Guide to Profession Knowledge Point Catch-Up in "The War Within" Expansion
The introduction of a catch-up system in World of Warcraft's "The War Within" expansion addresses one of the major drawbacks of the Dragonflight crafting system. Although the system isn't flawless and remains somewhat enigmatic, it offers players a way to catch up on profession knowledge points, albeit with some variations depending on the profession.
Understanding the New Catch-Up System
The catch-up system for professions fundamentally allows players to regain lost ground in terms of knowledge points. It primarily focuses on the knowledge points aspect, while Artisan's Mettle is a different aspect. Fortunately, earning a catch-up knowledge point also provides you with five Artisan's Mettle, intertwining the systems to some extent.
Key Highlights of the Catch-Up System
Varied Implementation Across Professions:
The catch-up mechanism differs slightly between professions. Some professions may require more interaction with the game's environment, while others rely on completing specific tasks.
Hidden System:
The catch-up system is not explicitly detailed within the game, requiring players to use external scripts or addons (like WeakAuras) to track their progress and understand the system better.
Knowledge Points TrackerHow to Use Macros for Checking Profession Catch-Up Points in WoW
To determine how many catch-up points remain for a specific profession in World of Warcraft, you can use a macro. Here's a basic template for the macro. By changing the number in the
GetCurrencyInfofunction, you can print out the remaining catch-up points for any given profession. Note that it may take a few seconds for the server to register the profession info when you log in, so allow a brief wait before checking the points for both professions on a character.
/run local c=C_CurrencyInfo.GetCurrencyInfo(3057) print(c.maxQuantity-c.quantity,"for",(c.name:match("ly.(.*).Kn")))
/run local c=C_CurrencyInfo.GetCurrencyInfo(3058) print(c.maxQuantity-c.quantity,"for",(c.name:match("ly.(.*).Kn")))
Profession Codes:Alchemy: 3057
Blacksmithing: 3058
Enchanting: 3059
Engineering: 3060
Herbalism: 3061
Inscription: 3062
Jewelcrafting: 3063
Leatherworking: 3064
Mining: 3065
Skinning: 3066
Tailoring: 3067
Understanding Catch-Up Mechanics
Currently, all professions have active catch-up mechanics, meaning you can continue to earn knowledge points even after reaching the week's cap. However, it can be challenging to determine if you've acquired all possible catch-up points for a profession.
Checking for Complete Catch-Up
To check if you've claimed all catch-up knowledge points, you might consider using a macro or a WeakAura. Unfortunately, there isn't a straightforward API command that directly returns the total number of knowledge points collected, but monitoring the catch-up mechanics could offer some insight.
Gathering Professions:
For example, in herbalism, players can acquire Deep Grove Roots after completing certain weekly activities like gathering Deep Grove Petals and Roses. However, access to these catch-up points is gated behind completing specific turn-in quests.
Crafting Professions:
Crafting professions like tailoring rely heavily on the Patron Order system for catch-up. Players need to fulfill orders that provide glimmers or flickers of knowledge points. This system is more time-dependent, requiring players to log in regularly to find and complete these orders.
Enchantment as a Hybrid:
Enchanting operates as a mix of crafting and gathering. Players can earn catch-up points by disenchanting items after collecting specific weekly treasures, making it one of the more straightforward professions for catching up.
Challenges and Criticism
The primary criticism of the current catch-up system is its reliance on hidden mechanics and the randomness of crafting orders. The system does not allow players to fully catch up with those who have been actively participating since the start of the expansion, maintaining a gap between new and veteran players.
