WoW Forever: How to Level Herbalism

To level Herbalism in World of Warcraft: Forever, learn it from an Herbalism trainer, turn on Find Herbs and pick every herb your skill allows, moving to the next herb and the next zone as your skill climbs. Train Journeyman at 50 skill, Expert at 125 and Artisan at 200, and gather along your questing route, because the herbs follow your level almost on their own.

Herbalism is a gathering profession, so it needs no tool and costs nothing but trainer fees. Below are the trainers, the skill each herb needs, a route through every band for both factions, and what Forever changed. Forever’s herb rules follow the original game except where we say otherwise; the Mageroyal tooltip in Forever, for one, asks for the same 50 skill it always did.

How Herbalism Works in WoW Forever

1. Learn Herbalism from an Herbalism trainer. It takes one of your two primary profession slots.
2. Cast Find Herbs (it comes with the profession) to show herbs on your minimap. In Forever you can track herbs or minerals, not both at once, and Find Herbs switches off when you die, so cast it again after every corpse run.
3. Right-click an herb to gather it. You get the herb and a chance at a skill point.
4. Keep picking. You need no item in your bags, unlike Mining’s pick or Skinning’s knife.

Herbs need a minimum skill, and the color of the herb’s name works like a recipe color: orange always gives a point, yellow usually does, green rarely and gray never. An herb stays useful for a long stretch after you can first pick it, so you rarely need to farm one spot for long.

Herbalism Trainers for Every Rank

The level requirements are the original game’s. Forever’s junior trainers in starting areas stop at Apprentice, so head to a city at 50. Dwarves and gnomes can also train with Kali Healtouch in Thelsamar, Loch Modan. Learn Artisan before you leave for Tanaris at 200, because Tanaris and Searing Gorge have no Herbalism trainer, and you would have to fly back at 225.

What Skill Each Herb Needs

These are the original game’s requirements, and Mageroyal’s matches Forever’s tooltip. Stranglekelp grows in water, Grave Moss grows at graveyards, and Ghost Mushrooms grow in caves, so those three need a detour. Forever also adds a few new herbs, including Marefoil, Demonsage and Death Lotus; Blizzard has not published where they grow or the skill they need, so we leave them off the route.

Herbalism Leveling Route by Zone

Teldrassil and Mulgore make the best early loops, and The Barrens is the Horde’s standout for Mageroyal; our Mageroyal guide ranks every zone by spawn points. Forever’s beta stopped at level 30, so the bands above 205 follow the original game’s herb map; Forever’s new mid- and high-level zones may turn out to beat them, and our zone level ranges show which zones suit your level.

What Forever Changed for Herbalists

• Tauren can grow herbs. Their Cultivation racial gathers herbs without the profession. Blizzard’s development notes give every herb a level requirement for it, equal to the herb’s skill requirement divided by 5, so Mageroyal works at level 10, and Blizzard’s November 9 hotfix made Cultivation go on cooldown only once the cast completes.
• Scarce resources. Gathering can turn up rare Scarce materials, and the Legacy perk Bountiful Harvest “helps you find additional Scarce resources when mining, herbing, or skinning,” in Blizzard’s words.
• Camp items. Herbalists can add an Incense Candle to a camp, which grants Intellect but does not stack with Arcane Intellect, and the herb seeds you sometimes find can be grown in a camp greenhouse. Our guide to how camping works lists every feature.
• No Legacy Points. Blizzard’s Legacy system overview pays only for crafting professions, so Herbalism earns none itself; our guide to getting Legacy Points has the full list.

Tips for Leveling Herbalism

• Gather while you quest. You pass herbs in every zone you level in, and the skill keeps pace with your level.
• Raise your skill with gear and food. Enchant Gloves – Herbalism and Enchant Gloves – Advanced Herbalism add skill, so do a Leatherworker’s Herbalist’s Gloves, and Forever’s Goldthorn Tea adds 15 Herbalism for a while. A few extra points let you pick the next herb a little early.
• Pair it with Alchemy. Every potion and elixir uses herbs, so the pair saves the most gold; our Alchemy leveling guide shows which herbs each band needs.
• Sell the rest. Herbs sell steadily on the Auction House, and our gold professions guide ranks Herbalism among the best earners.
• Fill crates with spare herbs. Waylaid Crates ask for profession materials and pay Merchant’s Favor; our Merchant’s Favor guide covers how.

If you change your mind, our professions guide shows how to unlearn Herbalism, our best professions for each class guide covers who benefits most, and our Mining leveling guide covers the other node gatherer. Every Forever guide we have is on our World of Warcraft hub.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where do you train Herbalism in WoW Forever? Junior trainers in starting areas teach Apprentice. For Journeyman, Expert and Artisan, visit the Herbalism trainer in Stormwind, Darnassus, Orgrimmar, the Undercity or Thunder Bluff.

What is the fastest way to level Herbalism? Pick every herb on your questing route and move zones as herbs turn green. Teldrassil or Mulgore to 70, then Darkshore or The Barrens.

What Herbalism skill do you need for Kingsblood? 125. Liferoot needs 150 and Black Lotus needs 300.

Can you track herbs and minerals at the same time in WoW Forever? No. You track one or the other, and Find Herbs switches off when you die.

Does Herbalism give Legacy Points? No. Only the six crafting professions earn Legacy Points.

Do you need a tool for Herbalism? No. Unlike Mining and Skinning, Herbalism needs no item in your bags.