Blacksmithing has gone through a wide array of changes since I started playing the beta last year. It started out among 2 other artisans, the mystic and the jeweler. The mystic was removed and that left only Blacksmithing and Jewelcrafting. Jewelcrafting isn’t really a crafting profession, since it really just offers the ability to combine gems. The cost and resources that go into these artisans have went from low to high and now they are even higher. Are you going to level your blacksmith right away in Diablo 3? Here are some things to consider.

If you don’t use it, you lose it

The first few tiers of Blacksmithing cost about 60,000-100,000 gold depending on how far you want to go with it. We know that at level 13 we can farm 25,000 gold and hour so that’s roughly 4 hours of playing to become a Grandmaster (level 5) Blacksmith. This might seem pretty cheap but if you don’t use the ability then you might want to consider passing. Once you put gold into your artisan you won’t get it back unless you make a profit off of crafting. While there is a huge opportunity to make a profit crafting at all levels, the competition is going to be fierce and if you don’t spend the time ensuring that your crafts are profitable then the initial investment is a waste.

If you invest your first 100,000 gold into Blacksmithing, just to get it to Grandmaster, the opportunity cost of that initial investment is much higher than if you wait until a month after the game is out and you are able to buy 100,000 gold for a few bucks. In summary, if you’re going to level your Blacksmith do it with a purpose and go all out. If you dick around you’ll lose in the long run. I have a feeling this is going to be one of the biggest mistakes players make while leveling in the first week of the game.

Pages and Tomes of Blacksmithing and Secrets

There are at least three items required to craft and level your Artisan. These include Pages of Blacksmithing, Tomes of Blacksmithing and Tomes of Secrets. We literally have no idea where these come from or how rare they are. If you’re considering leveling your blacksmith then this is a big risk, or challenge, that you will have to overcome. Radiant Star gems are going to be extremely valuable, will a Tome of Secrets be that elusive? If so, you will spend the first month reaching Illustrious and then be left to search for these final rare pieces.

This wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing if a smaller portion of people are actually able to scrounge the materials to reach Exalted. It’s actually a good thing from my perspective because added competition adds value to the end goal.

If you’re thinking about leveling blacksmithing you can find the details in my blacksmith leveling guide.

Important: Many of the strategies and tips I share here were originally inspired by the people at the Diablo 3 Gold Secrets Forum. If you're serious about making the big bucks in Diablo 3, or just being the best players, you need to signup ASAP.