World of Warcraft Alchemy Profession Guide
Alchemy allows the player to make potions for himself and others. He is also able to transmute certain essences into different types of essences and gems into Meta Gems. As an alchemist your main source of materials comes from Herbalism. Alchemy is one of the most desired professions for raiders. Since you are able to make long duration, persist through death stat potions and healing/mana potions.
Alchemy isn't a "required” profession to maximize your characters potential, like Enchanting and Jewelcrafting but it gives you the extra “Umph” that you need on certain raids.
Alchemy Paths
Elixir Master: Allows the Alchemist to sometimes create an extra elixir when brewing high level elixirs.
To become a Elixir Master you must accept the quest from the Alchemy Trainer in Thrallmar or Honor Hold. Take this quest to Shattrath and accept the followup. For the followup you need;
Elixir of Major Defense x 5
Elixir of Mastery x 5
Elixir of Greater Agility x 5
Essence of Infinity x 10
The Essence of Infinity's can be found from the portal guardians in The Black Morass.
Potion Master: Allows the Alchemist to sometimes create an extra potion when brewing high level potions.
To become a Potion Master you must accept the quest from the Alchemy Trainer in Thrallmar or Honor Hold. Take this quest to Cenarion Refuge and accept the followup. For the followup you need;
Super Healing Potions x 5
Super Mana Potions x 5
Major Dreamless Sleep Potions x 5
Botanist's Field Guide
In order to get the Field Guide you must kill High Botanist Freywinn in Botanica.
Trasmutation Mastery: Allows the Alchemist to sometimes get greater results when transmuting materials.
To specialize in Trasmuting you will need to accept the quest from the Alchemy Trainer in Thrallmar or Honor Hold. Take this quest to Netherstorm and accept the followup. For the followup you will need:
Primal Might x 4
Alchemy 1 - 210
Alchemy 1 - 60
Craft - 
[Minor Healing Potions] x 59
Materials Required:
59 Peacebloom
59 Silverleaf
59 Empty Vials
For the first 60 points of Alchemy you will be making Minor Healing Potions. These are extremely easy to make as all they require is Peacebloom and Silverleaf which can be purchased from the Auction House for extremely cheap prices or gathered from all 1 - 10 zones. I recommend Durotar or Elwynn Forest if you're looking to farm for either of these materials. You will want to save at least 50 of these for the next recipe.
Alchemy 60 - 110
Craft - 
[Lesser Healing Potions] x 50
Materials Required:
50 Minor Healing Potions
50 Briarthorn
This is another easy recipe to make, although Briarthorn is rather expensive if you plan on buying it. If you're going to be buying the Briarthorn expect to be spending about 10 to 15g a stack at the minimum. 45g to 50g a stack at the maximum. An alternative method of getting Briarthorn would be to farm it... Of course.. The best places I've found to farm Briarthorn are Hillsbrad Foothills (Horde and Alliance), Duskwood (Alliance) and Northern Barrens (Horde).
If you decide to farm for the Briarthorn be sure to get enough for the Lesser Healing Potions as well as enough for the Healing Potions which you need to make next.
Alchemy 110 - 140
Craft - 
[Healing Potion] x 30
Materials Required:
30 Bruiseweed
30 Briarthorn
30 Leaded Vials
Once again another extremely easy recipe to make despite the costly materials. The Briarthorn will be costing you an arm and a leg to buy (if you decide to buy them) but the Bruiseweed is rather cheap and both of them are extremely easy to farm. Another thing that is nice is if you decide to farm for the materials both of them can be farmed from the same zone. This makes things on you much easier if you decide to go that route.
Alchemy 140 - 155
Craft - 
[Lesser Mana Potion] x 15
Materials Required:
15 Mageroyal
15 Stranglekelp
15 Empty Vials
For these 15 points you will be making some Lesser Mana Potions. These require Mageroyal and Stranglekelp to make which are both rather common at the lower levels. Mageroyal is much easier to gather than Stranglekelp but only because Stranglekelp can only be found underwater. This makes it a real pain in the butt to gather so honestly unless you're a druid or have that nifty underwater mount that can be used anywhere, I recommend buying the Stranglekelp off the Auction House.
Alchemy 155 - 185
Craft - 
[Greater Healing Potion] x 30
Materials Required:
30 Liferoot
30 Kingsblood
30 Leaded Vial
Greater Healing Potions are the easiest thing to make for raising your Alchemy skill through these earlier levels. They're rather cheap to make since all they require is some Liferoot and Kingsblood which are both extremely common Herbalism materials. You can usually find them on the Auction House for cheap too, although they are sometimes scooped up by players with Inscription that want Lion's Ink.
Alchemy 185 - 210
Craft - 
[Elixir of Agility] x 25
Materials Required:
25 Stranglekelp
25 Goldthorn
25 Leaded Vials
Next up on our list of things to make is Elixir of Agility. This will be the most expensive potion you've come to make so far as it requires Goldthorn which is a very expensive and uncommon herb. Usually Goldthorn costs anywhere from 10 to 15 per piece on the Auction House, making this one of the few herbs you definitely will want to farm. If you need some good farming locations for Goldthorn I recommend using my Goldthorn Farming Guide.
Alchemy 210 - 300
Alchemy 210 - 215
Craft - 
[Elixir of Greater Defense] x 5
Materials Required:
5 Wild Steelbloom
5 Goldthorn
5 Leaded Vials
Elixir of Greater Defense is another Elixir that you have to make which requires Goldthorn. Luckily not nearly as much of it is required for this set of skill ups as what was required for the previous amount of skillups. Just like before I recommend you farm the Goldthorn so you're not giving up your life savings to buy it all. As with before, if you need some good farming locations for Goldthorn I recommend using my Goldthorn Farming Guide.
Alchemy 215 - 230
Craft - 
[Superior Healing Potion] x 15
Materials Required:
15 Sungrass
15 Khadgar's Whisker
15 Crystal Vials
Superior Healing Potions are the main thing you're going to be making now, they take Sungrass and Khadgar's Whisker to make, both of which are extremely easy to farm in mass amounts from the same zones (Stranglethorn being your best bet for both).
Alchemy 230 - 231
The Recipe to create the Philosopher's Stone can be purchased from Alchemist Pestlezugg in Gadgetzan.
Craft - 
[Philosopher's Stone] x 1
Materials Required:
4 Iron Bars
1 Black Vitriol
4 Purple Lotus
4 Firebloom
You'll want to buy all the materials for making the Philosopher's Stone from the Auction House. Everything used in making it will be cheap, Iron Bars usually being the most expensive item you'll have to buy. The Black Vitriol can be gathered from Mithril Veins if you're a Miner, if not you'll have to buy it from the Auction House. Don't worry, it's usually extremely cheap. As for the Firebloom you can gather that from either Tanaris or Searing Gorge.
Alchemy 231 - 250
Craft - [Elixir of Detect Undead] x 19
Materials Required:
19 Arthas' Tears
19 Crystal Vials
In order to make the Elixir of Detect Undead all you need is Arthas' Tears and Vials. Arthas' Tears are generally very cheap on the Auction House so this range of skill points will be a breeze to... Breeze through!
Alchemy 250 - 265
Craft - [Elixir of Greater Agility] x 15
Materials Required:
15 Sungrass
15 Goldthorn
15 Crystal Vials
Another recipe that requires Goldthorn to make and luckily the last. As you know by now Goldthorn costs a ton on the Auction House so it is strongly recommended that you farm what you need. As before, if you'd like to see the best farming locations for Goldthorn use my Goldthorn Farming Guide.
Alchemy 265 - 285
Craft - 
[Superior Mana Potion] x 20
Materials Required:
40 Sungrass
40 Blindweed
20 Crystal Vials
Superior Mana Potions are a costly potion to make since they require Blindweed. But don't worry, Blindweed doesn't cost nearly as much as Goldthorn does for the earlier recipes. As for the Sungrass that can be pretty pricey too but it isn't as rare as Blindweed so I wouldn't sweat it.
Alchemy 285 - 300
Craft - 
[Major Healing Potion] x 20
Materials Required:
40 Golden Sansam
20 Mountain Silversage
20 Crystal Vials
This is the final potion you're going to need to make before you move from Classic WoW materials to Outland Materials. Luckily you can usually find both Golden Sansam and Mountain Silversage for less than 20g a stack so it shouldn't be too costly to level up to 300. Once you reach 300 it's time to move on to Outlands materials! At this point in time you can sell all the materials for Classic WoW that you have left over (hang on to the Golden Sansam though, it's still used in some stuff past 300)
Alchemy 300 - 380
Alchemy 300 - 310
Craft - 
[Volatile Healing Potion] x 10
Materials Required:
10 Golden Sansam
10 Felweed
10 Imbued Vials
The very first item you will be making with Outlands materials is Volatile Healing Potions. These are extremely easy to make, just use whatever left over Golden Sansam you have and Felweed that you either purchased from the Auction House or farmed up. If you need a good location to farm up both Felweed and Golden Sansam at the same time head over to Hellfire Penninsula. You'll find an abundance of both here.
Alchemy 310 - 325
Craft - 
[Elixir of Healing Power] x 15
Materials Required:
15 Golden Sansam
15 Dreaming Glory
15 Imbued Vials
The next set of items you are going to be making is Elixir of Healing Powers. These taken Golden Sansam (again) as well as Dreaming Glory which is another extremely common Outlands Herb. You can find Dreaming Glory on the Auction House for next to nothing or you can farm it in the same place as Golden Sansam and Felweed, in Hellfire Penninsula.
Alchemy 325 - 335
Craft - 
[Mad Alchemist's Potion] x 10
Materials Required:
20 Ragveil
10 Crystal Vials
The Mad Alchemist's Potions are the cheapest items you'll be making to raise your skill for pretty much all of Outlands since the only Herb required for these points is Ragveil. Ragveil is a very very common Outland herb that goes for next to nothing on the Auction House or if you want to farm it you can find plenty of it in Zangarmarsh.
Alchemy 335 - 340
Craft - x5 [Super Healing Potions]
Materials Required:
10 Netherbloom
5 Felweed
5 Imbued Vials
Super Healing Potions are the most costly thing you'll be making that uses Outlands Herbs because it uses Netherbloom. Netherbloom costs a fortune on most servers going for upwards of 200g per stack. Luckily you don't need much of it at all. If you're looking to farm Netherbloom head to Netherstorm, you'll be able to get all you need in about 10 minutes from there.
Alchemy 340 - 360
This recipe can be purchased from Haalrun in Zangarmarsh or Daga Ramba in Blade's Edge Mountains.
Craft - [Super Mana Potion] x 23
Materials Required:
46 Dreaming Glory
23 Felweed
23 Imbued Vials
Super Mana Potions are very cheap to make since all you'll need to make them is Dreaming Glory and Felweed. These two herbs are the cheapest herbs on the Auction House that come from Outland. If you buy all that you need you should be spending less than 50g for these 20 skill ups. If none are on the Auction House you can farm plenty of both in Hellfire Penninsula.
Alchemy 360 - 365
Craft - 
[Icy Mana Potion] x 5
Materials Required:
10 Talandra's Rose
5 Imbued Vials
The first thing you'll be making with Northrend Herbs is Icy Mana Potions. The only herb you'll need is Talandra's Rose to get through these 5 skill ups. You can buy Talandra's Rose from the Auction House or farm them in Borean Tundra, they're quite common there.
Alchemy 365 - 380
Craft - 
[Spellpower Elixir] x 17
Materials Required:
17 Goldclover
17 Tiger Lily
17 Imbued Vials
Spellpower Elixirs are extremely easy to make, they require Goldclover and Tiger Lily to make, both of which are gathered from the starter Northrend Zones (Borean Tundra & Howling Fjord). Or of course you could buy them from the Auction House for rather cheap. Goldthorn and Tiger Lily both usually go for 15 - 19g a stack.
Alchemy 380 - 450
Alchemy 380 - 395
Craft - 
[Potion of Nightmares] x 15
Material Required:
15 Goldclover
25 Talandra's Rose
15 Imbued Vials
Potion of Nightmares is an extremely easy to make Potion. All it requires to make is Goldclover and Talandra's Rose which are both easy to come by materials on both the Auction House as well as through farming. Goldclover can be found commonly in Howling Fjord and Borean Tundra while Talandra's Rose is a common yield from Herbalism farming in Zul'Drak.
Alchemy 395 - 405
Craft - 
[Elixir of Mighty Agility] x 12
Materials Required:
24 Goldclover
24 Adder's Tongue
12 Imbued Vials
Elixir of Mighty Agility is one of the cheapest Northrend Elixirs to make as all it takes is Goldclover and Adder's Tongue. As you should already know Goldclover comes from Borean Tundra and Howling Fjord but Adder's Tongue is indigenous to Sholazar Basin. You can find Adder's Tongue for very cheap on the Auction House usually as it is an extremely common herb, Usually stacks go for 16g a pop on my server.
and
Craft - 
[Northrend Alchemy Research]
Materials Required:
10 Goldclover
10 Adder's Tongue
4 Talandra's Rose
4 Enchanted Vials
The Northrend Alchemy Research Recipe is not something you're able to mass produce. It has a 24hr cooldown and also takes a lot more materials than a normal recipe of that level. So now you're probably asking, "Why would I want to make it then?" the answer is because this recipe will unlock new recipes for you. There are many recipes that are otherwise impossible to acquire without Northrend Alchemy Research.
Alchemy 405 - 410
Craft - 
[Runic Healing Potion] x 5
Materials Required:
5 Goldclover
10 Icethorn
5 Imbued Vials
Runic Healing Potions will be the most costly potion you've made up until this point. As you already know the Goldclover is nothing but the new herb, Icethorn, is what is going to cost you a lot of money. Icethorn is a common reagent used in milling for Inscription as it's main yield is an item that makes Ink of the Sea, which is a primary component in many high level glyphs.
Alchemy 410 - 425
Craft - 
[Runic Mana Potion] x 20
Materials Required:
20 Goldclover
40 Lichbloom
15 Imbued Vials
Runic Mana Potions are the very last thing you will be making with Northrend materials and the most expensive thing you will be making with Northrend Materials. They take Goldclover and Lichbloom to make, which you already know enough about Goldclover but the Lichbloom will be new to you through Alchemy. Lichbloom is expensive on the Auction House, usually going for 40g or more a stack. If you don't want to pay that much you can farm Lichbloom in either Icecrown or Stormpeaks.
Alchemy 425 - 525
Alchemy 425 - 450
Craft - 
[Draught of War] x 27
Materials Required:
27 Cinderbloom
27 Crystal Vials
The very first item you will be making with Cataclysm materials is the Draught of War. The only herb this requires is Cinderbloom which luckily for us is generally the cheapest herb on the Auction House out of all the materials for Cataclysm. A stack of Cinderbloom should only cost you a little over 20g. 30 - 35g is the average but you should never pay more than 45g a stack. If you'd prefer to farm Cinderbloom the "on fire" areas of Mount Hyjal are good for finding it as is the southern "corrupted" area of Twilight Highlands.
Alchemy 450 - 455
Craft - 
[Ghost Elixir] x 5
Materials Required:
10 Cinderbloom
5 Crystal Vials
The second item you will be making to raise your Alchemy in Cataclysm is the Ghost Elixir. The only herb this requires is Cinderbloom which luckily for us is generally the cheapest herb on the Auction House out of all the materials for Cataclysm. A stack of Cinderbloom should only cost you a little over 20g. 30 - 35g is the average but you should never pay more than 45g a stack. If you'd prefer to farm Cinderbloom the "on fire" areas of Mount Hyjal are good for finding it as is the southern "corrupted" area of Twilight Highlands.
Alchemy 455 - 460
Craft - 
[Deathblood Venom] x 5
Materials Required:
5 Stormvine
5 Crystal Vials
For raising your Alchemy through these 5 points you will want to make Deathblood Venom. The only herb required for making Deathblood Venom is Stormvine which just like Cinderbloom is extremely cheap and extremely common. A good place to farm Stormvine is Mount Hyjal as well as Vashj'ir. I recommend Vashj'ir because there you will also get Azshara's Veil which is used in the very next recipe.
Azshara's Veil and Stormvine Farming Guide
Alchemy 460 - 465
Craft - 
[Volcanic Potion] x 5
Materials Required:
5 Cinderbloom
5 Azshara's Veil
5 Crystal Vials
Volcanic Potions require Cinderbloom and Azshara's Veil to make. As I mentioned earlier the Cinderbloom is extremely easy to come by but the Azshara's Veil is a bit more rare. Azshara's Veil costs a fortune on the Auction House, usually going for 70g or more a stack. The reason for this is because it is used in this very potion which is very popular amongst raiders. For that reason I recommend selling these on the Auction House after you make them.
Azshara's Veil and Stormvine Farming Guide
Alchemy 465 - 475
Craft - 
[Elixir of the Cobra] x 11
Materials Required:
11 Cinderbloom
11 Azshara's Veil
11 Crystal Vials
The next thing you're going to be making to raise your Alchemy is Elixir of the Cobra. This is another pricey item to make as it requires Azshara's Veil much like the Volcanic Potion before it. As I mentioned before you can farm Azshara's Veil in Vashj'ir, it's fairly common there and.. really there is no better place to farm it. (Guide on the best path to farm it is below). As for Cinderbloom, you should already know the best locations to farm this from the previous items you had to make.
Alchemy 475 - 480
Craft - 
[Elixir of Deep Earth] x 5
Materials Required:
10 Heartblossom
5 Crystal Vials
For these five points you will be making Elixir of Deep Earth. These require Heartblossom to make which can only be found in Deepholm. Depending on your server this may be extremely expensive or extremely cheap on the Auction House. Since it is not commonly milled by Inscriptionists the prices for it are generally around 40g a stack. I recommend buying it from the Auction House before going to Deepholm and trying to farm some.
Alchemy 480 - 490
Craft - 
[Elixir of Impossible Accuracy] x 10
Materials Required:
10 Heartblossom
10 Cinderbloom
10 Crystal Vials
Elixir of Impossible Accuracy takes Heartblossom and Cinderbloom to make, which as I was just talking about you can farm up Heartblossom from Deepholm and only Deepholm. You can also find a good deal of Cinderbloom in Deepholm if you decide to go there and farm for it, if not just purchase what you need on the Auction House, it should cost less than 50g for these skill ups.
Alchemy 490 - 495
Craft - 
[Golemblood Potion] x 5
Materials Required:
5 Heartblossom
5 Volatile Life
5 Crystal Vials
Once again, the Golemblood Potions require Heartblossom to make as well as Volatile Life. The Heartblossom you need can be found in Deepholm and only Deepholm and the Volatile Life is an uncommon yield from gathering any herb in Cataclysm. If you decided to purchase the items needed from the Auction House you should expect to pay no more than 40g for these skill ups.
Alchemy 495 - 504
Craft - 
[Elixir of the Master] x 9
Materials Required:
9 Heartblossom
9 Twilight Jasmine
9 Crystal Vials
Elixir of the Master requires Heartblossom and Twilight Jasmine to make. As you already know Heartblossom can only be found in Deepholm and much like Heartblossom, Twilight Jasmine can only be found in Twilight Highlands. Twilight Jasmine is also the most expensive herb from in Cataclysm as it is a primary component in many high level flasks and recipes. So, for once it may be better to actually farm these materials rather than purchase them.
Alchemy 504 - 509
Craft - 
[Flask of Enhancement] x 1
Materials Required:
8 Twilight Jasmine
8 Stormvine
8 Azshara's Veil
8 Whiptail
8 Cinderbloom
1 Crystal Vial
You will only be making one of these items as not only is it very expensive to make, you will only ever need one as an Alchemist. The Flask of Enhancement is a unique item that is used to boost a specific attribute. It requires 8 of every single Cataclysm herb so, as aforementioned, it's costly to make.
Alchemy 509 - 514
Craft - 
[Lifebound Alchemist Stone] x 1
Materials Required:
50 Volatile Life
12 Heartblossom
12 Azshara's Veil
12 Cinderbloom
Alchemy 514 - 515
Craft - 
[Transmute: Ember Topaz] x 1
Materials Required:
3 Hessonite
3 Cinderbloom
Alchemy 515 - 520
Craft - 
[Transmute: Ocean Sapphire]
Materials Required:
15 Zephyrite
15 Azshara's Veil
Alchemy 520 - 525
Craft - 
[Transmute: Amberjewel]
Materials Required:
15 Alicite
15 Whiptail
Choosing A Second Profession
As an Alchemist your second profession choice should be Herbalism. This will make collecting materials for the potions you make free. If you have the extra gold and would like more utility with your tradeskill grab Enchanting or Jewelcrafting.
Extra Benefits to Alchemy
As an Alchemist you will be able to create potions that you can consume in the arena. These potions don’t heal you for a lot, or restore a lot of mana but are great for when you’re in a bind. Alchemists are also able to create trinkets for themselves with mediocre stats and they increase the effect of potions by 40%.
Profiting Off Alchemy
Profiting off Alchemy is very easy. People who raid are sometimes required to bring healing potions, mana potions and flasks. This makes it very easy for you to have a constant market as long as you’re making potions. Also you can profit off people who need transmutes done, which is another common thing.
Alchemists are also able to choose an Alchemy path, Potion Mastery, Elixir Mastery and Transmute Mastery. These paths allow for you to create more then one potion or elixir when doing a combine. They won’t use any extra materials, just give you more bang for your buck. The same applies for transmuting items, you may get an extra item when transmuting.
Note: When making items for other players, or transmuting alchemists usually charge more if they proc an item, or just plain don’t give it to the player. This will allow you to generate more money.