WoW Forever Mining: Which Profession Should Go With It?

THE SHORT VERSION Pick Blacksmithing or Engineering if you want to turn your ore into gear and gadgets. Mining is the natural match for both, because they run on the bars you smelt. Pick Herbalism or Skinning if you would rather collect and sell raw goods. Skip the rest unless you have a reason, because Alchemy, Enchanting, Tailoring and Leatherworking do not use ore.

Mining takes one of your two primary profession slots. The other slot decides what your ore becomes. Dig a vein, smelt a bar, and then either craft it yourself, hand it to a friend, or sell it.

So the real question is not “Is Mining good?” It is “What do I want my ore to turn into?” This guide follows the ore from the vein to the finished item, so you can see which profession uses it best. Coins are shown as g (gold), s (silver) and c (copper).

What Mining Gives You on Day One

Mining starts easier than it ever has.

Trainers in the starter zones. Both factions have a Junior Mining Trainer near the start, such as Kelsey Fargo in Northshire. An early beginner quest also trains the skill for free.
Poor Copper Veins. These new veins in the starter zones often give just one hit, so level 1 characters can mine Copper Ore and Rough Stone and start raising skill right away.
Cheap bag space. Vendors and trainers sell a 4-slot reagent bag for 25c.
Crowds help. Ore nodes come back faster when more players are nearby. On launch day, caves such as Fargodeep and Jasperlode can respawn so quickly you can level without chasing routes in the open world.
One skill point per node. A node can take several swings to clear, but it gives at most one skill point.

Rare drops. Mining nodes can now drop scarce bonus items on top of normal ore, stone and gems. They are called Pyrite, Bauxite and Pitchblende, and they are used in several endgame crafting professions.

Bountiful Harvest. This Legacy perk has 5 ranks. Each rank adds 20% more scarce drops, for up to 100% at the top. It only boosts the rare drops. It does not double normal ore.

Working Overtime. Another Legacy perk. At full rank it gives up to a 20% chance of an extra skill-up while you gather.

Follow the Ore: Who Uses What You Dig Up

Before you pick your second profession, check who actually needs your materials.

Profession	Uses your Mining output?	How
Blacksmithing	Yes, heavily	Bars, grinding stones and gems for weapons and armor
Engineering	Yes, heavily	Bars, stone chunks and gems, plus some cloth and other items
Herbalism	No	Gathers herbs, a separate supply
Skinning	No	Gathers hides, a separate supply
Alchemy	Not directly	Runs on herbs
Enchanting	No	Works on gear and cloth
Tailoring	No	Runs on cloth
Leatherworking	No	Runs on leather and hides

The scarce drops from Mining are used in a few endgame professions, but the guides do not list which recipes. Check the recipe before you hoard them.

Mining + Blacksmithing: The Forge Route

Why it clicks. Blacksmithing is the profession Mining feeds best. Rough Stone and Copper Bars come straight from your pick, and higher bars run all the way up to Heavy Thorium. You make weapons and plate, and you can sell Bind-on-Equip pieces, rods and keys.

The catch. Blacksmithing is slow and uses a lot of materials to level. Some supplies, such as Coal and Flux, still need buying.

Camp bonus. Blacksmiths can place a Sharpening Wheel for a Strength and Agility buff, and later an Anvil or Master Forge to craft at camp.

Pick it if: you play a Warrior or Paladin, or any plate or mail wearer, and want your own gear.

Mining + Engineering: The Tinkerer’s Route

Why it clicks. Engineering is the other profession that lives on ore. Most of its materials are metal bars, stone and gems from Mining. You can craft bombs, gadgets and tools, and you can even make the Goblin Mining Helm, which adds +5 Mining.

The catch. At skill 200, you choose between the Goblin and Gnomish specializations through a quest chain. Switching later means unlearning and relevelling the profession. Engineering also gives no passive bonus, and some recipes need cloth.

Camp bonus. Engineers build a Reagent Bot to sell for you, a Repair Bot to fix your gear, and later a workbench for high-level recipes.

Pick it if: you love utility and want strong tools for dungeons, PvP and raids.

Mining + Herbalism: The Double Gatherer

Why it clicks. Two gathering professions mean no crafting costs, so almost everything you collect is profit. Bountiful Harvest boosts the rare drops from both professions.

The catch. Your minimap can only track herbs or minerals at one time. Players solve this two ways:

A switch macro. Put a short macro on your bar that flips between Find Herbs and Find Minerals with one key.
An icon addon. NodeSight puts herb and ore icons on your minimap, so you can see both.

Race and class help. Tauren can pick herbs even with no Herbalism skill, and get double yield if they have it. Druids can gather herbs in Travel Form.

Pick it if: you want steady coin for your mount and do not care about crafting.

Mining + Skinning: The Hides and Ore Pair

Why it clicks. Two more gatherers with no crafting costs. Beasts give you hides and leather to sell to a vendor while you quest, and ore sells to crafters.

The catch. The two professions send you to different places: beasts in the open and veins in hills and caves. You often choose one for each trip.

Pick it if: you want a second gathering pair and prefer beasts to herbs.

Our Skinning guide covers hide farming and the best pairs in more detail.

Mix-and-Match Pairs

These four combos do not use ore. They can still work, but your Mining will mostly be a gold side job.

Pair	What works	What does not
Mining + Alchemy	Potions are always in demand and ore sells to others	Alchemy needs herbs, so you buy or gather those separately
Mining + Enchanting	Enchants are useful at every level and ore income pays for materials	Mining gives Enchanting nothing to work on
Mining + Tailoring	You can sell ore and make bags and cloth gear	Cloth comes from humanoids, not veins
Mining + Leatherworking	Works if a friend supplies leather	You need hides, and your ore has no use in leather crafting

Pick by Class

Class	Common Mining pair	Why
Warrior	Blacksmithing while leveling, Engineering at the cap	Plate gear first, then utility
Paladin	Blacksmithing while leveling, Engineering for Protection and Retribution	Same plate path
Hunter	Engineering	Firearms, scopes, ammo and pet gadgets
Rogue	Engineering	Stun grenades and reflectors
Mage	Engineering	Strong for dungeon pulls
Druid, Shaman, Priest, Warlock	Usually another pair	These classes more often pick Leatherworking, Alchemy or Tailoring. Mining works as a gold side job

Skill Levels That Matter

Skill	What you can do
1	Mine Copper
65	Mine Tin, and start the Bronze trick
75	Mine Silver and smelt it
125	Mine Iron and smelt it
155	Mine Gold and smelt it
175	Mine Mithril
230	Mine True Silver and Dark Iron
245	Mine Small Thorium
275	Mine Rich Thorium and smelt the Azerothium Bar
300	Mine Heavy Thorium and use the Molten Foundry

Trainer ranks. Journeyman raises your cap to 150 (train at 50). Expert raises it to 225 (train at 125). Artisan raises it to 300 (train at 200).

Smelting tips.

Iron stops giving skill around 140.
Gold gives no skill after 185.
The Bronze trick. Save raw Copper and combine it with Tin at 65 Mining to make 2 Bronze per craft. It gives skill points up to 115.
Small Thorium veins need 245, but Thorium smelting only opens at 250.
At 275, go for Rich Thorium veins, because they can drop Arcane Crystal for Arcanite Bars.

Camp Items and Skill Boosters

Item	What it does
Loadstone (20 Mining)	Made from 1 Rough Stone and 1 Copper Bar. Gives nearby players an Attack Power buff for 1 hour. Does not stack with Blessing of Might
Rock Garden (140 Mining)	Made from 2 Heavy Stone, 1 Iron Ore and 1 Silver Bar. Keeps the buff and grows a mining node at your camp. The plan drops from Relic Guardian in the Wetlands excavation site, about 7% of the time
Molten Foundry (300 Mining)	Needed to smelt Heavy Thorium bars and make top crafts
Miner’s Cape	+2 Mining. Level 17 Bind-on-Pickup from Miner Johnson in the Deadmines
Rockslicer	Level 18 weapon from the Deadmines with 30 charges that mines veins with no Mining skill
Glove enchants	+2 Mining, or +5 with the advanced version. They let you mine ore a few skill points early
Goblin Mining Helm	+5 Mining, crafted by Engineers

Your Day One Mining Plan

Check Waylaid Crates first. Before you smelt everything, see what your faction’s crates need. Fill them with raw ore or bars to earn reputation and Merchant’s Favor, which buys early crafting recipes.
Mine in the starter zone. Players report that a focused hour of starter-zone mining can give 5g to 10g or more through early auction sales, because crafters and crate-fillers need large amounts of Copper and Tin bars.
Pick a cave on launch day. Crowds make nodes respawn fast, so use ore-rich caves and skip long open-world routes.
Keep some Copper. Save it for the Bronze trick at 65 Mining.
Use your Legacy points on Bountiful Harvest. It boosts scarce drops, which are the most valuable thing your pick can find.
Compare your plan with our gold farming guide if you want to see how Mining fits next to other methods.

FAQ

What is the best profession to pair with Mining in WoW Forever? Blacksmithing and Engineering, because both use the ore and bars you mine. Pick Herbalism or Skinning if you only want raw gold.

Can I have Mining and Herbalism together? Yes. You get two primary professions per character, and both are gathering professions. Your minimap can only track herbs or minerals at once, so use a switch macro or an icon addon like NodeSight.

Does Mining work with Alchemy? It works, but Alchemy runs on herbs, not ore. You would buy or gather herbs separately.

What are Pyrite, Bauxite and Pitchblende? Scarce bonus drops from Mining nodes. They are used in endgame crafting, and Bountiful Harvest can raise how often they drop.

How much does Bountiful Harvest add? Up to 100% more scarce drops at full rank (5 ranks, 20% each). It does not increase normal ore.

Can I mine without the Mining profession? Yes. The Rockslicer, a Deadmines drop, can mine Copper, Tin, Silver and Iron veins with 30 charges.

When should I train Mining ranks? Journeyman at skill 50, Expert at 125 and Artisan at 200.

Which classes should take Mining? Warrior, Paladin, Hunter, Rogue and Mage often take it with Blacksmithing or Engineering. Other classes can still use it for gold.