Blacksmithing 525 And Illustrious – What Changes Can We Expect?
What changes can we expect to the Blacksmithing profession as we approach Cataclysm and the introduction of the new level 525 illustrious Blacksmithing tier?
Blizzard are keeping tight lipped about this, however, from what we know so far, It is likely that the new crafting recipes may well require, or at least benefit from, items from the new secondary profession of archaeology.
The way it has been couched so far, it seems as if we may be actually given the option to add items to the recipe to improve their stats, or not as the case may be.
This simple change is actually quite a radical departure for Blizzard. It means that level 525 Illustrious blacksmiths will have a far greater choice in the usability of the pieces they craft, perhaps allowing items to be tailored to be used by different classes dependant on the buffs etc.. We will have to wait and see.
Of course this benefits the developers as well. It adds choice to the players without them having to design many new graphic models for the weapons and armour made.
A further change is that Blizzard seem to be moving towards making the professions more interdependent than ever before. With key items from one profession required as reagents in another. In a similar way that Blacksmiths make rods for enchanters now.
Straight after Cataclysm is released I expect to see a real race for characters to reach level 525 Illustrious Blacksmithing. Remembering my experience with Burning Crusade and Wrath, the high levels of demand for the top crafted items dies off pretty quickly as character find better look in the instances. With that in mind, consider levelling up mining and maybe the new archaeology profession (which is secondary, and therefore can be used by all players). As without these support professions, levelling up Blacksmithing will be a very expensive prospect, and the profitability of your crafted items will be reduced, or possibly zero.
I think all Blacksmith’s hope that the new weapons they can craft have a decent range of prospective buyers. Wrath of the Lich King’s Blacksmithing additions were woefully short, lacking even the most basic weapon types that a Blacksmith should be able to craft.
Cataclysm will bring change with it. I hope we can all look forward to having a great time reaching level 525 Illustrious Blacksmithing.
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