This is for any Mage looking to maximize their class by selecting the best possible professions available. It isn’t as easy as it seems though, since there are ten possible professions available, and can only select two of them. When maximizing your character, you would sacrifice the convenience and profit of selecting a gathering profession, and select another crafting profession.

Either you select your profession for personal reasons, or for the sake of others like the guild, each profession comes with something that gives a boost only to yourself that you can’t share with others. This is usually the main factor in selecting a profession. Let’s take a look at what each of these professions can bring.

Alchemy

“The Alchemist mixes herbs in order 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.”

• Mixology is the biggest reason to select Alchemy as one of your primary professions. Not only does it increase the buff you receive from the Elixirs and Flasks you take, it also doubles the duration of the effect.
• For example: [Flask of the Frost Wyrm] will give you 162 Spell Power, and last 4 hours currently with Mixology.
• [Mercurial Alchemist Stone] is an “Alchemy Only” trinket you can make that has decent stats, and also increases the effectiveness of your health/mana potions by 40%.
• [Crazy Alchemist's Potion] is an “Alchemy Only” potion you can take which will give you a random potion buff as well as health and mana.
• [Endless Mana Potion] is a mana potion that you can use in Arena, and has unlimited uses. Since Mages already have mana gems they can use, you can use the next potion instead.
• [Endless Health Potion] is a heath potion that you can use in Arena. Currently only Alchemist can use potions in Arena, and they both benefit from the Alchemist’s Stone potion bonus.

Alchemy is not only a good profession to help others, but a great profession that gives the Alchemist some personal gain too. With future patches, new trinkets will be released, as well as new potions, elixirs, and flasks as well.

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.”

• [Eternal Belt Buckle] is something that Blacksmiths can make, but can be used by anyone, and gives your belt an extra gem socket. The next two however, are only for Blacksmiths.
• [Socket Bracer] adds another gem socket to any of your own bracers.
• [Socket Gloves] adds another gem socket to any of your own gloves.

Currently the advantage of being a Blacksmith over another profession is the extra 2 gem sockets, and essentially +38 Spell Power if you use 2x [Runed Scarlet Ruby].

Enchanting

“Enchanters use their magical formulae to grant permanent augmentation to weapons, armor and other equipment. Enchanting requires the use of special ingredients that can only be gathered by disenchanting magical items. Using these ingredients enchanters can make items more powerful.”

• [Enchant Ring - Greater Spellpower] is a self-only enchant which you can only use on your own rings add a +19 Spell Power enchant to them.

Currently the advantage of being a Enchanter over another profession is the extra 2 ring enchants, and essentially +38 Spell Power if you use it on your two rings.

Engineering

“Engineering is a very fun and creative Profession. You can create all kinds of wacky things that are fun to use and also entertain and amaze other players. Engineering is used to assemble metal and stones into parts needed to make explosives, guns, scopes, bullets, mechanical dragons, aquatic helmets, and much more.”

• [Visage Liquification Goggles] are bind on pick-up googles that can be made for yourself to use.
• [Gnomish Lightning Generator] is a bind on pick-up trinket you can make for yourself that can do a good amount of burst damage if needed in PvP.
• [Hyperspeed Accelerators] are self-only enchants you can put on your own gloves. They DO NOT stack with normal glove enchants.
• [Nitro Boosts] are self-only enchants you can put on your own boots. They DO NOT stack with normal boot enchants.

Engineering is very situational, is mainly picked up as a “fun” profession. The majority of the perks of being an engineer is PvP based, there are some PvE uses as well. In the last expansion, the best helm to have for a Mage was engineer-only, it may be the same in Wrath as well.

Inscription

“the Inscription profession allows its practitioners, called “scribes,” to enhance the spells and abilities of players’ characters, such as enhancing a rogue’s Backstab ability to deal more damage to stunned targets, or allowing a priest’s Circle of Healing to heal one more target.”

[Master's Inscription of the Storm] is a self-only shoulder enchant which can be cast on any of your own shoulders.

Currently the advantage of being an Inscriptionist over another profession is the shoulder enchant that has +37 Spell Power over using [Greater Inscription of the Storm], which requires exalted status with Sons of Hodir.

Jewelcrafting

“Jewelcrafters learn the art of creating beautiful jewelry and trinkets from metals and rare gems.”

• [Figurine - Twilight Serpent] is a bind on pick-up trinket you can make for yourself.
• [Runed Dragon's Eye] is a bind on pick-up gem you can create for yourself, but is unique so that you can only have 3 equipped at a time.

Currently the advantage of being a Jewelcrafter over another profession is +39 Spell Power if you use 3x [Runed Dragon's Eye] over 3x [Runed Scarlet Ruby].

Of course there are other Jewelcrafter only gems such as Haste, Hit, and Crit gems you can use. As well as Stamina, and Resilience gems for PvP.

Also being able to use these prismatic gems count towards the two Blue Gem requirement of the [Chaotic Skyflare Diamond].

Leatherworking

“Leatherworking is a crafting profession that goes hand-in-hand with the gathering profession of Skinning. You can also create armor kits, which are single-use items that give a permanent armor or statistic boost to any type of hand, leg, chest, and foot armor.”

• [Fur Lining - Spell Power] a self-only bracer enchant for Leatherworkers.

Currently the advantage of being a Leatherworker over any other profession is the bracer enchant that gives you +37 Spell Power over the normal bracer enchant you can get.

Tailoring

“Tailoring allows players to cut and weave various pieces of cloth into armor, bags, shirts, and other cloth items. They can learn powerful rare recipes as the highest levels which allow them to create powerful gear useful in raiding.”

• [Lightweave Embroidery] is a self-only cloak enchant that you can enchant on your own cloaks.
• [Sanctified Spellthread] is a spellthread that you can only put on your own pants.

Currently the benefits of being a Tailor versus the other professions, it is the weakest. [Sanctified Spellthread] is just cheaper to make than [Brilliant Spellthread]. Lightweave Embroidery will be getting a buff next patch though, so that it is worth taking over [Enchant Cloak - Greater Speed].