Vocations and Professions in LoTRO:SOA

In the greatly anticipated Lord of The Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar, players will have the opportunity to choose and develop tradeskills called “Vocations,” which can be applied to one or more “Professions.” These are elements of the rather elaborate economic system of LoTRO:SOA, but there is a method to the madness.

There are seven Vocations that fall into one of two categories, that in the real world would correspond to “primary economic industries” that gather materials (such as logging, mining, and agriculture) and “secondary industries” such as manufacturing. Each of the seven production Professions (clever, eh?) requires materiél from other professions. The end result is that some Professions have access to fewer resources than others, but then, some can also function as their their own Vocation. For example, a Tailor can make use of several vocations, but a Forester can make use of only one which provides its own raw materials. The exception here is the Profession of Scholar, who can obtain materials only by gathering loot.

Okay, is your head spinning yet? Don’t worry – the good folks at Turbine have provided this handy diagram which should help to clarify the LoTRO:SOA economic system and how Vocations and Professions relate to each other. Click for a detailed look.

Here’s the key: each beige box represents a Vocation. The shapes inside are Professions. Those professions in red have the gathering vocations which enable them to obtain their own materials in order to manufacture their own needs. Those in orange have no gathering vocation, so will have to get their materials from other players. The green circles represent strictly primary industries. They don’t really have an immediate use for the materials they gather, but will have a ready stream of customers from those in the orange diamond professions.

Here’s a quick rundown on the “production professions:”

Weaponsmith: What you’d think it is – they make the edged weapons.
Metalsmith: These provide protective gear, mainly armor and shields.
Tailor: They can fashion everything from simple homespun garments to magic protective garments. They also make lightweight leather armor for archers.
Jewellers: Their products can be strictly decorative, or can confer special powers on the wearer.
Woodworker: The archer’s friend, they provide arrows, bows and hafted weapons such as spears and staves.
Cook: Don’t underestimate this one. As any hobbit will tell you (and remember, they love to eat – six meals a day when they can get them), a good Cook can make a long journey much more pleasant.
Scholar: They are the keeper of lost lore, and know its meaning. They can produce scrolls of arcane information that other craftsmen can use to improve the potency of their products.

Via LOTRO

In the greatly anticipated Lord of The Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar, players will have the opportunity to choose and develop tradeskills called “Vocations,” which can be applied to one or more “Professions.” These are elements of the rather elaborate economic system of LoTRO:SOA, but there is a method to the madness.

There are seven Vocations that fall into one of two categories, that in the real world would correspond to “primary economic industries” that gather materials (such as logging, mining, and agriculture) and “secondary industries” such as manufacturing. Each of the seven production Professions (clever, eh?) requires materiél from other professions. The end result is that some Professions have access to fewer resources than others, but then, some can also function as their their own Vocation. For example, a Tailor can make use of several vocations, but a Forester can make use of only one which provides its own raw materials. The exception here is the Profession of Scholar, who can obtain materials only by gathering loot.

Okay, is your head spinning yet? Don’t worry – the good folks at Turbine have provided this handy diagram which should help to clarify the LoTRO:SOA economic system and how Vocations and Professions relate to each other. Click for a detailed look.

Here’s the key: each beige box represents a Vocation. The shapes inside are Professions. Those professions in red have the gathering vocations which enable them to obtain their own materials in order to manufacture their own needs. Those in orange have no gathering vocation, so will have to get their materials from other players. The green circles represent strictly primary industries. They don’t really have an immediate use for the materials they gather, but will have a ready stream of customers from those in the orange diamond professions.

Here’s a quick rundown on the “production professions:”

Weaponsmith: What you’d think it is – they make the edged weapons.
Metalsmith: These provide protective gear, mainly armor and shields.
Tailor: They can fashion everything from simple homespun garments to magic protective garments. They also make lightweight leather armor for archers.
Jewellers: Their products can be strictly decorative, or can confer special powers on the wearer.
Woodworker: The archer’s friend, they provide arrows, bows and hafted weapons such as spears and staves.
Cook: Don’t underestimate this one. As any hobbit will tell you (and remember, they love to eat – six meals a day when they can get them), a good Cook can make a long journey much more pleasant.
Scholar: They are the keeper of lost lore, and know its meaning. They can produce scrolls of arcane information that other craftsmen can use to improve the potency of their products.

Via LOTRO