This guide covers the four Blacksmithing specialization trees in Midnight: Armorsmithing, Weaponsmithing, Craftsmithing, and The Old Ways. I made 3 builds with step-by-step point allocation, one for personal gear, one for filling Crafting Orders, and one for playing the Auction House.
Getting Knowledge Points
This guide is only about builds and where to put your points. If you need help finding Knowledge Points, check out my main guide:
Timeline & Unlock Pace
You can get around 50-60 knowledge points on the first day from first crafts and one-time treasures. In your first week, you can expect around 60-70 points total, depending on your renown. After that, you'll earn roughly 20-25 points per week from patron orders, weekly quests, treasure drops, and treatises.
The builds below are based on that first 50-60 point mark, with suggestions for what to do as you get more points.
Specialization Overview
| Specialization | Description |
|---|---|
| Craftsmithing | Profession tools for other crafters (Pickaxes, Skinning Knives, Needles, etc.) and Tool Stones that temporarily boost crafting stats. |
| The Old Ways | Multicraft, Resourcefulness, and Ingenuity bonuses for all BS crafts. Also has the Alloys sub-spec for smelting ore into Alloys, which are used in almost every high-end recipe. |
| Armorsmithing | Plate armor for all slots (Helm, Chest, Legs, Shoulders, Hands, Waist, Wrists, Feet) and Shields. For Warriors, Paladins, Death Knights, and filling Crafting Orders for plate wearers. |
| Weaponsmithing | All weapon types (Swords, Axes, Maces, Daggers, Polearms, Warglaives) in one-handed and two-handed versions. Also has Weaponstones, temporary weapon buffs that boost attack power. |
Builds & Talent Trees
Which Build Should You Choose?
I made 3 builds, each for a different playstyle. Pick the one that fits you best:
- Standard: Best for most players. You craft your own max rank gear (Weapons or Armor) and don't need to rely on anyone else.
- Crafting Orders: For crafting gear for other players. Not for beginners, since you need to find your own customers.
- Auction House: High-volume crafting for "Goblins" who play the AH. Best if you enjoy mass-producing Alloys.
Each build has step-by-step point allocation and a picture of the talent tree so you can follow along.
Standard Build
With this build, you can craft your own max rank gear for your chosen slot. It's the safest choice for most players.
You don't have to look for other players to craft for you or worry about tipping. You're completely self-sufficient. With this build you're basically set for the whole expansion, and each season you'll be able to craft max rank gear.
You need to decide first: Weapons or Armor? Weapons are usually bigger upgrades, but Armor gives you more slot options.
Where to Spend Points
Armorsmithing (Plate Armor)
- 0-30 Points: Max out the Armorsmithing root node. You will unlock all 3 sub-specializations here, so which one you unlock first doesn't matter. Each sub-spec teaches you a new recipe when you unlock it. It's usually best to pick slots that don't compete with set items first, like Wrist, Belt, and Boots.
- 30-60 Points: Pick a branch based on the 3 slots you want and put 30 points into it. This will unlock all recipes in that branch.
- Articulating Armor: Waist, Wrists, Hands
- Sculpted Armor: Helms, Shoulder, Feet
- Large Plate Armor: Chest, Legs, Shields
- 60-120 Points: From here you just have to decide which armor slot you want sooner, but eventually you will unlock all of them.
Weaponsmithing
The Weaponsmithing tree has 3 branches:
- Weaponstones: Whetstones and Weightstones
- Hafted Weapons: Maces, Axes, Polearms
- Blades: Long Blades, Short Blades
- 0-30 Points: Max out the Weaponsmithing root node. You will unlock all 3 sub-specializations here.
- 30-55 Points: Pick Hafted Weapons or Blades based on what weapon type you use. Put 25 points into your chosen branch. This lets you use optional reagents for secondary stats and embellishments, and opens the weapon-specific sub-specs:
- Hafted Weapons → Axes, Polearms, Maces
- Blades → Swords, Daggers, Warglaives
Note: Not every weapon type has a recipe taught by its spec. Two-Handed Axes and Polearms benefit from skill bonuses in the Axes and Polearms node, but their recipes come from trainers or world drops.
In this example I'm picking Hafted Weapons, which focuses on Maces, Axes, and Polearms. Pick Blades if you want Swords, Daggers, or Warglaives.
Next Steps
You have your foundation. Now choose a path:
Unlock More Recipes
Go into other sub-specs to unlock more weapon types, or if you picked Armorsmithing, start putting points into Weaponsmithing.
Boost Your Crafting Stats
Start putting points into The Old Ways for permanent Ingenuity, Multicraft, and Resourcefulness bonuses.
If you mainly use Concentration for crafting Alloys with silver materials to get gold quality, focus on Prolific Worker (Multicraft) and Second Nature (Ingenuity) first.
If you mainly use Concentration for crafting armor for yourself or others, focus on Resourceful Smith (Resourcefulness) and then Second Nature (Ingenuity).
Personal Crafting Orders
To craft Rank 5 gear without relying on Concentration, you need to specialize. If you try to learn everything at once, you won't have enough skill to craft anything at max rank.
Choose Your Path
You have two choices for your early points:
- Profession Equipment: This is a "one-time" investment. You spend points in the Craftsmithing specialization to unlock max rank crafting for Tools.
- Armor/Weapons: This requires constant investment. You need roughly 60-90 points to open the tree and max out a specific slot (Chest, Helm, Weapon, etc.).
Which one is better?
I recommend choosing Armor or Weapons.
Profession Equipment is risky. It relies on your realm's population, and demand drops fast once everyone has their tools. If you start late, don't pick this.
Armor and Weapons are safer. Players need gear updates all season long, especially with Sparks, so the demand is consistent.
Where to Spend Points
Armor & Weapon Specializations
- 0-30 Points: Max out the "Root" node of Armorsmithing or Weaponsmithing for base skill.
- 30-60 Points: Pick the sub-spec for the slot you want (e.g. Sculpted Armor, Large Armor, Hafted, Blades).
- 60-80 Points: Put 20+ points into the specific item node for your slot (e.g. Helm, Greataxe).
Use the table below to find which branch you need for your desired slot or weapon type:
| Armorsmithing | Weaponsmithing |
|---|---|
| Articulating Armor → Hands, Wrists, Waist | Hafted → Axes and Polearms → 1H Axe, 2H Axe, Polearm |
| Sculpted Armor → Head, Shoulders, Feet | Hafted → Maces → 1H Mace, 2H Mace |
| Large Plate Armor → Chest, Legs, Shield | Blades → Long Blades → 1H Sword, 2H Sword |
| Blades → Short Blades → Dagger, Warglaive |
Note: Not every weapon type has a recipe taught by its spec. Two-Handed Axes and Polearms benefit from skill bonuses in the Axes and Polearms node, but their recipes come from vendors or world drops.
Armorsmithing Example
Here's an example focused on unlocking the Wrist slot. If you want a different slot, just fill out everything leading to it.
Weaponsmithing Example
Here's an example focused on the Axes and Polearms branch. Same idea, just fill out everything leading to the weapon type you want.
Profession Equipment
This path focuses on the Craftsmithing tree.
- 0-30 Points: Put 30 points into the Craftsmithing root node.
- 30-55 Points: Put 25 points into Trade Tools.
- 55-70 Points: Put 25 points into Trade Accessories.
Next Steps
Depending on which path you started with, here's what to do next:
If you picked Profession Equipment:
Either finish this build by putting points into Resourceful Smith in The Old Ways tree for material savings, or swap to Armor/Weapons if you aren't getting enough orders.
If you picked Armor/Weapons:
I recommend maxing out the other slots in your current branch first. After that, check the Crafting Orders on your realm:
- High Volume: If you see lots of orders for slots you don't have, unlock the rest of your armor/weapon recipes.
- Low Volume: If you're happy with your current recipes, put points into The Old Ways tree. Focus on Resourceful Smith first to get more materials back from your crafts.
Auction House Build
High volume, tight margins. This build is for "Goblins" who buy thousands of materials from the Auction House to process into Alloys or Consumables.
Where to Spend Points
Unlike TWW, consumables are split across two trees in Midnight. Alloys moved to The Old Ways, while Tool Stones and Weaponstones are in separate trees.
| Alloys (The Old Ways) | Tool Stones (Craftsmithing) | Weaponstones (Weaponsmithing) |
|---|---|---|
 Gloaming Alloy |
 Refulgent Razorstone |
 Refulgent Whetstone |
 Sterling Alloy |
 Refulgent Weightstone | |
 Refulgent Copper Ingot |
Alloys are probably the best pick here. They're used in most high-end recipes, so you'll always have buyers. Tool Stones and Weaponstones can work too, but they're consumables with a smaller market.
Alloys (Recommended)
- 40 Points: Max out The Old Ways root node.
- 20 Points: Max out the Prolific Worker sub-node to get more Multicraft.
Resourcefulness or Gold Quality
From here, you can either push Resourcefulness for higher profit margins, or go for Gold Quality Alloys. Depends on what is better profits.
To reach Gold Quality without concentration, you will need at least 3 Blue Quality professions tools, so if you don't have that yet, Resourcefulness is a good choice while you work on your tools. If you already have good tools, you can go for Gold Quality.
Resourcefulness Path
Gold Quality Path
Next Steps
If you picked Resourcefulness:
- Branch into consumables: 30 points into Craftsmithing root → 25 points into Tool Stones, or 30 points into Weaponsmithing root → 25 points into Weaponstones.
If you picked Gold Quality:
- 20 points into Resourceful Smith (max it out). You still want material savings on every craft.
- Branch into consumables. (see above)