Professions have always played a vital role in stifling the WoW economy. Aside from that, they serve as a way to improve the overall performance of all class/spec combinations in the game, given their ability to craft higher level items and performance boosting miscellanea. Some professions, like Jewelcrafters and Enchanters, may also generate various item enhancements including weapon enchantments and stat boosting gems that can be socketed on different armor pieces. 

In this article, we will provide you with an overview of the top 5 most useful and gold producing professions in Shadowlands Patch 9.1. There is something for everyone, so let’s get you started!

5. Armor Crafting Profession (Blacksmithing, Tailoring, or Leatherworking)

Armor crafting professions are essential for character progression in Shadowlands. They allow you tocraft base armor Legendaries for a variety of cloth, leather, mail, and plate wearing classes. Although craftable pieces are quite useless in the game (except when you’re leveling a new character and would like a slight boost in ILVL when you hit max level), certain professions could make as much as 120k gold for a single Legendary base. Armor Crafting professions, of course, rely on basic materials like metals, animal hides, and different cloth items in order to craft respective pieces.

These professions are typically partnered with a gathering profession like Mining or Skinning, allowing armor crafters to be independent in acquiring basic materials. It goes without saying that your choice of profession should be purely dependent upon the class which you play. If you main a Mage for example, you would need to select Tailoring, with the Blacksmith role usually being occupied by Paladins, Death Knights, or Warriors, and Leatherworking for Druids, Monks, Rogues, Hunters, and Shamans.

Although these professions can be quite profitable, they can t be a gold-sink. Armor crafters spend a lot of time and resources crafting a single legendary piece which could be circulating in the Auction House for several days until it has been sold. Barring their indubitable usefulness, these professions will require more effort to produce gold than some of their competitors.

Why are Armor crafting professions highly useful?

• Ability to craft base Legendary items during Shadowlands
• Always in demand

Pick Armor crafting professions if you:

• Want to make your own legendaries

4. Herbalism & Mining

Overview:

Herbalism and Mining are gathering professions that allow players to find and harvest/mine various herbs/ores around the world. These raw materials are later on used by professions like Alchemists or Blacksmiths to craft an assortment of useful items. Although Herbalism and Mining do not necessarily generate a crazy amount of gold, they are one of the most relaxing and easy professions to level.  Let’s not forget that if you are not max level, herbs and ores will also give you small amounts of exp each time you acquire one.

I usually combine these two professions on all my characters, as I simply have to roam the world in order to acquire the resources, which I then sell for profit on the Auction House. During initial expansion launches, these professions are extremely profitable but at the expense of time consumption.  Granted I do not make as much gold as say for example an Alchemist, or an Enchanter, at least I don’t have to worry about all those crafting requirements and long auction selling times. Herbalists and Miners will never run out of business!

 Why are Herbalism & Mining highly useful?

• Always in demand
• Other professions depend on them for crafting
• Can hasten leveling process

Pick Herbalism and/or Mining if:

• You want an easy profession to master
• You don’t want to spend time crafting
• You want quick and easy money

3. Enchanting

Overview:

Enchanters rely on magical resources to create permanent stat boosts for various armor pieces and weapons. These formulas require different ingredients and reagents which the Enchanter can generate through disenchanting mixed loot items, or by purchasing them on the Auction House. Bearing in mind its limitless serviceability, Enchanting has always been considered as one of the go-to professions in WoW’s history. Smells like opportunity to me!

How often do you see top performing players without their gear being fully enchanted? Rarely huh. Enchanting is so critical that it plays an active part in shaping the overall WoW economy. As an Enchanter, you will have a lot of freedom with the way you make gold. If you want to maximize profit, you’ll need to carefully consider the ebb and flow of market demand and supply and how such factors relate to overall patch transitions.

For example, you can choose to pair up with another primary profession, like Tailoring, to craft your own gear and then disenchant to generate profitable ingredients that you can sell for profit on the Auction House. This would’ve been better at the beginning of patch 9.1. rather than now, considering the abundance of Enchanters who constantly saturate and undercut market prices. Although Enchanting will not make you especially cash-rich, it is unarguably one of the most useful professions in the game.

What makes Enchanting highly useful:

• Limitless serviceability through permanent item augmentations
• High demand

Pick Enchanting if you:

• You want to be independent for item Enchants
•  Would like to make money in various ways
• If you already have another primary crafting profession

2. Jewelcrafting

Overview:

Jewelcrafting allows players to craft various vanity items and stat boosting gems. These gems can be attached to PvP or PvE items which sometimes have a chance to include a socketed gem slot. Jewelcrafters may create an assortment of rings, necklaces, and trinkets that can be sold on the Auction house for profit. Players can also prospect various mining ores in order to break them down into basic gems.

Jewelcrafting is most profitable during the beginning of an expansion when people are just hitting max level and want to increase their base item level with higher geared items. Since we are probably reaching the halfway point of Shadowlands’ lifespan, Jewelcrafters will primarily rely on their gems for gold making.

 In contrast to armor crafting professions like Tailoring, Blacksmithing, and Leatherworking, Jewelcrafters only have to worry about crafting two Legendary slots (Ring and Neck). By narrowing down your crafting requirements, you will have an easier time to mass produce these specific items for higher profit.  The addition of Domination Shards on armor pieces has also incentivized players to switch legendary equipment in favor of Shadowghast Rings, ensuring a boat-load of cash to be made by Jewelcrafters in Patch 9.1.

What makes Jewelcrafting highly useful:

• Currently very profitable
• High demand
• Can prospect gems from various mining ores
• Ability to craft Shadowghast ring legendary

Pick Jewelcrafting if:

• You want to make massive amounts of gold
• You want to be independent when it comes to gems
• You want to create necklaces, rings, and trinkets, for personal use

1. Alchemy

Overview:

Alchemy is a profession that utilizes herbs and other reagents to create elixirs, potions, flasks, oils, and cauldrons with a variety of special effects. They can also transmute gems, minerals, and elementals, for further use by other professions.  Alchemist concoctions are typically used to restore health and mana through potions, generate passive stat buffs for raids using special cauldrons, as well as flasks and elixirs which provide active buffs and temporary effects like invisibility.

Alchemists are extremely vital to both PvP/PvE performance, as well as the general economy of each WoW server. You will never see a top DPS without Spectral Flasks equipped, whilst top healers do not venture into rough boss fights without their precious mana potions. As a result of its varying efficiencies, it comes as no surprise that Alchemists can generate the most gold out of any profession in the game.

If you would like to increase your economic productivity even further, choose Herbalism as a secondary spec. In doing so, you will never have to worry about buying those basic materials, considering that you can just fly around Shadowlands zones and farm them yourself. Should you have resources like Rising Glory or Nightshade left over after crafting, you may also sell them for extra profit.

What makes Alchemy highly useful:

• Infinite usability in both PvP and PvE
• Always in demand
• Most gold potential from all WoW professions
• Combines very well with Herbalism

Pick Alchemy if:

• You want to make massive amounts of gold
• You want to be independent when it comes to Flasks, Elixirs, Potions, Oils

So there you have it ladies and gentlemen. We hope that this article has been somewhat useful in helping you narrow down your choice of profession in WoW. Now stop reading and go get that bread!

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