World of Warcraft at Ten Ton Hammer

Like it or not, World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria is coming and the ridiculously adorable Pandaren are tagging along with it. As well as a brand new race, Mists of Pandaria will also introduce a new class; the Monk. Come release day, Pandaren Monks will be out in masses, taking over Azeroth one quest at a time. The question is…will you be joining them?

If the answer to this question is yes, then welcome to the club! If you have been lucky enough to have access to the beta, you probably already have some of the important details figured out. Details like; hairstyle, spec, color, etc. are all important in creating the perfect Pandaren Monk for you. However, there is one detail many players tend to overlook in all the excitement of character creation and questing; professions. While its easy to forget professions during the beta, when it comes time to play Mists of Pandaria on live servers, players will often find themselves scratching their heads in puzzlement.

Don’t let this happen to you when it comes to the question of what professions are best for the Pandaren Monk. Instead, read onward where you will find our top profession picks for the Pandaren Monk. These professions will not only help to make the Monk more powerful, but will ease the leveling process and hopefully turn a profit as well.

Top 5 Professions for the Pandaren Monk in Mists of Pandaria

Leatherworking

Monks wear leather. Why Blizzard has chosen leather for this new race instead of cloth, the world may never know. Nonetheless, Monks in WoW do indeed wear leather and they like it. While the Monk could technically put on some cloth duds, it is usually considered unwise to do so thanks in large part to the bonuses gained from wearing class appropriate armor. This is where the Leatherworking profession comes in. Taking up Leatherworking will allow the Pandaren Monk to provide themselves with some pretty decent gear while leveling up. Equipping good gear while leveling ultimately speeds up the leveling process and tends to make reaching 85 that much easier. Being able to level faster results in far fewer /headdesks, /facepalms, and /ragequits along the way and makes for an overall happier player base. Taking this into account, as well as the fact you can eventually market some of your goods for cold hard cash, choosing Leatherworking as one of your Pandaren Monk’s primary professions is almost a no-brainer.

Skinning

Which primary professions will fill your Monk's empty slots?

If you don’t know it already, Skinning and Leatherworking go hand in hand when it comes to the world of WoW professions. Skinning allows a player to expertly remove the skins and hides from the beasts they slaughter around Azeroth (and beyond). These skins and hides can then be used to create gear and other items using the Leatherworking profession. For the Pandaren Monk who is looking to trick themselves out in gear made with Leatherworking, Skinning is the only answer when it comes to choosing your second primary profession. However, if Leatherworking just isn’t for you, Skinning can still prove beneficial. Most of the skins and hides collected can be transferred to any Leatherworker on your server, so you can still manage get awesome gear created for your Monk without totally breaking the bank. Any leftover materials can then be sold on the Auction House to bring in a steady income that should be appealing to any player, not just the Pandaren Monk.

Alchemy

You may be wondering what Alchemy has to do with the Pandaren Monk. Well, the answer to that question is simply; everything! Every player across WoW, no matter their class, race, or play style will find that at one time or another they will want to load up on some buffs to help boost their characters DPS or healing abilities. This can easily be accomplished with the Alchemy profession which provides players with various potions, elixirs, and flasks that boost various stats. The Monk will find this especially useful as they level up, making quests easier and dungeons run smoother as they head towards level 85. As if an easier leveling experience wasn’t enough, many of the items created by the Alchemy profession are hot tickets on the Auction House and can easily earn the money savvy Pandaren Monk a pretty penny in almost no time at all.

Herbalism

Choosing Herbalism will allow the Monk to stop and smell the flowers, on top of making some serious cash.

Much like Skinning and Leatherworking, Alchemy and Herbalism are two of a king. With Herbalism players can literally stop and smell the flowers and even pick them too! These herbs can then be transformed, using the Alchemy profession, into powerful concoctions that can increase the power of the user. As mentioned above, these items are beneficial during the leveling process and can make the leveling process much less painful. Even if Alchemy is not the profession for you, Herbalism can still be useful. Not only can you provide other Alchemists with herbs to make potions, elixirs, and flasks for your Monk, but you can also become a very rich Pandaren by selling any leftover herbs on the Auction House.

Enchanting

Enchanting in Mists of Pandaria is where its at. By choosing Enchanting as one of their primary professions the Monk will be able to enchant their own pieces of gear, not only making it more powerful but also leveling the profession at the same time. With more powerful gear, the Monk will be able to slay enemies with far greater ease than players without enchants. The best part about Enchanting is that it is a mostly self-sufficient profession. Enchanters do not need a secondary skill to gather materials for enchants. Instead, Enchanters use the Disenchanting skill (learned with Enchanting) to break down magical items into byproducts that can then be used in enchants. As the Monk levels the Enchanting skill more powerful enchants will become available. These enchants can be sold to other players. With a slew of new and powerful enchants, as well as new gear to put those enchants on, coming at us in the new Mists of Pandaria expansion, any player with this profession will find themselves in high demand.

Which professions will you be learning on your Monk? Do they line up with the professions mentioned above? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below!