Cataclysm Classic Inscription Leveling Guide 1-525

This Cataclysm Classic Inscription leveling guide will show you the fastest way to level your Inscription skill up from 1 to 525 as inexpensively as possible in Cataclysm Classic.

I recommend trying Zygor's 1-85 Leveling Guide if you are still leveling your character or you just started a new alt. The guide will help you to reach level 85 a lot faster.

Shopping List

The shopping list for Inscription works a bit differently than for other professions because of Ink Traders. You can buy all low-level inks from them in exchange for Blackfallow Ink. This is the Cataclysm ink, made by milling Cataclysm herbs, or you can just buy it directly from the Auction House.

Ink Traders

You can trade Blackfallow Ink at Moraka in Orgrimmar or Sarana Damir in Stormwind to get older inks used for leveling.

Because of this system, there are a few different ways to level up Inscription, depending on what's cheaper or more convenient on your server.

Two Ways to Level

There are two main ways to get materials for leveling Inscription:

  1. Buy inks from Ink Traders: The fastest method. It can be expensive, but sometimes it's cheaper than buying herbs and milling them, depending on your server's economy.
  2. Buy herbs and mill them into inks: Slower, but often cheaper if low-level herbs are affordable.

There’s also a third option: milling Cataclysm herbs. This requires Inscription 425, so it only works if you already have a high-level Scribe. It can be the cheapest method if older herbs are expensive, but it's more of a niche option for players leveling multiple characters.

Buying Herbs or Inks

Below is a breakdown of the approximate herbs or inks needed to reach 1-525:

  1. The first row in the table shows the total number of herbs needed. These don't have to be all from the same type.
  2. The second row lists the herb types you can use.
  3. The third row shows what pigments you'll get from those herbs.
  4. The fourth row shows how many Blackfallow Ink you'll need to trade for the inks required.

Since prices vary by realm, there's no single best option. Go row by row, search for the herbs, and compare the cost of buying herbs versus just buying Blackfallow Ink and trading it for what you need.

Total Blackfallow Ink needed

If you have the gold and don’t want to bother with any of this, you’ll need:

That will cover all the inks needed for 1-425.

Quantity Herbs you can Mill Milling Results Buying Inks
120x Earthroot, Peacebloom, Silverleaf Alabaster Pigment 34x Ivory Ink, 40x Blackfallow Ink
110x Briarthorn, Bruiseweed, Mageroyal, Stranglekelp, Swiftthistle Dusky Pigment Verdant Pigment 27x Blackfallow Ink
170x Grave Moss, Kingsblood, Liferoot, Wild Steelbloom Golden Pigment Burnt Pigment 60x Blackfallow Ink
180x Fadeleaf, Goldthorn, Khadgar's Whisker, Dragon's Teeth Emerald Pigment Indigo Pigment 60x Blackfallow Ink
240x Arthas' Tears, Blindweed, Firebloom, Ghost Mushroom, Gromsblood, Purple Lotus, Sungrass Violet Pigment Ruby Pigment 60x Blackfallow Ink
120x Dreamfoil, Golden Sansam, Icecap, Mountain Silversage, Sorrowmoss Silvery Pigment Sapphire Pigment 60x Blackfallow Ink
180x Felweed, Ragveil, Terocone, Ancient Lichen, Nightmare Vine, Netherbloom, Mana Thistle, Dreaming Glory Nether Pigment Ebon Pigment 60x Blackfallow Ink
500x Icethorn, Lichbloom, Fire Leaf, Fire Seed, Tiger Lily, Adder's Tongue, Deadnettle, Goldclover, Talandra's Rose Azure Pigment Icy Pigment 100x Blackfallow Ink
140x Cinderbloom, Stormvine Ashen Pigment Burning Embers -

Milling

Milling is an ability you get when you learn Inscription. Milling can be used to mill 5 herbs for 2 - 4 pigments, and then you use the pigments to turn into inks.

Milling Macro

Use this macro to mill your herbs.

/cast Milling
/use Peacebloom

Just replace the herb in the macro with the herbs you want to mill. You can also add more herbs to the macro if you want.

Inscription Trainers

Horde trainers:

Alliance trainers:

Leveling Cataclysm Classic Inscription

1 - 75

Virtuoso Inking Set, Common Parchment, Light Parchment, Heavy Parchment and Resilient Parchment are usually sold by the Inscription supply vendor near your trainer.

  • 53 - 75
    22x Armor Vellum - 22 Moonglow Ink, 44 Light Parchment

75 - 126

Learn Inscription Journeyman. (Requires level 10)

Multiple Glyphs and Scrolls at the same skill ranges

There are many Glyphs and Scrolls at different skill ranges with the same amount of materials needed, so when you see Glyph of ..., you can choose between more recipes that are orange to you and require the same amount of materials.

  • 80 - 101
    7x Glyph of.... - 21 Midnight Ink

    Make any Glyph that is orange to you. Glyphs turn yellow after 10 points here, then learn new recipes and choose another Glyph. Orange Glyphs give 3 skill points for each craft.

  • 101 - 105
    39x Lion's Ink - 78 Golden Pigment

    Make any orange Glyph if you did not reach 105 by making these.

  • 105 - 126
    7x Glyph of ... - 21 Lion's Ink

    Make any Glyph that is orange to you. Your aim should always be to make glyphs while they are orange. Glyphs turn yellow after 5 points, then learn new recipes and choose another Glyph.

126 - 200

Learn Inscription Expert. (Requires level 20)

  • 126 - 129
    It's important to stop making this recipe at 129! You won't have the benefits of multiple skill-ups if you pass 129!

    Turn your Burnt Pigment into Dawnstar Ink. If you didn't mill your herbs and you don't have Burnt Pigment, you can make any Glyph that is orange to you.

  • 129 - 147
    6x Glyph of ... - 18 Lion's Ink

    Make any Glyph that is orange to you. Glyphs turn yellow after 5 and 10 points here, so you must keep learning new ones.

  • 155 - 197
    14x Glyph of ... - 42 Jadefire Ink

    Make orange Glyphs. You have to keep learning new ones every 5 points.

    Turn all your Indigo Pigment into Royal Ink at 175 if you have any.

  • 197 - 200

    Make Arcane Tarot until you reach 200.

    Make any Glyph that is YELLOW to you if you don't have Royal Ink. There won't be any orange Glyps for this part.

200 - 290

Learn Inscription Artisan. (Requires level 35)

  • 205 - 247
    14x Glyph of ... - 42 Celestial Ink

    Make Glyphs until they turn yellow, then learn new ones.

    Turn all your Ruby Pigment into Fiery Ink at 225.

  • 247- 250
    Make one Book of Stars if you have enough Fiery Ink. Otherwise, make any Glyph that is yellow to you.
  • 250-255
    20-35x Shimmering Ink - 40-70 Silvery Pigment

    If you mill your herbs, you will probably need fewer Inks because you will make a few Ink of the Sky from your rare pigments between 275 - 295.

  • 260 - 275
    5x Glyph of ... - 15 Shimmering Ink

    Make Glyphs until they turn yellow, then learn new ones.

  • 275 - 290
    15x Ink of the Sky - 15 Sapphire Pigment

    You have to make more orange Glyphs if you didn't mill your herbs or if you don't have 15 Sapphire Pigments.

Master Inscription

Visit your trainer and learn Master Inscription. (Requires level 50)

290 - 350

  • 305 - 350
    15x Glyph of ... - 45 Ethereal Ink

    Make Glyphs until they turn yellow, then learn new ones.

Grand Master Inscription

Visit your trainer and learn Grand Master Inscription. (Requires level 65)

350 - 425

  • 375 - 379
    Snowfall Ink - Icy Pigment

    Use all the rare pigments available. Keep the extra Snowfall Ink for Northrend Inscription Research. You will need to research to learn most "Northrend" glyphs.

    It's important to stop making this recipe at 379! This way, you will still gain multiple skill points for at least one Glyph.

    Make any Glyph that is orange to you if you don't have enough Icy Pigment.

  • 379 - 385
    1x Glyph of... - 3 Ink of the Sea
  • 382 - 385
    5x Glyph of... - 15 Ink of the Sea

    There won't be any orange Glyphs for this part, meaning you will make yellow Glyphs.

  • 386 - 400
    15x Any Discovered Major Glyph - 45 Ink of the Sea

Cataclysm Classic Inscription

Visit your trainer and learn the new Cataclysm Classic Inscription skill. (Requires level 75)

425 - 525

  • 465 - 471
    2x Glyph of Colossus Smash - 6 Blackfallow Ink
  • 475 - 482
    Turn all your Burning Embers into Inferno Ink. If you don't have any Burning Ember, skip this part and start making the next recipe.
  • 482 - 490
    Go to Vashj'ir - Kelp'thar Forest. Kill any mobs there until you get Technique: Origami Slime (zone drop). The drop rate is pretty high; don't get confused by wowhead data. The recipe will be green but only requires Resilient Parchment, which you can buy from Inscription supply vendors.

    Before you go farming, check if it is not already lying around in your bank or bag. You might have put it away because your inscription skill was not high enough and subsequently forgot about it. It will not drop again if you already have it in your bag or bank. (same goes for the next two recipes)

    You can make the recipe below if you don't want to farm the technique:

    15x Dust of Disappearance - 15 Blackfallow Ink

  • 500 - 510
    Head to Uldum and just kill everything that moves until you get Technique: Origami Beetle (zone drop). Learn the recipe and make it until you reach 510.
  • 510 - 520
    The cheapest method would be to make Forged Documents up to 520 or 525. It has a 24-hour cooldown (it always resets at 0:00), but the materials are cheap compared to the other items you can craft at this skill level. This way, it will take around 15 days to level Inscription.

    If you want to reach 525 as fast as possible, make 4 Divine Companion, Battle Tome, or Dungeoneering Guide.

Darkmoon Faire Free +5 Profession Skill

Check your Calendar in-game to see if the Darkmoon Faire is open. The event is available every two weeks. It starts on Sunday and lasts for a week.

During the event, you can complete quests for each profession and gain +5 skill points for each. Click here to read more about the quests.

  • 520 - 525
    Make one from one of these:

    1x Notched Jawbone - 12x Inferno Ink, 36x Volatile Life, 12x Volatile Earth, 1x Bleached Jawbone
    1x Silver Inlaid Leaf - 12x Inferno Ink, 36x Volatile Life, 12x Volatile Air, 1x Silver Charm Bracelet
    1x Tattooed Eyeball - 12x Inferno Ink, 36x Volatile Life, 12x Volatile Water, 1x Preserved Ogre Eye


Congratulations on reaching 525! Please send feedback about the guide if you think there are parts I could improve or if you found typos, errors, or wrong material numbers!