The Inscription profession in Wrath of the Lich King Classic is brand new to the whole game, so there’s a lot of information to cover. Our WotLK Inscription guide will help you learn about how to get started in Inscription including best-paired professions, finding profession trainers, ways to make early gold, and the basics of crafting items in Inscription from 1 to 450.
Inscription Profession Overview
So, let’s start from the basics. By Milling gathered Herbs into various pigments, converting those pigments to inks, and combining them with vendor-purchased Parchments, Wrath Classic scribes can create Glyphs, as well as shoulder enchants, offhand items, Darkmoon Cards, Enchanting Vellums, and other useful items.
Glyphs become available to players starting at level 15, and in WoTLK Classic they are divided into two types: Major Glyphs and Minor Glyphs.
- Major Glyphs introduce more substantial improvements to specific spells or abilities, such as Glyph of Judgement, which increases the Judgement damage by 10%;
- Minor Glyphs also modify spells, but the results may be purely cosmetic or may only introduce a small improvement. An example of a Minor Glyph that has some small utility is Glyph of Mend Pet which increases your pet’s happiness slightly by using Mind Pet spell; a cosmetic Minor Glyph is something like Glyph of the Penguin, which changes the Mage’s Polymorph form from a sheep to a penguin.
Every character has a Glyphs tab with their Talents, with six spaces for Glyphs – up to 3 Minor and 3 Major. These become available as you advance in levels, starting at Level 15:
- Level 15: 1 Major and 1 Minor Glyph
- Level 20: Add 2nd Major Glyph
- Level 50: Add 2nd Minor Glyph
- Level 70: Add 3rd Minor Glyph
- Level 80: Add 3rd Major Glyph
WotLK Inscription Bonuses and Benefits
Scribes can craft shoulder enchants for their own use:
Master’s Inscription of the Axe (+120 Attack Power and 15 critical strike rating)
Master’s Inscription of the Crag (+70 Spell Power and 15 critical strike rating)
Master’s Inscription of the Pinnacle (+60 Dodge Rating and 15 defense rating)
Master’s Inscription of the Storm (+70 Spell Power and 8 mana every 5 sec)
Everyone will need Glyphs in Lich King Classic, and Enchanters will want Armor Vellum and Weapon Vellum of various levels for the ability to sell their items.
And don’t forget about the Darkmoon trinkets:
All these items are especially good for range/melee DPS classes. In all, the first Scribes with access to the highest-demand Glyphs through discovery will have an early gold-making lead on their competition.
This profession will not give you such a tangible increase in efficiency in raids or Arena compared to Engineering. So Inscription cannot be considered to be a BiS choice for any class. But it is still a good choice for fresh servers, a new expansion, and your alts, allowing you to get a sufficient amount of early gold.
Inscription as a way to gold making
During the pre-patch, you will be able to do Minor Inscription Research at 75 profession skill, it has a cooldown of 20 hours. Start researching, crafting, and auctioning them all the way to the start of the WotLK expansion.
- For 1x Minor Inscription Research you will need 1x Moonglow Ink and 2x Light Parchment.
Huge tip: you can research the Glyph only if you have the appropriate Inscription level. For example, if your Inscription is at level 125, you can use Minor Inscription Research and get a chance to research Minor Glyph (Inscription below 125), but not Glyph (Inscription around 150).
Together with the release of WotLK, more opportunities for earning early gold will be available to you, such as:
- Northrend Inscription Research – needs 385 skill and requires 3x Ink of the Sea, 1x Snowfall Ink, 5x Resilient Parchment;
- Darkmoon Card of the North – needs 400 skill and requires 6x Snowfall Ink, 3x Eternal Life, 3x Ink of the Sea, 1x Resilient Parchment.
Once these skills are achieved, start creating Glyphs and Darkmoon cards, the amount of your potential gold making will depend on your luck.
More profit will be given by an already assembled deck of cards and less profit will be given by selling individual cards for Darkmoon decks on auction.

WotLK Inscription Trainers
Despite the fact that Inscription is a brand-new profession you can learn it even in WoW Classic Old World. So it won’t be a problem to find trainers in faction capitals, Outland starting zones, and sanctuaries.
Alliance Inscription Trainers:
- Apprentice-Artisan: Feyden Darkin, Darnassus, Craftsman’s Terrace
- Apprentice-Artisan: Thoth, Exodar, Crystal Hall
- Apprentice-Artisan: Elise Brightletter, Ironforge, Tinker Town
- Apprentice-Artisan: Catarina Stanford, Stormwind, The Mage Quarter
- Master: Michael Schwan, Hellfire Peninsula, Honor Hold
- Grand Master: Tink Brightbolt, Borean Tundra, Valiance Keep
- Grand Master: Mindri Dinkles, Howling Fjord, Valgarde
Horde Inscription Trainers:
- Apprentice-Artisan: Jo’mah, Orgrimmar, The Drag
- Apprentice-Artisan: Zantasia, Silvermoon City, Court of the Sun
- Apprentice-Artisan: Poshken Hardbinder, Thunder Bluff, Spirit Rise Pool of Vision
- Apprentice-Artisan: Margaux Parchley, Undercity, Apothecarium
- Master: Neferatti, Hellfire Peninsula, Thrallmar tower
- Grand Master: Adelene Sunlance, Borean Tundra, Warsong Hold
- Grand Master: Booker Kells, Howling Fjord, Vengeance Landing
Neutral Inscription Trainers:
- Grand Master: Tink Brightbolt, Dalaran, Scribe Sacellum
Inscription Approximate materials required
The following shopping list is for the minimum number of ingredients you will need to complete this leveling path. As you get into yellow difficulty levels (or worse, green), you may have more than one combine per skill level.
First of all, you will need some purchased items. You may need slightly more or slightly less of each item depending on your luck:
- 1x Virtuoso Inking Set
- 60x Light Parchment
- 85x Common Parchment
- 75x Heavy Parchment
- 175x Resilient Parchment
Also, you will need the minimum following herbs. You can use any combination of these herbs, as long as they are in multiples of 5 for Milling. Each five herbs can give you 2-4 pigments. The herbs called (Uncommon) will give you the best chance of getting the uncommon pigment in addition to the (Common) pigment:
Mill all of these herbs to create the necessary Pigments.
WotLK Inscription Leveling
Apprentice Inscription (1-75)
1-19 | 18x Ivory Ink (18x Alabaster Pigment). You will be using the rest of your Alabaster Pigment to make Moonglow Ink later. |
19-35 | 16x Scroll of Stamina (16x Ivory Ink, 16x Light Parchment). |
35-53 | 22x Moonglow Ink (44x Alabaster Pigment). Make at least 22, but create as many as you have materials to make. You’ll need to keep this on hand for Minor Inscription Research. |
53-75 | 22x Armor Vellum (22x Moonglow Ink, 44x Light Parchment). |
Journeyman Inscription (75-125)
75-76 | Minor Inscription Research (1x Moonglow Ink, 2x Light Parchment). Do every day to learn Minor Glyphs. Cooldown once every 20 hours. |
76-80 | Midnight Ink (40x Dusky Pigment). |
80-100 | 20x Glyphs of Your Choice (20x Midnight Ink, 20x Light Parchment). Make 20 Glyphs that are at least Orange skill to you, or Yellow if these are not available. |
100-105 | 40x Lion’s Ink (80x Golden Pigment). |
105-125 | 20x Glyphs of Your Choice (20x Lion’s Ink, 20x Common Parchment). Make 20x Glyphs that are at least Orange skill to you, or Yellow if these are not available. |
Expert Inscription (150-225)
125-130 | Dawnstar Ink (1x Burnt Pigment per ink). Trainer recipe – make as many as you can. |
130-147 | 17x Glyphs of Your Choice (17x Lion’s Ink, 17x Common Parchment). Make 17 Glyphs that are at least Orange skill to you, or Yellow if these are not available. |
147-150 | Strange Tarot (2x Dawnstar Ink, 1x Common Parchment, 1x Lion’s Ink per card). Make as many as you can make given how much Dawnstar Ink you have. This may take you past 150, but make at least what you need to get to 150. |
150-155 | 50x Jadefire Ink (100x Emerald Pigment). |
155-175 | 20x Glyphs of Your Choice (20x Jadefire Ink, 20x Common Parchment). Make 20 Glyphs that are at least Orange skill to you, or Yellow if these are not available. |
175 | Royal Ink (1x Indigo Pigment per ink). Make as many as you can to have on hand. This may take you past 180. |
175-200 | 25x Glyphs of Your Choice (25x Jadefire Ink, 25x Common Parchment). Make up to 25 Glyphs that are at least Orange skill to you, or Yellow if these are not available. If you got points making Royal Ink, you may have fewer you need to do to get to 200. If you don’t make it to 200, you can close the gap by making as many Arcane Tarot as you can with 2x Royal Ink, 1x Common Parchment, and 1x Jadefire Ink. |
200-205 | 55x Celestial Ink (110x Violet Pigment). |
205-225 | 20x Glyphs of Your Choice (20x Celestial Ink, 20x Heavy Parchment). Make 20 Glyphs that are at least Orange skill to you, or Yellow if these are not available. |
Artisan Inscription (225-300)
225 | Fiery Ink (1x Ruby Pigment per ink). Make as much Fiery Ink as you can to have on hand. You will need 5 for a recipe later. |
225-245 | 20x Glyphs of Your Choice (20x Celestial Ink, 20x Heavy Parchment). Make 20 Glyphs that are at least Orange skill to you, or Yellow if these are not available. You may be able to make fewer if you got any points making Fiery Ink. |
245-250 | 5x Weapon Vellum II (5x Fiery Ink, 10x Heavy Parchment, 5x Celestial Ink). |
250-255 | 35x Shimmering Ink (70x Silvery Pigment). |
255-260 | 5x Scroll of Spirit V (5x Shimmering Ink, 10x Heavy Parchment). |
260-275 | 15x Glyphs of Your Choice (15x Shimmering Ink, 15x Heavy Parchment). Make 15 Glyphs that are at least Orange skill to you, or Yellow if these are not available. |
275-290 | 15x Ink of the Sky (15x Sapphire Pigment). |
Master Inscription (290-350)
290-305 | 45x Ethereal Ink (90x Nether Pigment). |
305-350 | 45x Glyphs of Your Choice (45x Ethereal Ink, 45x Resilient Parchment). Make 45 Glyphs that are at least Orange skill to you, or Yellow if these are not available. |
Grand Master Inscription (350-450)
350-355 | 45x Ink of the Sea (90x Azure Pigment). Make at least 90. You will also be using this for Northrend Inscription Research so, you will need this in large quantities. |
355-360 | 5x Scroll of Spirit VII (5x Ink of the Sea, 10x Resilient Parchment). |
360-365 | 5x Scroll of Intellect VII (5x Ink of the Sea, 10x Resilient Parchment). |
365-370 | 5x Scroll of Strength VII (5x Ink of the Sea, 10x Resilient Parchment). |
370-375 | 5х Scroll of Agility VII (5x Ink of the Sea, 10x Resilient Parchment). |
375-380 | Snowfall Ink (2x Icy Pigment). Make as many as you can. You will need this in quantity for Northrend Inscription Research. |
380-385 | 5x Glyphs of Your Choice (5x Ink of the Sea, 5x Resilient Parchment). Make 5 Glyphs that are at least Orange skill to you, or Yellow if these are not available. |
385-386 | Northrend Inscription Research (3x Ink of the Sea, 1x Snowfall Ink, 5x Resilient Parchment). Northrend Inscription Research is used to learn nearly all your highest-level Glyphs in game. This has a 20-hour cooldown, so you will want to do this every day, preferably around the same time of day so you don’t forget. Technically speaking, you can end your targeted leveling here and just level up the rest of the way doing Northrend Inscription Research, but you want to get to Level 430 first if possible. Northrend Inscription Research can teach you Glyphs that require as high as 430, so you want to make sure you’re getting the best possible chance of getting desirable glyphs techniques. Since Northrend Inscription Research will only let you Discover a recipe you can use; the 430 recipes will remain out of reach until you get your research up far enough. |
386-400 | 14x Glyph of Your Choice (14x Ink of the Sea, 14x Resilient Parchment). Make 14 Glyphs that are at least Orange skill to you, or Yellow if these are not available. This is likely going to be one of the first glyphs you Discover through Northrend Inscription Research. |
400-405 | 5x Scroll of Stamina VIII (5x Ink of the Sea, 10x Resilient Parchment). |
405-410 | 5x Scroll of Spirit VIII (5x Ink of the Sea, 10x Resilient Parchment). |
410-415 | 5x Scroll of Intellect VIII (5x Ink of the Sea, 10x Resilient Parchment). |
415-420 | 5x Scroll of Strength VIII (5x Ink of the Sea, 10x Resilient Parchment). |
420-430 | 13x Scroll of Agility VIII (13x Ink of the Sea, 26x Resilient Parchment). |
430 – 450 | Just conduct regular Northrend Inscription Research until you get 450 level. |
That was everything you need to know about this brand-new profession and how to level Inscription in WotLK Classic. If this guide was useful to you, please let us know with feedback and good luck in your adventures!