WoW professions guide: what is the best profession for a shaman?
As one of the few hybrid classes in World of Warcraft, shamans can choose to become healers (tree of restoration), caster (elemental tree), or melees DPS (tree of enhancement). Regardless of what you choose, shamans are an extremely fun class to play and can ultimately benefit from most professions.
While it’s not uncommon for a shaman profession guide to recommend Mining / Jewelery as a primary profession, Leatherworking and Skinning would be a better option overall for leveling up.
Leatherworking and fur
For seekers and grinders, skinning and leatherworking are ideal professions. All of the floor mats necessary for leveling both professions can be found during daily leveling, so there is absolutely no need to purchase expensive rugs from the Auction House. By leveling up Leatherworking, shamans can create an impressive pre-raid team, regardless of their talent specialization. The perk that comes with Skinning, Master of Anatomy, can be very useful for shamans, as it will add +32 to the critical strike rating.
Leatherworking can become a small side business, as both rogues and druids also require leather gear. Although shamans wear chainmail, many pieces of leather need to be crafted to improve their profession. These leftover leather sets can be sold to rogues and druids for a good profit.
Mining and jewelry
Jewelry is a popular choice for Alliance Shaman players, as Draeni, the only Alliance Shaman race, has a starting level of +10 in Jewelry. When combined with mining, jewelry can be very quick and easy to level. One of the best benefits of this profession is stone statues, which can heal a player as they level up. Gems can have some very nice stat upgrades and can also be placed in gear sockets. With the prospecting skill, a player can also extract gems from the minerals he receives during mining. Not only can you create unique and soul-bound gems, but you can also sell many of these gems for an impressive profit.
Other
Like many classes, herbalism and alchemy can always be a solid combination for shamans. Both are easy to level and save you money on potions. The Life Blood buff, which heals 2000 HP over 5 seconds, can easily become a lifesaver on the battlefield. The enchantment is also a popular choice, as there are some enchantments that can only be applied by becoming an enchantress (mainly ring enchantments). With Enchanting, shamans can create a very nice pre-raid outfit, especially when combined with Tailoring. Since Restoration and Elemental shamans often wear cloth armor, a Tailoring and Enchanting combo can really save some gold.
It’s hard to have a fully comprehensive WoW career guide because there are so many options to choose from. In the end, the WoW profession you choose depends entirely on your play style and your needs as a player.