World of Warcraft: Forever Level 40 Mount (90 Gold) and Best Professions Guide: How to Afford Your Ride Without Going Broke
Seven days after the World of Warcraft: Forever servers opened on November 5, the main wave of players is finally pushing past the Arathi Highlands and Shimmering Flats into the decisive level 35 to 40 bracket. Waiting at the end of that stretch is Azeroth's first true economic wall: gathering the 100 gold pieces required to unlock your first ground mount and its game-changing +60% movement speed bonus. Between the revamped mount pricing bundle, the brand-new profession Camping System, and the highest-yielding level 34 to 40 farming zones, here is the complete blueprint to unlock your mount the exact minute you hit level 40.
1. The True Cost of Your Level 40 Mount in WoW: Forever: 100 Gold All-In (90 Gold at Honored)
Do not confuse the old 2004 pricing split with the revamped economy of World of Warcraft: Forever. In this Classic+ edition, purchasing Apprentice Riding at level 40 costs 100 gold at base price, and that single purchase directly includes your first racial mount (+60% speed)! You no longer pay separately for riding training and your first mount: learning Apprentice Riding automatically grants your racial Stallion, Ram, Nightsaber, Mechanostrider, Wolf, Raptor, Skeletal Horse, or Kodo. Only extra mount colors sold by your faction breeder cost 20 gold each as optional cosmetic unlocks.
Better yet, you should never pay the full 100 gold. Reaching Honored reputation with your home capital (Stormwind, Ironforge, Darnassus, Orgrimmar, Undercity, or Thunder Bluff) automatically grants a 10% faction discount at your riding trainer. That brings the real price down to 90 gold total (training plus your first mount included). Looking ahead to level 60, keep in mind that Journeyman Riding (+100% speed) is a much steeper investment: 1,000 gold for the riding skill plus 200 gold to purchase the epic mount.
| Class / Race | Mobility Option | Level 40 Cost | Budget Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Warlock | Summon Felsteed (+60% speed) | 0 gold (class quest) | Instant 90 gold savings |
| Paladin (Alliance & Forsaken) | Class Warhorse (+60% speed) | 0 gold / ~1 gold (class quest) | Saves 90 gold (includes Forsaken Paladins) |
| Tauren (All Classes) | Plainsrunning (+60% foot speed from level 1) | 0 gold (racial) / 90 gold (Kodo) | Can safely delay Apprentice Riding at level 40 |
| Shaman / Druid | Ghost Wolf (lvl 20) / Travel Form (lvl 30) at +40% | 90 gold (Apprentice Riding + mount) | Built-in mobility cushion if short on gold |
| All Other Classes | Apprentice Riding + 1st Racial Mount included (+60%) | 90 gold (Honored) / 100 gold (Neutral) | Top financial priority from level 20 (+20g per extra color) |
Five character profiles enjoy special treatment at level 40. Warlocks unlock their Felsteed for free via their class quest, as do Paladins, including the newly introduced Forsaken Paladins on the Horde side who also receive their free class mount quest at level 40. Meanwhile, Shamans (Ghost Wolf at +40% speed from level 20) and Druids (Travel Form at +40% speed from level 30) have a reliable fallback if they arrive at level 40 a few gold pieces short. Finally, thanks to World of Warcraft: Forever's revamped Tauren Plainsrunning granting +60% foot speed from level 1, Tauren players can easily postpone buying Apprentice Riding at level 40 and invest their gold into professions or gear instead.
2. Best Professions: Double Gathering, the New Camping System, and Level 60
On a one-week-old server, choosing your two primary professions serves a dual purpose: generating enough raw coin to cover your 90 gold at level 40, while taking full advantage of World of Warcraft: Forever's headline profession overhaul, the Camping System.
How the New Profession Camping System Works
In World of Warcraft: Forever, basic cooking fires have been replaced by tiered Campfires (Basic, Journeyman, and Expert). Every primary and secondary profession can place specialized camp gear around the fire (tanning racks, anvils, alchemy sets, enchanting braziers) to grant party-wide combat buffs, outdoor rested experience, or even field vendor bots:
| Profession | Camping System Benefit | Gold Making & Leveling 1-40 Value |
|---|---|---|
| Skinning | Critical Strike Bonus | Guaranteed vendor cash (1.50g per 20 Heavy Leather, 3g per 20 Thick Leather) |
| Herbalism | Intellect Bonus | High Auction House demand (Wild Steelbloom, Grave Moss, Fadeleaf, Khadgar's Whisker) |
| Mining | Melee Attack Power Bonus | Fast AH sales on Iron Ore, Mithril Ore, Heavy Stone, and Solid Stone |
| Leatherworking | Outdoor Rested XP Generation | Dramatically speeds up 1-60 leveling without returning to an inn |
| Engineering | Deployable Vendor & Repair Bots | Lets you sell gray vendor trash right in the middle of your grinding spot |
| Alchemy | Mana Regeneration Bonus | Cuts drinking downtime for casters and healers while questing |
| Blacksmithing | Strength Bonus | Direct melee synergy with Mining for Warriors and Paladins |
| Tailoring | Spirit Bonus | Crafts 10-slot to 16-slot bags and boosts out-of-combat regeneration |
| Enchanting | Armor, Stats, and Resistances | All-around defensive camp buff and disenchanting dungeon greens |
| First Aid | Stamina Bonus & Healing Supplies | Secondary profession available to everyone, mandatory from level 10 |
The King of First-Character Setups (1-40): Double Gathering
If your top priority is securing 90 gold by level 40 without a level 60 main to fund you, two combinations beat everything else: Skinning + Mining (ideal for physical DPS and tanks who benefit from the Critical Strike and Melee Attack Power camp buffs) or Skinning + Herbalism (perfect for casters and hybrids thanks to the Intellect and Critical Strike camp buffs).
- Why Skinning is mandatory: You already kill hundreds of beasts while questing. While low-tier leather floods the Auction House, NPC merchants pay full price for mid-tier stacks: 30 silver per 20 Medium Leather, 1.50 gold per 20 Heavy Leather, and 3 gold per 20 Thick Leather with zero listing fees, all while activating your campfire Critical Strike buff.
- High-value Herbalism and Mining targets on the Auction House: Once you pass skill 115, Wild Steelbloom, Grave Moss, Khadgar's Whisker, and Fadeleaf sell rapidly to Alchemists and Rogues. On the Mining side, never delete your Heavy Stone or Solid Stone: Engineers buy them by the hundreds to craft blasting powder and campfire bots.
Pivoting at Level 60: Best Professions by Archetype for PvE and PvP
Once your level 40 Apprentice Riding bundle is paid for, you can keep double gathering to save toward your 1,200 gold level 60 epic mount, or drop Skinning to lock in your endgame pairing based on your role in our World of Warcraft: Forever PvE, PvP, and Leveling Class Tier List:
- Engineering + Mining (Unrivaled King of PvP, Raids, and Field Farming): Alongside Iron Grenades, Goblin Sapper Charges, and elemental reflectors, Engineering's campfire Vendor and Repair Bots let you empty your bags of gray vendor loot right in the middle of a grinding spot without ever hearthing back to town.
- Leatherworking + Skinning (The Ultimate 40-60 XP Engine): Because Leatherworking camp gear generates Rested XP in the open world, this pairing has become a favorite for players racing to level 60.
- Alchemy + Herbalism (Best Consistent Gold Maker at Level 60): Combines campfire Mana Regeneration with steady weekly profits from Elixir of the Mongoose, Free Action Potions, and Transmute: Arcanite cooldowns.
3. The 5 Golden Rules to Have 90 Gold Ready Right at Level 40
Even with double gathering, an undisciplined player will hit level 40 with barely 40 gold in their backpack. Follow these five rules starting at level 20 to cross the 90 gold finish line on schedule.
1. Stop Buying Useless Spell Ranks Starting at Level 20
Class trainers are the biggest gold drain in Azeroth. From level 22 onward, new spell ranks cost anywhere from 50 silver to 2.20 gold each. Buying every single green line at your trainer will burn 25 to 35 gold before level 40. Only purchase core abilities that directly speed up your kill time or keep you alive: Frostbolt and Blink for Mages, Sinister Strike and Eviscerate for Rogues, or Mortal Strike for Warriors. Leave situational spells unlearned until level 42.
2. Boycott Auction House Gear Upgrades and Create a Level 1 Bank Alt
Never buy green or blue weapons and armor on the Auction House before level 40. A sword or wand bought for 3 gold at level 28 will be replaced for free four levels later inside Scarlet Monastery or Razorfen Kraul. Instead, create a level 1 bank alt today and park them between the mailbox and Auction House in Orgrimmar or Stormwind. Whenever your bags fill up out in the world, mail all your Silk Cloth, Mageweave Cloth, herbs, ores, and green items ("of the Monkey", "of the Bear", "of the Eagle") to your alt. You will save flight path fees and keep your auctions running every evening.
3. Farm the 5 Best Beast and Elemental Zones Between Levels 34 and 40
The economic secret of classic Azeroth lies in the level 34 to 40 loot tables: gray vendor trash dropped by beasts and elementals suddenly spikes in value, jumping from a few silver to 50 silver or over 1 gold per stack at any NPC merchant. Here are the five highest-yielding grinding spots:
- Badlands (Levels 37-40): The Rock Elementals west of Kargath are the single best gold farm in this bracket. They drop Elemental Earth (heavily sought after on the AH for Nature Protection Potions and Elemental Sharpening Stones), Heavy Stone, and gray rock fragments that net 12 to 15 gold per hour.
- Swamp of Sorrows (Levels 36-40): Swamp Jaguars and crocolisks along the water have low armor, yield Heavy and Thick Leather, and drop gray claws and whiskers that vendor for impressive silver.
- Desolace (Levels 33-38): Farm the Basilisks and Scorpids across the central plains for leather and high-value gray organs, or grind the Magram and Gelkis Centaur camps for raw coin and early Mageweave Cloth.
- Stranglethorn Vale (Levels 34-40): Hunt the Gorillas and Tigers around Grom'gol and Nesingwary's camp. Alongside Heavy Leather and pricey gray fangs, every humanoid and beast can drop Green Hills of Stranglethorn pages, which sell for 15 to 40 silver each on the Auction House.
- Feralas (Levels 39-42): The Rage Scar Yetis and wolves near Camp Mojache and Feathermoon Stronghold allow you to skin nonstop in a tight cave loop to secure your final 15 gold in under two hours.
4. Level Cooking (Cooked XP Food) and First Aid
In World of Warcraft: Forever, Cooking received a massive upgrade: nearly every cooked meal now grants a passive experience (XP) bonus on top of its standard Stamina and Spirit buff! Buying plain bread from innkeepers not only wastes 10 to 15 gold between levels 1 and 40, it also costs you free leveling speed. By cooking the meat looted from the beasts you skin and leveling First Aid (which supplies Silk and Mageweave Bandages while unlocking the campfire Stamina buff), you cut your consumable bill to zero.
5. Equip Four 10-Slot or 12-Slot Bags Before Level 32
Inventory space is the only investment worth making before level 40. Grinding in Desolace or the Badlands with tiny 6-slot or 8-slot bags forces you to destroy gray vendor loot or hearth back to town every twenty minutes (unless you have an Engineer friend to drop a campfire vendor bot). Hand your silk or mageweave cloth to a guild tailor for four Silk Packs (10-slot) or Mageweave Bags (12-slot): every extra slot pays for itself by your second vendor run.
The Strategist's Take
Having gone through dozens of fresh server launches and deliberately skipped half of my own Rogue's secondary skill ranks since last Thursday, I am convinced of one rule: affording your level 40 mount on time is never about getting a lucky epic world drop, it is about plugging invisible gold leaks starting at level 20.
With Apprentice Riding bundling your first racial mount directly into the 90 gold Honored training cost, and the new Camping System turning Skinning, Mining, and Cooking into real combat and XP multipliers, financial discipline pays off faster than ever. Park a level 1 bank alt in Orgrimmar or Stormwind, spend two hours grinding the Badlands rock elementals at level 38, and your 90 gold will be waiting in your bags before your level 40 ding even happens.
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Born and based in Montreal's Mile End district, Maëlle "Kaelen" became close friends with Chaya during their university software engineering years, bonding over late-night coding labs, campus LANs, and World of Warcraft raids alongside Grimtag and Heimdall. A game systems balancing consultant and lifelong theorycrafter, she cut her teeth in the early 2010s writing boss walkthroughs, frame-data breakdowns, and competitive meta guides for specialized French-language MMORPG and esports portals, including Mondes Persistants, as well as North American strategy collections. On Pro-Gamer, she leads in-depth walkthroughs, build optimization, and tactical esports coverage.
