Herbalism

Overview

Herbalism lets you track herbs on the minimap and gather them from the ground. Every herb you find is a reagent for Alchemy, and several (such as Kingsblood, Golden Sansam and Mountain Silversage) also feed Leatherworking, Tailoring, Cooking and Enchanting recipes. It needs no tools, which makes it the lightest gathering profession to carry.

Because it pairs naturally with Alchemy, most herbalists either brew their own consumables or sell the raw herbs to people who do. Endgame herbs such as Black Lotus, Dreamfoil and Plaguebloom are among the most valuable things you can gather.

Leveling tips

• Switch on Find Herbs and keep it on while you quest; you will level most of the way through normal play.
• Each herb has a minimum skill, and herbs that are orange or yellow on the tooltip give the most skill. Move to the next zone bracket once most herbs in your current one are green.
• Briarthorn and Mageroyal (Barrens, Westfall, Silverpine, Darkshore), Kingsblood and Liferoot (Hillsbrad, Wetlands, Stranglethorn), then Sungrass and Firebloom (Feralas, Tanaris, Searing Gorge) make a smooth progression.
• Dreamfoil, Mountain Silversage and Plaguebloom are found in Un’Goro, Felwood, Winterspring and the Plaguelands, which is where the last stretch to 300 usually happens.
• Combine Herbalism with Mining or Skinning on a dedicated gathering character if you want the fastest gold income.

Making gold

Sell herbs in stacks of 20 rather than single nodes, and watch the market around raid nights when flask and potion demand peaks. Black Lotus is rare and best kept for your own flasks or sold to a guild alchemist. Mid-level herbs such as Kingsblood and Fadeleaf often sell well because alchemists and leatherworkers both need them.