TBC Anniversary Pre-Patch will arrive on January 13, 2026, and this short window is the best time for players to prepare their main characters, level alts, and build a strong economic foundation before the new content officially lands.
This guide covers everything you should do before the Pre-Patch, including must-farm materials, key quests to complete, professions to level, reputations to save, and gear to keep. It also includes a gold-making section so you can be fully prepared for flying training, 70-level gearing, and early raid entry.
Whether you're a returning player, a seasoned veteran, or someone planning a fresh start, this checklist will ensure you enter the TBC Anniversary Pre-Patch fully ready.
1. Pre-Patch Preparation Checklist – Do These Before Pre-Patch
This is the simplest and most useful section of the entire guide—players love clear lists they can save and follow. Below is a full checklist covering all important systems.
✅ 1.1 Must-Have Resources to Stockpile
With the Anniversary Pre-Patch changing the meta, many materials will spike in price. Prepare the following now:
• Consumables for Leveling and Early Raiding
Healing Potions
Mana Potions
Elixirs of Agility/Strength/Intellect
Scrolls (Agility, Strength, Spirit)
Bandages
These items always become more expensive once the leveling hype begins.
• Classic-Era Materials That Convert into TBC Usage
Many items will remain valuable during the transition:
Runecloth (for first aid + rep turn-ins)
Arcane Dust (enchanting leveling)
Felcloth (crafting bags)
Leatherworking essentials (Rugged Leather, Core Leather)
• Pre-Patch Limited Demand Materials
Large Brilliant Shards
Greater Eternal Essences
Mooncloth
Arcanite Bars
Players often underestimate how expensive profession leveling becomes during Pre-Patch. Getting these early saves a lot of TBC Anniversary gold.
✅ 1.2 Key Quests to Finish Before Pre-Patch
Doing these before Pre-Patch gives you EXP, gold, rep, and headstart advantages:
• Save High-Reward Quest Turn-Ins
Level 60 quests that reward high gold become an amazing money source in Pre-Patch; do not turn them in yet. Prepare:
Dungeon chain quests
Silithus quests
Eastern Plaguelands/Naxxramas questlines
Any unfinished zone story arcs
These quests become pure gold after Pre-Patch scaling changes.
• Onyxia, MC, and BWL Quests (If Available)
Raid quests reward high gold values in Pre-Patch. Save them.
• PvP Weekly Quests
Turn them in after the update for free currency and gold.
✅ 1.3 Reputations You Should Save
Reputation bonuses will matter once players start preparing for gearing and professions in TBC Anniversary.
Highly Recommended:
Argent Dawn – early enchants, materials
Cenarion Circle – useful early crafting patterns
Thorium Brotherhood – fire-resistant pieces and valuable crafts
Zandalar Tribe – trinkets, enchants
Saving reputation hand-ins (Scourgestones, Twilight Texts, Bijous) can help you rush enchants or gear crafting early on.
✅ 1.4 Professions to Level Before Pre-Patch
Leveling your professions early will save you enormous amounts of time and gold once the Pre-Patch goes live. And if you're short on time or returning to the game after a break, our fast TBC Classic Anniversary boost can help you skip early-game bottlenecks and focus directly on gearing, professions, or preparing for Outland.
Best Professions to Level Now:
Engineering – PvP advantage + early raid tools
Jewelcrafting Prep – stock materials (the profession unlocks later, but you can prepare mats now)
Alchemy – flasks & elixirs will spike in price
Leatherworking – drums will become crucial
Enchanting – people always need enchants during early raid progression
You don't necessarily need to finish leveling, but prepare 70% of the mats now—prices will explode after Pre-Patch.
✅ 1.5 Gear You Should Keep for Pre-Patch
Do NOT vendor or DE these types of items:
Spell power gear for hybrid classes
Feral DPS/Tank gear
Ret Paladin offpieces
Off-spec gear for leveling
Trinkets with strong on-use effects
Hybrid classes gain massive buffs in Pre-Patch, so gear that used to be "trash" suddenly becomes great for leveling or dungeon runs.
2. Gold & Economy Preparation – What to Farm Before Pre-Patch
The economy is the biggest part of Pre-Patch preparation. As the date approaches, more players farm aggressively to prepare for:
Riding + Flying training
Early raid consumables
Profession leveling
BoE upgrades
Here's what will matter most.
🟨 2.1 Items Guaranteed to Rise in Price
These items historically spike during every TBC-related Pre-Patch:
• Primal Materials (Especially Shadow & Fire)
These are essential for:
Early crafted gear
Resistance pieces
Spellpower items
• Large Brilliant Shards
High demand because:
Enchanting leveling
Pre-raid enchants
• Herbs
Especially:
Dreamfoil
Plaguebloom
Black Lotus
Even though some will drop in value later, Pre-Patch is the strongest selling window.
• Ores & Bars
Thorium Bars
Fel Iron Ore (if available after launch)
Mithril
Used for Engineering, Jewelcrafting, and Smithing leveling.
🟨 2.2 Consumables That Become Expensive
Free Action Potions
Swiftness Potions
Greater Fire Protection / Nature Protection potions (players always prep)
Oils and Stones (Wizard Oil, Sharpening Stones)
Major Mana & Healing potions
These are extremely easy to farm now, but will double in price later.
🟨 2.3 Materials for Professions That Players Always Need
Engineering
Thorium Bars
Dense Blasting Powder
Mithril Bars
Jewelcrafting Prep
Green-quality gems
Elemental Earth / Water / Shadow
Eternium ore (if available at pre-patch)
Leatherworking
Rugged Leather
Devilsaur Leather
Core Leather
Alchemy
Golden Sansam
Mountain Silversage
Dreamfoil
Stocking these now ensures you have an advantage once everyone begins leveling professions.
3. Flying-Related Gold Planning (Important!)
Even though flying mounts can only be used in Outland, players are already preparing financially.
To be ready, you'll need:
900g–1000g for basic flying
5000g for epic flying
Extra gold for:
training
crafted gear
consumables
dungeon preparation
This is why many players choose to farm aggressively now or purchase early gold safely through reliable marketplaces.
4. Early Daily Materials to Prepare
These Will Be Valuable on Pre-Patch and Early Launch:
Netherweave Cloth
Motes (Shadow, Water, Fire)
Cooking base ingredients
Outland zone quest items (if available)
Bandage materials
Even stocking Pre-TBC materials gives you a powerful edge once players begin rushing through early content.
5. Raiding Consumables for Early Dungeons & Kara Preparation
Even before Anniversary raids come out, players will want:
Flask of Supreme Power
Flask of Titans
Greater Arcane Elixirs
Fire/Nature Protection Potions
Weapon Oils
Mana Potions
Heroic dungeon keys (prepare rep!)
Collecting or crafting these now saves you a fortune.
6. Character Preparation Tasks
• Clean Your Bags & Bank
You'll need max space for:
leveling
quest items
materials
BoE drops
• Organize Your Alt Characters
Leveling multiple characters becomes much easier during Pre-Patch.
• Prepare Dual Gear Sets
Hybrid classes explode in power, so:
Tanks may DPS
Healers may DPS
Ferals may off-tank
Having two sets ready helps you adapt quickly.
7. Returning Player Must-Do Checklist
If you're coming back after a break, do this:
Update all addons
Complete the unfinished 60 quests
Level essential professions to at least 300
Save all world buffs (if applicable)
Train class skills
Restock consumables
Check the raid schedule with your guild early
Final Thoughts
TBC Anniversary Pre-Patch will shift the entire meta, economy, and leveling landscape. Preparing early ensures you're not scrambling for materials, gold, or gear the night before the update hits.
By following this full checklist—stocking key materials, finishing quests, leveling professions, saving reputation turn-ins, and planning your class gearing—you'll enter the Pre-Patch with a huge advantage over the average player.
