There’s no other way of saying this: skinning kinda sucks and is by far the worst gathering profession! Herbalism is useful for alchemy and inscription. Mining is useful for blacksmithing, jewelcrafting, and engineering. Skinning is only useful for leatherworking. And leatherworking is already a bit underwhelming, which makes skinning even worse. Max skinners get Master of Anatomy, a +40 critical strike rating bonus, which isn’t really sought after. The upside of skinning is that it is fairly simple to level up, and this WotLK skinning guide will show you how.
This guide was primarily made for max-level characters who want to power-level this profession. Leveling characters usually don’t have trouble keeping just by questing and killing mobs. So buy a Skinning Knife, and let’s get going!
Skinning guide WoW Classic – Horde
- Thuwd in Orgrimmar.
- Killian Hagey in Undercity.
- Mooranta in Thunder Bluff.
- Tyn in Silvermoon City.
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.
- Remere in The Exodar.
- 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.
Skinning guide TBC Classic
Now that you’re done with the classic portion of the guides, there is no need to separate the routes anymore. Therefore all the further routes are the same for the Alliance and the Horde.
Learn Master skinning (300 – 375) from one of these trainers:
- Alliance: Jelena Nightsky in Honor Hold, Hellfire Peninsula.
- Horde: Moorutu in Thrallmar, Hellfire Peninsula at Thrallmar.
Neutral:
Master skinning (300 – 350)
- 300 – 325
Knothide Leather Scraps and Knothide Leather – Hellfire Peninsula
East of Honor Hold there are a lot of Helboar so do the first 10 skill points there. Once you reach 310 you can move southwest to the path that leads to Terokkar Forest and skin the ravages there. The mob density is great. Also, people usually quest in that area so you’ll be able to quickly skin the corpses.
- 325 – 350
Knothide Leather Scraps and Knothide Leather – Nagrand
The ever-beautiful Nagrand will be your second and final spot in Outland. There’s an abundance of beasts running in the zone so you can go to the area that suits you the most. My suggestion is to skin the Talbuks and Clefthoofs around Garadar. It’s the spot where players do their Hemet Nesingwary quests so you’ll find more than enough dead mobs.
Skinning guide WotLK
Horde:
- Howling Fjord: Roberta Jacks
- Borean Tundra: Tiponi Stormwhisper
Alliance:
- Howling Fjord: Frederic Burrhus
- Borean Tundra: Trapper Jack
Neutral:
- Dalaran: Derik Marks
Grand Master skinning (350 – 450)
- 350 – 395
Borean Leather Scraps and Borean Leather in Borean Tundra
When it comes to skinning in Northrend starter zones, Borean Tundra is vastly superior to Howling Fjord. In Borean Tundra there are dense packs of rhinos and mammoths a bit northwest of Warsong Hold. Go there and skin everything.
- 395 – 450
Borean Leather Scraps and Borean Leather in Sholazar Basin
Sholazar Basin is immediately north of Borean Tundra, which is great. This zone is kinda the Nagrand of Northrend: it is big, lush, and green, and has a lot of beasts and Hemet Nesingwary quests. You’ll do no wrong just by picking some random green area to skin mobs. However, my personal favorite spots are around Nesingwary Base Camp and east of Frenzyheart Hill where the gorillas are.
Thank you for reading out WotLK skinning guide! Unfortunately, there isn’t much to do when you are a max-level skinner. Your main source of income will be Arctic Fur, a rare material you will sometimes get from skinning Northrend beasts. It’s used as both a currency and a reagent, so it’s worth selling it. However, there is no optimal way of farming it, considering it is a random drop. Go to the zone and area you enjoy the most.