Summary
- The Cataclysm expansion in WoW didn't add new primary professions, but added new recipes and ingredients for existing ones.
- Skinning is a situational gathering profession that is popular among Rogue and Hunter characters for obtaining materials.
- Engineering is considered the most versatile profession in WoW, offering useful trinkets, gear, toys, explosives, and mounts.
One of the ways to customize a character in World of Warcraft is to choose their professions, and every character can have two in their spell books at any given time. The Cataclysm expansion didn't introduce any new primary professions, but it did add an impressive variety of new recipes, ingredients, and creative ways to find them.
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The Primary professions of WoW are either about finding and collecting ingredients, which is a gathering profession, or having a production profession to put those resources together to make gear, weapons, a variety of consumables, and even rare and expensive items like mounts, pets, and toys. Which professions are the best is always a matter of opinion, and some of the recent changes in Cataclysm have made the best professions even better.
11 Skinning
Gathering Profession
- Often a profession of Rogues or Hunters
Hunters are often skinners, and not only for the obvious role-playing tie-ins. Most animals, including dinosaurs and lizards, can be harvested for their leather, scales, or other materials. High-level skinning includes animals like dragonkin, so make sure to loot those epic corpses.
Skinning is the most situational of the primary professions because the materials collected can only be used to make a few certain materials other than gear. The upside of this is that leather goods tend to be expensive and characters can sell their excess materials for a handsome fee.
10 Herbalism
Gathering Profession
- Tauren characters get the Cultivation buff, +15 to Herbalism at all times
Herbalism isn't just knowledge of certain special plants but where to use them, which is why the Tauren have some extra skill when they take on this profession. The most common production professions combined with Herbalism are Alchemy or Inscription, both of which use herbs as their primary ingredient.
Another possibility for those who are more interested in trade than crafting is to sell herbs on the Auction House. Now that they're used for two professions, these humble plants are worth more.
9 Blacksmithing
Production Profession
- Popular with Warriors
Blacksmithing is one of those useful, practical, but less than exciting Professions unless the player can wear the items they craft. They are almost always Miners because buying materials is often expensive, and mining is a nice way to make extra gold.
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A new feature that was introduced with Jewelcrafting is the Blacksmithing ability to make sockets for certain kinds of gear that allow the player to add an extra gem to their gear,
8 Leatherworking
Production Profession
- Not only clothing but also riding crops and containers
Leatherworking is a situational production profession, with little to offer outside of the medium armor used by Rogues, Druids, Shamans, and Hunters. Armor kits and riding crops, which are used to improve the durability of some gear and speed up one's ground mount are exceptions and can be used by any character.
Like the outdoorsy classes that tend to be Leatherworkers, this profession doesn't require any special equipment like an anvil or special vials to craft certain items.
7 Mining
Gathering Profession
- Connected to several Production professions including Blacksmithing, Jewelcrafting, and Engineering
One of the most versatile professions when it comes to both crafting and making extra gold, Mining is both popular and lucrative. It not only yields resources like copper and gold but also gemstones and magical nodes like Volatile Earth.
Now that the secondary profession of Archaeology has been introduced, everyone can experience a similar thrill of digging up treasure.
6 Enchanting
Production Profession
- A favorite of Mages and Warlocks
Enchanting has always been one of Warcraft's most important professions, especially in the early days of Classic when high-level enchants would make low-level weapons and gear very powerful. In the game's primary "service" profession, characters that run Heroic dungeons or take part in raiding must have optimized gear, and this requires the skills of an Enchanter.
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Enchanters can now record their spells on scrolls and sell them at the Auction House, and these scrolls can be purchased from vendors or made by Inscriptionists.
5 Tailoring
Production Profession
- Make unique mounts and bags in addition to gear and cosmetic clothing
There are so many best-in-slot items that are made by Tailoring that most Warlocks and Mages have this as one of their Primary Professions. Acquiring the materials for it doesn't require another profession because cloth drops come from killing humanoid enemies as opposed to using another profession.
Virtually all of the fancy cosmetic clothes that players wear for fun, like nightgowns and tuxedos, are made by a Tailor, and it's an even more lucrative profession on an RP server.
4 Inscription
Production Profession
- Not just for Enchantments anymore
Inscription was introduced with The Wrath of the Lich King expansion, and it pairs nicely with Herbalism or Enchanting. Both Professions use a few of the same ingredients, and the power of Inscription gives a character the ability to craft a special kind of scroll that can store an Enchantment for later use.
Herbs are used to make the ink that is an Inscriptionist's primary tool, so the player could either buy them or take up the Herbalism profession.
3 Alchemy
Production Profession
- Also includes transmutation with gems and metals along with potions and elixirs
Every Guild has a few high-level Alchemists on hand to make the flasks, elixirs, and potions, which are mandatory for raiding the PvP combat. Some of these concoctions can be extremely expensive and require the cooperation of other professions, such as Miners and Herbalists.
Alchemists can also transmute gems and metals into rare and valuable materials for other professions. It's an in-demand service profession for those who don't mind selling their wares.
2 Jewelcrafting
Production Profession
- Popular with Miners and very lucrative
Of course, the expansion that gave players the rich and decadent culture of the Blood Elves would also include Jewelcrafting. It's not just about crafting rings and necklaces, which is one way to get an edge on bonuses while leveling, but cutting high-level gems for endgame content.
Mining is the best gathering profession to pair with Jewelcrafting. Rough gems are found by sifting through pre-smelted ore and settings can be made using materials like gold, bronze, and copper.