Welcome to our WoW Vanilla Skinning Leveling Guide! This guide works for vanilla-era, SOM, and hardcore servers.
Skinning is a bit underwhelming. It’s the least lucrative of all gathering professions. You’ll be mainly making money using Salt Shaker every 3 days and creating Refined Deeprock Salt.
However, skinning is very easy to rank up. Players who are still leveling their characters won’t have any problem keeping their skinning up. They can just skin all the beasts they kill. What makes skinning even better is that you can skin the beasts other people kill as well!
Therefore, this guide was created for max-level players. The guide differs for Alliance and Horde players so choose the one that fits your faction.
Skinning guide WoW Classic – Horde
- Thuwd in Orgrimmar.
- Killian Hagey in Undercity.
- Mooranta in Thunder Bluff.
Classic (1 – 300)
- 1 – 60
Ruined Leather Scraps and Light Leather – Durotar and Mulgore
At this point, the differences between zones are minimal. Every starter zone has more than enough beasts. However, my suggestion is to start in Durotar, or if you have to, in Mulgore. It will make the following steps easier.
Don’t forget to train Journeyman skinning (75 – 150) once you reach skill level 50.
- 60 – 150
Medium Leather – The Barrens
The Barrens is amazing because it is a large zone with a wide range of mob levels, which means you can stay here for at least 90 skill points. Start by skinning the mobs slightly east of Crossroads. The higher your skill goes, move more south where the higher level mobs are. In the end, you’ll basically go through the whole zone.
Don’t forget to train Expert skinning (150 – 225) once you reach skill level 125. Luckily, there’s a skinning trainer in Camp Taurajo in southern Barrens.
- 150 – 205
Heavy Leather – Thousand Needles
Thousand Needles isn’t my favorite zone for skinning, but it follows the natural route because it’s under the Barrens. Start by skinning mobs around the Freewind Post. Once you reach a bit higher skill level, move to the Shimmering Flats.
Don’t forget to train Artisan skinning (225 – 300) once you reach skill level 200. You have two options here: you can fly back to a capital city like Orgrimmar or Mulgore, or if you have the flight path to Feralas, you can find the trainer there – Kulleg Stonehorn. If you went with the Feralas choice, you can stay and skin there until 250, skip the Tanaris part of the guide and go straight to Un’Goro.
- 205 – 250
Thick Leather – Tanaris
Just like Thousand Needles, Tanaris is not a perfect zone. But it still has more than enough beasts to get you through this step. Start by skinning mobs just west of Gadgetzan. You can go a bit south when you reach a higher skill level. Not that there is better mob density there, but the final step of this guide is in Un’Goro, so you might as well start moving. Just don’t go too much south and end in the ogre areas.
- 250 – 300
Rugged Leather – Un’Goro Crater
Un’Goro is absolutely amazing for skinning – you’ll get done with this step in no time. The mob density is high and almost all of them are beasts. The western part of the zone has higher-level mobs. You can move there once you get some initial skill points skinning the dinosaurs in the east.
Skinning guide WoW Classic – Alliance
Start by learning skinning from one of these trainers:
- Maris Granger in Stormwind City.
- Balthus Stoneflayer in Ironforge.
- Eladriel in Darnassus.
Classic (1 – 300)
1 – 60 Ruined Leather Scraps and Light Leather
At this point, the differences between zones are minimal. Every starter zone has more than enough beasts. However, my suggestion is to start in Dun Morogh. It will make the following steps easier.
Don’t forget to train Journeyman skinning (75 – 150) once you reach skill level 50.
- 60 – 125
Medium Leather – Loch Modan
In Loch Modan start in the west part of the zone skinning mobs around Thelsamaar. Once you reach around 100 skill points, you can move to the east side, because the mobs are higher level there. You’ll find them between the Mo’grosh Stronghold and Ironband’s excavation site.
Don’t forget to train Expert skinning (150 – 225) once you reach skill level 125.
- 125 – 165
Medium Leather – Hillsbrad Foothills
With cats and bars running around everywhere, Hillsbrad is a great zone for skinning. Once you reach the skill level of 150-155, you can move to the yeti cave in the north. If you want, you can stay skinning in that cave even after you reach 165. It’s your choice.
- 165 – 205
Heavy Leather – Arathi Highlands
Around the center of Arathi Highlands, there are a lot of raptors you can skin, so just around Refuge Pointe. If you go a bit more south, you will encounter higher-level mobs. This is a nice zone and you should be done with this part quickly.
Don’t forget to train Artisan skinning (225 – 300) once you reach skill level 200.
- 205 – 250
Thick Leather – The Hinterlands
The Hinterlands is a large zone with a big level disparity between mobs. The more east you move, the higher the levels get. The highest levels are the turtles on the beach north of Revantusk Village. You could stay there even after you reach 250 skill points, the choice is yours.
- 250 – 300
Rugged Leather – Eastern Plaguelands/Un’Goro Crater
Up to this point, the Alliance route has been a breeze. Unfortunately, there isn’t a great place to skin in Eastern Kingdoms after you reach 250. My suggestion is to go up north to the Eastern Plaguelands and skin all the bats and plaguehounds you find.
Alternatively, you could take the boat from Menethil Harbor to Theramore Isle and fly from there to Un’Goro. That place is really amazing.
Thank you for reading our vanilla skinning leveling guide! Now don’t forget to buy a Salt Shaker and get those Refined Deeprock Salts. The cooldown may be long, but the price of the salt is high as well. Try to craft one salt as soon as your cooldown is ready. You don’t want to be missing on it because it is a great source of income.