Crafting to make gold is going to be a potential gold maker for players in Diablo 3, especially early in the game. Many players have mentioned to me that they are planning to focus on either their Jeweler or Blacksmith to see what they can make early on. We don’t have a lot to go off except datamined information, the battle.net game guide, the limited diablo 3 beta and our experience in other games, especially World of Warcraft.

Crafting in World of Warcraft

Crafting in World of Warcraft offered a way for almost any player to make gold. This was the case early in the game and true for almost every end-game craft that wasn’t crafted for another purpose (like leveling). If players crafted something in order to level and there wasn’t a lot of demand for them, then they may not sell on the auction house since there would be a surplus supply of them. However, if the item wasn’t crafted to level and there was even a few players that could utilize it, it would usually sell for some profit.

Eventually the profit margin vs. time commitment involved in crafting things consistently simply wasn’t worth it, unless you used addons. Addons could craft 100s of things for you while you rapidly clicked the same button. You could also post all of these things using addons like TradeSkillMaster. By utilizing multiple professions and setting up your addons properly you could make gold in WoW by crafting, using just about any profession.

Most realms there would only be a handful of people on your faction who were actively crafting with a given profession. This meant that you could share all the sales and all make a profit. In Diablo 3 there is only a handful of realms but there will be millions of players.

In Diablo 3 crafting can not be automated like in WoW, the results are random and there are millions of players to buy and sell. So what can we do to make gold in Diablo 3 with a blacksmith or jeweler?

Being 1 of the first

Without argument being one of the first players to utilize an artisan is going to have the most gold making potential. This is done by leveling as fast as you can from day 1 and investing in an artisan. If you spend all of your time leveling your character or tweaking your character you will miss the bus.

Overcoming crappy odds

As I mentioned above, the dynamics in D3 are way different than in WoW. There will be massive competition crafting the same items as you. We need to find a way to overcome these odds. Perhaps it’s farming our own subtle essence or knowing which items have a better chance of returning ideal stat combinations. With the 10 auctions limit a lot of markets may remain barren for awhile. Finding markets (stat combinations for certain level ranges and equipment) is going to be your key to success.

Crafting in bulk

One strategy (maybe the best strategy) will be to simply brute force craft an item that you think has a chance of being profitable. Gather the materials to craft 100 of these pieces and then post the 10 best. Pay close attention to the value of materials you consumed crafting, how many you got back salvaging bad crafts and what you made on the auction house after the 15% AH cut. The more you craft the better the results are going to be and the better the results the quicker the 10 auctions are going to sell. The quicker they sell, the quicker you’ll know how profitable crafting that item is.

The Jeweler

If you plan to make gold with your Jeweler, you’re going to need to be on top of your game. Use my gem calculator to calculate what you can and can’t do. Make sure you’re looking at the market carefully so that know the real prices. You will need to stockpile a lot of gold to combine a lot of gems. The amount of gold you have on hand is going to be the biggest limiting factor to combining gems

Do you plan to use crafting to make gold in Diablo 3? If so, what is your general strategy?

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.