In the World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade, Tailoring occupies a unique place. It's more than just a way to craft a beautiful robe; it's arguably the most stable and reliable financial tool of the entire TBC era. Unlike gathering professions that require constant traversal of the map, a Tailor can earn huge sums simply by standing at a mailbox or visiting specific locations every few days.
In this guide, we'll cover all aspects of turning cloth into hard cash - from choosing the right specialization to working the auction house - so you can reliably earn WoW Anniversary gold for epic mounts and top-tier gear.
Why Tailoring?
First, let's define who this profession is suited for.
Ideal candidates are cloth-wearing classes (Mages, Warlocks, Priests). The reason is simple: the most powerful items (BiS - Best in Slot) crafted by tailors are Bind on Pickup (BoP). This means that as a Mage, you not only earn money, but also outfit yourself in Tier 5 raid-grade gear before even setting foot in your first dungeon.
However, even if you're not a cloth-wearing class, Tailoring can be profitable as a twin profession thanks to the cooldown mechanics for crafting expensive cloth.
Key Benefits of the Profession
- Passive Income: Craft Elite Cloth every 4 days.
- High Demand: Bags are always in demand.
- Consumables: Enchantment Threads for Pants are a must-have for any raider caster or healer.
Cloth Specializations (Shadowcloth, Spellcloth, Primal Mooncloth)
This forms the backbone of your economy. In TBC, tailors can select one of three specializations at level 60 with 350 skill. After completing a short quest in Shattrath City, you gain a passive benefit: crafting Elite Cloth yields two pieces instead of one while using the same materials.
Considering that crafting cloth has a 4-day cooldown, this bonus doubles your profit. The cloth itself is not soulbound and can and should be sold.
How to Choose a Specialization for Profits?
The choice depends on the economy of your server and your class.
- Spellfire: Used by almost all DPS casters (especially Fire/Arcane mages and Destroyers). Typically the most expensive at the start of content, as it is used to craft the powerful Spellwrath set. Requires crafting in Netherstorm.
- Shadoweave: Required for the Shadoweave set, worn by Warlocks and Shadow Priests. Demand is consistently high. Requires crafting at the Altar of Shadows in Shadowmoon Valley.
- Primal Mooncloth: The healer's choice. Used for Spirit and Healing sets. Often cheaper than the first two, but it is also used in high-level bags, keeping demand high for a long time. Requires crafting at a Moonwell (e.g., Cenarion Refuge).
Specialization and Requirements Comparison
| Specialization | Primary Resource | Primary Buyers | Crafting Difficulty | Earning Potential |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spellfire | Primal Fire + Primal Mana | Mages, Warlocks (Destro) | Medium (need to fly to Netherstorm) | High |
| Shadowweave | Primal Shadow + Primal Fire | Warlocks (Affley), Shadow Priests, Frost Mages | High (dangerous zone in Shadowmoon Valley) | Stable |
| Mooncloth | Primal Life + Primal Water | Light Priests, Druids, Shamans + Bag Crafting | Low (Wells are found in safe zones) | Long-Term |
If you have alts (secondary characters), level them up to 350 Tailoring and specialize. This will allow you to produce fabric every 4 days and sell it, earning passive income in WoW Anniversary gold without any effort.
Bag Baron
In WoW, bags are essential items. A new standard is being introduced in TBC: the 16-slot Netherweave Bag.
- Mass production: Crafting requires only Netherweave cloth (which drops in tons) and Rune Thread. You can buy cloth on the auction house cheap on weekends, craft hundreds of bags, and sell them for a little more on weekdays. The margins are small (usually 1-3 WoW Classic gold per bag), but the turnover is huge.
- Elite bags: the 18-slot Imbued Netherweave Bag and the 20-slot Primal Mooncloth Bag. These are items for wealthy players. Competition is lower, but they also sell more slowly.
Leg Enchants
This is a goldmine for late-game items. Tailors can create Spellthread, which increases stats. These enchantments are essential for every raider, and they are constantly purchased when gearing up.
There are two types of thread:
- Silver / Mystic: Budget options. They sell well for leveling and alts.
- Golden / Runic: Top-tier enchantments. Recipes for these are purchased with reputation with the Aldor and Scryers factions.
Recipes only become available at Exalted reputation level. This creates a natural barrier. If you're one of the first on the server to gain reputation and buy the recipe, you'll be able to dictate prices on the auction house.
- Golden Spellthread (Healers): Requires Aldor reputation. Made from Primal Mooncloth.
- Runetic Spellthread (DPS): Requires Scryers reputation. Made from Mageweave and Shadowweave.
The Shuffle with Enchanting
If your second profession is Enchanting, you can earn money by refining resources. Netherweave Cloth often costs pennies on the auction house.
- Buy cheap cloth.
- Craft a Netherweave Robe.
- Disenchant robes.
- Get Arcane Dust and, sometimes, Planar Essence.
The dust often costs more than the cloth used. This is called shuffling. You turn a cheap resource into an expensive enchanting reagent.
Where to Get Resources? Farming Netherweave Cloth
While you can buy the cloth, sometimes it's more profitable to farm it yourself, especially if you're a Mage or Paladin and can kill large groups of enemies (AoE farming).
Best Places to Farm Netherweave Cloth
| Location | Enemy Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Netherstorm, Manaforges | Blood Elves | High Mob Density. Tomes for Scryer reputation also drop, increasing profits. |
| Shadowmoon Valley, Legion Hold | Demons and Orcs | Excellent cloth drops + Sargeras' Marks (Aldor reputation) + Felcloth. |
| Zangarmarsh, Ogre Village | Ogres | Easy mobs, good cloth drops, little competition. |
| Dungeons, Any level 70 | Elite | Instances drop the most cloth. If you gear up there, you automatically farm gold. |
When Time or Patience Runs Short: Alternatives
The WoW TBC Anniversary economy can be brutal. Prices for Primal Fire or Air can skyrocket, and farming spots are often controlled by bots or players 24/7. Sometimes you realize that hours spent killing elves in Netherstorm for stacks of cloth aren't worth it if you have a job and a family. You just want to buy that epic mount or max out your profession.
In such situations, services like Skycoach come to the rescue. This platform allows you to safely purchase WoW Anniversary gold or order boosting services. This allows you to skip the routine grind and immediately get to the fun part of the game—raids and arenas—with a full wallet of gold to buy consumables and the best gear from other masters. Using services like these saves dozens of hours of real time.
Advanced Tips for Azeroth Traders
- Selling Timing: Never sell raid chemicals and enchantments (thread) on weekend mornings. The best times are Wednesday evenings (raid cooldowns reset) and weekend evenings. During these times, players receive new items and urgently search for enchantments.
- Monitoring Primal Elemental Prices: The cost of crafting your Elite Cloth directly depends on the prices of Primal Fire/Shadow/Water. Buy these resources when the price drops (usually at night or on weekends) to craft cheaper.
- Diversification: Don't invest all your money in one item. The market may collapse. Sell bags, thread, raw cloth, and Elite Cloth.
- Sets: If you're selling a Spellfire Set, it's often more profitable to sell the reagents for its creation plus your crafting services rather than the finished item. Many players prefer to gather some of the resources themselves and then buy the rest.
Conclusion
Tailoring in WoW TBC Anniversary is a gold-producing press if you know how to use it. Your strength lies not in endlessly grinding mobs, but in cleverly using cooldowns and understanding the market's needs.
Using Cloth Specialization together with Enchanting recipes unlocked through reputation provides a consistent way to earn gold over time. As long as you monitor prices and avoid rushing the market, this setup can support stable income throughout the expansion. If gold-making becomes inefficient or too time-consuming, WoW Anniversary gold is also available through established platforms like Skycoach to help maintain your character's progression pace.
