Professions
ant to forge a keen-edged sword that just screams 'deadly'? What about brew an arcane potion? Or tailor a stylish outfit? All of these abilities fall under the heading of Trade Skills in World of Warcraft, and specializing in certain disciplines by selecting and perfecting them could allow your character to seize an important role in the dynamic economy of the world. To find out what some of the skills in World of Warcraft currently are, and how these abilities are different from those in other MMORPGs, read on…
How do trade skills work?
There are two types of skills in World of Warcraft: gathering skills, which allow you to collect the raw materials needed to make items, and trade skills, which actually transform those materials into finished goods. Trade skills are generally paired with gathering skills in a relationship that makes each integral to the other. To make items with the blacksmithing ability, for example, players will need ingredients that are acquired by applying the mining skill. Players will not have to be equipped with both paired abilities to succeed, however. An alchemist working to create a potion can always purchase the necessary herbs from an herbalist.
How do players acquire new recipes?
Trade-skill recipes are the blueprints for crafting an item, and they detail the raw components required to manufacture that item. Many recipes are available from the same in-game trainers who teach a specific trade skill. Other recipes are found through various vendors around the world or on the corpses of slain monsters.
How are trade skills in World of Warcraft different from those in other MMORPGs?
A great deal of effort has been made to make every item that is crafted useful so that players are not just creating items to increase their skills. Also, many of the raw materials needed will be found in dangerous locations throughout the world. Players are encouraged to adventure in order to gain ingredients - rather than just farm a distant, nondescript patch of land endlessly.
Mining the ore
Extracting the ore
Fishing: Armed with their best fishing rods, Fishermen explore the world of Azeroth looking for new and interesting places to cast their lines. In addition to the varied fish population, all manner of aquatic treasure awaits the Fisherman with the skill and patience to reel it in.
Enchanting: Enchanters use their magical formulae to grant both temporary and permanent augmentation to weapons, armor, and other equipment.
Alchemy: The Alchemist mixes herbs to generate potions with a variety of effects. A player can create healing, invisibility, elemental resistance, and mana potions; oils to coat weapons; and much more.
Blacksmithing: Blacksmiths take bars of metal from miners and work them into finely crafted arms and armor. There are many unique weapons and other armaments that cannot be found on any of the vendors or monsters in the game, but can only be created by Blacksmiths.
Engineering: Engineering is used to assemble metal and stones into parts needed to make explosives, guns, scopes, bullets, mechanical dragons, aquatic helmets, and more. More than any other trade skill, engineering products require several steps to be completed.
Leatherworking: This skill allows players to work various leathers and pelts into leather armors as well as patches integral to the creation of higher-level, metallic armors and enhanced weapons.
Tailoring: Tailoring allows players to cut and weave various pieces of cloth into armor, bags, shirts, and other cloth items.
Cooking: From Beer-Basted Boar Ribs to Giant Clam Scorcho, there is no recipe too obscure or odd to avoid notice by the Chefs of Azeroth. Food is used in the game to heal players out of combat so that they can return to the fighting as quickly as possible.
Herb Gathering: Herb gathering is used to collect plants found throughout the world, with more powerful herbs requiring a higher skill level to find. Each type of herb has specific uses and places where it is found. For instance, Grave Moss must be sought in cemeteries, whereas Wintersbite grows in snowy areas.
Mining: Mining is used to extract ores, stones, and gems from mineral nodes found throughout the world. Generally, more of these nodes can be found in the dangerous underground than on the surface. In addition to gathering the raw materials, it's up to the miners to smelt the ores taken from the ground into metal bars. These are the raw materials that artisans such as Blacksmiths and Engineers will transform into deadly weapons and wondrous objects.
...And more!
Human Warrior seeking to quest in the more dangerous parts of Azeroth has commissioned you to forge a powerful weapon for his use. As one of the most celebrated Human weaponsmiths in Stormwind, you are used to this sort of request. What is unusual, though, are the four pieces of jade (a useful and rare material) the Warrior is willing to trade for your work. And so you set yourself to the forge and begin the process of creating a deadly Frost Tiger Blade.
Forging the Frost Tiger Blade
hecking your recipe, you find that the following ingredients are needed to forge the weapon:
| 8x Steel Bars 2x Strong Flux 1x Frost Oil 2x Jade 3x Heavy Grinding Stones |
"Made by Revolver"
s a weaponsmith, you maintain a stock of iron ore and grinding stones (needed to polish and sharpen the weapon to a fine razor's edge). You take a quick trip to the forge to smelt the iron ore and coal into steel bars. A nearby merchant sells the strong flux that removes impurities from the steel. To fill out the ingredients list, you make your way to an Alchemist, but unfortunately you learn that he requires the herb Wintersbite to make Frost Oil for you. So, to acquire the Wintersbite herb, you trade a stack of sharpening stones to your friend, who happens to be an Herbalist, and then you give the Wintersbite to the Alchemist, who then concocts the arcane Frost Oil for you.
Now the ingredients are complete, and you forge the weapon, confident that there will be no failure and that the Frost Tiger Blade will be born from the rare ingredients used to create it. Thrilled with your work, the Human Warrior leaves the remaining jade with you in payment.
Blacksmithing skilling increases
