How is classic crafting compared to retail? Do you craft stuff that actually matters?
Retail crafting is far worse than Classic, pretty much nothing is worth crafting in retail. However, Classic crafting is pretty bad too other than a few items in each profession.
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consumables are good, crafted gear is meh with a few exceptions. similar to retail
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If you aren’t someone who lives on the AH, crafting is very useful. Only reason to need gold is for mounts, everything else can be taken care of by crafting, and at 60, doing instance content.
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I went alchy/herb on all 3 of my toons.
Reason being crafted gear will only be needed for so long… while everyone will infinitely need herbs and pots as well as essence of water. I transmute undeath to water 3 times per day… once on each toon and it’s the easiest 30g a day I’ve ever made.
Darn… I don’t have robe of the archmage. 
It works out better with less hoops to jump through at least at low levels.
Some items are a pain to get crafted. But for the most part, everything is useful at least while leveling.
Crafting in classic is very fun and engaging. I leveled a dwarf hunter and had engineering all the way. Made my own bullets, got the recipes for the scopes, and made my own guns.
Some items aren’t as useful to craft. But retail’s crafting system is as hollow as a tin can. It’s merely there to be there. Completely useless. And if you wish to make the best gear from crafting on retail, it’ll be replaced next patch after you’ve invested countless meaningless hours into obtaining one item.
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Enchanting, alchemy and tailoring are essential. Most guilds will have one or more of each.
The black/leathersmiths will make FR gear, and a few BiS/pre BiS items.
Many folks rave about engineering for PvP. It’s useful, but not essential.
Retail crafting is useless.
Even though I have been on a month and a half break. I’ve noticed crafting can be very useful to funnel gear to lower level alts if finding players for same level dungeons is difficult. Like the shadowsilk boots tailors can craft, level 24 blues IIRC.
Yeah every classic profession comes along with gear and useful items. Most are profitable. I’m not too familiar with LW/BS, but I’ve done tailoring, alchemy, enchanting, eng, mining, and herbalism. I enjoy leveling professions while leveling alts.
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Retails system destroyed the need for old mats, unless you just want to craft all the mog gear
There is definitely a good amount of miscellaneous items to craft repeatedly. Potions bandages weapon enhancement Etc. But many of the more serious recipes tend to require ingredients and travel that, by the time you achieve the craft, have rendered it irrelevant.
The massive discrepancy between crafting proffessions’ end-game viability in Classic is abysmal. Take a look at Engineering: lt has access to armor, weapons, weapon “enchantments”, trinkets, and consumeables all with lasting end-phase utility in both PvP/PvE. Now compare that to something like the Humble Hammersmith, whose “best” item is probably the lv 40 quest reward it got before the player ever decided to specialize in weaponsmithing and then subsequently Maces.
arcane bombs. i really want to lob one and auto win against a clothie just for them to go “wtf was that, is he hacking?!?!?!” but really its just a 70gold consumable.
No idea about retail but I found out recently that they removed first-aid so I imagine that they couldn’t care less about their professions.
Yup, alchemist craft flasks along with fire protection pots, mana and healing pots, swiftness and free action pots, and arcanite xmutes are need by all guilds.
Blacksmiths can craft lionheart helm, nightfall, and a fire resistance set.
Leatherworkers are still making black dragonscale which is pre-raid bis for many melee specs, same as devilsaur legs and hands. Also hide of the wild right?
Tailors…honestly idk. I know that mooncloth is needed for bags and it will be needed for some ZG pieces I think.
In summary, yeah, all professions are still constantly shooting out pre-raid BiS pieces, even some BiS raiding pieces, and certaintly they’re all worth leveling.
For casters tailoring is king. Best crafting wow profession.
And once ZG is out and you have bloodvine recipes, it’s just money making machine.
Professions make a big difference in the leveling process and in end game. You can actually see and feel the value.
the consumable professions (alchemy and enchanting) will always matter, because consumables are needed for content and new gear upgrades will always need enchants.
The gear crafting professions - their use comes in waves, they are very helpful initially I.E. the devilsaur set, but they go down with time until new patches like Zg introduce new crafted gear.
Engineering has always fallen outside of the crafting / selling area since it really only feeds itself but is the most useful for pvp.
I am getting close to elemental fork of LW and am super excited to see what its like. yes i have other toons that will take the other forks so I can learn how they affect my toons. Its funny tho, I go am skinning tangent and items do drop that are upgrades better than the “drops/roll” in dungeons. I buy healing pots and amour pots so I will have to take up that glorious prof as another rogue to try a dif style of rogue like subtely with herb. engineering to me seems to be for hunter that i can tell. I am digging my bow with swords/daggers… in retail it seems muted down . useless.