Introduction to Professions [n00b Guide]

[Squirllz]

Working in Azeroth

Azeroth is a land of adventure, of wonderment, and of working. Not only do you explore the lands through endless questing but you can also have a job or too while you there. Professions allow your character to create armor, weapons, bags, enchants, or crazy gadgets. These professions even allow you to gather the various herbs, skins of beast, and ores that strewn about the land. Every class/race can take any professions but some are better suited for them over others. For instances mail/plate wearers may be interested in Blacksmithing since a majority of the creations are an advantage for them. Below is a breakdown of all the main professions and the secondary professions. You can read a brief description and some other items of interest on each skill.


Main Professions

Main professions are the skills throughout the game that allow you to create armor, weapons, and such. They can be used for profit or sole use. You can only take two professions at a time. Any two can be taken; there is no specific set of skills.

Profession: Alchemist
Type: Manufacturing
Description: Alchemist, masters of the mix, when in the profession of Alchemy you take your knowledge of taking herbs and combining them with other materials to create potions of all varying kinds. Low levels Alchemy can be very weak but once higher levels of skill are obtained there are some very strong potions.
Compliment: Herbalist
Profit: In the Auction House potions can that are highly sought (Healing, Mana) can be sold for some good money. Lower level Alchemy wont net the profit later like a level 300 can rake in from some of the greater potions.
Race/ Class Relations: Good for any class to take up, the potions that can be created can help all. Whether you are a warrior in need of rage or caster out of mana the Alchemist can create all. If you remember the Taurens have a passive skill; Cultivation, that gives them +15 skill level bonuses in Herbalism. Being a Taurens Alchemist and having Herbalism will help that skill up progression.

Profession: Blacksmith
Type: Manufacturing
Description: Everybody can love a blacksmith, not only do they create armor of mail and plate but weapons. From Plate armor breastplates to two-handed swords the Blacksmith will take raw ores and fabricate them into strongest items in game.
Compliment: Mining
Profit: Selling your created goods for money can be very nice, lower levels its not much but in higher levels many of the blue items created can fetch some very large sums of gold. And if skillful enough to procure some epic patterns you can rake in huge amounts of gold. All in all Blacksmithing can be a nice profit producer.
Race/ Class Relations: Nice for any class that requires armor such as mail and plate. But any mainly melee wielders can also benefit from the wide array of weapons Blacksmith can create. (Hunters, Rogues, Warriors, Paladins, Shamans, Druids)

Profession: Enchanter
Type: Manufacturing/Disenchanting
Description: Breaking down almost any item to its very essence then combining various disenchanted items into a powerful enchant to place on weapons or armor. Unlike most of the other professions there is no compliment skill to help level. The way you level up enchanting is to take any item green or better to produce your many enchants. These items can come from random world drops, most quest rewards, your old weapons/armor, or purchase items. It can be a costly profession but the rewards back can be great.
Compliment: No specific match
Profit: Enchanting is one of the few professions where you can get a profit very early on. Some certain enchants that are one of a kind are in the early or middle area of leveling up. Therefore higher levels that seek them pay nicely with tips and such. In addition higher level enchants are heavily wanted higher level players when they acquire their beautiful epic armors and weapons. Certain rare or valuable enchants can fetch some hefty gold to the enchanter who seeks them out.
Race/ Class Relations: Any class can profit from the profession of enchanting. One of the best benefits to this profession is the lack of a compliment profession like the other ones. This allows you to take any random 2nd profession and either use for pure profit or take any random one for fun leveling. Either way you have a nice advantage. I have seen many players take gathering skills and sell those goods in Auction House for good money.

Profession: Engineer
Type: Manufacturing
Description: Gadgets, knickknacks, and crazy contraptions are the name of the game for Engineering. Making weapons (guns, bombs), trinkets, pets, and a range of gadgets are the things an Engineer can fashion. Using mainly raw ore the Engineer can create some of the coolest items in World of Warcraft. This profession can be a slow progression at leveling but the time can be well worth it to those who weather the trip.
Compliment: Mining (main items), Skinning (rare use)
Profit: Making profit with Engineering isn’t something that is as great as some of the other professions. Many of the really cool items you make are only usable by other Engineers. People who take Engineering take it for the trick of bags you can unleash in either the PvE or PvP aspects of WoW.
Race/ Class Relations: Any class or race can benefit from the many cool gadgets and devices created by Engineering. Gnomes have an added benefit due to their passive skill that gives them +15 skill level bonus to Engineering (Technologist).

Profession: Herbalist
Type: Gathering
Description: Gathering the many herbs that flourish throughout the lands of Azeroth is the profession of Herbalist. All the territories in the land have numerous different and specific flowers that bloom. As an Herbalist you have the distinct ability to detect the rare herbs while you adventure through the land.
Compliment: Alchemist
Profit: Lower levels the flowers collected don’t offer much for profit but the very high level flowers can net huge gold in the Auction House. This is especially nice when you have other players who take dual manufacturing professions and need the gathered items to create their goods. You will find they will pay almost any price for what they need.
Race/ Class Relations: All classes and races can benefit from taking herbalism but only the Taurens have an added bonus. Their passive skill called Cultivation gives them a +15 skill level bonus thus giving them a slight advantage over other non-Taurens herbalist.

Profession: Leatherworker
Type: Manufacturing
Description: Leatherworkers are the tradesman who can take the skin of a beast and create armor, ammo bags, and the greatly wanted armor patches. Leveling up leatherworking can be one of the easiest and fastest. You don’t have to gather you components; in the sense of mining and herbalism. The beasts you hunt are your source and they are in every zone and every level. Many zones they are the dominant opponent and you could walk away with enough skins to level up professions very quickly. This all bears in mind you taking skinning as your secondary.
Compliment: Skinning
Profit: Since the main items in this profession are armor, your goods are only useful to a specific lot (Rogues, Druids, and low level Shamans, Hunters). Occasionally classes that don’t take the profession that makes armor for them will purchases your goods but only the higher level superior or epic items. You can make money but it’s not a significant amount like a blacksmith or enchanter can make.
Race/ Class Relations: Much like the Blacksmith profession, Leatherworking is great for leather wearing classes like Rogues, Hunters (early on), Druids, and Shamans (early on). Hunters can benefit from a good leatherwork because of the nice ammo pouches then can make.

Profession: Miner
Type: Gathering
Description: In the crags and peaks of Azeroth lie the rich ores that are essentials to many other professions. That is where the miner and is pick axe come in to play. Using their unique ability to detect the rare ores allows the miner to mine them for their precious gems and rocks.
Compliment: Blacksmith and Engineering
Profit: Mining can net a profit but is a better use as a compliment of Blacksmithing or Engineering. But if you take a main profession like Enchanting then taking up Mining as a skill solely for profit reasons can be a good choice. Many of the ores in stacks can fetch some good sells on the Auction House.
Race/ Class Relations: No specific group can benefit over other classes but some do lack. For instance Night Elves and Taurens start out in the zones that tend to have less ores to mine than other classes starter zones.

Profession: Skinner
Type: Gathering
Description: If you want a profession that levels quickly then Skinning is that job. The over abundance of skin able animals allows you to skill up easily. Every zones and level there is a wide assortment of beast to skin. In some areas such as Stranglethorn Vale and the Barrens the beasts flourish greatly and it’s a skinners dream.
Compliment: Leatherworking
Profit: Much like mining, skins you get from beast are better suited for Leatherworking as opposed to selling. But it can yield a profit, just bare in mind it won’t be a great sum like some of the other professions can get from their goods. Specific skins will get more gold; basically higher level skinned beast.
Race/ Class Relations: Rogues and Druids benefit the most of any classes but low level Hunters and Shamans can gain as well. But don’t believe that any class certain class should take up skinning over others it’s just they can make armor for themselves and save gold.

Profession: Tailor
Type: Manufacturing
Description: Like Blacksmiths and Leatherworkers make goods for certain classes, the Tailor rounds out the rest with their ability to make cloth armor. Cloth armor, various shirts, and the thing everyone wants, BAGS! Tailors are able to make the item every class needs bags, bags of all sizes and difference. Of recently the Tailor has the ability to make class specific bags like; enchant bags, herbalist bags, and warlock bags. Much like Enchanters there is no specific compliment; many of the components you need are either secured through drops off enemies or purchased.
Compliment: No specific match
Profit: Out of all the classes Tailors can make money off their goods right off the bat. With the ability to make bags; which every classes needs; Tailors can place items very early on in skill to sell; thus creating early profit for low level players. Also many of the cloth armors you make can get good sells on the Auction House.
Race/ Class Relations: Blacksmith make armor for mail/plate wearers. Leatherworkers fit out the Druids, Rogues, and such. The Tailor, he outfits the caster crews of Azeroth. Many of the casters will pick up Tailoring to make themselves armor, and some of the armor created is very nice (even low levels). But like stated before no classes or race should skip over Tailor because they aren’t a caster, anyone can benefit from this profession.



Secondary Professions

Secondary professions are the skills that will help you specifically out in the game. You can learn to cook food you kill or fish. You can learn to replenish your health through the use of bandages. Unlike the main professions you can take all three of the skills below to train up and use. And despite your class or race they can all benefit you some how.

Profession: Cooking
Description: While you are out questing times can get rough and you can run low on food. This is where having the skill of cooking comes to use. Many of the beasts you kill while out adventuring will yield some sort of meat. This meat can be taken and used to create a wide variety of food to help refill your health. In higher levels some of the food cooked can help add bonus such as stamina, agility, or many other bonuses to your character for a short time. The only things beside meat required are flint/wood and some spices for specific recipes.

Profession: First Aid
Description: One of the best secondary skills every class can learn; First Aid allows you to take the cloth drops you get from humanoid drops and turn them into bandages. As you progress levels the strength and amount of health the bandages repairs increases. So in higher levels the bandages will refill more health quicker. This can be one of those lifesaver skills that everyone can gain from. If you only take one secondary skill I highly advise First Aid.

Profession: Fishing
Description: Much like the animals surrender meat from kills, the vast lakes and large bodies of water that are abundant throughout Azeroth hold a wide variety of fish to capture. These fish not only can be used for cooking but also help hunters who’s pet feeds on fish. Fishing is a great skill to learn as a side break from questing and main professions. Just you and a fishing pole out on the pond, ah relaxing. A fishing pole is only requirement after learning but it does help to obtain fishing baubles to help increase skill so you can fish in higher level bodies of water.

[Squirllz]

Bump. Please read =]