Shadowlands Preview: Skill up with Professions

With Shadowlands on the horizon, you’ll soon enter a world with new resources to gather which can be turned into new items to make yourself even more powerful.

Further your current professions or pick up new trades from the Profession Trainers in the Hall of Shapes in Oribos. These specialized Brokers will also sell you profession reagents to create goods and will help you level up your trade. Characters with gathering professions in Battle for Azeroth will notice that Star Ranks have been removed, but don’t fret—you’ll obtain greater quantities of harvested material as you go up in skill. Engineers will also notice that, as they become more adept at working on devices, they will experience less backfires on their inventions.

Blast from the Past

Consumables from expansions past make a return in Shadowlands to give you an edge in combat. Leatherworkers can make Armor Kits which will increase the stamina of worn chest gear for two hours. Alchemists can make Weapon Oils that can be applied for a range of benefits—such as dealing damage or healing yourself—during combat and last for an hour. Some potions can interact with Weapon Oils to create additional effects, so keep an eye on Potion tooltips to see which combinations are available! In Shadowlands, there are only two Flask types, one that increases your Primary Stat depending on your class and specialization, and one that increases your Stamina. Blacksmiths can once again create Sharpening Stones and Weightstones will increase your attack power for one hour.

Optional Reagents in Professions

New to Shadowlands are Optional Reagents—ingredients that you can use when crafting armor, weapons, and jewelry. Each piece of crafted gear can have up to three slots—the first slot’s Optional Reagent sets the piece’s item level and the second and third slots apply secondary stats to a crafted piece.

Legendary Runecarving in Shadowlands

In the Shadowlands, you’ll be able to forge and customize your own legendary pieces using items procured from professions. Characters with Tailoring, Leatherworking, Blacksmithing, or Jewelcrafting professions will be granted the recipe to create base pieces as part of the storyline with the Runecarver. These pieces can be crafted by players and can be traded or can be purchased from the Auction House. Each time a crafter creates a base piece, they will earn experience and over time they will be able to create those base pieces with higher item levels. There are four levels each recipe can reach, and creating higher level base pieces will require more resources to complete.

You’ll also need two Missives, which are used to empower the piece with two different secondary stats of your choosing. These Missives can be made by players with the Inscription profession and can be traded or sold on the Auction House.

The new ethereal additions to Professions will become available to you to dabble and master once Shadowlands launches on November 24!