Burning Steppes Farming: Dark Iron Dwarves, Thorium and Fire Essence (52–58)

Burning Steppes is the zone most characters cross at a run on the way to Blackrock Mountain, which is exactly why it is worth farming. The ash flats between the two faction camps are quiet most evenings, and they hold three kinds of money in one place: Dark Iron dwarves on the quarried terraces of the Ruins of Thaurissan, flamekin fire elementals that drop Elemental Fire and the occasional Essence of Fire, and some of the densest Thorium in the Eastern Kingdoms, with Dark Iron Deposits along the lava and Firebloom in the warm cracks. This burning steppes farming loop ties them together for a level 52–58 character on a vanilla-era realm such as WoW Forever.

Where and what you need

Levels. The zone is tuned for roughly 50–58. The Dark Iron dwarves at the ruins sit in the low fifties and are the easy half of the loop; the Firegut ogres on Dreadmaul Rock and the Blackrock orc patrols on the northern ridge are mid-fifties and come in pairs. At 52–53 run only the southern half, between the Alliance camp and the ruins; from 55 the whole lap is comfortable.

Professions. Mining is what makes the zone famous: Small Thorium Veins want 245 skill, Rich Thorium Veins 275, and Dark Iron Deposits open at 230, though smelting the ore needs a quest finished inside Blackrock Depths, so most miners simply sell it. Herbalism at 205 picks Firebloom all over the ash, with some Golden Sansam and Mountain Silversage on the higher slopes past 260–280. Skinning around 275–290 pays off the worgs on the western slopes and, on a detour, the black dragonkin above the Alliance camp. A character with no gathering skill still makes money from cloth and greens, but a miner makes roughly twice as much.

Gear. Dungeon blues or good mid-fifties greens. The honest test is one Firegut ogre: kill it and finish with half your health, and the whole loop is yours. Bring forty or more food and water; the camps sell both, but a rest stop in the middle of the ash otherwise costs a long walk.

Bag space. Runecloth, Mageweave, Thorium Ore, Dark Iron Ore, Dense Stone, gems, Firebloom, Elemental Fire and greens all stack separately, so carry four 14- or 16-slot bags with nothing in them but your tools. Each faction has a camp with a vendor and a flight master: Morgan's Vigil in the south-east for the Alliance, Flame Crest on the northern ridge for the Horde. Neither has a bank or an auction house, so hearth to a city at the end of a session, not in the middle of one.

The route

The loop runs clockwise and a full lap takes forty to fifty minutes at level 56. Alliance characters start at stop 1, Horde characters at stop 6; the numbers match the map.

1. Morgan's Vigil. Sell, repair, restock water and hand in any zone quests. Leave the camp west along the road, then step off it to the south-west onto the open ash.
2. The southern ash flats. The flats below Dreadmaul Rock are flamekin ground: small fire elementals in the low fifties, wandering alone. Kill every one you pass for Elemental Fire and the occasional Essence of Fire, and pick the Firebloom growing in the warm cracks between them.
3. The Ruins of Thaurissan. Keep west until the broken stone city rises out of the ash. Dark Iron agents, spies and firewalkers patrol the stepped terraces of the old quarry in twos and threes. Pull to the outer steps, never into the central court, and work the terraces clockwise; this is where the Runecloth and greens come from.
4. The south-western slopes. Head west toward the foot of the mountain. Thorium veins sit against the cliff base among the Blackrock worgs; a skinner takes the worgs for Thick and Rugged Leather, everyone else leaves them alone unless they bite first.
5. The lava moat. Turn north along the glowing channels that ring the foot of Blackrock Mountain. Dark Iron Deposits turn up around the lava more than anywhere else on the lap, and more flamekin stand along it. Stay on the outside of the moat: the mountain's entrances lead to elites and instances, not to loot you can carry.
6. Flame Crest. Climb the northern ridge to the Horde camp. Horde characters sell and repair here; Alliance characters walk around it and keep to the ridge, where the first Rich Thorium Veins of the lap sit on the slope.
7. The northern ridge. Follow the ridge east. Blackrock orc patrols cross it in pairs and drop Runecloth, Thorium veins and Firebloom line the high ground, and Dreadmaul Rock stays in sight the whole way.
8. Dreadmaul Rock. Work the lower terraces, where Firegut ogres stand in twos and drop Runecloth, silver and greens. Leave the top alone: the ogre magi up there cast in groups and the loot is no better. More flamekin wander the base.
9. The eastern slope. Come down the east side toward the Alliance camp. Black broodlings and dragonspawn hold the slope above it; a skinner at 290 or more takes a few for Black Dragonscale, everyone else follows the road back to stop 1 and empties their bags.

What you get

Source	Drops and nodes	Why it sells
Dark Iron dwarves at the ruins, Firegut ogres, Blackrock orcs	Runecloth with some Mageweave, silver, grey gear, greens	Runecloth feeds tailors, bandage makers and reputation grinders; greens disenchant into the dust and essences the enchanting market runs on
Flamekin fire elementals	Elemental Fire, now and then an Essence of Fire or a Heart of Fire	Essence of Fire goes into Fiery Weapon and crafted fire-resistance pieces, Elemental Fire into greater fire protection potions, Heart of Fire into tailors' Cindercloth
Thorium veins	Thorium Ore, Dense Stone, Star Ruby, Huge Emerald, Large Opal, Azerothian Diamond, the rare Arcane Crystal from a Rich vein	Thorium is the last ore every blacksmith and engineer skills through; Arcane Crystals make Arcanite, the most expensive bar in the game
Dark Iron Deposits	Dark Iron Ore, Dense Stone, gems	Dark Iron plate is the fire-resistance armour raiders want, and only a few miners can smelt it, so they buy the ore in stacks
Firebloom and the high herbs	Firebloom, with some Golden Sansam and Mountain Silversage on the slopes	Alchemists burn Firebloom in fire-power elixirs and engineers in rocket fuel; the high herbs sell to anyone levelling Alchemy past 260
Worgs and dragonkin (skinners)	Thick Leather, Rugged Leather, Black Dragonscale	Rugged Leather is the base of every level 50+ leatherworking recipe; dragonscale goes to leatherworkers making resistance sets

Gold per hour

Be honest before you commit an evening. A level 55–58 character with no gathering skill, killing dwarves, ogres and flamekin, makes roughly 6–10 gold an hour in cloth, greens, grey gear and silver before the auction house. Greens are the swing: two sellable items double the figure, an unlucky hour leaves vendor prices.

Mining changes the picture most. Thorium veins add roughly 4–10 gold an hour depending on what a stack sells for on your realm, Dark Iron Deposits a little more when they are up, and a single Arcane Crystal is worth more than the rest of the lap. Herbalism adds roughly 1–3 gold in Firebloom, the flamekin roughly 1–3 gold in Elemental Fire, and an Essence of Fire is a spike, not a rate. All in, a miner at 56–58 on a healthy realm sees roughly 12–20 gold an hour, with the occasional 25-gold hour when the crystal or the essence lands.

What moves the number: how many other miners share the slopes (Thorium competition is the biggest factor), whether raiding guilds on your realm are buying fire-resistance materials yet, your class and its downtime, and whether you vendor the greens or disenchant and list them.

Tips

• Clear the flamekin on the way to a vein, not after; they stand on the same slopes, and one pulled while you mine costs you the node.
• Pull Dark Iron dwarves to the outer steps of the ruins. The inner court holds three or four together and the firewalkers add fire damage you do not need.
• Skip the top of Dreadmaul Rock and the mountain's entrances completely; the loot is the same lower down and the elites turn a lap into a corpse run.
• Mine every Dark Iron Deposit you see even if you cannot smelt it. The few miners who can pay well for the ore.
• Carry the camps' ogre and Dark Iron kill quests while you farm; the loop overlaps them and the experience is free.
• Mail stacks to a bank character at the end of the session and list cloth, ore and herbs in full stacks of 20; partial stacks always sell for less.

Running it with ForeverBot

Open the Farming section, walk the nine stops once with Record loop on, then fill the Targets list with + Current target as you meet each type: flamekin, Thaurissan dwarves, Blackrock orcs, Firegut ogres and the worgs if you skin. Tick Go to a vendor when bags are full and Repair at vendors, and in Loot and bags switch on Sell gray items, Auto loot and Buy food and water. From then on the arrow leads you around the loop, the Target key picks the next mob from your list, and the Kills, Gold and Gold/hour counters show whether the lap is paying.

In Professions, tick Mining and Herbalism (and Skinning if you have it), leave Remember nodes on so every Thorium vein and Firebloom you pass is kept for the next lap, and switch on Skip nodes above your skill so a 240 miner is not led to a Rich vein. In Settings, set the Navigator Route mode to safest so the path around the mountain stays outside the moat, widen the Arrival radius for the open ash flats, and raise the Food/water stock if your class eats a lot between ogres. The Farming and Professions sections are part of every plan; see plans and pricing for what is included.

FAQ

Is Burning Steppes better than Searing Gorge for Thorium?

For a character in this level range, yes, because the veins share the slopes with mobs you can kill for cloth and fire essences, so no part of the lap is empty. If you only want ore, the Thorium ore mining route compares the zones and plans a pure mining circuit.

Can I farm Essence of Fire here on purpose?

You can farm the flamekin on purpose, but treat the essence as a bonus, not a rate. Elemental Fire is the steady drop and sells fine; the Essence of Fire is the occasional spike that pays for the evening. If you need a whole set's worth, plan on several sessions.

Where do I go after 58?

East. The Eastern Plaguelands Plaguebloom farming route works the same way with Runecloth-heavy humanoids and Plaguebloom, and it stays profitable all the way to 60. Keep this loop saved in your profile for evenings when the plaguelands are crowded; the Thorium here does not care how many level 60s there are.