Paranoic
Sodbuster
For all those who wonder which level 5 and 10 profession for each skill is "better", here's my answer ^^. While all professions can be useful in some way, some of them are just straight out better than the rest, while some are better depending on your progress. The professions I recommend should work for any playthrough, even though sometimes they might be a little untailored.
With that, here are my recommendations for professions. Some of them can get close in certain scenarios, but you can't really go wrong with these. I hope this little guide has helped clear some questions, and good luck ^^
- Farming
Level 5: Tiller (Crops worth 10% more) > Rancher
Pretty much no competition on this one. Unless you go for an animal-only playthrough or focus heavily on them, most of your earnings will come from crops, so it's better to increase these. Aside from that, Tiller offers better level 10 options.
Level 10: Artisan (Artisan goods worth 40% more) > Agriculturist > Shepherd > Coopmaster
Again, Artisan is one of the best professions in the game. 40% is such a massive deal, and you should have some processing already as you get to lvl 10 farming, there's really no beating that.
Agriculturist is still nice if it grants you an extra harvest, but in the end Artisan will still get you more money if you process your harvests.
If you've taken the animal route, Shepherd grants you a nice boost to wool gains, and barn animals are generally worth more than coop animals (EVEN if you make use of the bonus incubation time of Coopmaster), which leaves Coopmaster as the worst level 10 profession.
- Mining
Level 5: Miner (+1 ore per vein) > Geologist
Metal bars are a key to successful growth, making Miner one of the best professions in the game. Sprinklers, processing equipement, tool upgrades, you name it - almost all upgrades in the game require metal bars, and +1 ore each vein stacks up really fast. Geologist isn't all that bad, the extra money comes in handy, especially once you're done upgrading, but more metal will almost always beat more money.
Level 10: Prospector (Chance to find coal doubled) > Blacksmith > Gemologist > Excavator
Prospector isn't all that good, in all honesty, but since Miner is amazing, and most people don't sell metal bars, it's the best out of the four. Extra coal is good, but you can always buy it in a pinch.
Blacksmith is actually amazing, it's +500 gold on each iridium bar if you come to a point of selling iridium bars, and is my own preferred profession as a minmaxer, but most people just don't sell bars, so I'll rate it as the second profession.
If you've gone Geologist, then Gemologist will do you more good with the extra 30% money, as geodes aren't worth that much. I'd only go Excavator if I was hunting minerals for my museum collection.
- Foraging
Level 5: Gatherer (Chance for double harvest of foraged items) > Forester
Foraging is not that important of a skill, so most of the professions are rather underwhelming. That said, Gatherer is pretty nice, especially when you have pigs. There isn't much use for it though, a lot of forage items are worth very little.
Forester is not that bad either, 25% extra wood may go a long way, but you can always just buy any wood you need, and its level 10 professions are terrible. So, all things considered, Gatherer beats Forester.
Level 10: Botanist (Foraged items are always highest quality) > Tracker > Lumberjack > Tapper
Botanist is surprisingly good. It saves inventory space whenever you go foraging on your way, and if you have pigs, it really makes a difference. Also beats other three options by A LOT.
Tracker is a little underwhelming. It's okay if you need to find artifact spots for the museum, but otherwise I'd just go with Botanist anytime.
Lumberjack is... bad. There is no other way to put it, hardwood is not a good resource, and you get so little of it anyway. It's a nice extra bonus if you went the Lumberjack route, but it's just way too bad compared to Botanist.
And with all that, Tapper still manages to be even worse. Syrups are such useful crafting materials and sell for so little, you should never sell them to begin with. And 25% increase is just too little to make it worth it.
- Fishing
Level 5: Fisher (Fish worth 25% more) > Trapper
Fishing professions might be the most balanced of all. Fisher is always good, since it's free money, but Trapper is a really interesting alternative. Crab pots might not be the best way of earning money, but getting a lot of them via the Trapper profession may be worth the effort. Still, if you don't want to invest too much in crab pots, Fisher will be the more solid choice for any playthrough.
Level 10: Angler (Fish worth 50% more) > Mariner > Luremaster > Pirate
Again, really close in terms of power. Angler is always good, so it's my recommendation, as more money is always good. That said, none of the four is really "bad", and you can pick whichever one you feel like playing with.
Mariner allows you to make lots of sashimi out of low value fish, and sell the higher value ones for a pretty penny. You'll need to restock in bait often once you have a lot of crab pots, but a great profession overall.
Luremaster is very convenient with a lot of recycling machines. Recycling should supply you in basic resources, while you still get some fish to sell or turn into sashimi. Still, it's worse than Mariner in terms of raw money.
Pirate is probably the worst of them all, but you still get the Fisher 25% bonus, while getting some extra money from the chests. Still, I'd only recommend it if you wanted to do museum quickly, as more chests means more artifacts.
- Combat
Level 5: Fighter (All attacks deal 10% more damage) > Scout
The Scout route is... bad. Sadly, the critical strike chance is too low to make it useful, and there is no reason to invest in it. On the other hand, consistent damage is solid, and killing enemies faster means more time spent mining. I'll always recommend Fighter as the better option, unless you just want to have some fun with random chance ^^.
Level 10: Brute (Deal 15% more damage) > Acrobat > Defender > Desperado
As I mentioned, more damage means more time mining. Brute will always be the best option on this behalf.
Acrobat is a funny profession. Especially with hammers, using your special move more often can be almost as good as Brute's increased damage. However, since you need to pick Scout to gain access to this profession, I'd say it's still not worth it.
Defender is meh. Sure, health is nice, but if you bring enough food to heal, it'll never be an issue, so you'd be better off with Brute. While it's not "bad", I'd call it a crutch, since you're missing out on some damage.
Desperado relies on critting, therefore it's the worst of the bunch. Even with a full crit build it's just too bad to be relied on.
With that, here are my recommendations for professions. Some of them can get close in certain scenarios, but you can't really go wrong with these. I hope this little guide has helped clear some questions, and good luck ^^
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