WoW TBC Professions
Professions in TBC offer different benefits: crafted equipment, consumables, ring enchants, utility devices, party drums or material income. They do not provide the uniform passive bonuses found in later expansions.
Choose for your role, budget, phase and actual party. A specific weapon or cloth set can justify a craft, while gathering can be the better choice during leveling. Two crafting professions are an optimization option, not a universal requirement.
Open a guide below to compare when the profession is useful, what the first investment involves, and which later-expansion bonuses do not apply. Build a budget before buying materials.
Jewelcrafting · crafting
Gem crafting, selected unique-equipped gems and crafted jewelry/trinkets.
Blacksmithing · crafting
Specialization-dependent weapons and armor; no Eternal Belt Buckle in TBC.
Engineering · crafting
Utility gadgets, explosives and phase-dependent goggles.
Leatherworking · crafting
Role-specific leather/mail sets and party drums; no Fur Lining in TBC.
Tailoring · crafting
Specialized cloth sets and selected caster or healing pieces; no cloak embroidery in TBC.
Alchemy · crafting
Consumables and selected crafted trinkets; no Mixology bonus in TBC.
Enchanting · crafting
Profession-exclusive ring enchants, plus normal enchanting and disenchanting.
Mining · gathering
Ore and stone gathering; no passive Toughness stamina bonus in TBC.
Herbalism · gathering
Herb gathering for consumables; no later-expansion self-heal profession bonus.
Skinning · gathering
Leather and hide gathering; no passive critical-strike profession bonus in TBC.