Professions Introduction

There are several types of professions in Classic WoW:

• Production Professions - Players collect recipes, granting them the ability to craft powerful gear which can be equipped or traded. Some professions offer additional perks in the form of powerful BoP crafted items. Alchemy, Blacksmithing, Cooking, Engineering, Leatherworking, and Tailoring are Production Professions.
• Service Professions - These professions do not generate trade goods that are equiabble, but allow the player to still create items that benefit players. Enchanting and First Aid are Service Professions.
•   Gathering Professions - These profession supplement Production professions, allowing players to acquire materials that are required to create the powerful trade goods. Herbalism, Mining, Skinning, and Fishing are Gathering Professions.
• Other - These skills are ones we do not think of as traditional crafting or gathering ones, like Riding, Poisons, and Pickpocketing.

Players must also choose between two Primary Professions - Alchemy, Blacksmithing, Enchanting, Engineering, Herbalism, Leatherworking, Mining, Skinning, and Tailoring. The other professions are classified as Secondary Professions (Cooking, Fishing, First Aid) and all can be learned.

Some professions have additional subclasses, with unique recipes:

• Engineering - Goblin, Gnomish
• Leatherworking - Dragonscale, Elemental, Tribal

Profession Skillups

To level up your profession, you simply craft or gather items until the game determines that is too easy for you, and you are sent to create more-complex recipes and gather items in more dangerous zones for skillups.

Orange: 100% chance to get a skillup

Yellow: Frequently

Green: Infrequently

Grey: Never

Our Profession sub forums will show you at what skill levels a recipes will change colour.
Some professions have special exceptions:

Orange mobs will not always grant a Skinning skillup.

All fish can contribute to skillups. As your skill increases, it will take more catches to reach the next skill point.

Profession Ranks

You must return to a profession trainer in order to learn the next rank to keep getting skillups:

• Apprentice - up to 75.  Level 5 for Production/Fishing and no requirements for Gathering
• Journeyman - up to 150.  Level 10 for Production/Fishing and no requirements for Gathering
• Expert - up to 225. Level 20 for Production, Level 10 for Gathering and Fishing
• Artisan - up to 300.  Level 35 for Production, Level 25 for Gathering, Level 10 for Fishing 

If you swap a profession, all ranks are lost and you must start over again at skill level 1.

Some races offer Profession bonuses:  Engineering Specialization: Gnome racial, increases engineering by 15.

Some items provide buffs to certain professions:

Mining:  Formula: Enchant Gloves - Advanced Mining,  Goblin Mining Helmet

Skinning:  Zulian Slicer,  Finkle's Skinner,  Formula: Enchant Gloves - Skinning

Fishing is a completely unique profession, with many items (lures) increasing your duration for a temporary period of time. More details in our upcoming fishing guide.