So for a while, “back in the day”, engineering was all about PvP. We had grenades that stunned, helmets we could use to knock someone out for a while, net launchers to catch flag carriers, scary death-rays that had scary crits… There was no question that engineering was the way to go if you wanted to go rambo on a bunch of players.

Sure, repair bots existed back then, so the profession did affect PvE, but raiding guilds likely had to have a roll off to see who would get stuck with the responsibility of being the engineer who brings the bots.

Then, in The Burning Crusade, we got some flashy new goodies! Rocket boots that can send you out of harm’s way at the speed of a flying mount, obnoxiously loud gyrocopters, and another set of brilliant (but mostly useless) trinkets. All in all, I don’t regret engineering in TBC, but it did make me question my profession more than at any other time in the game.

And here we are now… Northrend has brought us many new goodies, and although it has taken some time for everything to become available, it seems a focus for the profession in Wrath of the Lich King has finally emerged:

Laziness.

That’s right, engineering is now a profession for lazy people like me. Let’s take a look at what I have at my disposal now to make my WoW experience that much lazier:

Need eternals? That good old mote extractor from Outlands is far more useful in Northrend. Just while out mining, I run into clouds of gas that actually give me crystalized elements that I actually need!

Need to hit up the auction house? Just chat with a mechano-gnome in Dalaran! It saves you from wasting a hearthstone cooldown, and from having to talk to a real person for your auctions.

Wasted your hearthstone anyway? Bust out your wormhole generator! Now not only can you get to the right continent with the flip of a switch, you can even pick the right relative quadrant of it!

Forget your real gear because you’re wearing your engineering RP set? Perhaps you just forgot poisons or some ankhs? Bust out your mechanical butler, who also saves you the trouble of farming materials for little old scrapbots, when your group wipes because you were too busy trying to break combat to resurrect someone with your army knife.

You know, I think I might actually be able to stand farming up enough money for a second Mechano-Hog for my new main, now that I have to waste so little of my time compared to the good old days.