PvE Affliction Warlock Best Professions

When you’re aiming to squeeze out every possible point of DPS, even your character’s professions make a difference. In Mists of Pandaria Classic, your Affliction Warlock will get the most from professions that increase their primary stat, Intellect, while also providing unique benefits you can’t get elsewhere.

Best Professions

There are two professions that offer the most value to damage dealers in MoP Classic. Engineering brings a strong stat bonus and many unique gadgets that can contribute to both damage and utility. Blacksmithing is the most flexible of the other options, which makes it stronger as the expansion progresses and secondary stats gain value.

Blacksmithing

• Socket Bracer & Socket Gloves
  You’ll be able to add gem sockets to your bracers and gloves, which will allow you to slot in either 2 additional red gems for a 320 Intellect bonus or 2 additional yellow gems for an extra 640 Mastery. This flexibility is what puts Blacksmithing above other professions as you progress and secondary stats become more valuable.
• Crafted Items
  Unfortunately, most of what you can craft as a Blacksmith will not be useful to you as a Warlock, including plate and mail armor, weapon chains, and shield spikes. You’ll be able to make your own belt buckles as well as an early weapon, but that’s about it.

Engineering

• Synapse Springs
  This gadget can be attached to your gloves and stacks with other enchants. It gives a 1920 Intellect buff for 10 seconds on a 1-minute cooldown, which averages out to be roughly equivalent to 320 steady Intellect if used on CD. The advantage of this over other profession bonuses is that you have more control over it and can maximize your damage when it makes sense to do so. This is especially useful for you as an Affliction Warlock due to the importance of snapshotting.
• Crafted Items
  Lightweight Retinal Armor is a powerful piece of early equipment for your head which you can socket with special Cogwheel Gems. Frag Belt is a nice bonus as well, letting you deal some extra damage on a 1-minute cooldown. You can also make Ghost Iron Dragonling, which is a decent pre-raid piece. You can craft lots of other Engineer-exclusive gadgets that won’t affect your DPS, but can provide a lot of convenience to you and your group, including Gnomish Army Knife for an out-of-combat rez.

Good Professions

All other crafting professions in Mists of Pandaria offer similar stat bonuses equal to about 320 Intellect. Enchanting and Tailoring are always a popular combination for Warlocks since both are useful, neither requires a gathering profession, and they have a good synergy together. Your choice of professions may also depend upon what professions you have access to through your alts, friends, or guild.

Alchemy

• Mixology
  You’ll get an extra 320 Intellect from your flasks, and they’ll last twice as long.
• Crafted Items
  Alchemist’s Flask gives you a nice little reusable consumable item for farm and solo content where you won’t otherwise be able to benefit from your Mixology perk. Zen Alchemist Stone is a nice early trinket which increases the effect of health and mana potions by 40% along with its flat 809 Mastery and an Intellect proc. You can also make all of your own potions and elixirs, and you’ll be able to transmute gems and ore.

Enchanting

• Enchant Ring – Greater Intellect
  You can enchant your rings for 160 Intellect each, 320 total.
• Crafted Items
  You’ll be able to enchant your own gear, and disenchant Bind-on-Pickup items that you acquire for valuable enchanting materials.

Inscription

• Secret Crane Wing Inscription
  You’ll get this inscription for your shoulders, which gives 320 Intellect more than the next best shoulder enchantment.
• Crafted Items
  Scribes can make their own glyphs. They can also craft Darkmoon Cards that can be combined to make Relic of Chi-Ji, a best-in-slot Phase 1 trinket for Affliction Warlocks. You don’t need to have Inscription to get or use this item, but it will be very expensive to buy it. You’ll also be able to make some upgradeable staves and off-hands, including Inscribed Crane Staff and Inscribed Red Fan, and these items are Bind-on-Account and can be shared with your alts.

Jewelcrafting

• Brilliant Serpent’s Eye & Fractured Serpent’s Eye
  You’ll be able to cut these special gems, which each give you 160 more stats over the next best option. You can use two of these gems at a time, amounting to 320 bonus Intellect or Mastery total. Like Blacksmithing, this makes Jewelcrafting a bit more flexible as secondary stats gain value, but the secondary stat bonus is a bit lower.
• Crafted Items
  Jewelcrafters can cut their own gems. They can also craft some pre-raid rings and amulets, but those are BoE and don’t require Jewelcrafting to use.

Leatherworking

• Fur Lining – Intellect
  You’ll be able to apply this special enchantment to your bracers, which gives 320 more Intellect than the next best bracer enchantment.
• Crafted Items
  Leatherworkers can make leather and mail equipment as well as armor kits, none of which are useful to you as a Warlock.

Tailoring

• Lightweave Embrodery
  Tailors can apply this special enchantment to their cloak. It gives 2000 Intellect for 15 seconds every 1 minute, averaging to 320 Intellect above the next best cloak enchant. This is a proc, so it can be unpredictable, but it can also be nice for snapshotting as an Affliction Warlock.
• Crafted Items
  You’ll be able to craft all sorts of cloth gear, which you can actually use, although none of it requires you to have Tailoring to equip it. You can also make your own bags as well as spellthreads for your pants.

Sub-Par Professions

The bonuses from gathering professions aren’t quite as strong as those from crafting professions. If you take a gathering profession, you’ll be losing out on the stronger stat bonuses from one of the crafting professions. Herbalism’s bonus is more competitive than Mining or Skinning, but you will still be missing out on potential Intellect.

Herbalism

• Lifeblood
  You’ll gain this cooldown that gives a small heal and also grants 2880 Haste for 20 seconds.
• Gathering
  In addition to herbs that can be used in Alchemy and Inscription, you’ll be able to collect Life Spirit and Water Spirit from herb nodes, but these share a cooldown your potions.

Skinning

• Master of Anatomy
  Maxing out your Skinning nets you a passive 480 Critical Strike buff, which isn’t as good for you as the Intellect buffs offered by crafting professions.
• Gathering
  You’ll be able to skin mobs for leather, hide, and scales to be used in Leatherworking.

Mining

• Toughness
  For maxing out your Mining skill you get a passive 480 Stamina buff, which isn’t that useful to you as a DPS.
• Gathering
  You’ll be able to collect and smelt ore for use in Blacksmithing or Engineering, and gems for use in Jewelcrafting.

Cooking Specializations

In Mists of Pandaria, the Cooking profession offers some benefits to endgame characters through the new specializations that are available. Characters with the appropriate specialization will receive additional stats when they eat from a Banquet of that specialization. You’ll also be able to make your own food, with the best food options only being craftable by cooks of the appropriate specialization.

Affliction Warlocks will want to prioritize the Way of the Pot for Intellect food.