The highest paying professions in WoW: Shadowlands

There are plenty of ways to make money in World of Warcraft—and Shadowlands is no exception. Almost all the professions in the game are sought after in one way or another, catered for raiding, dungeons, battlegrounds, and arena. 

If all you care about is gold, though, and making it as quickly and as effectively as possible, here’s a comprehensive guide to the highest paying professions in Shadowlands. 

1) Mining and Herbalism

Mining and Herbalism are two of the most valuable professions in WoW, offering essential resources. Ore and herbs can be sold in bulk on the auction house for a pretty penny, depending on your realm and the state of the market, but they can also be combined with other professions to make stacks of gold. Blacksmithing, Engineering, and Jewelcrafting need ore, while Alchemy, Inscription, and Leatherworking require herbs. 

The gathering professions are valuable when farming legacy content, too. Ore and herbs from previous expansions, like Elementium, Dark Iron, and Titanium ore for Mining, and Fadeleaf, Heartbloom, and Gromsblood for Herbalism, sell like hot cakes on the auction house.

2) Alchemy

Alchemy, similar to the two main gathering professions, provides a stable income of gold in WoW. Raiders and avid dungeon-runners will always be on the lookout for flasks and potions. On raid nights, especially, the profession can make bags of gold. Potions like Potion of the Spectral Agility, Intellect, Stamina, and Strength, and flasks like Spectral Flask of Power and Stamina will always be in high demand. But oils, such as Embalmer’s Oil for healers and Shadowcore Oil for ranged DPS, are valuable too.

3) Inscription

Inscription is one of the most underrated professions in WoW, catering to all sorts of end-game content in Shadowlands. Contracts, which provide a boost of reputation to factions like The Ascended, The Undying Army, The Wild Hunt, and the Court of Harvesters every time you complete a world quest, Missives, an essential reagent when crafting Legendary items, and Darkmoon cards, which can be handed in for a powerful trinket, are all highly lucrative.

4) Enchanting

Enchanting provides a steady income of gold, offering weapon, cloak, chest, bracer, glove, boot, and ring enchants. But disenchanting is where the profession comes into its own. When combined with Tailoring, Enchanting is especially profitable. Buying cloth from the auction house or gathering it in the open world, crafting cuffs or bracers, and disenchanting them can be a powerful gold-making tool.

5) Leatherworking and skinning

Leatherworking and skinning are well-worth pursuing. Balance changes to the game have shifted the priority for Legendary items, opening up avenues for the professions.

Players will be looking to upgrade or change their Legendaries in line with the meta, pushing up the price of base items. For this reason, skin will also be sought-after in the auction house.