Professions are the path to getting the best gear and accessories.

If you value gold, want to have the best stuff at endgame, or even want to help others out, professions are where it’s at. Not every profession will rake in the gold and not every profession will be important in endgame content. Choosing the right profession for your character will be one of the first things you do at level 5.

10. Tailor

Level your Tailor profession to the Supreme

If you want to make light and medium armor for your characters, Tailor is the way to go. They use hides for the armor base and need to buy cloth and thread to sew the armor together.  This profession can be found in the following vocations: Armourer, Explorer, Yeoman.

Tailor Review:

• Crafts light and medium armor 
• Can make rune-satchels for Rune-Keepers, quivers, Burglar tools, and armaments
• Some endgame armor is better if bartered, not made

Usefulness Score: 70/100

9. Woodworker

An Artisan Woodworker in the Woodsman Vocation

As the name suggests, the Woodworker uses wood to craft weapons, instruments, horns, banner crests, shield carvings, and various furniture for your house. This can be a great profession throughout the game, as you can craft early weapons and legendary weapons for nearly every class. This profession can be found in the following vocations: Armsman, Woodsman.

Woodworker Review:

• Craft weapons and other useful items for nearly every class
• Makes legendary weapons
• An assortment of melee, ranged, and instrument recipes 

Usefulness Score: 75/100

8. Metalsmith

Use your metal ingots to smith heavy armor 

You’ll need all that ore you’ve collected as a Prospector to make heavy armor and shields in this profession. Additionally, you can make quality tools for crafting, making them more reliable and available in a single package. This profession can be found in the following vocations: Armourer.

Metalsmith Review:

• Ideal for crafting heavy armor and shields for tanks
• Can craft specific tool collections for the different crafting vocations
• Good for an alternate character who wears heavy armor

Usefulness Score: 80/100

7. Weaponsmith

Masters with crafting weapons of all sorts

Swords, axes, maces, and daggers can all be crafted for your melee classes using bronze, iron, and steel ingots. It can be a pricey profession to level, as you need to buy things like molds, nails, and wooden shafts to craft the full weapons. This profession can be found in the following vocations: Armsman, Historian.

Weaponsmith Review:

• Craft tons of melee weapons for your melee heavy classes
• Uses steel, bronze, and iron ingots from the Prospector profession
• Can be pricey to gain proficiency

Usefulness Score: 80/100

6. Farmer

Grow crops in the local farming fields of Bree

This is one of the three gathering professions and easily the most expensive one, as you need to buy seeds, fertilizer, and water for every crop. Many of the ingredients used in the Cooking profession can be grown here. This profession is found in the following vocations: Historian, Woodsman, Yeoman. 

Farmer Review:

• Needed for the cook and scholar professions
• Used to grow food, pipe-weed, dye ingredients, and select housing decorations
• Can be expensive to grow proficiency

Farmer Usefulness: 87/100

5. Forester

Wood stands no chance with the Forester profession

Another one of the three gathering professions, a forester cuts up branches found throughout Middle-Earth and crafts them into usable components for woodworking. They will also boil leather to make it useful for the tailor profession. This profession is found in the following vocations: Explorer, Woodsman.

Forester Review: 

• Gathers wood and treats hides for the woodworking and tailor professions
• Very cheap profession to gain proficiency in
• Only produces components for other professions

Usefulness Score: 87/100

4. Prospector

Mine the ore nodes sprinkled throughout Middle-Earth

As a prospector, the last of the three gathering professions, you will mine ore, gather gems, find dye salts, and other crafting components in the ore nodes throughout Middle-Earth. The components gathered as a prospector can be used in the Metalsmith, Weaponsmith, and Jeweller professions, making this a very useful profession to have. This profession can be found in the following vocations: Armourer, Armsmen, Explorer, Tinker.

Prospector Review:

• Gathers components for multiple other professions
• Very easy to gain proficiency 
• Ores are plentiful throughout Middle-Earth

Usefulness Score: 87/100

3. Scholar

Research artifacts found at ruins

The potions you can craft in the Scholar profession earns a spot as the third most useful profession. Potions, scrolls, dyes, and other items are all useful in some way, especially in endgame content. This can be a tricky profession to level, as they need to find artifacts and items from killing humanoid enemies to craft with. This profession can be found in the following vocations: Historian.

Scholar Review:

• Craft potions, scrolls, dyes, oils, and other useful items 
• Especially useful to craft items for endgame content
• Can make a decent amount of gold from the auction house

Usefulness Score: 90/100

2. Cook

Prepare food for the masses

Everybody needs food, especially the Hobbits with their many meals throughout the day. Trail Food, Fortifying Food, and Cooked Food provide boosts such as resistance, stats, morale and power, and regeneration of morale and power. Since food is such a widely used item, you can make plenty of gold through the auction house and selling through the chat. This profession can be found in the following vocations: Tinker, Yeoman.

Cook Review: 

• Food crafting is used throughout the game with every class
• Great way to get some extra income
• Pairs well with the Jeweller profession for even more income
• Needs easy access to ingredients through a Farmer

Usefulness Score: 93/100

1. Jeweler

Tinker with the gems found in ore nodes

The Jeweller focuses on making accessories such as rings, necklaces, earrings, and bracelets to boost your character’s stats. These are especially important in endgame content, where having higher resistance and morale might be the difference between survival and defeat. The Jeweller is also a great way to make some extra gold. This profession can be found in the following vocations: Tinker.

Jeweler Review:

• Crafts accessories to deliver boosts for different stats 
• Easy way to get some extra gold
• Crafts items that are needed for all endgame content

Usefulness Score: 95/100

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