World of Warcraft/Professions

Professions in World of Warcraft are divided into Primary and Secondary Professions. The primary professions are further divided into gathering and crafting professions. Gathering professions allow for the collection of raw materials, which are used by the crafting professions to create items. Each character is limited to learning two primary professions, but can learn all three secondary professions.

The primary professions are:


 * /Mining/ - gathering
 * /Blacksmithing/ - crafting
 * /Engineering/ - crafting
 * /Skinning/ - gathering
 * /Leatherworking/ - crafting
 * /Herbalism/ - gathering
 * /Alchemy/ - crafting
 * /Tailoring/ - crafting
 * /Enchanting/ - service
 * /Jewelcrafting/ - crafting (set to be added in the Burning Crusade Expansion)
 * /Inscription/ - service

The secondary professions are:


 * /Fishing/ - gathering
 * /Cooking/ - crafting
 * /First Aid/ - crafting

A common tactic for most players (especially newer players) is to pick a crafting skill, and take the complementary gathering skill to support themselves. For example, a warrior might decide that he wants to forge his own armor and weapons, and so takes up blacksmithing. Instead of buying the metals required from the auction house, he decides to learn mining in order to support his blacksmithing.

While this is a proven and popular path, it is not the only one. Many players who choose professions in order to maximize income elect to learn two gathering professions. This allows the player to sell everything they collect on the Auction House making 100% profit instead of using the gathered items to make something else. In order to truly benefit from this strategy, skinning is usually chosen with either herbalism or mining. The reason mining and herbalism are not both chosen is that only one form of tracking can be active at a time.

Note: the tracking limit applies to all tracking, so a hunter cannot track beasts and herbs at the same time. This is not a disadvantage for the hunter compared to other classes, but does remove a tactical advantage in the form of being able to see enemy movements.

Gathering
In the gathering professions, herbalism, mining, and skinning, a character collects raw materials either to sell, or to use for a complementary profession. The materials gathered to sell are generally sold at an auction house, a place where other players around the globe are able to bid on items in World of Warcraft’s virtual world. Players may also obtain a second profession that uses the raw materials in their craft.

Crafting
The crafting professions all require raw materials collected by the gathering professions in order to make their crafts. These craftsmen start out creating cheap items, but as they grow in skill they can create some of the best products available in the virtual world, short of slaying a ferocious dragon in a dungeon or by doing some other arduous task.