This is a general guide to some of the cost-efficient strategies for leveling your alchemy.
1-55
Getting from 1 to 55 is easy enough. You need to collect 60
Peacebloom, 60
Silverleaf, and 60
Empty Vials to make 60
Minor Healing Potions. Make all of them up and this should get you to skill 60. Keep the
Minor Healing Potions, you will use them as ingredients in the next step. Talk to the appropriate trainer to become a Journeyman Alchemist and train the Lesser Healing Potion. You have to be level 10 to become a Journeyman Alchemist.
To access your potion-making abilities, go to the General tab of your spellbook, and find the Alchemy icon there. Clck on it to show the recipes that you know. The ones that you have all the components for and are thus able to create have a number beside them in square brackets that indicates how many vials you're able to fill (remember that vials are components too!)
Since some components are shared between recipes, the number beside other recipes will go down as you use up the shared components.
55-110
Use the minor healing potions made earlier to make
Lesser Healing Potions to get to 110. If you didn't reach 110, make
Elixir of Wisdom until you do. You require 50
Minor Healing Potions, and 50
Briarthorn to make 50
Lesser Healing Potions; 5
Mageroyal, 10
Briarthorn, and 5
Empty Vials to make 5
Elixir of Wisdom.
110-125
At 110 you can learn the healing potion recipe. Make some
Healing Potions (15
Bruiseweed, 15
Briarthorn, and 15
Leaded Vials to make 15
Healing Potions). Once you hit 125 talk to the appropriate trainer to become an Expert Alchemist. You have to be level 20 to become an Expert Alchemist.
125-200
Make some more healing potions to get to skill 140. Make 15 lesser mana potions (15
Mageroyal, 15
Stranglekelp, and 15 Empty Vials) to get to 155. Then get the training for greater healing potions (30
Liferoot, 30
Kingsblood, and 30
Leaded Vials) to make 30 Greater Healing Potion to get to 185. Make 15 Elixirs of Agility (15
Stranglekelp, 15
Goldthorn, and 15
Leaded Vials) to get to 200. Once you hit 200, talk to the appropriate trainer to become an Artisan Alchemist. For Alliance this was until
patch 2.3 Kylanna Windwhisper at Feathermoon Stronghold in
Feralas. For Horde this was Rogvar at Stonard in
Swamp of Sorrows. You have to be level 35 to become an Artisan Alchemist.
200-265
Make some more
Elixirs of Agility to get to 210. Make five
Elixirs of Greater Defense until 215 (5
Wild Steelbloom, 5
Goldthorn, 5 Leaded Vial) and then make 15
Superior Healing Potions until 230 (15
Sungrass, 15
Khadgar's Whisker, 15 Crystal Vial). Make 20
Elixirs of Detect Undead to get to 250 (20
Arthas' Tears, 20 Crystal Vial) and 15
Elixirs of Greater Agility to get to 265 (15
Sungrass, 15
Goldthorn, 15 Crystal Vial).
265-300
Learn the Superior Mana Potion and the Major Healing Potion recipes from Master Alchemists. Alternatively, both potions can be trained at Lorokeem, the Master Alchemy Trainer in Shattrath Lower City, or from the Master Alchemy trainer in Stonard. Make 20
Superior Mana Potions to get to skill 285, (40
Sungrass, 40
Blindweed, 20 Crystal Vial) and 15
Major Healing Potions to get to 300, (30
Golden Sansam, 15
Mountain Silversage, 15 Crystal Vial). Congratulations, you now have a skill of 300 in alchemy.
300-325
Leveling from 300 to 325 is easy. Visit the alchemy trainer in Outland (
Alchemist Gribble for Alliance,
Apothecary Antonivich for Horde). Learn Master Alchemy. He can teach you a number of recipes that require
Felweed (the basic Outland herb), Imbued Vials, and one of the top-level Old World herbs:
Dreamfoil, Mountain Silversage, or Golden Sansam. Since Golden Sansam is usually the cheapest of all, it is most economical to make Volatile Healing Potions. You can get almost to 320 alchemy with just one stack of Felweed and one stack of Golden Sansam. You must be Level 50 or higher in order to learn Alchemy past 300.
325-350
The highest potion you can learn from the trainer, the Super Healing Potion, requires 325 alchemy. This is the potion you'll be making till approximately 340. If you reach Honored with Honor Hold (alliance) or Thrallmar (horde), you can buy the
Elixir of Major Agility recipe and learn it at 330. Most other potions in this level range are rather useless, very hard to get, or require rare herbs. At 340-345 you can buy some new recipes from vendors. For alliance, visit
Haalrun in Telredor (Zangarmarsh) and
Leeli Longhaggle in Allerian Stronghold (Terokkar Forest). For horde, visit Daga Ramba in Thunderlord Stronghold (Blade's Edge).
When choosing between Aldor and Scryer, keep in mind that Aldor has no alchemy recipes and Scryer has one (
Elixir of Major Firepower, which requires 345 alchemy).
350-375
At 350 you can learn transmutation recipes. The only transmutation that you can easily learn creates Primal Might; it is sold by
Skreah in northern Shattrath City. Two other transmutations that you can get on your own in a reasonable amount of time are those to transmute Earth to Water (revered with
Sporeggar) and Fire to Earth (revered with
Kurenai/
Mag'har). Earth to Water is moderately profitable, whereas Fire to Earth is usually worthless (but check your auction house prices first).
Things get slow past 360 because, unless you do a lot of reputation grinding, all of the recipes that you know (except transmutations) will turn green or gray, and the remaining green recipes will require hard-to-get herbs. You'll have a choice of three recipes:
Unless you're close to 70 and you can farm these herbs yourself, prepare to spend a lot of money buying them at the auction house. Save all Ancient Lichen from your instance runs for the final grind.
Also, save all your
Fel Lotus; you will need them once you make
discoveries.