Crafting & Professions, Part 2: Manufacturing

From BradyGames' World of Warcraft Official Strategy Guide

Making items is one of the most rewarding aspects of choosing a profession. The ability to take raw resources and use what knowledge you've gained to create potions or armor, or to enchant a sword to give it that fiery glow is something worth pursuing. Sure, it's not a bad way to increase the influx of gold either.

All the skills ramp up quickly at first, but as you gain higher levels, your progress slows to a more steady pace. As long as you continue to make items of appropriate levels, you'll continue to level up. Having a guild to supply you with gold or resources is a great way to whip through the early levels, but don't think that it's necessary. Even on your own, given the right career choices, you'll be able to become an artisan in your chosen field.

Along with the decrease in the rate of rank accumulation, you'll also notice that many of the higher level items have more required items to make them. A high end item may require that you adventure for a week to accumulate enough materials to create it. It's common to see a rare item sell for great money if it's part of a recipe or pattern. Pearls and gems are great examples. Black Pearls and Star Rubies are some of the most sought after commodities.

It's fair to say that if you bought all of the resources to create a high level item that someone, in return, is going to have to pay a pretty penny to have you create it for them. However, some items will require you to pay more for the resources than even the most interested of clients is willing to pay for the completed item. Be careful when choosing what to make and how much to pay for the resources. There are times, however, when money is no object. If you can make a robe that can double a caster's current stat boosts, they're going to pay for it.