Herbalists and Miners will be able to gather herbs and ores with low skill in Pandaria. You will get fragments like [Ghost Iron Nugget] and [Torn Green Tea Leaf] when you gather herbs or ores. These are just a few examples, there is a fragment version for every herb and ore. (for trillium there is currently none) You can combine 10 of these fragments into a single ore or herb.
Here is the official quote:
- Herbalists of low skill can now pick herbs in Pandaria for a small amount of usable material. The yield an herbalist will be able to harvest from each node is determined by skill level.
- Miners of low skill can now mine mineral deposits in Pandaria for a small amount of usable material. The yield a miner will be able to harvest from each node is determined by skill level.
With skill 1, you will get 1-2 of these fragments, and as your skill progresses towards 500, you can get up to 9 of them each time you pick a herb/ore, and eventually around 450 you will even start getting [Green Tea Leaf] or [Ghost Iron Ore]. You will need higher skill for higher level ores and herbs if you don't want to get any fragments.
As an example, Kyparite requires mining 550, but I was able to get 1 [Kyparite] Ore and 8 [Kyparite Fragment] with Mining skill 535.
This is a great change, but since currently only Blacksmithing and Inscription have alternative leveling methods that use materials from Pandaria, some professions will be even harder to level because the old world materials will be even more expensive if fewer players will level their professions in the old zones.
I personally would still level my professions using the old zones because I can still get way more ore and herb until I reach 400, and I can sell them or use them for leveling my professions. However, it is a great way to skip the part in the Mining leveling guide where you have to mine Adamantite and Fel Iron.