WOTLK Ideal professions

I'm seriously considering dropping engineering. I've got mining and my goggles, but I kind of realize that (if blizz follows the same model as in BC) my goggles aren't that huge of an upgrade over raid gear. I've been thinking about grinding out JC as that's the biggest money maker at the moment. Any thoughts?
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whatisboom.com - Two parts rocket fuel, one part genius.

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i favor alchemy (4 hour flask and indestructible stone) as the cheapest profession to level without herbalism even. im sure i miss more out on extra sockets, but my better, longer flasks, and the 48 stam from ring enchants would say i wouldn't be rerolling two very expensive professions.

picking up new professions has draw backs... i dropped mining for alchemy cause i had an herbalist for pre-wrath mats. unless your made of gold, i'd suggest not redoing multiple professions.
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OP prot heals

JC/Alch here. I love my Mixology and 41stam gems. My Stoneblood flask gives me ~1000hp and lasts 4 hours.

I really don't get why people always overlook mining in these discussions. Mining gives as many hp as Enchanting or BS. I've been mining/jc since level 5 and can't see any downside.
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There is of course the obvious benefit you get from being a miner; the actual mining itself.
Besides getting the ore, you often get bonus Crystallized elements (all types except Life) depending on the vein type and the occasional gem as well. Prospecting ore yields lots of gems which directly supports gemcutting. Smelting Titansteel can give nice profits, 4-500g on my server per bar. (your server may differ and prices will most likely go down)

I'm a miner/JC and I'm very satisfied with the combo.

It helps of course that I have alts with almost all the other professions but frankly, JC without mining would feel empty and be very costly. My second choice if I couldn't take mining would probably be enchanting.
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Lorath, Human 80 Swedish Viking Tankadin, EU Bloodhoof
www.kingsandaces.eu

LW/Alchemy here. I still get +50 more stamina over the upcoming bracer enchant and I have the option of adding some resistance to my gear as needed without gimping myself. The 4 hour and extra strength flasks/elixirs are handy from alchemy, I have enough time on one flask to do a full raid and do my Sons of Hodir daily quests after.
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"I've come to the conclusion that I'm not actually living. I'm just killing time." - tiny ghosts, 74

Mrmmm, I had a looooong think about this pre-WotLK. Basically I decided upon BS and a profession to be named later. I dropped engy and alch, and levelled mining and BS. Mining was a better temp than either Eng or Alch imo, as it let me get a headstart on BS levelling without worrying about early exorbitant prices on the AH. The plan was to drop it once my hunter (who was also mining) hit 80, in favour of either LW or JC (I have to mats to level both to 375 in my bank atm). Back then LW was a clear winner for stam, but JC gave more flexibility in terms of being able to stack more than raw stam.

As others have said, I think BS is going to scale much better than other profs. Epic gems are a near guarantee, and their quality is fixed. Without having seen patch notes regarding new JC items, and their stats, I'm hesistant to invest in it, especially since once epic gems are available, JC loses a lot of its allure for a min/maxer. Sure, new JC-only gems might become available, but I could just as easily say that new BS-only sockets might too. Until it's guaranteed I'm hesistant.

I was on the verge of dropping mining for LW, but new patch notes (40 stam bracer enchant and 50 stam from mining) have changed my mind. I may pick up JC or I may keep mining. At the moment I'm happy to wait and see though.

One thing that I think profs like BS / JC / Enchanting have over Mining / LW in terms of raw stam is that the former all offer much more versatility. You can use them to augment holy / ret specs to the same extent, whilst something like Mining's static 50 stam is only useful to one spec.

Oh, and people vastly underrate enchanting's money making potential imo. I've had several maxed enchanters, and never sold an enchant in my life. Disenchanting is an absolute goldmine though.