New World of Warcraft expansion: 3.0.2 patch update

[Ghost Rider]

And I'm sorry to be essentially spamming this thread now, but since we were talking about Roguecraft earlier;

My favourite bit; Clicky Linky!

Bah! The thread has devolved to be honest because the new patch was

NERF PALADINS!

Piddle on the rest.

Ignore Mages.

Rogues will become the next titan/gods.

Warriors, don't worry...when you get that 200 DPS two hander, you and Rogue will piss on everyone else.

There is something that never changed from Roguecraft days to now. Warriors scale with gear better then anyone. Rogues scale good, but their abilities make them monsters still. This is why I found people QQing about Retadins so damned funny.

[Broomstick]

Well, I guess we all have to STFU until Thursday, then.

[Ghost Rider]

Well, I guess we all have to STFU until Thursday, then.

Pfft, my main server will look like a lagging cesspool until maybe, I dunno...next wednesday? And really, the changes won't hit until a majority are 80 AND there is a sizable Death Knight pool to look at. So I am not commenting on that as much as the raid enviroment or the new PvP change, as much as the weird changes they are doing currently. Especially on things that Beta did confirm, but Blizzard ignored...again.

Really, this patch follows some of the last expansion precursor feel and that had some balls dropped very hard and for some very asinine reasons(The feral druids massive nerfs and some warrior nerfs that to this day make no sense).

[Civil War Man]

Yeah, one of the reasons I'm looking at Death Knighting full time with the expansion is that Blizzard doesn't seem to have its shit together regarding Paladins.

And, to head off any comments of "Why single out Paladins? Class XYZ has problems ABC", my current main and only 70 is a Paladin. My highest alt is a Hunter that's almost 40. So my singling out Paladins is because that is the class that I have the only real experience with.

As to the question of "Why Death Knight?":
1) They start at 55, so less grinding to level a new character
2) I like grimdark characters.
3) I level herbalism and have flowers start sprouting at the feet of my Evil Harbinger of Death and Decay, because I also like bizarre characters.
4) I'm a Ret Paladin, and so Death Knight would be a fairly easy transition in terms of play style.
5) Blizzard's first Hero Class, and therefore more likely to get Rogue-ish treatment for a while at least. Because if they start treating Death Knights like other classes and end up making them a joke, it may poison the well with regard to Hero Classes in general.

[CaptainChewbacca]

Clearly, I have no clue how to play my rogue, because I have never been able to wtfpwnzor anyone.

[Lord Revan]

Clearly, I have no clue how to play my rogue, because I have never been able to wtfpwnzor anyone.

well I'd say first choose a race with high natural Agi which means, elves(both of them), gnomes, trolls (these have 25 (nelfs), 23(gnomes), 22(belfs and trolls) starting Agi), then get alot of +hit at lvl 70/80 (you'll need since regardless of spec you'll be dual wielding).

second is stun locking, learn to use it if a person can't do anything they sure can't kill you.

third dispite being a minor gay joke (for which I apologize board members belonging to said minority), rogues do it from behind, especially if you're dagger spec but somewhat in other specs as well, be behind your target players can't dodge or parry from behind and most mobs can't parry attacks from behind (and if you got dagger in main hand you also can backstab people from behind )

it's not rocket science, but as a rogue you must remember to fight "dirty" (aka do it from behind, from stealth or when the target is otherwise occupied and stun alot)

[Molyneux]

On the one hand, it's quite reasonable that rogues would be able to take out even a powerful fighter with a surprise attack from behind.

On the other hand, by the same token, it would only be fair for my shamanic lightning bolts to cause rogues' eyes to boil out of their sockets.

[Oskuro]

To be honest, the only thing that gets me worked up is the general ranting and whining (for fuck's sake, I'm on an RP guild and even they whine about the whole Retadin issue!). The game I enjoy, and really don't care much about patches and changes, after all, it's obvious that Blizzard is simply shifting the time sinks around to keep players busy.
To me, it means I'll get to do the previous "end game" raids without needing a massive grind for equipement, or joining some "pro" guild with raiding schedules or the like, not to mention the grief that comes with that, and the power struggles. I've seen a few guilds collapse because the leaders were having a chest-beating competition among themselves, and I just can't take how seriously people take this game.

And also, having people rant on the forums is one thing, what really gets me is people ranting and almost devolving into screaming matches in real life. I like playing WoW, but I hate talking about it with my friends.

As for Warriors and Rogues, there is something I must say (from a purely PvE perspective, I like PvP, but I'm not so experienced), they are, at least, fun to play. In most other RPG games I find that close combat classes tend to be boring and unimaginative. Blizzard has done a nice job with their classes at least (Balancing issues aside).

[Broomstick]

Oh, yes, the QQ'ing about nerfing instances....

It seems to me that the nasty-ass instances are left that way for a long time so the elite raiders can grind their way into them and feel... well, elite. Then, when the high end instances are about to be superceded by new content they nerf the bastards so the rest of the players can get killed in them, too. Then L33T RAIDERZZZZ!!11ONE!!1!! have a whole new set of kick-ass to grind their way into.

There is a problem with that?

Face it, if Bliz didn't add new content periodically we'd all get bored and give our subscription money to someone else.

[Minischoles]

Oh, yes, the QQ'ing about nerfing instances....

It seems to me that the nasty-ass instances are left that way for a long time so the elite raiders can grind their way into them and feel... well, elite. Then, when the high end instances are about to be superceded by new content they nerf the bastards so the rest of the players can get killed in them, too. Then L33T RAIDERZZZZ!!11ONE!!1!! have a whole new set of kick-ass to grind their way into.

There is a problem with that?

Face it, if Bliz didn't add new content periodically we'd all get bored and give our subscription money to someone else.

Sunwell was elite, it really was for the best of the best, just as Naxx was pre-TBC, and speaking as probably one of the very few to see either before nerfs/expansions, they were damn near perfect in the way Blizzard designed and implemented them.

Sunwell was tuned so that your raid had to be absolute perfection from start to finish. Felmyst was fairly easy once you got it done right and had your tactic down, Brutallus was just freaking hardcore, probably my favourite fight after Kael'thas in the entirety of TBC for the sheer brutalness and dedication it needed, all 25 raiders operating at their peak for 6 minutes.
Hell its why I liked RoS, why I liked Bloodboil. I despise the easy fights, theres no sense of achievement in them. You put in that much time and effort into gearing, into learning the tactics, into getting your consumables and getting 24 other people to work together and it feels amazing, theres a reason Vent/TS erupts in nerd screams when you down a new (hard) boss, because it feels that good.

Wheres the sense of accomplishment in going in and taking down a nerfed boss? I went and killed Kil'jaeden the other day for the first time, and I really felt nothing. It was an epic boss, with a nice bit of lore tied into it, and yet I really felt no accomplishment as it was ludicrously easy.
Sunwell now is a joke, 30% nerf with the extra DPS and healing? We did Brutallus in like 3 minutes, having a tank die and half the raid unpotted or with food buffs. Mu'ru is so nerfed now its actually easier than some T5 bosses, and Twins is super easy. You could probably pug everything but Brutallus nowadays.

As for the raid level you enjoy is after the E-peen "I must be first in the world/continent/server!!!" guilds go through and it isn't fun. You try to divine Blizz's insane plan of what one needs to do, hope your people and classes make up can...and then grind glass for hours. Then after this, Blizzard goes "Why is only 1% of the population seeing this instance?! Maybe we should tweek it down.". I really wish they made it into a better middle ground. One shouldn't have to grind glass to enjoy the game. That's not challenge, that's pure attrition and it's fucking stupid four years later.

Actually I find the getting ready for an instance, all of you joining into the raid and TS, joking before the raid, making sure you're all set and then going in and kicking ass great, no matter if its eaten up a lot of my free time for that week. And I love learning new bosses, and getting new kills. Thats why I got to 70 and jumped into raiding, because for me thats what the game is here for, to see new stuff, to get new kills and keep progressing. And yes it does make you feel quite elite, but really I don't do it for loot or anything, I do it for the kill as i've always done.

But yeah I agree, Blizzard really needs a middle ground in terms of raiding. Make it too easy and the hardcore elites hate it, they get bored and begin to leave, and really the hardcore are the people who will keep the game going. Simple as, those are the people playing it most of the time and paying their subscription month after month. Yes they're a small portion, but significant.
But on the other hand they do also make it too hard as well, for anyone but the very elite to reach it, a nice middle ground is needed where casuals (god how I hate that term, some of the most hardcore players i've met barely play beyond raid times) and hardcore can have the same sort of content. Something thats challenging enough for the elites, but easy enough for the other players.

[Broomstick]

Oh, yes, the QQ'ing about nerfing instances....

It seems to me that the nasty-ass instances are left that way for a long time so the elite raiders can grind their way into them and feel... well, elite. Then, when the high end instances are about to be superceded by new content they nerf the bastards so the rest of the players can get killed in them, too. Then L33T RAIDERZZZZ!!11ONE!!1!! have a whole new set of kick-ass to grind their way into.

There is a problem with that?

Face it, if Bliz didn't add new content periodically we'd all get bored and give our subscription money to someone else.

Sunwell was elite, it really was for the best of the best, just as Naxx was pre-TBC, and speaking as probably one of the very few to see either before nerfs/expansions, they were damn near perfect in the way Blizzard designed and implemented them.

Sunwell was tuned so that your raid had to be absolute perfection from start to finish. Felmyst was fairly easy once you got it done right and had your tactic down, Brutallus was just freaking hardcore, probably my favourite fight after Kael'thas in the entirety of TBC for the sheer brutalness and dedication it needed, all 25 raiders operating at their peak for 6 minutes.
Hell its why I liked RoS, why I liked Bloodboil. I despise the easy fights, theres no sense of achievement in them. You put in that much time and effort into gearing, into learning the tactics, into getting your consumables and getting 24 other people to work together and it feels amazing, theres a reason Vent/TS erupts in nerd screams when you down a new (hard) boss, because it feels that good.

Wheres the sense of accomplishment in going in and taking down a nerfed boss?

Well, I've been playing at level 70 since shortly after BC came out but, honestly, I'm not an elite raider. I'm not elite anything (even my epic gear is described as "welfare" by many). I will never be a raider at the level you're at. Partly, I just don't have the time to put into it.

For me, killing a "nerfed boss" is a sense of accomplishment because, nerfed or not, it's stil hard for me.

That was one nice thing about regular and heroic level instances in BC. The elite could go to the hardest shit they could handle, and bravo for them. Meanwhile, the less elite could still get to experience content they otherwise would never see. It seems to have been a popular change in the game.

I went and killed Kil'jaeden the other day for the first time, and I really felt nothing. It was an epic boss, with a nice bit of lore tied into it, and yet I really felt no accomplishment as it was ludicrously easy.

I still haven't been able to remain alive long enough to reach Kil'jaeden - again, even with a level 70 character that doesn't mean the average player is going to be raiding at your level.

Actually I find the getting ready for an instance, all of you joining into the raid and TS, joking before the raid, making sure you're all set and then going in and kicking ass great, no matter if its eaten up a lot of my free time for that week.

I find it as annoying as fuck because I just don't have that much free time. Not everyone does.

But yeah I agree, Blizzard really needs a middle ground in terms of raiding. Make it too easy and the hardcore elites hate it, they get bored and begin to leave, and really the hardcore are the people who will keep the game going. Simple as, those are the people playing it most of the time and paying their subscription month after month. Yes they're a small portion, but significant.

I don't think the upper elite are the ones who "keep the game going" - you're too small a fraction of the 9 million subscribers. That's why they nerfed the upper level instances.

Blizzard is trying to keep everyone happy - an impossible task. Most days, they have something for everyone, and lot for most of us.

But on the other hand they do also make it too hard as well, for anyone but the very elite to reach it, a nice middle ground is needed where casuals (god how I hate that term, some of the most hardcore players i've met barely play beyond raid times) and hardcore can have the same sort of content. Something thats challenging enough for the elites, but easy enough for the other players.

Well, regular/heroic options for instances was one answer. Nerfing instances just prior to new content another. You're right, they need the middle ground. Know what? The achievements are another answer - it gives you something to do and progress with if you hit 70 but can't be an elite raider. That was a problem you know - people like me would hit 70 and get bored because we'd done all the non-group quests and most of the group ones, did the raids we could manage and then... nothing. We don't have the time to get the gear and skills to be elite raiders. Not everyone enjoys PvP (strange but true!). Ah, but if you can get a recognized goody for, say, exploring every nook and cranny of the world, well that can be an adventure. Or get recognition for being a master crafter (I was made a guild officer NOT because I was a raider but because I helped keep the raiders supplied with buffs, mats, and the like and helped a lot of people level alts, there's more than one way to contribute). Sure, some of them are silly, but so what? Some of the game is pretty damn silly. Have fun, that's the real point of it all.

[D.Turtle]

Damn, am I one of the few people who apparently are very happy about the stuff that is coming with WOTLK? And is happy with the way that Blizzard handled (and is handling) the entire Beta/PTR thing?

I mean, I belong to the more hardcore players (killed Muru in the last pre-3.0 ID), but I love what they did with the raiding (obviously the PvE Raids were over-nerfed, but in a few days no one will care) - making it more accessible by lowering the need of raid-stacking by making almost all buffs raid-wide, making them non-stackable while providing several different classes/specs with the ability to bring those buffs, no longer making certain specs essential just for the buffs they bring, lowering the consumables needed, trying to close the gap between hybrids and pure dps classes, etc.

Yes, not everything is perfect. Yes, not all classes are balanced. Yes, there are bugs. Yes, the extreme nerfing of some specs hurts.

However, Blizzard (through Ghostcrawler on the Forums) has shown a willingness to actually acknowledge problems, try to explain their reasoning etc. I like the goal they are working towards (bring the player, not the class/spec, make raiding accessible for everyone), and even if there are some problems about getting there - the fact that they have a goal that I agree with is something I'm extremely happy about.

In short: 2 more days!:

[Darmalus]

I will see Sunwell when it can be 10 manned, because that is about how many people we can get into one place at one time. We still can't fight Ragnaros because no one has any Hydraxian Waterlord reputation, because we never did ANY raids Pre-BC, aside from UBRS and a few shots at AQ20.

The 10/25 man Regular/Heroic idea is the best thing ever. We will get to so what happens in the story line which is fantastic. So far my impression of Outland is that it is this kinda broken geode with demons doing not a whole lot. I don't know why the naga are draining he water from Zangamarsh, is there a point to stopping the Blood Elves from sucking the magic out of Netherstorm? There is a temple in SMV, it's black, and I am told there is a guy in it I want to kill, although I've yet to be given a reason why I want to kill him.

I've never seen what's so "elite" about elite raiders. You have a bunch of free time at the same time as 24 other people, and you understand "Don't stand in the fire.", I really don't see whats so impressive about basic motor skills and the ability to understand and follow orders.

[Sharp-kun]

Sunwell was tuned so that your raid had to be absolute perfection from start to finish.

No, it was tuned that you had to stack classes such as warlocks and shamans. Had it been the same difficulty but not required you to stack certain classes, then you'd have had a well tuned raid.


Also remember that you find it incredibly easy now. There were guilds before the patch that still couldn't clear Kara easily. Why? They simply didn't have the coordination or cohesion to work together well enough. Those guilds will still find them hard even after the nerf and will still feel good if they manage to kill something.

People will still fail at spines on Najentus.
Mages will still fail to tank on Council.
People will still fuck up on Teron Gorefriend.

The HP nerf changes none of the coordination required for those fights.

[Civil War Man]

One thing that the toned down raid difficulty can do is give a well-coordinated raid a chance to salvage a fight when there is a screwup and prevent a wipe.

In the past two weeks, my guild has raided Kara twice. This is a big deal since several of us (including me) hadn't raided before, primarily because my guild is too small to do big raids (we got 7 for the first Kara run, 8 for the second). We looked at allying with another small guild to be able to do some raids, but that fell through, plus the introduction of the 10/25 raids in Wrath made it mostly moot unless we want to do Heroic raiding after a while.

Anyway, during the first run (which we were able to clear up to Aran before people needed to sign off) we were clearing out the Curator's hallway. For the record, I do not like that area due to my typical Retribution-size mana pool. After downing a group of the trash creatures there, the tank accidentally lingered too long and aggroed the Curator. He ran to the other side of the hall to keep from pulling the mana eaters (since he's also a paladin) and gave the hasty instructions "I'll hold him. Healers, keep me up. Everyone else, kill the adds." And everyone sprang into action, keeping with their job until the tank came on voice chat again with "He's on Evocate. Everyone focus on the curator. Blow every cooldown you've got left." And you know what? We succeeded, because it was a straight-forward fight and we all knew what role we played.

Basically before the raids were toned down, an accidental pull of a raid boss and you could pretty much call it a wipe. In fact, that can still be the case, since our druid accidentally got too close to Moroes earlier in the evening before we could prepare for it. Our healer was hit with Divine Intervention and our Arcane Mage hit invisibility, and that's pretty much all that prevented us from corpse running. And during the second raid, it happened again. We almost had Moroes dead when a feared add left the banquet hall and reset the fight, and we couldn't regroup in time to survive it. We may be well-coordinated, but we're not that well-coordinated.

On a different note, I'd like to rename the Glyph of Exorcism to the Glyph of Ha ha fuck you Shade of Aran. It's rather satisfying to be hitting an undead mage in the face with an axe while interrupting his spellcasting every 15 seconds (and that's not even using the new interrupt addition to Hammer of Justice).

[Crown]

Basically before the raids were toned down, an accidental pull of a raid boss and you could pretty much call it a wipe.

In my first and only raiding guild (Zul'Garab/TBC up to SSC before it disbanded and I rerolled Horde), I'd wipe us on bosses every now and then, just for the lolz by 'accidentally' pressing the wrong key bind . Yes, I'm a freaking bastard and deviant, and a class leader!

Seriously, sometimes, raiding just does some straaaaange things to my head, I don't know why.

[Teleros]

Well I know he was nerfed, but we managed to semi-PuG Kil'jaeden a couple of hours ago, so TBC is finally complete - and just in time for the next expansion . Plus I got Apolyon, so all in all I'm a very happy Retadin going into WotLK .

[GuppyShark]

I've never seen what's so "elite" about elite raiders. You have a bunch of free time at the same time as 24 other people, and you understand "Don't stand in the fire.", I really don't see whats so impressive about basic motor skills and the ability to understand and follow orders.

Unfortunately it is, because people with basic motor skills and the ability to understand and follow orders are not common.

Like the idiot retadin we brought along to our last Black Temple clear, who was whacking Mother Shahraz in the face. A cursory glance at any description of that fight will make it clear why that is an utterly idiotic thing to do, even beyond the usual reasons why melee DPS should always be behind their targets.

These guys are the reasons people laugh at Retribution. They want to wear plate and hit things, but they can't be Warriors because Warriors aren't 'special' enough.

Retribution DPS didn't need much of a buff anyway. All they needed to do was give a Seal of Blood analogue to the Alliance, and the spellpower/attack power merger, and they'd have been set for PvE.

Actually I find the getting ready for an instance, all of you joining into the raid and TS, joking before the raid, making sure you're all set and then going in and kicking ass great, no matter if its eaten up a lot of my free time for that week. And I love learning new bosses, and getting new kills. Thats why I got to 70 and jumped into raiding, because for me thats what the game is here for, to see new stuff, to get new kills and keep progressing. And yes it does make you feel quite elite, but really I don't do it for loot or anything, I do it for the kill as i've always done.

Agreed. Before TBC, I was one of those guys who thought raiders were all no-life losers who were grinding endlessly so that they could get gear with +2 to int or whatever.

However, my friends recruited me into their raiding guild. I got invited along to a Tempest Keep raid on my green/blue-equipped rogue (by this point they had been stymied by pre-nerf Gruul's/Magtheridon, and attunements to SSC/TK had just been lifted).

It was incredible. The fight with Void Reaver was intense - for a lot of us it was our first raid. Dancing in and out of melee with an enormous fel reaver that fired arcane projectiles at random, forcing even ranged DPS to be on their toes.

I realised at that point that although I'd been playing since release, I'd never actually experienced World of Warcraft.

I then watched this quasi-PUG of Oceanic raiders grow into a dedicated, tight-knit group of skilled players who just happen to only raid twice a week. We're not hardcore, we're not server firsts. But we pride ourselves on keeping pace with the server while putting in less time. Quality, not quantity.

That's what keeps me playing. Not epics. Not so I can feel superior. I actually hang out in Thunder Bluff most of the time because my warglaive often attracts too much attention elsewhere.

Well I know he was nerfed, but we managed to semi-PuG Kil'jaeden a couple of hours ago, so TBC is finally complete - and just in time for the next expansion . Plus I got Apolyon, so all in all I'm a very happy Retadin going into WotLK .

Grats Tel. A lot of people in my raid were disappointed when we got post-nerf KJ down and he didn't give up the two-hander. We had no hunter so we were kind of glad the bow didn't drop.

[Molyneux]

In honor of Lich King, I've decided to finally create an Alliance character. I guess I'll give the softskins a chance.

Made a Night Elf warrior, and as this is my first non-spellcaster character - anyone got any pointers? Any suggestions for professions (thinking engineering, or maybe blacksmithing)?

[Broomstick]

Mining and herbing to level 40, then either mining and blacksmithing or mining and engineering from then on.

[Ghost Rider]

In honor of Lich King, I've decided to finally create an Alliance character. I guess I'll give the softskins a chance.

Made a Night Elf warrior, and as this is my first non-spellcaster character - anyone got any pointers? Any suggestions for professions (thinking engineering, or maybe blacksmithing)?

Guh...NE warrior? I guess the dodge isn't bad.

As for professions, pick up two gathering since this is your only character. Choose something like Blacksmithing much later, and engineering is only for cool toys Blizz will nerf into the ground and laugh at you. As for other professions, I'd honestly say Alchemy is you're going to solo a lot. It with herbing makes up more then you'd think in flasks and exilirs on higher times. Enchanting ONLY if you're in a guild to get anything decent(The ring enchants are minimal for a warrior), Inscription is truly meh, and leatherworking offers only a couple bits that are interesting.

This is of course if you want something other then gathering, because they are money sinks and while Blacksmith offers weapons and armor(The most needed for a warrior), it only offers higher end weapons and such with usually heavy dungeon or raid level materials. Plus only a single part benefit, which for a warrior will fucking suck. When I say below warriors suck without gear, I don't mean just weapon...I mean everything.

As for tips. At first, you will use bandages and food like no one's business and it will not be pretty. Warriors suck without gear, and I mean suck. They do not have Rogue tricks, have very few multiple mob options, less runaway option when shit hits the fan, and did I mention gear? It bears mentioning again, warrior suck without gear.

Also for Duel versus two hander? Go either big two hander or sword and board. Duel wielding sucks a lot for the warrior and fury only scales at the end versus Arms which is decent and Protect which has become far better then it started at...even at the low levels.

Honestly take it slow, and if your server has a decent all around for leveling, then learn tanking that way.

[Molyneux]

In honor of Lich King, I've decided to finally create an Alliance character. I guess I'll give the softskins a chance.

Made a Night Elf warrior, and as this is my first non-spellcaster character - anyone got any pointers? Any suggestions for professions (thinking engineering, or maybe blacksmithing)?

Guh...NE warrior? I guess the dodge isn't bad.

Well, what other choices did I have? I wanted something a bit less Horde-ish than a Draenei, humans look just plain ugly, gnomes are silly, and while I was thinking of playing a dwarf I wasn't much in a mood for beards.

As for professions, pick up two gathering since this is your only character. Choose something like Blacksmithing much later, and engineering is only for cool toys Blizz will nerf into the ground and laugh at you. As for other professions, I'd honestly say Alchemy is you're going to solo a lot. It with herbing makes up more then you'd think in flasks and exilirs on higher times. Enchanting ONLY if you're in a guild to get anything decent(The ring enchants are minimal for a warrior), Inscription is truly meh, and leatherworking offers only a couple bits that are interesting.

Alchemy...would be a good idea, except that I already have it on my Tauren druid and I think I'd get sick of it pretty fast.

[Ghost Rider]

In honor of Lich King, I've decided to finally create an Alliance character. I guess I'll give the softskins a chance.

Made a Night Elf warrior, and as this is my first non-spellcaster character - anyone got any pointers? Any suggestions for professions (thinking engineering, or maybe blacksmithing)?

Guh...NE warrior? I guess the dodge isn't bad.

Well, what other choices did I have? I wanted something a bit less Horde-ish than a Draenei, humans look just plain ugly, gnomes are silly, and while I was thinking of playing a dwarf I wasn't much in a mood for beards.

Meh. Really, I look for capabilities when I pick a male character since look wise? I'll go for the females route. Blizzard really either made the males retarded looking mostly or just plain too big. The only time I succeeded make a male look good is when I made a human male with silver hair and what not. He at least looked less like a retard.

As for professions, pick up two gathering since this is your only character. Choose something like Blacksmithing much later, and engineering is only for cool toys Blizz will nerf into the ground and laugh at you. As for other professions, I'd honestly say Alchemy is you're going to solo a lot. It with herbing makes up more then you'd think in flasks and exilirs on higher times. Enchanting ONLY if you're in a guild to get anything decent(The ring enchants are minimal for a warrior), Inscription is truly meh, and leatherworking offers only a couple bits that are interesting.

Alchemy...would be a good idea, except that I already have it on my Tauren druid and I think I'd get sick of it pretty fast.

Yeah, but not on your druid are ya .

Really, professions are grinds regardless and gathering outstrips most of the minor benefits. The only time professions are truly good? In Raiding or PvP Arena. In both you want to eek out everything possible and then there's real concern, otherwise it's either make cash or have something kinda shiny that took 2000 G more to make then to buy off the AH.

[Lord Revan]

Herbalism/Alchemy combo is nice is don't have other characters to support you and you don't wanna take 2 gathering professions

my rogue is a herbalist/alchemist (so she's generally rather well buffed even if she's not that well geared at the moment).

[SpacedTeddyBear]

I don't know whether it's just my server, but apparently there are certain items u can get from the PvP vendor in SW ( Don't know bout horde) for free, in particular shamans and hunters. There is a huge scrum in the room now, and all of the alliance cities are almost deserted.