Wowstability

If you’re mining or herbing around northrend, it’s inevitable to notice some fellow farmers going around as well. You notice them not because of their cool mount or their weird name but because at one point, they’ve beaten you to that herb/ore.

One time I got beaten to herb nodes several times by the same person so I put him in my friends list with a note beside his name that says “hardcore farmer”. Then I saw a lonely herb beside an ore.  Nearby was the hardcore farmer who also sped up towards the herb. He beat me to the spot. I was surprised, however, that instead of gathering the herb, he was smashing that ore with his mining pick. What? He’s a miner too? Of course, surprised, I paused for a while, allowing the hardcore farmer gather the herb as well. Damn it.

Apparently, alts of some players are designated to be the farmer. Both have Herbalism and Mining at the same time. Most of the time they’re paladins for Crusader’s Aura, or druids for the ability to gather herbs without going out of flight form. Next on the most toons used for farming are Death Knights because of their Unholy Aura.

I suppose they just put both gathering skills on one toon to save time. If you have herbalism on one toon and mining on one toon, you double the time required to gather the same amount of herbs and ore as to having both gathering skills on one toon. While herbing, you’re bound to see an ore and vice versa. Why not farm it as well?

Of course the only downside is you won’t have cool profession bonuses other than Lifeblood (herbalism) and Toughness (mining). If you’re planning to raid with a character of yours, I suggest don’t take both herbalism and mining. But if you have a toon that you think was no fun for you at all, and he’s just sitting in your character screen collecting molds, then a great punishment for being not enjoyable is banishing your toon from cool profession bonuses and deeming him, THE FARMER.

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