WoW Forever profession changes: everything that differs from Classic

WoW Forever keeps the Classic profession framework (two primary professions, three secondary ones, skill cap 300), but almost everything on top of it has changed: hundreds of new recipes, a new currency for buying patterns, healing potions in First Aid, a camping system for every profession and Legacy points for leveling crafts. This page sums up the differences and links to the detailed guide for each profession.

Recipe numbers, skill levels and item names come from the Forever game files (build 1.60.1.70790). Systems that are only described by early community guides are marked as such.

Ranks and level requirements

Level and skill requirements are as reported by early guides; training costs were not confirmed.

You can learn two primary professions and all three secondary ones (Cooking, First Aid, Fishing). Unlearning is done from the profession window (K); doing so removes all skill and every recipe you know. Skill-up colors work as before: orange always gives a point, yellow usually, green rarely, grey never. The colors in our recipe lists are Forever’s own values from the client.

New recipes

That is 931 new recipes in total, well above the “over 600” Blizzard mentioned before launch. Our number counts every recipe spell that is missing from the Classic Era client, camp objects included, so it is likely broader than Blizzard’s own count.

Even the first skill points are different. New starting recipes include Elixir of Minor Force and Minor Arcane Elixir for Alchemy, Dust to Motes and Novice’s Practice Wand for Enchanting, and Copper Rod for Blacksmithing.

Mining gains two new smelts: Smelt Azerothium (skill 275, 2 Pitchblende and 1 Coal) and Smelt Heavy Thorium (skill 300).

Artisan recipes moved to Plans and Patterns

In Classic, most Artisan recipes were bought from the trainer. In Forever, many of them are taught by recipe items instead, each with a minimum skill to learn:

• Blacksmithing: Plans: Thorium Belt (225), Plans: Thorium Bracers (230)
• Tailoring: Pattern: Runecloth Bag (215), Pattern: Runecloth Gloves (230), Pattern: Runecloth Boots (235)
• Leatherworking: Pattern: Wicked Leather Bracers (240)
• Engineering: Schematic: Thorium Widget (260)

The recipe list on each profession page shows whether a recipe comes from the trainer or from an item.

Merchant’s Favor, supply crates and vendors

Forever brings back the supply crate system known from Season of Discovery. You craft or gather the requested goods, turn in the crates and earn Merchant’s Favor, a currency spent at two new factions found in the game files: the Azeroth Commerce Authority (Alliance) and Durotar Supply and Logistics (Horde).

According to early guides, around 300 recipes are sold for Merchant’s Favor, through Stondry Darkhammer (Alliance) and Gor’mak (Horde). Reported examples are Blacksmithing plans: Crusader’s Boots (skill 85, 30 Favor), Officer’s Pauldrons (skill 210, 60 Favor) and Enriched Thorium Breastplate (skill 300, 120 Favor). The game files confirm these plans and their skill requirements, but not where every recipe is sold, so treat other vendor lists with care.

Healing potions moved to First Aid

The biggest shift between professions: Minor Healing Potion, Lesser Healing Potion and Healing Potion are First Aid trainer recipes now. Greater Healing Potion is also First Aid, taught by Manual: Greater Healing Potion (learn at 155). Alchemy keeps its own Discolored Healing Potion.

First Aid also gets new curatives such as Simple Poultice, Woolen Tourniquet and Clever Poultice, and its later bandages are partly taught by Manuals (for example Manual: Mageweave Bandage at 210).

Renamed recipes

Several familiar items have new names in Forever:

• Enchanting: “Minor Health” enchants are now Inferior Stamina (for example Enchant Bracer - Inferior Stamina), and “Mana” enchants are now Intellect.
• Alchemy: Elixir of Water Walking is Draught of Water Walking, Elixir of Lion’s Strength is Elixir of Minor Strength, and the detection potions are Draught of Detect Undead and Draught of Detect Demon.

If you search for a Classic name and find nothing, look for the new one.

Camping

Every profession, including gathering and secondary ones, now has three camp objects at skill 20, 140 and 300. Cooking builds the campfire, the others place objects around it, and resting at the camp gives a one-hour buff. Higher tiers are taught by Blueprints that drop in dungeons. The full object list with materials is in our camping guide.

Gathering manuals

Gathering can be started from an item: Mining for Dummies, Wild Harvest and Pelt Collecting for Beginners reportedly teach Mining, Herbalism and Skinning and add 2 skill points (up to 15). Gathering skill-ups follow the same color logic as crafting.

Legacy points and profession perks

Forever has account-wide Legacy progression. According to early guides, crafting professions (Alchemy, Blacksmithing, Enchanting, Engineering, Leatherworking and Tailoring) award one Legacy point the first time your account reaches 150, 225 and 300 in each of them. Gathering and secondary professions do not award points, so leveling a second or third crafting profession on an alt has value of its own.

Profession-related Legacy perks reported at launch:

• Working Overtime: higher chance of a skill-up
• Bountiful Harvest: more scarce materials from gathering
• Master Chef: chance of an extra Cooking result
• Performance Bonus: more Merchant’s Favor per supply crate
• Luremaster: extra fish while using a lure
• Bartering: cheaper vendor goods (not training or repairs)
• Dedicated Study: daily +1 skill to your lowest profession

Exact values are launch values and may be tuned, so we leave the numbers out.

Profession guides

Each profession page has a skill-up route, trainers, recipe sources and the Forever recipe list: Alchemy, Blacksmithing, Enchanting, Engineering, Leatherworking, Tailoring, Herbalism, Mining, Skinning, Cooking, First Aid and Fishing.