-350

To gain the next 25 skill levels, go to Zangarmarsh and move along the edge of the location in the same way. There you will find deposits of Fel Iron Ore and Adamantite Ore.

Craft Leveling 350-375

To raise your skill to 375, head to Nagrand. There are many veins, both rich and small. If you wish, you can continue to gather resources in other Outland locations.

Mining Leveling in Northrend (350-450)

Before you start gathering ore in Northrend, visit the Grand Master of Mining and improve your skills so that you can level up your mining skills to 450.

Craft Leveling 350-400

The Borean Tundra is a great option for gathering minerals, as the terrain is flat, so you won't have to climb mountains. In addition, there are a lot of caves in this location, in which there is almost always one or several ore deposits. If you encounter a lot of competitors in the Borean Tundra, then go to the Howling Fjord at level 375 in mining.

Craft Leveling 400-450

The Sholazar Basin is teeming with mineral deposits, so it's one of the best areas in Northrend for leveling up mining. You can stay in it until your profession reaches level 450. If you encounter high competition, try gathering ore in Icecrown.

Most Valuable Ore in WotLK 3.4.0/3.3.5a

Below, we will list the most demanded types of minerals in Wrath of the Lich King. This ore is constantly in demand as it is on the list of materials needed to make high-level equipment and other useful items.

Titanium Ore – used in high-level crafting and enchanting production.
Saronite Ore – used by a large number of professions and needed for the production of high-level equipment.

Unique Miner Ability in Wrath of the Lich King

Leveling up mining in WotLK 3.4.0/3.3.5a gives the player access to the unique passive skill Toughness. It increases the character's stamina, depending on the skill level of the craft.

Skill	Required Craft Skill	Details
Toughness (Rank 1)	75	Increases Stamina by 3
Toughness (Rank 1)	150	Increases Stamina by 5
Toughness (Rank 1)	225	Increases Stamina by 7
Toughness (Rank 1)	300	Increases Stamina by 10
Toughness (Rank 1)	375	Increases Stamina by 30
Toughness (Rank 1)	450	Increases Stamina by 60