Let’s face it, updates that break our favourite addons suck, and we all hope that the developers of these mods are able to roll with those changes and get everything working again in a timely manor. Tradeskillmaster has undergone some massive changes in the past few years thanks to gold making changes on World of Warcraft’s end, and some of those changes I’m a fan of while others not so much.
The staff is dedicated and passionate (as are the goblins who use it) and the updates do come, but TSM updates in DF have been lacking (IMO). Unfortunately some things that I personally want to make use of (restocking SL with crafters marks) remain broken after 6 months. We all know that as goblins the whole point is to get in before the masses get in, and TSM has fallen well behind in function for anything relating to this.
4.13 has released and cross-realm trading was enabled only to have Blizzard pull the plug on that one temporarily while they look into server stability. This single feature is amazing for anyone who works on multiple realms, it not only tracks gold but also your craft components. There have also been some changes to professions (inspiration function has been added!) which you can read all about on their blog post linked above.
At the start of Dragonflight and for the months following I actually stopped using TSM and instead relied heavily on auctionator and craftsim. TSM wasn’t taking into account the DF specific specials like multicraft, inspiration, etc. Craftsim is a much better addon for these things. Queuing anything into the TSM craft queue was creating an unplayable game with lag and stuttering. I am happy to say that this looks to be mostly resolved, so long as I keep the queue under control. Instead of doing multiple groups at once, I tend to just focus on one section, so for example I’ll restock blacksmithing – > current content, in one go, and then after I’m done I’ll clear the queue and do blacksmithing -> old content.
I have yet to find another addon that offers everything TSM does despite the issues I have with the latest renditions. I continue to use it exclusively to post auctions, restock crafted goods, and check my gold & supplies across multiple servers. For ease I use a profile created by BilisOnyxia for his patreon’s, and then I’ve customized and adjusted it for my server specific needs (transmog) – I use a different profile that I’ve built for pet sales which I do cross realm. In Shadowlands I used a combination of profiles from Penguin & Manthieus.
Is TSM worth it?
It depends on what you’re doing. I think if you’re well versed in using it there’s still potential, especially in posting things like gear / transmog – but when it comes to professions (specifically DF professions) and crafting – other addons like Craftsim really do a much better job. If you’re restocking SL speed gear or anything that uses crafters marks, then TSM won’t be of any use to you (at the time of this post in any case).
Have a favourite addon that makes your gold making easier? Let me know in comments! As always, happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself.