Professions Overview & Bonuses

Cataclysm brings a lot of updates and changes to the game’s professions including the skill cap being raised to 525. Gathering professions now also provide experience, and Archaeology is introduced as a new trainable profession. Additionally, guilds can now access links for all member professions.

• Crafting Professions: These professions offer characters the ability to create items and gear with specific stat bonuses. For instance, Alchemy allows practitioners to concoct potions providing stat boosts, with bonuses like increased Stamina from the Lifebound Alchemist Stone or enhanced Agility from the Quicksilver Alchemist Stone.
• Gathering Professions: Professions like Herbalism, Mining, and Skinning primarily focus on collecting resources. Each of these gathering professions not only supplies materials for crafting but also grants unique bonuses like the haste boost from Herbalism’s Lifeblood proficiency or increased health via Mining’s Toughness proficiency.
• Secondary Professions: Secondary professions like Archaeology, Cooking, and Fishing do not provide straightforward stat bonuses but offer various utility benefits. For example, Archaeology allows for the discovery and crafting of powerful and rare items.

Updates & Additions in Cataclysm

• Increased Skill Cap: The profession leveling cap has been elevated to 525, with Illustrious Grand Master being the new skill rank, allowing for further development and mastery of chosen professions.
• New Recipes and Skills: As players level up their professions, they will unlock access to new recipes and skills. These newly acquired abilities allow crafting of more powerful items and gear, contributing significantly to character progression and power level.
• Crafting Skill-ups: Certain crafting recipes now grant multiple skill-ups based on the complexity and difficulty of the item being crafted. This mechanic makes the leveling process more dynamic and rewarding, as crafting more challenging items accelerates profession skill advancement.
• Archaeology: As a new secondary profession, Archaeology introduces a unique leveling mechanic, where players progressively unearth and solve artifacts to gain skill points. This process is not only rewarding but also deeply intertwined with the exploration of the game’s lore and world.

Professions & Bonuses Table

We also have a All Profession Bonuses/Perks guide that covers these in even more detail.

Proficiencies & Leveling

Reforging

While reforging isn’t a profession per se, we decided to add an overview here. Reforging allows players to adjust the statistics on their gear. Specifically, it permits the alteration of non-primary stats (except for Spirit) on an item to another stat that the item doesn’t currently possess. This provides players with a degree of flexibility and control over their gear’s attributes, enhancing their character’s performance in various game activities.

Reforging Process

1. NPC Interaction: Visit Arcane Reforgers that are located near the ethereals within each faction’s capital city near Void Storage and transmog NPCs.
2. Item Selection: Upon initiating interaction with the Reforging NPC, players are prompted to drag and drop the item they wish to reforge into the designated slot.
3. Stat Selection: Players then select which stat they want to reduce and which one they want to increase on their item. It is crucial to note that the stat to be increased must not already exist on the item.
4. Stat Adjustment: The statistics are adjusted by a fixed conversion value determined by the system. This process helps players fine-tune their gear for optimal performance in their chosen roles.

Limitations and Restrictions

• Reforging doesn’t allow for the alteration of primary stats, with Spirit being the sole exception.
• Players cannot add a stat that the item already possesses. For instance, you can’t remove Hit Rating to add Crit Rating on a piece that already has Crit Rating.
• The reforging process adheres to fixed conversion values for decreasing and increasing statistics, providing balanced adjustments to the gear.