Best Professions For Hardcore Mode

Hardcore is a different beast than vanilla World of Warcraft. In vanilla WoW you can take professions early to get ready for endgame when Raiding and group content is the main activity. But in WoW Hardcore, professions can be used to survive longer and make it to endgame in the first place.

In general, crafting professions aren’t worth picking up in WoW Hardcore, though there are two notable exceptions: Alchemy and Engineering. Most players will be able to make the most profit with dual Gathering professions, but there are advantages to taking either of these too. WoW Classic: Hardcore makes secondary professions much more relevant, too, as you don’t know when a Bandage in the middle of combat or a Well Fed buff will mean the difference between continuing or getting sent back to Character Creation.

1 Dual Gathering Professions

Sell Materials To Crafters For A Profit

It’s tough to make money in WoW Classic, let alone make Gold in WoW Hardcorewhen permanent death is on the line. You could spend your time crafting items or playing the Auction House to make Gold, but for most players, you will be able to make plenty of profit by going down the Dual Gathering route.

Skinning, Herbalism, and Mining are the three Gathering skills World of Warcraft Hardcore players can choose from. You only get two Main professions, though. Choose Herbalism and Mining if you want to try your hand at making Gold from the Auction House, but go with Skinning and either Mining or Herbalism and sell the skins to vendors for easier (but slightly less lucrative) gold from gathering.

2 First Aid

Bandages Are Essential in WoW Hardcore

In Hardcore World of Warcraft: Classic, First Aid is a practically required profession every player should take up. By using Linen and other cloth materials found out in the world, you will be able to craft Bandages that can be used in the middle of combat to heal.

This is an essential WoW Classic profession for classes without a self-heal, like Warriors and Rogues, which can stun an enemy and pop a bandage to recover HP. If you’re serious about making it far in Hardcore WoW, pick up First Aid as soon as possible and train higher-level bandages as soon as they are available.

3 Cooking

Gain Useful Buffs From ‘Well Fed’ Food

While First Aid is required, Cooking is not quite as necessary to survive in WoW Classic Hardcore mode. With Cooking, you can make food and drink to recover HP and Mana out of combat, and you can also learn Recipes that provide temporary buffs when consumed.

These buffs are usually small, but at high levels, you will want every advantage you can get to survive especially brutal endgame WoW Hardcore challenges. Plus, it gives you something to do with all those random Meat materials you will surely accumulate while adventuring in WoW Hardcore.

4 Alchemy

Potions Can Save Your Life In WoW Hardcore

Alchemy is one of two crafting professions WoW Hardcore mode players should consider picking up. Other crafting professions have useful benefits, and will be able to make things other classes need. But in terms of your own survivability, the best WoW Hardcore profession is either Alchemy or Engineering.

Alchemy is particularly useful because you can make Healing and Mana Potions for dire combat situations, potions that grant long-term buffs or useful utility (like underwater breathing), and other useful sources of self-support.

5 Engineering

Training Dummies & Bombs Are Still OP In WoW Hardcore

Engineering has long been considered the best WoW Classic profession – Hardcore WoW players shouldn’t be surprised it’s the best profession in this deadly game mode, too. In vanilla WoW Engineering is a great source for AoE damage for classes typically without it, as well as a host of helpful trinkets and gadgets.

But in Hardcore WoW, Engineering is the best profession for one reason: Training Dummies. These consumables can be placed in the world, and if any enemies are in combat with either you or an ally nearby, they will instantly be forced to attack the Training Dummy instead.

Training Dummies are one way you can “cheat” WoW Hardcore mode, as you can avoid death extremely easily with them. Place a Training Dummy to take the heat off, run out of range, and by the time it’s destroyed or despawns you’ll be out of the enemies’ aggro range.

Though you can recover some of your materials by looting the destroyed Training Dummy, WoW Hardcore players should be cautious heading back into hostile territory when it’s on cooldown.