Community Blog Topic: Should professions be account-wide?

Community Blog Topic: Should professions be account-wide?.

This is quite a conundrum for me. I make gold via selling finished products on the Auction house at a profit. I have all professions maxed on my main server. This primarily was so I could provide for my library of alts. My server has a peculiar economy, frequently you’ll find items such as consumables listed below crafting cost. If all professions went account wide there would be an auction house shift from finished products to gathered materials. Honestly, then I’d be out of the auction house market. I don’t have the time to gather everything myself. Also high population realms would have difficulty gathering, because you can mine, herb or skin mobs. On the Timeless Isle I already have to loot & skin my mobs quickly or someone else will skin them.

Also profession bonuses would have to go away or limited in some way. Otherwise all raiders would be forced by their guilds to level all professions. Granted I have them all already maxed.

alchemy for the mixology bonus
skinning for the critical strike bonus
mining for the stam bonus
herbalism for the heal + haste buff
blacksmithing for the 2 extra gem sockets
enchanting to enchant your rings
engineering for the synapse springs for your gloves (CD to increase your primary stat)
inscription for the more powerful shoulder enchants
jewelcrafting for the JC gems
leatherworking for the bracers fur lining
tailoring for the cloak embroidery

Another consideration… Is this across all servers like mounts? Or is it realm/faction specific? Also it will create immense competition for raid pattern drops, but with the trending away from the patterns being raid drops (which I like) this is less of a consideration. Also alchemy specializations, Can you level more than one specialization??? I like my transmute master, but I also need a flask master & a potion master.