World of Warcraft news » Professions: Living in Perfect Harmony

As with any new expansion, we often find that we have an opportunity to take a closer look at a variety of game systems within World of Warcraft and explore new ideas or improvements to the game. One system in particular is held near and dear to the hearts of the community: professions. With Mists of Pandaria, the designers were able to seize upon an opportunity to look at the role of materials and refine their purpose and their usefulness. In the end, they came up with Spirit of Harmony as the new resource du jour.

Harmonious Prospects

In Mists of Pandaria, we’re introducing a new material known as the Spirit of Harmony. It slices— it dices— well, ok, it doesn’t, but crafters of any stripe will find it has many uses. By now, any experienced crafter is used to filling bags with a variety of materials such as Primal Life, Primal Fire, Primal Earth, etc. but in Mists of Pandaria, it’s all about Spirit of Harmony (in combination with the usual materials, like ore, leather, and gems). Spirit of Harmony is the result of the designers simplifying an already complex system while still keeping a wide variety of possibilities open to players. Much like with other Primals, Motes of Harmony can be combined (10 to 1) to create one Spirit of Harmony.

Harmony is Personal

Let’s get right to it. Spirit of Harmony is a Bind on Pickup (or "BoP" to veterans) crafting material that can be found on every lootable creature in every zone in Pandaria -- from dungeons to the outdoor world. Intially, we want crafters to be out in the world adventuring instead of camping out in front of an auctioneer, hoping to score some cheap mats.

We understand that this may be of concern to those who play a variety of profession alts, and may consider other options for the future, including the possibility of allowing Spirits of Harmony to be Bind to Account in a future patch.

In addition to serving as a core crafting ingredient, Spirits of Harmony can also be used to purchase a variety of additional bonuses or materials that your character may need. While not every profession will get equal value out of them, most everyone will need to collect them for one reason or another.

Here are some examples of the many ways that Spirit of Harmony can be used:

• Alchemy: Purchase an extra Transmute.
• Archaeology: Purchase a restored artifact.
• Cooking: Exchange for an Iron Paw Token.
• Enchanting: Buy reagents.
• Engineering: New mounts and personal goggles.
• Herbalism: Purchase herbs.
• Inscription: Purchase rare inks.
• Jewelcrafting: Use to purchase extra daily discoveries.
• Tailoring, Blacksmithing, Leatherworking: Used to create epic items.

Purchasing materials may not ultimately be the most efficient way to gain resources, but it can be an added convenience to purchase something with Spirit of Harmony rather than going back into the world to get it. The Spirit of Harmony vendor can be found in the Vale of Eternal Blossoms.