Guns and engineering

[Beatboxer]

I'm thinking of switching my Young Orc Hunter's main weapon to a gun and I'm just wondering about wether I should switch out Skinning/Leatherworking for Engineering/mining now...

Has anybody dealt with that? What choice did you make and how did it turn out?

Thanks

[pikkumyy]

Engineering is a two way sword. While you can create your own weapons and ammo for them (in low to midlevels even on 'the road') you can't sell anything in the AH, except for those guns. While I really like to be able to produce high dps ammunition for myself (and after every visit to a town I usually fill my ammopouch to the max) instead of relaying on shops and AH for good ammo, I'm usually broke.

With leatherworking you'd be able to make armour and those precious armorkits and sell them at the AH for a good price. And it will also help you level up your leatherworking, to produce better eq for better price. This will make you able to buy the ammo and guns from AH and shops.

I recommend trying both before retail. Engineering and leatherworking both require odd components when your skill starts being good (>200) and they are hard to get, so if thats wearing you down then it isn't a reason to change.

I personally am going with engineering though in retail. I like the idea of having an ammopouch full of those 12dps mithril slugs all the time =)

[Palehoof]

I made the same switch as you, Beatboxer. I started my Tauren hunter out with leatherworking and skinning, which made me some good money in the starting stages. Around level 18 I started getting bored of skinning and carrying around bales of leather waiting for the next leatherworking skillup, and went with engineering/mining.

I wish I'd started out with them. Once you make the switch to guns it's loads of fun to be able to make your own. I tell you, the feeling of creating my first [Silver Plated Shotgun] and then attaching my [Accurate Scope] to it? Quite good to know "I made this, and I'm going to blow you away with it, you stupid boar."

Drawbacks:
1) Having been a skinner, you will be frustrated at the speed with which you level up your mining. It is quite a switch. As a hunter using leather and skinning, you're triple grinding every time you go bashing. You kill a critter for XP, then skin it, levelling your skinning perhaps, then you have leather with which you can make leather goods, levelling your leatherworking perhaps. Mining is much less transparent to the user. You will have to find veins of ore while bashing, rather than levelling your skill on the thing you just killed. You get used to it, but the "incidental" profession grinding of skin/leather is nothing to the "Specifically going there to grind this skill" grinding of engineering/mining.

2) Are you sure that you want to go guns vs bows? I am a big fan of guns myself, and the crafted ammunition (especially at higher levels) is lots of fun. But the drops are far rarer than bows. You'll find very few guns drop as of yet, and even fewer of the ones which do drop are of any use. It's sort of a catch-22. If you go guns, you'll need engineering (or a friend with it) to get the most out of it. If you stick with bows, you'll get better weapons but you don't get the cool b-koom, b-koom, b-BOOM, of gunfighting.

All that said, what did it for me was I wanted to wear goggles. Steampunk Minotaurs are cool.

[Beatboxer]

I'm with you on the steampunk look/feel. I like that sort of thing and I think a gun goes better with my Orc's character too.

I love the skinning/leathorworking combo for mainly the reason you stated; I'm harvested as I'm battling most of the time it's great.

Engineering sounds really cool though.

Thanks for your help guys, my decision will make itself I suppose..