The question I’m posing is, “Is mining just a weaker version of skinning?”

The answer is both yes, and no.

Let me explain myself… While mining is a valuable profession, and nobody doubts its ability to make large sums of cash, we really DO need to justify taking mining if our main aim is to level fast.

Justifications for NOT taking mining as a profession to power level:

1. You need to smelt a lot. Each time you need to return to base to smelt, you’re wasting precious leveling time. Yes – you ALSO need to return to base to auction skins, however…  you don’t need to find a forge, which can take precious time from questing & mob killing.

2. You need to go off-course to find the mines, OR, you need to spend many, many bars of gold to buy ore to smelt from the AH. 

If we forget about spending gold at the AH to buy ore to smelt (the quickest way to get our mining skill up), then we’re left with the only option – finding ore mines.

Unlike skinning, ore mines do not just pop up for us each time we make a kill. We have to go out of our way, sometimes a LONG way out of our way just to find them. This time doesn’t help our leveling, and it isn’t fast enough if you’re a dedicated horde player out to level as fast as you can.

But doesn’t the extra income from mining, and the great gear you can buy make up for it, you ask? Yes and no… I find that my skinning skill makes me so much cash while using auctioneer, that any attempt to mine is quite fruitless. 

So, if you’re thinking about mining, and your sole goal is to get your horde character leveling as fast as humanly possible… drop mining, or at the least, use it only when mines practically throw themselves in front of you!

Related posts:

1. Skinning, The Power Leveler’s Favorite Profession If we had to choose just one profession to help...
2. Choosing Gathering Professions for Leveling What gathering professions should you be choosing for your toons?...
3. The 10 Commandments of Horde Leveling – Part 3 Thou Shall Make Gold Ah, gold! Sweet, shiny gold! The...