Inscription


 * Were you looking for the type of armor augments known as Inscriptions or the class lore from the RPG Inscriber?

Inscription is a profession which was introduced in Patch 3.0.2. Inscription allows players to create glyphs, scrolls, Darkmoon cards, vellum and various off-hand tomes. Inscription includes a "gathering" skill: milling. This skill creates base materials from herbs, and is similar to disenchanting and prospecting.

Training as a Scribe
Inscription is taught by various inscription trainers located throughout the world. Prospective scribes must be level 5. Initial training costs 10 copper, granting the Apprentice level with a potential skill of 75.

Inscription Trainers are available in every racial capital, allowing players to train Apprentice, Journeyman, Expert and Artisan proficiencies. The Master proficiency can be obtained from trainers in Hellfire Peninsula or  Northrend. The Grand Master proficiency can only be obtained from trainers in Northrend.

Unlike Jewelcrafting, another profession added in an expansion set, Inscription can be trained with only the base World of Warcraft (that is, without any expansion sets), as trainers are found in all starting towns, not just expansion set areas.

The following are the required levels and potential skill of each stage of the profession:

Grand Master is only available after installing the expansion Wrath of the Lich King.

Illustrious Grand Master is only available after installing the expansion Cataclysm.

Items produced
Inscription requires a, sold by Inscription vendors near each of the trainers. Many recipes require various grades of parchment, which are only available from trade goods and Inscription supplies vendors.

Basic materials
Base crafting materials are obtained from milling herbs. This creates various pigments, which are in turn used to create inks. Glyphs and scrolls are created from inks, while tomes and Darkmoon cards require both  and  inks.

Glyphs
The "meat and potatoes" of Inscription, glyphs comprise the majority of its recipes. Glyphs come in three grades, prime, major and minor. Each glyph provides a modification to a specific class spell or ability.

Glyphs are learned from trainers or discovered through research or books. Major glyphs up to and including some grand master recipes are learned from trainers. Minor glyphs are discovered through daily Minor Inscription Research, while major glyphs are discovered through daily Northrend Inscription Research. A second set of major glyphs can be learned one at a time by using a, which can be dropped from any Northrend mob. This second set is not limited to daily discoveries, a scribe can use as many books as their pocketbook allows. A few glyphs are also learned from recipes, just like in other professions. A recipe used in Inscription is called a technique.

Each glyph requires ink and a parchment to create. Minor glyphs require one ink, while some major glyphs require two inks. Glyphs stack to 20 and are not bound, so they can be traded or sold. Each glyph icon is color-coded to match the class it can be used by.

Darkmoon cards
Scribes are able to create various Darkmoon cards, which players can combine into decks and turn in to Darkmoon Faire NPCs for various equipment rewards. These cards include higher-level cards which were previously only obtained from mob drops, and new lower level cards. High level decks can only be turned in when the faire is in town, but lower level ones can be used to summon an NPC at any time, in any location. All the cards, decks and rewards are tradable.

Enchantment vellums
Scribes could once create various vellums that can hold armor or weapon enchantments, but instead now simply make one type of vellum, the. They do not bind and can be sold or traded to enchanters, who can then sell enchanted scrolls on the auction house or mail them. As of patch 4.0.3 vellum is now sold by enchanting vendors.

Off-hand tomes
Scribes are able to produce several BoE off hand tomes. Each requires a fairly hefty amount of raw materials. Players should be aware that wielding an off hand item precludes the use of shields, dual wielding, or two-handed weapons.

Relics
Master scribes are able to create BoE Relics. These typically require a substantial amount of reagents. Each relic features a Prismatic Socket.

Shoulder Inscriptions
Master scribes are able to apply permanent augments to their shoulder items, which also causes them to become soulbound. Cataclysm introduced a second tier of these Insriptions.