WoW Forever has the nine primary professions and three secondary skills of Classic, with no Jewelcrafting or Inscription, but almost everything around them is new. There are more than 600 new recipes, every profession builds a camp object that buffs you and your group, crafted blue gear comes from a new merchant faction with its own currency, and First Aid now makes the healing potions that used to belong to Alchemy. That changes which profession is worth your two slots.
This guide ranks every profession, shows the best ones for gold at launch and at 60, gives a pick for each of the nine classes, and answers whether crafted gear is worth it while you level. Everything is checked against the October 15 beta build and Blizzard's October 21 camping post. How each profession works and how to level it to 300 is in our WoW Forever professions guide.
This is our ranking for a character who wants both gold and power at launch. Your class and your plan for 60 can move a profession up or down, so read the class table below before you pick:
| Tier | Profession | Why |
|---|---|---|
| S | Enchanting | The steadiest gold at 60, and new recipes for staves, wands and class relics. The Arcane Salvager camp object gives more materials when you disenchant |
| S | Herbalism | The best gathering profession for gold, because herbs now feed both Alchemy and First Aid potions. Scarce Frilled Lichen sells well all game |
| A | Alchemy | Flasks and elixirs are the biggest consumable market once raids open. Blizzard has said it may rework Alchemy to matter less in raids, so watch the patch notes |
| A | Skinning | The fastest gold while leveling: you skin what you kill, with no detours. Scarce Pristine Leather is needed by the new blue crafts |
| A | Tailoring | Bags sell from day one, and Forever adds a reagent bag slot with Linen Reagent Bag and Mageweave Reagent Bag. Strong caster gear for yourself |
| A | Blacksmithing | Bind on Pickup plate and mail for every role, Rough Sharpening Stone for melee, and rare patterns such as Lionheart Helm at 60 |
| B | Mining | Needed for Blacksmithing and Engineering, but ore sells for less than herbs and the skill is slow to keep up |
| B | Leatherworking | Great for yourself: the Camp Tent adds rested XP and the gear is strong. Poor for gold, since the best items are Bind on Pickup |
| B | Engineering | The best PvP and utility tools, like Iron Grenade and the new Emergency Field Cloak, but most items need Engineering to use, so few buyers |
Take all three secondary skills on every character. Cooking builds the campfire that every camp object needs and makes food that adds 5% experience from kills, First Aid now crafts Healing Potion and cures like Anti-Venom, and Fishing gives the Fish Bowl, 8% to all stats at camp, and money fish such as Stonescale Eel.
At skill 20 every profession can craft its first camp object. Place it next to a campfire, sit for a minute, and everyone around gets a one-hour buff. Placing the object needs the profession, using it does not, and a camp buff does not stack with the class buff it copies. Full details are in our WoW Forever camping guide:
| Profession | Camp object | Buff at camp |
|---|---|---|
| Alchemy | Mana Well | Mana every 5 seconds, like Blessing of Wisdom |
| Blacksmithing | Sharpening Wheel | Strength, like Strength of Earth Totem |
| Enchanting | Enchanted Lute | Armor, stats and resistances, like Mark of the Wild |
| Engineering | Reagent Bot | No buff, sells reagents at camp |
| Herbalism | Incense Candle | Intellect, like Arcane Intellect |
| Leatherworking | Camp Tent | Rested experience up to 5% of a level |
| Mining | Lodestone | Melee attack power, like Blessing of Might |
| Skinning | Camp Chair | 2% critical strike, like Moonkin Aura |
| Tailoring | Faction Banner (Alliance, Horde) | Spirit, like Divine Spirit |
| First Aid | First Aid Kit | Stamina, like Power Word: Fortitude |
| Fishing | Fish Bowl | 8% all stats, like Blessing of Kings |
Values scale with your level. The objects that need skill 140 or more drop from dungeon and raid bosses.
Gold works differently at launch and at 60, so plan both:
Two Forever changes matter here. Blizzard lowered the vendor price of many crafted items on October 15, so the old trick of crafting items to sell to a vendor no longer works. And Black Lotus is now sold by a vendor, so its price has a ceiling. For routes and items, read our WoW Forever gold making guide.
The Azeroth Commerce Authority at Three Corners in Redridge and the Durotar Supply and Logistics near the Crossroads sell over 300 recipes for Merchant's Favor. You earn it by filling Waylaid crates that drop in the world or sell on the auction house: a white crate pays 5 to 15 Favor, a green one with crafted materials pays double. Gear from these recipes is Bind on Pickup, so you craft it for yourself, not for sale. Recipes above level 22 also need Friendly or Honored, and reputation only comes from Craftsman's Writs, not from crates. All recipe lists are in our Azeroth Commerce Authority guide.
Alliance: the Azeroth Commerce Authority at Three Corners, western Redridge Mountains
Horde: Durotar Supply and Logistics next to the Crossroads, The Barrens
These are the picks for a main that wants its own gear. For pure gold, any class can take two gathering skills instead:
| Class | Best professions | Why in Forever |
|---|---|---|
| Warrior | Mining and Blacksmithing | Plate for every role, such as Sentinel's Sabatons for tanks, plus sharpening stones and the Sharpening Wheel Strength buff. Herbalism and Alchemy are a strong swap around level 35 for elixirs and Nature Protection Potion |
| Paladin | Mining and Blacksmithing | Blacksmithing plate and mail now carries spell damage, such as Crusader's Boots and Enriched Thorium Breastplate. Enchanting is new for Paladins with the Libram of Holy Alacrity |
| Hunter | Skinning and Leatherworking | You skin every beast you kill. Quivers, ammo pouches and mail, and the Camp Chair crit buff |
| Rogue | Skinning and Leatherworking | Leather gear for yourself, including a strong level 20 helm. For PvP, Mining and Engineering add Iron Grenade and the Emergency Field Cloak |
| Priest | Tailoring and Enchanting | Early healing gear like Novice Ardent's Sash and wands for leveling. If you only want gold while leveling, gather and take crafting at 60 |
| Shaman | Skinning and Leatherworking | Mail with Strength or Intellect for every spec. Enchanting is a new option for totems like the Totem of Thunder |
| Mage | Tailoring and Enchanting | Spell school gear like Filigreed Flame Circlet, and staves like Glimmering Staff. Mages also have their own scroll skill, see our Mage scrolls guide |
| Warlock | Tailoring and Enchanting | Tailored gowns for Affliction or Destruction, and Enchanting staves and off-hands |
| Druid | Skinning and Leatherworking | Leather for every spec and healing gear like Wisdom's Leather Boots. Balance and Restoration can take Herbalism and Alchemy instead, and Enchanting makes the Idol of the Dream |
Racials help too: Tauren have Cultivation for extra herbs (see our Tauren Cultivation guide), and Gnomes have Engineering Specialization, which now makes engineering devices fail 20% less often instead of adding skill.
You can level to 60 with no professions at all: quests and vendored loot cover your spells and your mount at 40. If you do take them, crafted gear is worth it only up to a point:
Every starting zone has a quest that teaches a gathering profession from a book: Mining for Dummies, Wild Harvest or Pelt Collecting for Beginners. Herbalism needs no tool, while Mining needs a Mining Pick and Skinning a Skinning Knife from a vendor. If you gather, keep the skill up with your zones, or you reach Thousand Needles unable to mine Iron.
Short on time? Our WoW Forever professions service levels any profession for you, and the leveling service takes your character to 60.
| Combo | Best for |
|---|---|
| Herbalism and Alchemy | Consumables and steady gold at 60, any class |
| Mining and Blacksmithing | Warriors and Paladins, plate and stones |
| Mining and Engineering | PvP and utility |
| Skinning and Leatherworking | Hunters, Rogues, Shamans and Druids |
| Tailoring and Enchanting | Mages, Priests and Warlocks, and the best gold pair at 60 |
| Skinning and Herbalism | Pure gold while leveling, then swap one for a crafting profession at 60 |
A common launch plan: level with Skinning and Herbalism, drop Skinning around level 35 for Alchemy, and switch to a raid profession once you have a gold reserve. Crafting professions also earn Legacy Points the first time any character on your account reaches 150, 225 and 300, so leveling a crafter on an alt pays twice. Our Legacy builds guide shows the profession perks, and Working Overtime adds a 20% chance of an extra skill-up.
More addons for every part of the game are in our WoW Forever addons guide.
Once you have picked, our WoW Forever profession guides take every profession from 1 to 300. These guides go further:
These are the questions players ask most often about choosing professions.
No. There is no health bonus for Mining, no damage bonus for Skinning and no Mixology for Alchemy. The bonuses are camp objects, crafted gear and the Legacy perks.
Enchanting at 60, and Herbalism among gathering skills. While leveling, Skinning gives the most gold for the least time.
No. Healing Potion and the other healing potions moved to First Aid, made from herbs and spices. Alchemy keeps mana potions, elixirs, flasks and transmutes.
No. The blue gear and the recipes are Bind on Pickup, so you can only craft them for yourself. The materials, crates and writs can be sold.
Enchanting. It makes wands like the Brilliant Wand, staves like the Glimmering Staff, off-hands and class relics.
Apprentice has no level requirement. Crafting needs level 10 for Journeyman, 20 for Expert and 35 for Artisan. Gathering needs level 10 for Expert and 25 for Artisan.
Not confirmed. It has the best PvP tools, but most of its items need Engineering to use, so wait for the first raids before you level it only for that.
Not at launch. Blizzard's roadmap has a Professions and Legacy update planned for summer 2027.
