Choosing A WotLK Profession
After breaking down all of the class choices for rerolling on my new server after WotLK is released, I’ve decided to start out with a Paladin. I’m very excited about rolling a (mostly) new class, and since I’ll be leveling with friends most of the time, the relatively slow speed of Pally-leveling shouldn’t be much of an issue. I haven’t decided on my spec yet, but I don’t really want to go Holy. I think I’ll probably go Ret for leveling, and then go either Prot or Ret at 80, depending on what my guild needs.
So, with my class choice out of the way, it’s time to decide on my profession choices. I’m going to break things down again like I did with the classes, and discuss the pros and cons of each based on what we know about them going into WotLK. I would ideally like to find a pair of professions that not only allows me to make some gold, but also has some great benefits for the practitioners of that profession (i.e., the BoP items and recipes).
Gathering Professions
Mining - Mining has always been a great money maker and it will continue to be so in WotLK. Blacksmithing, Engineering and Jewelcrafting all need the ore and stone provided by Mining. Definitely a great option for those wanting to maximize their money making. In addition, the new passive Stamina bonus would be great for my Paladin.
Herbalism - Herbalism has historically lagged a bit behind Mining as a money making profession, but that is likely to change with the advent of Inscription. With both Alchemy and Inscription needing flowers in WotLK, the demand for Herbalism will most likely increase dramatically. The new HoT spell for Herbalists is nice, but not super duper for a Paladin.
Skinning - Generally regarded as the least profitable gathering profession in the past, Skinning is probably not going to get a lot of love in the expansion. With only Leatherworkers needing large amounts of leather, there is not much demand for it, and that currently shows no signs of changing in the near future. The increased crit rating for Skinners is also nice for a Paladin, although it would only be most beneficial if I end up staying Ret.
Crafting Professions
Blacksmithing - BS is definitely a very handy profession to have and it matches well with the Paladin class. Despite my earlier certainty that I would find a better tanking weapon for my warrior, it ended up that I never found a better one than my Fireguard. (In case you’re curious, King’s Defender only dropped for my guild when I wasn’t with them, I ran H Mech a few times but never saw The Sun Eater, and I never got around to getting the mats needed for Blazeguard.) If I hadn’t had BS on my warrior, I would have been stuck with a greatly inferior weapon for tanking.
In addition to the BoP weapons available to Blacksmiths, there will also be a few more options for making some money, the Eternal Belt Buckle being one of them. Blacksmithing is definitely a strong possibility for my choice.
Engineering - Engineering got a huge buff in BC, and WotLK is looking very strong as well. As I’ve mentioned before, I would make an Engineer just for the gyrocopter, but the epic helms available to Engineers are quite awesome as well. Case in point, Ret Helm and Prot Helm. In addition, the Zapthrottle Mote Extractor is a great money maker. Engineering is also a strong contender.
Inscription - Inscription is kind of a mixed bag at the moment. On the one hand, Scribes get some additional slots to put Glyphs into, thereby increasing the usefulness of the profession, but on the other hand, no one really knows how profitable Inscription will be, or how difficult/expensive it will be to level. I wouldn’t mind being a Scribe, but it’s not one of my first choices.
Enchanting - Enchanting is a great money maker (best way is to DE items and sell the mats), and, with the addition of the “BoP” enchants, there are some very nice benefits for Enchanters as well. Enchanting will also be more useful in WotLK, with the ability to write down enchants and sell them in the AH like any other item. Additionally, choosing Enchanting as one profession would allow me to take a profitable gathering profession in my other slot. Enchanting is a strong contender.
Jewelcrafting - Jewelcrafting has some excellent BoP items (gems and trinkets) and everyone needs gems, leading to high demand for the profession. The money making potential of Jewelcrafting is somewhat questionable pre-60, but picks up significantly after that. The only problem I have with Jewelcrafting is that the high level recipes for it are generally world drops, and are usually quite expensive to obtain. I’m not sure that I want to invest hundreds or thousands of gold in the profession in order to be able to make some gold from it. I’ll call Jewelcrafting a middle contender.
Alchemy - Alchemy has the distinction of being the absolute easiest profession to level, so it’s got that going for it, but I’ve never really been in love with the profession like I have some others. It is, though, a decent money maker, and has some nice BoP benefits, so I’ll call it another middle contender.
Tailoring - Not really a great money maker by itself, and it doesn’t match up well with the Paladin class either. Not an option I’m considering.
Leatherworking - Ditto.
So, it looks like my top choices are Blacksmithing, Engineering, and Enchanting. If I end up going with Blacksmithing or Engineering, I will definitely choose Mining as my gathering profession, as they go so well together. If I choose Enchanting, I’ll probably still go with Mining as my second choice just to help make some additional gold.
EDIT: Kadomi, in the comments, mentioned Siha’s WotLK profession guide and said it would be helpful. I checked it out and it was fantastic. If you have any questions on WotLK professions, that guide will probably answer a lot of them.
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Every single enchanter I know has complained that it’s the most expensive profession to skill up to. Sure, you can disenchant stuff, but to actually get skill-ups you’ll have to use all those possible moneymakers. Blacksmithing seems like a good choice for WotLK. Siha at Banana Shoulders has posted a very nice profession overview for WotLK, including a very detailed Inscription guide.
@Kadomi: I’ve actually found Blacksmithing to be the most expensive profession to level, although that might change in the expansion. Enchanting is expensive to level, but I can usually make a good deal of money from it pre-60. After level 60 it becomes much more expensive.
Your blog helped me get started playing WoW, so I feel it’s only right to throw my 2 cents worth out there. Seeing as how my only 70 (Yay!! I finally made it!!) is a Paladin. I’d personally recommend Engineering. Aside from it being the choice I made (And yes, I have the low level roflcopter, I’m still working to get the epic training and finish up the the last 15 levels of the engineering skill), it also brings to the Paladin one thing they cannot have otherwise…
Ranged weapons. Right from the early levels you can make grenades and bombs as an engy. Since a Paladin has no ranged attacks (Unless you get the current 51 pt talent in the protection pool that lets you throw your shield) this neatly fills that hole. My only complaint is that you don’t get access to much else of worth until the mid 300s of the skill, when you can make your plate goggles (all the other goggles are “cloth”).
- Polecat
@Polecat: The Engineering/ranged weapon is a good point. I switched to Eng from JC on my baby Ally Pally, and have enjoyed the bombs very much. Definitely something else to thing about.
Grats on 70, btw! =)