Alchemy and Engineering: Best Hunter Professions in WoW Dragonflight

ByJames Dorn Last Update on

If you‘re playing a Hunter in World of Warcraft‘s new Dragonflight expansion, the two most beneficial professions for improving combat performance and money making are Alchemy and Engineering.

Alchemy: Boost DPS with Potions & Flasks

The Alchemy profession offers substantial offensive and defensive improvements through the crafting of consumables.

  • Flasks – Provide primary stat increases like Agility and Stamina. The end-game cauldrons also give hourly flask buffs to the entire raid group.
  • Potions – Increase damage dealt for short durations via potions like the Phantasmal Damage Potion. There are also potions that restore health and mana.
  • Oils – Coat weapons to increase melee attackers‘ critical strike chance against targets.
  • Elixirs – Long-lasting combat buffs covering stats like mastery and critical strike chance. The focus is mainly on boosting damage rather than survivability.

Alchemy crafts tend to be very expensive early in an expansion since demand is high. This represents an opportunity for gold profits too.

Engineering: Gadgets, Enhancements & Mechanical Pets

The varied Engineering profession offers the following Hunter benefits:

  • Neural Silencer – Item that enables the taming of mechanical pets who bring unique abilities like repairs, rocket boosts and feathers to prevent falling damage.
  • Gadgets – Useful items include invisibility detection goggles, speed boost boots and the Loot-A-Rang for distant looting.
  • Weapon/Armor Enhancements – Increase primary stats like Agility. There are also cogs and tuning forrings to customize crafted gear.
  • Reagents – Crafting components like Saronite Arrowheads and Gyroscopic Internal Stabilizers are needed for high-end recipes.

Many fun gadgets that aren‘t specifically useful still provide entertainment and possibly an economic opportunity.

Marksmanship: Best Raiding Spec with High Damage

The Marksmanship Hunter (MM) specialization is regarded as the top dps spec for raiding in Dragonflight raids like Vault of the Incarnates. Key reasons:

  • Insane burst damage cooldowns like Trueshot and Rapid Fire
  • Excellent Execute damage during the sub-20% enemy health range
  • Solid sustained damage outside of cooldowns
  • Good mobility with abilities like Disengage and Double Tap

In SimulationCraft dps rankings, MM is above Beast Mastery thanks to recent buffs placing it among the top specs.

Beast Mastery: King of Solo Play & Leveling

While Marksmanship dominates in raids, many consider Beast Mastery (BM) the best Hunter specialization for open world content, questing and leveling. Why?

  • The pet handles tanking mobs so the Hunter avoids damage
  • Strong self-healing from Spirit Bond reduces downtime
  • Simple priority-based rotation means effortless damage
  • Can fill both ranged and melee dps roles
  • Excels in multi-target cleave situations

BM is perfect those who want an easy playstyle while soloing the game‘s content. It‘s also viable for entry-level raiding and mythic+ dungeons.

Underplayed Survival as Melee DPS

The third spec Survival sees little play at endgame but is a unique melee spec with good damage when played well. Perks include:

  • Strong burst Area of Effect (AoE) damage
  • Constant close-quarters pressure via Raptor Strike
  • Lots of defensive abilities for solo gameplay
  • Flashy animations and sounds

As a Hunter running up to targets smashing them with hatchets and bombs, Survival offers some nice fantasy feels. And according to WarcraftLogs statistics across raid difficulties, it‘s roughly middle of the pack.

Best Pets: Spirit Beasts & Clefthoofs

For pet dinosaur aficionados, the two most commanding Hunter pet families in Dragonflight are:

  1. Spirit Beasts – Tenacity pets with defensive Last Stand and self-healing Spirit Mend abilities while providing a mastery buff. Rare spawns from Spectral Vesper, Blightgullet and Gluttonous Overgrowth.
  2. Clefthoofs – Ferocity beasts that increase versatility and do extra damage around the target with Centripetal Slam. Drops from The Splintered Past dungeon.

Honorable mentions go to Devilsaurs and their knockback stomp plus Feign Death from cunning Foxes and Dogs. All provide utility not offered by baseline pets.

Mechanicals like Trashy from the Mechagon megadungeon remain niche but useful too with their rockets, reboot heals and other gadgets.

Leveling Professions: Skinning for Mat Farming

While leveling 1-70 and working through the Dragonflight zones like the Waking Shores and Ohn‘ahran Plains, gathering professions provide income sources:

  • Skinning – Unlimited demand for heavy callous, pallid bones and death webbings needed to craft endgame leather armor. Plus can farm rare elite Dinorider mounts.
  • Herbalism – Needed to make potions, flasks, elixirs, glyphs and more. Anchor weed is again crucial.
  • Mining – Ore usually sells reliably to blacksmiths and engineers. Adamantite and eternal ore powders will be popular.

Having Skinning to farm leather materials offers the steadiest profits.

Max Level Crafting for Gear & Enchants

At level 70, the crafting professions allow creation of high item level gear plus player enhancements:

  • Leatherworking – Mail and leather armor pieces, leg armor kits, drums
  • Alchemy – Flasks, potions, transmutes to generate profits
  • Enchanting – Ring enchants
  • Engineering – Guns, gadgets and enhancements
  • Jewelcrafting – Trinkets, rings and gems

These professions require heavy investment but offer best-in-slot gearing options and huge money making potential.

So for magnifying a Hunter‘s prowess through bonuses and gold gains in the Dragon Isles, Alchemy and Engineering are your best bets! Feedback welcome in the comments below.

James K. Dorn, a passionate gamer deeply immersed in the world of video gaming. My journey in gaming is not just about playing; it's about exploring every facet of the games I love. I am particularly fascinated by the intricate worlds of role-playing games like "The Witcher" series and "Elder Scrolls: Skyrim," where every decision shapes the story.

As a strategy game enthusiast, I spend hours devising tactics in games like "Civilization VI" and "StarCraft II," always eager to share my strategies with fellow gamers. I'm also an ardent follower of the ever-evolving landscape of indie games, finding gems like "Hollow Knight" and "Celeste" that offer unique, compelling experiences.

My content isn't just reviews; it's about deep dives into game mechanics, storytelling, and the art of game design. I love dissecting the narratives of games like "The Last of Us" and discussing the innovative gameplay of titles like "Death Stranding."

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