A key feature in many MMORPGs is the ability to produce items usable by yourself and fellow players. World of

Warcraft is no exception. Crafting is a large part of the game with each character allowed two primary professions

and all three of the secondary professions. The Burning Crusade expansion brought many new recipes to the game, as

well as a new crafting profession - Jewelcrafting.

However, even with the addition of new recipes and the new profession, many players feel that it's just not

enough. Crafting, to some, has become a waste of time and materials. Indeed, many WoW players choose only

gathering professions so that they may sell the materials on the Auction House.

This brings us to this week's topic: Are production professions (namely tailoring, blacksmithing,

leatherworking, alchemy, engineering, and jewelcrafting) worthwhile in the Burning Crusade? Scroll down to vote or

keep reading to see my view.

My View

Crafting is something that I look forward to in every new MMORPG. When WoW was first released, I was skeptical

about trying it for the simple fact that they stated that crafting, while present in the game, would not be a

priority. After trying the game though, the combat and the quests made me stay at it, while the crafting was a nice

perk. However, with the player base that they brag now, it cannot be denied that many players have jumped ship from

games with much more in depth crafting to WoW.

The Burning Crusade expansion gave some professions a wide variety of new recipes and patterns, while others had

new patterns added almost as afterthoughts. It is my humble opinion that the answer to the question of whether or

not production professions are worthwhile lies in the profession that you have picked.

Tailoring, cooking and alchemy are the three professions that I have noticed that have gotten significant

upgrades. Better bags, more foods that give stat bonuses, more and better potions and flasks, and nifty faction-

specific recipes are just a few examples of the enhancements that they professions have received in the

expansion.

However, professions such as engineering have received very few new recipes. Engineering (to keep that as an

example) is a profession that was already gimped in a way because engineers see very little return for their

crafting efforts. Sure, they get to blow stuff up and use nifty gadgets, but the vast majority of things that they

make can only be used by engineers. Attempting to sell things on the auction house is pretty much useless because

the items that can be used by fellow engineers can also be made by those fellow engineers. This is not even to

mention the fact that the majority of the materials that engineers use to make their explosives and gadgets can be

expensive.

What I'm trying to get to is that some production professions are very worthwhile. They can be a good way to

make money and enhance your character. However, while the combat in WoW is considered by some to be well-balanced,

the crafting professions are anything but. In order to make crafting in WoW worthwhile, the professions need

serious balancing. The professions that have high input costs need to be able to make that money back from the

items that they make. Bringing equality to the crafting will be the only thing to make crafting in WoW worthwhile.

But, as I remember, Blizzard said from the beginning that crafting would not be a priority in this game.

What do you think? Vote in our poll and join us in the discussion in the forums!