Every character in World of Warcraft can learn several professions: two primary professions (sometimes referred to as "tradeskills"), and all of the secondary skills. The primary professions are divided into two categories: gathering professions, which are used to harvest raw materials, and crafting professions, which use materials (often called "mats") to create items that are usable by players.

You may be wondering why you would want to spend your time in a game pretending to work at a profession. It's a fair question.

Professions help you in two major ways:

1. They can earn your character money, which can be used to purchase better items and item enhancements.
2. They can be used to create equipment (armor and weapons) and consumables (food, potions and the like) that make your character more powerful.

Some professions are good for any character, while others are better suited to particular character classes. We'll discuss that in the descriptions of each profession.