Will 425 be enough?

[Dartken]

I have a couple alts with professions, and I just don't really feel like blowing the gold to level them past 425 if, when cata releases, they will do what has been done in the past. When wrath released, if you had 350 you were golden and could level to 375 with complete ease. Will this be the case for cata?

[Graybeard87]

Yes

[Deleted]

Well unless you can get the materials yourself, I would recommend you level the professions to 450. With cataclysm, prices will go up a huge amount, so it's smarter to buy all your stuff now.

[llubtoille]

looking at wowhead
no for alchemy
yes for blacksmith
no for enchanting (appears to start at 440)
yes for engineering
no for inscription (appears to start at 440)
yes for JCing
yes for LWing
no for tailoring (appears to start at 435?)

but honestly, I reckon a few profs in wowhead might be a bit mixed up, so I'd imagine they all start Cata at 425

[Tsudots]

For gathering professions you should be fine at 425. I haven't taken the time to lvl my skinning/mining on my farming alt for that reason since I'm lazy and it will be easy to get them up later once cata hits.

If the skinning level requirements follow the same scaling then a 450 skinner will be able to skin anything up to lvl 90 anyway.

[Geckomayhem]

Technically they will start from 425. However, it might just pay to try and get them a tad higher to save on Cataclysm mats. Unless you intend to farm them yourself, expect to pay horrendous amounts in the first few days, if not weeks, for even the most basic reagents.

[Dartken]

Technically they will start from 425. However, it might just pay to try and get them a tad higher to save on Cataclysm mats. Unless you intend to farm them yourself, expect to pay horrendous amounts in the first few days, if not weeks, for even the most basic reagents.

So does that mean that i could expect to make unbelievable amounts of money from farming with my alts?

[Geckomayhem]

So does that mean that i could expect to make unbelievable amounts of money from farming with my alts?

Absolutely. Check this JMTC post for a few more details. It's a pretty good source. I'm going to really focus a lot on mining for profit as this opportunity only comes up at the start of any expansion. Even if you hate farming, it will likely prove to be highly profitable g/h for the first day or two at least.

Another thing to note about 425-450, is that right now Northrend mats are at an all-time low. If you can get your hands on them, it might pay in the long run to hang onto them rather than use them to level your professions. But you have to weigh up the fact that the sooner you get crafting professions up to the high levels, the sooner you can turn a really good profit. This is why anyone with thousands of gold sitting under their belt is going to be burning through it to power level their professions. Because in the long run they will easily make it back by being one of the few suppliers where there is considerable demand.

Just remember: the longer you wait, the more competition.