No World of Warcraft character is complete without professions! Along with their gold making potential, professions can provide powerful bonuses to your damage, healing, or survivability. This guide will go over the best professions for a Balance Druid in Cataclysm PvE content.
Best Professions
Engineering
- Synapse Springs give you 480 Intellect for 10 seconds and can be used once per minute, though it shares a cooldown with on-use trinkets.
- Nitro Boosts give you a mobility cooldown that doesn’t require you to shapeshift.
- Camouflage Bio-Optic Killshades are pre-raid BiS for Balance Druids.
- Jeeves and other convenience items are great for farming and solo questing.
Tailoring
- Lightweave Embroidery is a powerful cloak enchantment that can proc a 580 Intellect buff for 15 seconds.
- Master’s Spellthread is a cheaper version of Powerful Enchanted Spellthread specifically for Tailors.
- You can craft bags, Spellthread leg enchantments, and a magic carpet mount. You can also make Cloth armor, although it won’t be useful to you.
- Embersilk Nets can be useful and are Tailor-exclusive.
Useful Professions
Inscription
- Felfire Inscription offers 80 more Intellect than Greater Inscription of Charged Lodestone and saves you from having to farm Therazane reputation.
- Darkmoon Card: Volcano is a BiS trinket for Balance Druids in tier 11, and Scribes can make their own Darkmoon Cards to turn in for it.
- You’ll be able to craft glyphs, scrolls, and Off-hands, all of which can be useful to you or sold for a profit.
Alchemy
- Mixology gives you 80 bonus Intellect when you use a Flask of the Draconic Mind.
- Flask of Enhancement is a reusable flask item that you can use in easier content and PvP.
- Vibrant Alchemist Stone is an option while you’re gearing up but there are much better trinkets for Balance Druids.
- You’ll be able to craft your own flasks and potions and perform transmutations.
Enchanting
- Enchant Ring – Intellect gives a total of 80 bonus Intellect when used on both of your rings.
- You’ll be able to enchant all of your own gear.
- Often used as a sister profession to Tailoring since neither skill requires its own separate gathering profession and Tailored items can be disenchanted for use in Enchanting.
Jewelcrafting
- Brilliant Chimera’s Eye gives 81 bonus Intellect in total if you use 3 of them (which is the max you can have equipped).
- (This bonus gets reduced to 51 Intellect later on when Brilliant Queen’s Garnet is added.)
- You can prospect ore and craft gems, Necks, and Finger pieces.
- Stardust is a powerful buff to your Sparkle stat!
Blacksmithing
- Socket Gloves and Socket Bracer allow you to use two extra gems for a total of 80 bonus Intellect.
- (This bonus gets raised to 100 Intellect later on when Brilliant Queen’s Garnet is added.)
- You’ll be able to craft keys, enchanting rods, weapons, and plate armor, but most of it won’t be useful to you as a Druid.
Leatherworking
- Draconic Embossment – Intellect gives 80 more Intellect than Enchant Bracer – Mighty Intellect.
- You’ll be able to make Leather equipment for yourself and other players.
- You can also craft Leg Reinforcements and Armor Kits, which may be useful if you have a Feral offspec.
Sub-Par Professions
Herbalism
- Lifeblood gives you a healing ability that doubles as a powerful Haste cooldown.
- You’ll be able to gather herbs for use in other professions.
Skinning
- Master of Anatomy gives a passive 80 Critical Strike Rating.
- You’ll be able to gather skins and hides for use in other professions.
Mining
- Toughness gives a passive 120 Stamina bonus.
- You can gather ore and gems for use in other professions.
About the Author
Luxrah
I've been playing World of Warcraft on and off since vanilla, usually as a healer or caster and often as a guild leader. I play both retail and classic. I also love RPGs, sandboxes, and sims.