Profession specialisations catch up : Why isn't there any?

Gameplay Professions
1

Hello there,

So, as the title mentions, I don’t understand why we don’t have any catch up possible with professions.
It’s the one thing people HATED from early Shadowlands about covenants, and Blizzard did it again, at an even worst scale. Because even in the early patches of SL, you could switch Covenant, it was a pain, but doable, to catch up renown etc.

Right now, if like me, you picked a profession week 1 and farmed every point and did every quest each week, you’ll have quite a nice filled specializations trees.

I went with Alchemy and Herbalism, which at first seemed great, but now I don’t have enough playtime to do the content (weekly Raids and M+ for the vault) and farm herbs.
So I considered taking another profession, like jewelcrafting, which I had before herbalism, but when I see the amount of points I would need for just one type of craft, it’s demoralizing, I would need so much points, and many weeks in order to achieve that, and I would never be able to catch up with anyone who started even a week before me…

So I was wondering, why wasn’t there a catch-up system available in 10.0.0, but even more, why didn’t it get added later in 10.0.5 or 10.0.7 which are usually the patches used by Blizzard to implement QoL changes.

I mean, I could see a system around crafts from either Inscription or even a cool one like it would be jewelcrafters with 100/100 and max rep to the consortium that could craft “Advanced draconic master classes” that would give you something like 5, 10, 25, 50 or 100 for a cost of any linked reagent to the profession in question + as many mettle as points you would get, with the 5 spec points being rank 1 craft, and 100 rank 5, and wouldn’t be linked to inspiration or multicraft.

Just a random suggestion on the matter.

But as a profession enjoyer, I usually level up professions on my alts, but this expansion is just the worst one ever for alt’s professions.
In order to get important things for any given profession, you would both need to have started your alt’s professions week 1 AND have farmed reputations renown, which if you aren’t unemployed isn’t really doable.

Pretty please, Blizzard, add something for players to catch up on profession specialization points.

Have a good day, fellow crafters and gatherers.

2

There is a catch up.

Once you Max Rank Artisans Consortium you can buy 30 Knowledge points from them. That is a huge helping hand when you consider all of the other points that are available to you from the Get go (One time Prof Treasures, Trainer and Weeklies), and then Dragonshards drop alot more regularly for lower KP’d Characters.

Once you get to the point where you can comfortably craft one or two items, you’ll just carry on with your weeklies as you continue to progress through the system.

If they expanded on the Skill Trees in 10.1, I would be asking for a catch up aswell. But since the Skill trees haven’t been changed, I think the current system for obtaining KP is fine.

You can’t find 30 minutes per week to do the Weekly KP?

3

I totally agree with you on everything. I have also only seriously done prof content on my main only cause it is the one with substantial KP.
Considering that KP gain was incredibly busted at launch which led to so many people having maxd out KP second week of the expac i think a catchup like the renown catchup would be very appreciated.

The average prof has about 300 total KP points in the various trees so the 30 you get from consortium rep + the 15 i believe from the 1 time treasures is not even close to closing the gap.

1 Like
4

No it’s not. But it’s enough to get started with your profession and maxing out your first item. And don’t forget increased Dragon Shard drop rate as well, if you want to catch up you can farm those.

As I said previously, if they were updating the Skill Trees and more KP was required, then I would understand the need for a dedicated catch up system.

But it looks like this will be our Trees for the rest of the expansion. So if you play the game and do you 30 mins a week Weekly quests like everyone else, you’ll catch up soon enough.

But if you’re looking to max out an item, 2 or 3 weeks maximum. Once you’re maxed out on that item, you are caught up. You can then focus on growing your profession into other items.

5

Pretty sure 1 item requieres atleast 2 nodes maxd out, atleast when it comes to gear and weapons so thats 60 points so actually about 5 weeks to be able to craft 1 item.
And also i dont know about other gear profs like LW but im a blacksmith and we have a 3 node inspiration tree that you also need to have maxd out in order to get any customers which means 90 more points which is about 8 weeks.

So in summary rounded down thats 3 months to craft 1 item type of the same quality as someone elses main. Now i am excluding other KP sources like you mentioned the 1 time treasures, dragonshard rares etc. But if you have 5 alts that you play and want to do prof on its not feasible to farm rares on all of them if you have a life outside wow.

6

My first BS item was Unstable Frostfire Belt. It was 3 weeks, for the sake of being generous I’ll say maybe 4 weeks before it was maxed out.

Don’t forget all the extra KP you get from doing First crafts aswell. And buying the PVP recipes on AH etc etc. Those points add up quickly.

I distinctly remember that craft because it was a few weeks into the expansion, and the recipe dropped for me. But I had not even touched my Blacksmithing at that point. So I fully invested into that 1 item.

Leatherworking felt alot harder than my other profs. But I didn’t start that until much later in the expansion. I can pretty much only do Venom Steeped Boots and today I maxed out Bow. However, if I had focused my Points into general armour it wouldn’t had felt so horrible.

As someone who has multiple professions including BS, Inscription, Tailoring, Enchanting, Leatherworking and Jewelcrafting, I will confirm for you using my experience that your statement is not true. (I also have alchemy, but I don’t keep up with that one)

I think a big problem you’re having is that you feel you need to have everything maxed out all at once. You should stop doing that. Look at what you need, and focus on that item. Start small and then work your way up.

Non participation in doing weeklies etc, is not a reason to need a catch up. The idea of the new system is to encourage engagement, not to sit around and wait for it to be free.

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7

Im not saying its impossible. Ofc i know i will “get there” eventually, im only saying its unfeasible when the only engaging way of getting it is from rares on set spawn timers. Would have been different if you could get it from doing other forms of content imo, then i would consider it engaging but currently it is not, its timegated.

8

You can collect Dragonshards from Dirtpiles and Expedition Packs aswell. Also the drop from M+ and Raids.

I do find that they tend to drop more regularly on my Alts who are further behind, than on my Mains. But I tend to switch between alts alot, so I couldn’t tell you the experience I get from playing Alt full time.

P.S I’m not opposed to there being a thicker and faster way of getting KP. I would love that :smiley:

I’m just pointing out, it’s not as much of an impossible task as it might feel :).

9

Dirts and expedition packs are just as mining and herb deposits actually also timegated, you dont get more KP from them if you are behind. From my experience the max KP you can get per week is 3 from dirts, packs and mining/herb deposits.

And honestly farming those things is the same type of content as farming dragonshard rares honestly. Just flying around the dragon isles waiting for rares to spawn, waiting to find an expedition pack.

Imagine doing that on every single alt for weeks on end. People sometimes dont even have the energy to do their weekly keys on every single one of their alts…

10

Totally agree, people just cant grasp specialization concept, you start with one item on week 2 or 3 and then branch out to other items, this is not the system where you xan be equally good at everything as before.
Also, people are too much focused on crafting gear, while there are much more every profession can do and with that profit you can buy gear from someone else. And there is no need to max profession trees to be able to craft max gear, recrafting exist for a reason.

11

There are 2 weekly KP per profession from them. But you can also get Dragonshards from them undated.

Oh mate, I don’t need to imagine that. I’ve haven’t missed a single week on character since they started that profession. Enchanting, Tailoring and Inscription hasn’t missed a week all expansion.

Yes it is alot, but generally doesn’t take longer than 30 mins per character. I respect I probably play a little bit more than some people. But I generally try to do 1 char per day and then catch up on a Tuesday night.

Yes it’s a massive chore, but every time you check off one of those Talent trees it’s so satisfying know that you’re profession is a little bit better.

You can be busy crafting a few items, but you’re gradually working on building someone else in the background to add to your portfolio.

Trust me, the work is worth it.

12

Its very true. You sell you items, and then have little “projects” in the background where you’re working towards something else. Then all of a sudden you have a new item to add to your portfolio and a new project to start.

13

The weekly prof quest that give in total like 12 points or smnth i have no problem doing on alts. Call me a casual, but flying around the dragon isles farming dragonshards from rares packs and dirts nonstop when the droprate from packs and dirts is 0.5 and 0.9 respectively is just too much of a time investment.
If blizzard dont want to as you said, give the players KP for free with a catchup mechanic they could atleast make the farming engaging instead. Make KP obtainable from doing actual content like m+, arenas or raiding, that would be an engaging and rewarding system imo.

14

I don’t do it either. But if you’re that desperate you can do that. But it’s not required. I personally am no where near maxed on any of my profession skill trees. Yet, I am still happily on these forums to gloat about my successes.

As I said previously, KP catch up is enough at the moment, with the extra 30 you get from Artisan Consortium (from having Esteemed on another character), One time treasures and trainer, Weekly, and first time crafts. That puts you in a good position to start.

From a new profession is takes 2-3 weeks to Max out your first item. Once that item is Maxed out, you have caught up with everyone else who can craft that item. You start growing your portfolio from there.

If they were adding to Skill Trees each patch then I would understand adding a catch up mechanic. But since the Skill Trees are remaining the same, you just need to put the time and effort into skilling them up.

And you do get KP from doing Raids and M+. Arena’s doesn’t need KP because crafted PVP equipment doesn’t rely on Quality since it automatically scales to 424 anyway.

15

Is there some source to confirm this ? Because even when I didn’t have a lot of KP I looted the same amount I loot today on my main, which is something like 1 per week on average with killing a dozen rare or so that loot those + 2 full clean of the raid and at least 8 M+. I’ll try to do a quick run in NM to check if I get more than usual.

Also, didn’t loot any more than I did on my main when I started alchemy a month after the release of DF on my alt after switching from Herbalism. And I was rare farming.

I need to add some precision because people don’t seem to understand what I mean when I’m talking about the catch-up. KP buyable from PNJ, you get from the 4 other reputations, or you get from first crafts aren’t the KP I’m talking about.

When I’m asking about catch-up, it only concerns the 330 KP that you’d got from the 11 weekly KP you can obtain with the 2 quests + draconic treaty + 4 lootable KP from Disturbed Dirts and mobs, which, if done every week since release, adds up to 330 points today in US, tomorrow in EU.

I’m sorry, what ? Do you have a time machine, so I can create an alt first day of the expac, then I’ll do a jump to each week since release to farm the KP ? I do farm my points on the chars I did play in DF so far, but sorry, no I didn’t predict there wouldn’t be any catch-up of any sort at all for professions as it was to my opinion a design even worse than covenant in the early days of SL.
At least in SL, even if the switch wasn’t easy, it was doable, and you could catch up on renown. Here you can’t catch up anything, nor you will ever be able to.
It means that you won’t be able to reach the current level of specialization of any Day 1 players if you start now by the end of the expac.

16

Probably, but I haven’t got one to hand. you’re free to look for one though if you need the confirmation.

I’m just going on my own experience of my newly dinged level 70 getting 5 dragon shards in 1 week by just playing the game, and yet my Mage who has been very active in the professions and hasn’t missed a week of weeklies got 1.

Yeh, I know what you mean.

No, I don’t think they should do that. Increase the drop rate even further for Dragonshards or double the rewards from Weekly quests, for sure I can get behind that. But not what you are asking.

That kind of catch up method isn’t necessary and would be counter productive for all the hard work other players have put into their professions.

As previously stated, it takes 2-3 weeks to max out your first item. At that point you are caught up for that item. You then carry on to grow your portfolio.

Yes, but you don’t need to have a catch up. You’re not supposed to be caught up on Day 1 on a new Alt. It’s supposed to be a fun system of progression, not a “I’ll just wait until I can skip it” system.

You don’t need 330 points to turn a profit in the profession system. 330 just opens up more options to you.

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17

And also.

No, there is not. At the moment (and forever, as Blizzard doesn’t plan to add any) you have no way to get even a decent portion of the 330 KP that were only obtained from weekly lootables, quests, and treaties.

That’s the whole point from my post.

18

Yes I realise that is the point of your post.

But I disagree that is it needed. I personally think that the process of KP acquisition and progression of the talent trees over time is the core point of the System.

Having a catch up which gives you 330 points for making a new character is just counter productive to it.

By all means, speed up the process. But my god don’t just give us an instant catch up boost as if we had played for 5 months solid.

19

Agreed

as much as i love the new profession system the most confusing part is that theres no catchup, so if u play with certain professions for half the season and change your mind you are never gonna achieve the same power since theres no catchup

20

There is some catchup on 10.1ptr, items you can loot in new zone and give 3 KP. Cant say how many there are, I just looted 3 of them.