Here’s a partial list of different raids you can farm for gold. This was written during Mists of Pandaria, but can also potentially be used in other versions of WoW.
You can also farm some of these raids if you play WoW Classic, TBC, WotLK or Cataclysm.
Here’s an overview of the raids:
Ahn’Qiraj raid farming
Difficulty: Beginner
Approximate Earnings: With typical transmog drops: 4000+ gold. With exceptional transmog drops, an additional 3000-60,000+ gold.
Time Spent: Less than an hour + a small amount of travel time.
How To: AQ10 (Ruins) and AQ20 (Temple) are located in Silithus in Kalimdor. The closest flight path is Cenarion Hold. Both Alliance and Horde can portal to Dalaran, zone into the Caverns of Time via the Violet Citadel, and fly here as well.
If you just want to complete the raids for gold, simply zone into each and clear all the trash and boss mobs. Depending on your character level it should not take longer than 20-30 minutes for each.
If you want to farm them for a greater chance at the transmog greens (uncommon armor or weapons) you will need to be very careful not to aggro any of the bosses as you go through clearing all the trash (defeating a boss will save you to the raid and start the 3 to 7 day lockout timer). This is most easily done in AQ10. Once the trash is cleared, return to the entrance portal, zone out, and reset the raid by right clicking your character portrait in the upper left hand corner of your screen. Select raids → reset all raids. Confirm the reset and zone back in to continue farming trash. You should be able to reset the raids 10 times an hour before you will be locked out.
Collect all drops and sort through them either when your inventory is full or when you are finished. Vendor everything except the gear drops, be especially careful not to vendor the incredibly valuable Glorious, Vanguard, and Lofty gear pieces (they are all green/uncommon quality). These items should be posted on the auction house for major returns. Glorious Legplates will sell for over 60k on their own on most realms. Some of the lesser sets such as: Impenetrable, Celestial, Warleader’s, Magnificent, Exalted, Indomitable, Eternal, and Heroic will still sell for 300-1000 gold or more depending on the piece.
If you only have time for one raid, AQ20 (Temple) will be the better of the two in value for time. Not only do you have the same chance at transmog gear, but you can also pick up a few pets for yourself or to sell (most notably the Anubisath Idol), and some additional mounts for your collection.
Entrances to AQ20 and AQ10.
Tip: Travel time cutting into your play time? Set your Hearthstone to the Shrine of Two Moons, or Shrine of Seven Stars in the Vale of Eternal Blossoms, Pandaria. These hubs have portals to every major city in the game, and your Hearthstone is only a 20 minute cooldown.
TBC raids
Difficulty: Beginner
Approximate Earnings: 2000 gold + 1000-4000 additional gold per pet sale for Raiding with Leashes 3.
Time Spent: Less than 2 hours + some travel time.
How To: Raiding with Leashes 3 is a meta achievement in a popular series of pet collecting achievements where players kill boss mobs in certain raids for a chance at acquiring some new battle pets. The three raids that contain these new pets are all content from the expansion The Burning Crusade.
Clear the following raids by killing all trash and boss mobs. Vendor everything for immediate profit and sell the pets on the auction house. Prices vary per pet and per realms but on average will bring in around 1-4k each.
Battle for Mount Hyjal
Battle for Mount Hyjal (Hyjal Summit) – Caverns of Time, Tanaris (Kalimdor)
Portal from Dalaran to the Caverns of Time via the Violet Citadel. If Cata content was cleared, take the portal to Uldum from either Stormwind or Orgrimmar and fly through Tanaris to the Caverns of Time.
Entrances to the Battle for Mount Hyjal and Caverns of Time in Tanaris.
Black Temple
Black Temple – Shadowmoon Valley (Outland)
Take the portal to Shattrath (Outland) from the Shrine of Seven Stars or the Shrine of Two Moons in the Vale of Eternal Blossoms, Pandaria and fly through Shadowmoon Valley to the Black Temple. Or find the portal to the Blasted Lands in any city here.
Entrance to Black Temple in Shadowmoon Valley.
Sunwell Plateau
Sunwell Plateau – Isle of Quel’Danas (via Shattrath, Outland)
Take the portal to Shattrath (Outland) from the Shrine of Seven Stars or the Shrine of Two Moons in the Vale of Eternal Blossoms, Pandaria. Or find the portal to the Blasted Lands in any city here.
Portal to Isle of Quel’Danas from Shattrath.
WotLK raids
Difficulty: Beginner – Intermediate
Approximate Earnings: 3k + materials and battle pets to sell on the AH worth several hundred more gold.
Time Spent: 2-3 hours for full clears + travel time
How To: The three raids from this expansion that are worth the time to clear each week are Icecrown Citadel, Naxxramas, and Ulduar. For the highest gold return, do these on their 25 man versions (Heroic where applicable). If you are unable to defeat a boss on this setting (Flame Leviathan and Yogg-Saron without helpers can be tough in Ulduar) just switch it back to Normal by clicking on your character portrait in the upper left hand corner of the screen and select Raid Difficulty. You will need to zone out of the raid in order to do this. Vendor everything you pick up with the exception of items such as Crystallized Earth, Frostweave Cloth, pets for the meta: Raiding with Leashes, and any green gems – these should all be sold on the auction house.
Take the portal to Dalaran from the Shrine of Seven Stars or the Shrine of Two Moons in the Vale of Eternal Blossoms, Pandaria. Or ask for a portal from a mage in trade chat (a small tip of 15-20 gold is usually standard for this service). There is also a boat in Stormwind (at the Stormwind Docks) and a zeppelin in Orgrimmar (zep tower on the plateau north of the Valley of Strength) that travel to Northrend.
Icecrown Citadel
Icecrown Citadel – Icecrown (Northrend), located Northwest of Dalaran.
Icecrown Citadel entrance.
Naxxramas
Naxxramas – Dragonblight (Northrend), located South of Dalaran.
Naxxramas entrance.
Ulduar
Ulduar – The Storm Peaks (Northrend), located Northeast of Dalaran.
Ulduar entrance.
Cataclysm raids
Difficulty: Beginner – Intermediate
Approximate Earnings: 6k+ for vendor items plus more for any transmog items sold at auction.
Time Spent: 1 hour + some travel time.
How To: Simply clear all the Cataclysm raids listed below on 25 man heroic mode (HM) and vendor everything you pick up with the exception of any gear or weapons that have a good aesthetic. These can be price checked and sold on the auction house as transmog items for additional profits. If certain bosses are too troublesome to solo on 25 heroic mode, set the instance back to 25 Normal (can be done while inside), defeat the boss, switch it back to heroic mode, and continue with your clear.
Bastion of Twilight
Bastion of Twilight – Twilight Highlands (Eastern Kingdoms)
The Bastion of Twilight entrance.
Blackwing Descent
Blackwing Descent – Blackrock Mountain (between the Burning Steppes and Searing Gorge, in the mountains- Eastern Kingdoms)
The Blackwing Descent entrance.
Dragon Soul
Dragon Soul – Caverns of Time, Tanaris (Kalimdor)
Dragon Soul entrance in Tanaris.
Firelands
Firelands – Mount Hyjal (Kalimdor)
Firelands entrance.
Throne of the Four Winds
Throne of the Four Winds – Uldum (Kalimdor – not necessary, but will net you a few hundred gold more and a chance at the Drake of the South Wind)
The Throne of the Four Winds entrance.
Tip: To maximize gold earned per time spent while farming old content, aim for 50 or more free bag slots at the beginning of each raid. This way you don’t have to spend extra time deciding which items to keep or toss, and everything can be sold to a vendor or at auction.