Hunting/Gathering WoW Expansion

With all the new changes coming this fall for World of Warcraft I've started to prepare a couple of characters for the challenge ahead. There are only two characters I'm really gearing for the change, although I enjoy playing just about every character I've created there just isn't enough time in the day to work with them all and maintain a certain level of skill in order to remain viable.

So with the soon to be release inscription profession I'm looking at dropping enchanting from my pally and moving into herb smashing and ink making while maintaining my current jewelcrafting skill.

In order to keep the pally moving I've switched specs from holy (healing) to protection (tank). I just feel more comfortable grinding the level and questing, especially solo with this build. Maybe at 80 I'll move back to the healer roll, until then I will let the world dash itself upon the pally shield.

I've also shifted my hunter from skinning and herb collecting to mining and herb collecting. I would have loved to keep my skinning and thus produce the ultimate gatherer, but it's just not meant to be. The nice thing about doing this is I love the solo life of the hunter and the ability to explore, so while wandering the back roads I'll be able to pick up the materials that will be needed for my pally to cut gems and continue inscription.

I've also for the first time ever maxed out fishing (375) with my hunter. It's more a safety thing, as I'm not sure on what reagents will be needed before everything is said and done (that and fishing is a nice way to level up cooking). It's also a nice break from a lot of other more stressful challenges.

Other than this desire for exploration there is the strong desire to try out the new pets they plan on putting into play as well - the wasp, rhino, devilsaur (think really big raptor), and worm are all playing with my attention at the moment.

Now it's just a matter of some gear upgrades and I'll be good to go.