Cataclysm Beta: Mining and herbalism give experience
by Gregg Reece 
Sep 13th 2010 at 9:00PM
Blizzard added another way to earn some experience with the latest patch for Cataclysm. You now earn experience when both gathering from mining and herbalism nodes. This is being reported about 4,000 experience for herb nodes in Wintergrasp at level 80. However, these do suffer from the same experience reduction that lower level quests are hit with. As an example, a level 83 player mining a copper node earns 5 experience but earns a couple of thousand from a titanium node.
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Reader Comments (Page 3 of 5)
Eros Sep 13th 2010 9:27PM
You have to kill the mob first in order to skin it, and therefore gain XP. Blizz dosent want skinners double dipping.
Metalupis Sep 13th 2010 9:28PM
Just more of the same" screw the skinners" that I have come to expect from blizz, also the only gathering profession to not get primals/crystalized elements
Arrowsmith Sep 13th 2010 9:32PM
I get those reasons, honestly I do, but what about the skinnable mobs that other players leave behind? I'm just wanting this to make sense is all, I promise!!
Doki-Chan Sep 14th 2010 4:02AM
What I think is meant is, if in a duo, you both share the xp of the beastie about to be skinned, and then the Herbalist/Miner can get extra xp by farming the node nearby... not just skinning either.....
not a prob for one Husband/Wife main duo (Mine/Eng vs Herb/Alch), but our alts (Mine/BS vs JC/Ench) ..... actually, it might balance after all if there are JC quests implemented before level 85 (and cooking/fishing), as I actually *do* fishing on my alt whereas my husband doesn't...
However, other group levellers may now level at slightly different speeds depending on how obsessed they are at gathering at the same time as levelling together....
Beliam Sep 14th 2010 4:56AM
"You already get XP from killing the mob, so it'd be unfair for skinners to get XP for skinning"
Call me when Herbalism and Mining nodes fight back
MusedMoose Sep 13th 2010 9:26PM
Interesting choice; I don't think it's going to have a huge impact on the game, but the boost will be nice during leveling.
And besides, I know I'm not the only one to ding from getting exp for discovering part of the map, now a lot of us can ding from mining or picking herbs. Should be fun:
*tap*tap*tap*
*loot ore*
*DING!*
Angus Sep 13th 2010 10:46PM
If I play, I am so making sure I ding 85 picking a flower and mining a node, depending on the toon.
Screenshots will be made!
Nic Oct 11th 2010 12:08PM
Getting Fraps ready for that Level 85 Mining Ding on my pally.
Not sure if thats a Win or a Fail.
Ibet Sep 13th 2010 9:27PM
No extra for skinning? What if u just come across a already slain mob? Lol. Jkjkjkjk
I did hate grinding beasts to get leather...
And what about archaeology?
Eros Sep 13th 2010 9:32PM
According to Totalbiscuits video you dont get XP from archaeology :(
Netherscourge Sep 13th 2010 9:28PM
You can farm certain rock-elemental dudes AND mine them for extra EXP and ores.
spiderworm Sep 13th 2010 9:30PM
Started the 4.0.1 PTR on my server and there is also XP for mining and herbalism. Really didn't understand why I got xp for mining some copper, but all xp is good xp.
Takshash Sep 13th 2010 9:30PM
Makes sense as well. You get XP from killing beasts for skins and people for their...well...clothing. I find it hard to believe all those brigands are just carrying bolts of uncut cloth, I think most tailors just wash and hem their victim's clothes.
Noyou Sep 14th 2010 12:04AM
It makes absolutely 0 sense to gain XP from mining or herbing. I love the fact that they want to give us XP and both my Cata toons will level mining as they will need to stock up for JC/Engineering. So do you get XP for fishing/cooking/first aid? What about all the people who min/max and have crafting profs. Will they get XP for every item they craft? Probably not. So no. It doesn't make sense and it is not even remotely fair to the rest of the professions. But I like it :)
Noyou Sep 14th 2010 3:18AM
Wow. look at all the reading failure. I am all for the extra XP. I make sure all my alts explore outlands and northrend to get all the extra XP they can. You can't seriously say it makes sense or is fair to any other profession though. Downrank it all you want. I plan on leveling all of my new toons (and 2-3 old ones) as miners.
Takshash Sep 14th 2010 5:10AM
Not downranking at all. I disagree that it's unfair to the other professions. Skinning, the only other gathering profession gets XP automatically if you're farming it. All the other crafting professions come with myriad other bonuses, especially when it comes to min/maxing. A little XP bonus doesn't stack up to the sheer stat and utility bonuses other professions provide.
alpha5099 Sep 13th 2010 9:31PM
Very cool. I'm always torn when I'm leveling and I see an out-of-the-way node. Right now, it's probably counter-productive (assuming leveling as fast as possible is "productive," which I don't) to go grab that ore or herb. It may still be more worthwhile to work on questing, but at least now you get a little bonus to make gathering less of a waste.
This does raise some interesting questions for leveling. I've heard some say they don't bother with professions while leveling as it takes away time from the grind, which makes sense in a certain strange way. It's interesting to see gathering be incentivized this way; given that in Cataclysm we can track both Herbs and Minerals at the same time, I could see Mining and Herbalism being taken to help powerleveling.
And of course, there is some great satisfaction in seeing Blizzard allowing new ways to play the game. I doubt I'd have the patience to do it, but the idea of getting all the way to 85 without ever having killed an enemy, getting all of your experience from gathering, that just sounds awesome. I can imagine a rugged Dwarven explorer, who takes up Mining and Archaeology, and then sets out to get The Explorer. Or a Death Knight who, after escaping the Lich King's thrall, vows to never again kill, instead spending his days picking flowers.
No bonus for skinning? I realize it's not nearly as onerous as mining or herbalism to gather leather, but if XP is getting added to the other gathering professions because they otherwise take away from time spent leveling, then the same can be said for skinning. Obviously much less time is spent skinning, but it'd be nice to get a similar bonus. A much smaller bit of XP from skinning, but still a little.
Hanak Sep 14th 2010 6:59AM
"in Cataclysm we can track both Herbs and Minerals at the same time"
what did I miss? is this a new feature?
MusedMoose Sep 14th 2010 7:35AM
@ Hanak:
The tracking dropdown menu in Cataclysm has check-boxes instead of a "select one" sort of thing. For example, you can choose to track mining nodes, class trainers, profession trainers, and herb nodes all at once, if you have the requisite skills. I've seen it in a few beta screenshots and it's quite nifty.
Matthew Sep 13th 2010 9:34PM
I planned my ding into 80 as an exploration ding.
Maybe I'll ding 85 by picking a flower.
Sweet.