Quick Profession Question

[Delmania]

I resubbed WoW with the intent to play the game with no goals or expectations, and in that vein, I've been removing anything that makes the game a pain in the ass.  I am considering dropping Enchanting for Alchemy and Herbalism, considering that Alchemy is easy to level.  Thoughts?

[Rasix]

I resubbed WoW with the intent to play the game with no goals or expectations, and in that vein, I've been removing anything that makes the game a pain in the ass.  I am considering dropping Enchanting for Alchemy and Herbalism, considering that Alchemy is easy to level.  Thoughts?

The one time I've dropped a max level enchanter (TBC), I've sorely regretted it.  It's extremely handy to have an item crusher.  Of course, if you haven't yet leveled your enchanting, now's the time to stop.

To be honest, I don't find alchemy very useful as a person that plays casually.  I just use it nowadays for transmuting gems; you really don't use elixirs/flasks if you're not raiding.  However, it is about the easiest combination to level in the game.  Inscription isn't very difficult to level either, but seems to take a higher volume of herbs.

[Kail]

I resubbed WoW with the intent to play the game with no goals or expectations, and in that vein, I've been removing anything that makes the game a pain in the ass.  I am considering dropping Enchanting for Alchemy and Herbalism, considering that Alchemy is easy to level.  Thoughts?

It's been a while since I leveled alchemy, but I do recall it being a bit of a pain to get the last few points, and there really isn't much benefit to it unless you're heavy into the endgame or really quaffing a lot of bottles.

If I was looking to absolutely minimize the hassle, I'd go with two gathering professions.  Most easily, two gathering professions you don't need to worry about tracking at once, like skinning and something else (herb or mining).  If you already have enchanting to a decent level, you might consider just being a disenchanter, breaking down greens and selling the components on the AH, since that's easier to reach than the level you need to hit to start making useful enchants.

[Nevermore]

It's not difficult at all to get the last few points of Alchemy since if you took alchemy you'll be either using or selling the 3 top end flasks, and you'll skill up on those.  The parts that's a pain is getting the Frost Lotus to actually make them.

If you're the type that uses flasks and potions regularly, it's definitely worth leveling Alchemy since you get a personal bonus on the effects with Mixology.

[March]

Its not clear to me if you mean you are re-subbing an established account with an established (300+) enchanter or just that you don't like enchanting...

If the former, do not drop enchanting for precisely the reason that it is a bitch to level; the new requirements to be xx level to reach yy crafting level make leveling your enchanter a requirement... I'd re-roll the exact same character before I dropped enchanting.

That said, the relative value of enchanting has diminished compared to vanilla with many other crafts providing "enchanting" buffs to various item slots and therefore, if you correctly perceive that enchanting kinda sucks for a main character and have just been piddling around at low levels, then yes... drop it.

Re Alchemy, I humbly disagree with the above... alchemy is my current favorite in terms of both progression and usefulness.  The Alchemist gets 2x duration and a 1.x increase to the effectiveness of every elixir he consumes himself... plus a free little HoT that comes in handy when soloing.  There's also nifty little +75 HP trinket (w/ +40% healing potion buff).  

There's a potion for everything these days... low on +hit, no problem... want an extra 2k hp, sure thing.... extra 128 spell power for free, you got it.

As an alchemist, my elixirs/flasks last 2 hrs... which is about my average playtime... so every session sees me drinking at least two elixirs... plus, gone are the days of crappy material requirements and (horror of horrors) having to put together a Scholomance (iirc) run just to craft a flask or two.

Sorry for the ramble... you'd think I was a shill for the herbalists guild.

[Delmania]

Its not clear to me if you mean you are re-subbing an established account with an established (300+) enchanter or just that you don't like enchanting...

Her -> http://www.wowarmory.com/character-sheet.xml?r=Andorhal&n=Delily

My issue is that I want a second profession, but I don't want it to be a pain to level.  I ditched Tailoring because the though of amount of cloth annoyed me, and I was considering Engineering for the PvP utility, but that's even more of a pain to level.  I was considering Alchemy because it's easy to level, but I don't have any character with the herbalism.

[Nebu]

I leveled engineering to 450 and found it to be similar in ease (if not easier) than alchemy.  Getting to 440 was pretty painless and (if I remember correctly) you can get to 450 without titanium if you're willing to pound through greens. 

Choose the profession that will help you enjoy the game most.  For me, alchemy and engineering fit the bill.  Inscription may be another I'd like to try. 

[Gobbeldygook]

I was considering Alchemy because it's easy to level, but I don't have any character with the herbalism.

So just buy the herbs off the AH?

That said, the relative value of enchanting has diminished compared to vanilla with many other crafts providing "enchanting" buffs to various item slots and therefore, if you correctly perceive that enchanting kinda sucks for a main character and have just been piddling around at low levels, then yes... drop it.

Did you just wake up after going to sleep in TBC?  The whole reason the other professions give mechanical bonuses equal to enchanting (with the slight exception of JC, BS, and tailoring depending on class) is that enchanting was provably superior to every single other profession in TBC.

Every other profession once you replaced the BOP craftables: GAVE NOTHING
Enchanting: GAVE SOMETHING.

How dare the other professions be made equal to enchanting, which continues to be one of the top money-making professions.

[Shrike]

Engineering actually isn't that bad to level...IF...you have a miner. If you don't, it's an ironclad bitch. What you want it for is more arguable. Although it does have a lot of new toys that are rather interesting for PvE, they're still just toys compared to some of the seriously rock'n'roll stuff you can get from blacksmithing, leatherworking, or jewelcrafting.

My max level engineer was brought up using other characters to mine stuff for her. It wasn't that hard, but time and again I had to divert other toons to go back to the old world, Outlands, or just stooge around Shalozar for hours to farm ore to keep her moving. It was useful to me at the time and she does have cool toys, but...for a single main character I doubt I'd do it over again.

[Vash]

Inscription is very easy to level (if you have an herbalist or herb prices aren't stupid on your server) and as far as convenience goes, not having to grind Sons of Hodir rep is very handy, as is getting more hearths via scrolls.  It would actually compliment Enchanting very well since you could make your own scrolls to put enchants on for selling on the AH.

[Nevermore]

I was considering Alchemy because it's easy to level, but I don't have any character with the herbalism.

So just buy the herbs off the AH?

This would be very expensive, for exactly the same reason why you can make a ton of gold selling herbs:  there are large number of people want to level up their Alchemy or Inscription without being an Herbalist.  But if you don't mind spending a ton of gold, then go for it.

[Delmania]

My 60 dk is a 300 miner, so I can get Eng to 300, and that would motivate me to level him as well.

[Ingmar]

Keep in mind that you can make quite a bit of money as an enchanter just by selling mats.

In combination with my jewelcrafter I've just started a fairly lucrative cycle: Mine or buy saronite and eternal earth -> prospect it all -> turn the green gems and bits of eternal earth into green jewelry -> send jewelry to enchanter -> disenchant and sell mats.

It is profitable even not counting the blue gems I get from prospecting which I've just been pocketing so far, as long as saronite prices are low (which they are right now.) On top of the BOE greens/quest rewards I pick up as I go and disenchant it results in a good bit of money. Enchanting materials sell like hotcakes.

[K9]

The addition of Flask of the North makes Alchemy pretty handy for casual players. Consumables are still almost exclusively a raid thing, which is fine, but Alchemy is a worthy profession for how easy it is to level.

Re-levelling enchanting to 280 isn't too bad, and then 280-350 sucks, then 350-425 is fine, then 425-450 is crap. However, this relies on you having a max-level toon who can rapidly farm low-level instances. If you are past 350 and heading into Northrend I'd keep your enchanter. You can level pretty effectively off quest rewards and drops with no expenditure, and as Rasix says, being able to crush your own greens and blues is very handy.

[March]

That said, the relative value of enchanting has diminished compared to vanilla with many other crafts providing "enchanting" buffs to various item slots and therefore, if you correctly perceive that enchanting kinda sucks for a main character and have just been piddling around at low levels, then yes... drop it.

Did you just wake up after going to sleep in TBC?  The whole reason the other professions give mechanical bonuses equal to enchanting (with the slight exception of JC, BS, and tailoring depending on class) is that enchanting was provably superior to every single other profession in TBC.

Every other profession once you replaced the BOP craftables: GAVE NOTHING
Enchanting: GAVE SOMETHING.

How dare the other professions be made equal to enchanting, which continues to be one of the top money-making professions.

Um, if I'm not mistaken, that part *is* the counter-point to the old enchanting > all... which might be useful to someone who indicated that they have resubbed and therefore might indeed have slept through TBC.

If you read regret into it, you read it there all by yourself.

[Selby]

If you have a guild, offer to be one of their enchanters.  That is how I got the last 40 or so points, doing enchants for people (who brought their own materials!).  Crushing items is a VERY useful skill to have, as Infinite Dust sells around 4-5G/ea and Greater Cosmic Essence for 14-15G/ea on my server.  If you are a caster, the +23SP on each ring is useful to have as well for the end-game raid max-DPS route you will end up getting on.

[Sjofn]

Inscription is mindblowingly easy to level, and as mentioned, you wouldn't have even have to give a shit about Hodir rep (not that I think you would given your stated "no want goals"). You probably do go through more herbs to level it, maybe, but it has the advantage of only giving a shit about what level herb you're crushing into powder, not what kind, so you can just check the AH for whatever herb in the range you need is cheapest and buy that up.

[Delmania]

The last I knew, Inscription had been relegated to an alt profession because it didn't really make too money as was of limited use due to it's one time nature.  What happened to it?

[Ingmar]

The last I knew, Inscription had been relegated to an alt profession because it didn't really make too money as was of limited use due to it's one time nature.  What happened to it?

I've read that inscription is also a great money maker, because the markup from what herbs actually cost to what the glyphs typically sell for is quite large. I haven't messed with it myself yet though. Glyphs aren't really a one time thing, people spec and respec all the time.

[Rasix]

Hey, you never have to do Sons of Hodir if you don't want to.  There's one for Inscription.

[Sheepherder]

they're still just toys compared to some of the seriously rock'n'roll stuff you can get from blacksmithing, leatherworking, or jewelcrafting.

Blacksmithing is an extra socket.  Most of the epics they can craft either require Ulduar raiding or are equal to epics which now drop out of a normal five man instance.

[Shrike]

Two extra sockets and free belt buckles--which aren't cheap (at least on Whisperwind). It's even better if you have a JC to fill those sockets--and if you're a JC/BS, it's pure stat love.

Also, ilvl 226 Uldaur recipes are a lot better than anything you'll pick up out of 5 man ToC (and raid level ToCr recipes are full T9 equivalent). Regardless of recipes, though, the sockets are more than enough reason to justify 'smithing.

[Sjofn]

The last I knew, Inscription had been relegated to an alt profession because it didn't really make too money as was of limited use due to it's one time nature.  What happened to it?

Depends on the server and knowing what inscriptions sell well. Minors almost always sell for silly amounts compared to their herb cost, for example.

I don't make much money on my inscription person because I can't be bothered and a fair number of the scribes on Doomhammer are morons selling shit for WAY too cheap, but I've also seen some other AHs (Windrunner and Sentinels most recently) where it's pretty clearly a good money maker. I'd check your AH to see.

[SurfD]

For Inscription, the big money is in Darkmoon cards.  Especially now that the Insane title is there to work for.

Also, depending on your server, you could probably make big money on Enchanting Vellums as well.

Making big buck on glyphs usually only happens when:
 - they introduce new glyphs (and you get lucky enough to learn one of the high demand ones and you can milk it for all its worth till every other inscriber has it)
 - just after a patch that changes what glyphs do and everyone is buying the "new best for spec glyph X" so demand is high.

[Sjofn]

For Inscription, the big money is in Darkmoon cards.

NOT on Doomhammer, at least not last I checked. The prices for those were way below what I could sell INK on the AH for. Like I said, the scribes on Doomhammer are dumb. 

[Morat20]

I thought I'd tag onto this thread --- my wife and I are resubbing to WoW (a friend of hers at work plays and we figured it was time to try it again).

Our max toons were mid-60s, and we were still puttering out way through TBC content when we quit. I had a hunter miner/engineer, a mage tailor/enchanter, and she had a warlock herbalist/alchemist. (We had other toons, but those were the main ones). We had not maxed out any class or profession when we quit, so my hunter does not have a fun airplane. In fact, I think we quit like a week AFTER the airplanes came out.

I was wonder if anyone playing those classes or having those skills could give a brief comment on how they'd changed? Or how the whole Deathknight and inscription stuff worked out, since I suppose we'd also be picking up WoTLK.

I'd start a new thread, but we're already talking abour professions....I'm sort of curious as to what has changed.

[Rendakor]

Tailor/Enchanter remains a good combo, both for skilling them up and for PVE use on a mage. Engineering, as has been mentioned, remains a "fun" tradeskill that is only of use in Arenas. Herb/alch is another easy combo for leveling.

Mages remain awesome at AOE grinding, while still having two viable endgame dps specs. DKs are probably the easiest class to level 55-80, as they can solo a virtually infinite number of non-elite mobs, as well as most elite quest mobs. Their starting experience is one of the most questlines in WoW as well; at least make one for that. Don't know much about locks or huntards.

Fake edit: In addition to engineering's roflcopters, your tailor can make flying carpets. Both of which can be made and used at level 60, to ease your pain through the rest of TBC on a sweet ride.

[Selby]

a mage tailor/enchanter

I have one of these.  The enchanting is useful because I do end-game raiding and have to enchant all new pieces of gear, plus I can shard items I get and sell the materials on the AH.  With vellums, now you can even sell enchants and make some good money that way.  It's expensive and time consuming to level if you don't have a way to farm instances for the materials.  Tailoring is also useful for some of the benefits to gear you can make and being able to make bags is another plus.  It's stupid ridiculous and expensive to level up to 450 though, but you probably won't be that concerned about it unless you are a raider or a min\maxer.

That said, neither of those professions truly helped much when I was leveling except for tailoring during TBC (maxed tailoring and enchanting back in vanilla) as the patterns for the imbued netherweave sets were pretty useful for me.  There are next to no patterns useful for leveling a caster in WotLK though unless you plan on PvPing.  And enchanting is, once again, expensive and time consuming to level if you don't have a guild constantly asking for enchants to their gear.

[dd0029]

Hunters recieved a ton of quality of life changes.  Pets are way less annoying.  You still have to feed them, but loyalty is pretty much gone.  Pets now have talent trees and innate skills.  No more figuring out which mob has the next rank of the ability, taming it to learn it then discard it.  When ever you tame a new pet, if it is lower level then you, it auto levels to within 5 of your level making that decision to get that unique skin lvl 5 bat much less painful.  All three trees are viable for normal play now.  Survival is fun.  There's lots of new reacty stuff in there.

Locks got a lot of quality of life changes too.  Same three tree viability.  Affliction is still good for giant group fear kiting.

TBC age professions did not change, so the perks are still tied up at 375 skill and lvl 70 for the most part.  For WotLK though, the perks start fairly low in the 375+ range so you get to access them while playing.  That was a good change.  

One big quality of total TBC life change came with the last patch.  Slow flying is now not as slow and is available at 60.  Being able to literally fly in TBC is really sweet particularly now that the "slow" flyer is 150% speed instead of the dumbass 60% it used to be.  It is 540 gold at honored rep from the Hellfire factions.  Epic flying is still 5000 base cost, but it is modified by faction now.  Speaking of flying and engineering, the Flying machine is all kinds of awesome.  They really did a whole lot of work with the detail on those things.  They are particularly cool if you are an awesome gnome.  Tauren look dumb on them, they don't really fit.

[Sjofn]

You'll also scoot through Outland pretty quick as they did an XP pass there once WotLK came out. It's extra awesome with flight, as was mentioned.

[Sheepherder]

Mage

Arcane or frost have the best scaling in sub-par gear.  Frost is all about the shatter combos still, except you can draw them out for like four casts now for maximum forum tears.  Arcane has the best scaling with Int/Spirit, which lets you be completely unfussy about the drops you use, it also has a ton of passive hit, three cooldowns which let you crank the knob to eleven, and a buff you can toss on your wife's lock which giver her 3% passive crit and you 3% crit when her spells crit.

Warlock:

Affliction has low DPS, high survivability, and lots of mana/health return.  One change your wife might appreciate is the ability for DoTs to crit.  Demonology is now more reliant upon casts rather than DoTs and drains and the Felguard is absolutely brutal.  Destruction is scary.  Disturbingly scary.  Like "Gee, I just slammed you for 16 000 damage in the time it took you to cast Holy Light, I guess it's time to go cry on the forums, huh?"  SL/SL appears to be broken as a viable spec, if that was her thing; Sacrifice Spec is just gone.