WOW: Guide to Alchemy 450-525

Alchemy is one of the more versatile professions in WoW, for two reasons. On the one hand, you have the option of transmutating at higher levels, which is low risk and big profit, and on the other hand, you can list potions, elixirs & flasks on the Auction House which will net you a slow and steady income.

Alchemy has been one of the most "fashionable" professions to benefit from in Wrath because you have the option to make a big profit, and have a lot of fun with what you can do with it at the same time. There are a few things that Blizzard has added to the profession in Cataclysm which make it even better and more tempting to utilise:

Flasks
From the MMO-C Alchemy preview, we've been able to pick up some info regarding the state of flasks in the upcoming expansion.

You'll be able to benefit to your guild's raiding experience with the new Cauldron of Battle, recipe obtained at Guild Level 5, basically gives each of your raid members a flask buff appropriate to their class/specialization.

Transmutations
There are now not one, but two metal transmutations coming in Cataclysm. You'll be able to transmute Pyrium from Elementium, and you'll be able to transmute Truegold from Pyrium, which with the expected early state of the market in Cataclysm, you'll be able to have a very low risk and very big profit from transmuting these bars.

Potions
Hoh, boy! This specialization of Alchemy has certainly taken a left turn in Cataclysm, though it may not offer as high profit than Transmutation Specialization, and not as much cash flow from Elixir Specialization (flasks) It's certainly worth checking out!

Blizzard has spiced up the specialization by adding a lot, and introducing arguably a new concept to Alchemy on a whole:

For example, there's now a "Potion of Treasure Finding", potions for literally every stat offering short term boosts for approx. 4x the flask bonus, illusion potions, hell, even a teleportation potion that sends you to Deepholm!

I personally love how they're reintroducing some of the fun concepts we saw in Alchemy back in Vanilla, and are now using to make Alchemy fun and profitable again in Cataclysm.


Enough chit chat. Let's see what we need to get Alchemy up and running from 450-525 in no time!

The mats you're going to require are fairly simple, but if you lack Herbalism as your gathering profession you may need to spend a fair bit on the Auction House to obtain what you need.

From the Beta we've established that the approximate mats we're going to need are as follows:
_______________________________________

115 Cinderbloom - Herb, found in Hyjal/Vashjir
65 Stormvine - Herb, found in Hyjal/Vashjir
30 Azshara's Veil - Herb, found in Vashjir
30 Whiptail - Herb, found in Tol'Barad, Uldum.
50 Twilight Jasmine - Herb, found in Deepholm

30 Jasper - Prospected from Obsidium Ore
30 Nightstone - Prospected from unknown nodes.
_______________________________________

Now that we've established the base mats, what are we going to use them for! And when? Here's a list i've put together of the necessary things you'll need to be making to get to 525:

Earthen Potion (Learned: 450)
Making throughout: 450-455
Requirements: Stormvine x10, Crystal Vial x5

Deathbloom Venom (Learned: 455)
Making throughout: 455-460
Requirements: Stormvine x5, Crystal Vial x5

Volcanic Potion (Learned: 460)
Making throughout: 460-465
Requirements: Cinderbloom x5, Azshara's Veil x5, Crystal Vial x5

Potion of Concentration (Learned 465)
Making throughout: 465-475
Requirements: Azshara's Veil x25~, Crystal Vial x15~

Mighty Rejuvenation Potion (Learned 475)
Making throughout: 475-480
Requirements: Whiptail x10, Crystal Vial x5

Prismatic Elixir (Learned 480)
Making throughout: 480-485
Requirements: Cinderbloom x5, Whiptail x5, Crystal Vial x5

Potion of the Tol'vir (Learned 485)
Making throughout: 485-495
Requirements: Stormvine x15~, Whiptail x15~, Crystal Vial x15~

Elixir of the Master (Learned 495)
Making throughout: 495-505
Requirements: Twilight Jasmine x15, Heartblossom x15, Crystal Vial x15

Transmute: Dream Emerald (Learned 505)
Making throughout: 505-515
Requirements: Jasper x35~, Stormvine x35~(Mats May Vary)

Transmute: Demonseye (Learned 515)
Making throughout: 515-525
Requirements: Nightstone x35~, Twilight Jasmine x35~(Mats May Vary)

There are of course other routes to getting to 525 Alchemy, this is the route I'll be taking on release, though.