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Skinningis a primary crafting profession inWorld of Warcraft Classic. It’s considered agatheringprofession as it only involves the collecting of materials from slain corpses for use in other professions, namelyLeatherworking. The level cap of professions is increased from375to450inWrath of the Lich King (Wotlk)and will include a whole lot more corpses to skin.
Skinning provides a small critical strike buff with the passive bonusMaster of Anatomy.
Skinning is often paired withLeatherworkingas a second primary profession. The bulk of materials used inLeatherworkingis provided by the materials gathered from Skinning.
1 - 300
300 - 350
350 - 450
Trapper Jack, Borean Tundra [58,72]
Types of Leather
Here is a list of all the items you will need in order to level from 1 to 300. We’ve also included a brief description of where to get each item. Keep in mind that depending on your luck with skill-ups you may have a surplus or deficit for some materials listed in the table below.
1 - 17
-
1-40
5 - 26
1-130
15 - 37
50-185
21 - 51
105-255
36 - 56
180-280
44 - 64
220-320
58+
290-350
290-375
67+
350-385
350-475
Skinnable Corpses And Skill-Up Rates
Enemies that can be skinned will change the mouse cursor when hovering over the corpse. It will also display a colored tag “Skinnable” in the tooltip. The color of that tag will change depending on the level of your Skinning. The color indicates the success rate and chance of increasing the Skinning level.(see skill-up section in this articlefor exact calculations)
Skill level not high enough
Low chance of success; high chance of skill-up
Moderate chance of success; moderate chance of skill-up
High chance of success; low chance of skill-up
Grey
Guaranteed success; no skill-up
The level at which an enemy can be skinned is based on your Skinning level as follows:
1-10
1
11-20
21-73
<73 (WotLK)
74-80 (WotLK)
1 - 75
75 - 125
125 - 160
160 - 200
180 - 220
200 - 275
275 - 300
Make sure to pick up Apprentice Skinning from the appropriate trainers in your area. Let’s start with thegood old Classic zones of Azeroth.
Levels 1 to 75
For the Horde, the best routes are near the Orcs and Trolls starting areas inDurotar. Starting atSen’jin Villageand heading North towardsRazor Hillthen making a detour West and North toOrgrimmar. Look forBoars,Scorpions,Raptors, andCrocolisks.
If you are skinning as you level anUndeadcharacter, travel aroundBrillinTirisfall Gladesand look forHoundsand Bats then head south intoSilverpine Forestlooking forMoonrage Wargens.
ForTauren, start skinning aroundBloodhoof VillageinMulgorethen travel aroundThunderbluffand skinProwlers,Plainstriders, andWolves.
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For theAlliance, the best routes are nearGoldshire, focusing on skinning theBoarsat the farms nearby. Then head East toEastvale Logging Camplooking forWolvesandBears.
ForGnomesandDwarves, start aroundKharanosand loop around the lake atBrewnall Villagelook for Boars,Wendigos, andWolves.
At level50you canlearnJourneyman Skinning.
Where To Skin For Levels 75 to 125
For the Horde, theBarrensis the best place to go. Starting nearThe Crossroadslook forPlainstriders,Raptors, andProwlers. Then head south toCamp Taraujoand skinHyenas, Thunderhoofs,andThunderhawks.
If you are in levelingAshenvalelook out forBears,StagsandWolves.
For the Alliance, Humans can make their way toWestfalltraveling along the East side of the map down toSentinel HillskinningGoretusksas well as inRed Ridge Mountainsnear Lakeshire skinningWhelpsandBoarsnearby.
ForGnomesand Dwarves travel north from Loch Modan toWetlandsskinningCrocolisksand Raptors along the path toMenethl Harbor.
Skinning In Dungeons
At about level 70, you can also farm in theDungeonsif you want toavoid encountering other players! Where appropriate, we’ll provide a dungeon for each section in this list. The good thing about dungeons, if you are at a high enough level, is that you can take out large amounts of enemies at a time and then reset the instance.
At around level 75 Skinning go intoWailing CavernsinThe Barrens. There are many level 18-19Raptorsin the first area that you can skin.
Don’t forget to pick upExpert Skinningat level125from the trainer before heading back out again.
Select a Different Level Range
Where To Skin For Levels 125 to 160
Continuing on south forHordeplayers coming from theBarrens, Thousand NeedleshasHyenas,Wyverns,LionsandThunderhawksin the lower section between the tall pillars.
Hillsbrad Foothillsis the next area forUndead, here you’ll findBearsandMountain Lionsto skin nearTarren Mill.
Allianceplayers will be interested inArathi Highlandsfor a longer duration skinning the lower level north group ofRaptorsfollowed by the higher level ones to the south. Alternatively,Duskwoodhas a fewRavagersandWargsthat can also be skinned.
At level125Skinningyou can also enterRazorfen Kraulin the southern part ofThe Barrens.Here you can focus on theBoarsandBatsin this area.
Where To Skin For Levels 160 to 200
TheShimmering Flatsin the southern section ofThousand Needlesis a good area to skinBasilisksandTurtles.
Stranglethorn Valeis a great way to level starting at level 180 and you can even continue all the way to 300. There are lots of beasts to skin here but there may also be lots of competition. Start at the camp byHemit Nessingwary in the north.
If you’re up inAlterac Mountainslook for theYeti Cavefor a nice dense location of skinnable bodies, there are alsoMountain Lionsnearby too. InDustwallow Marshlook forRaptorsand Crocolisks.
At level 175, the dungeonUldamanin theBadlandsalso has a large amount of skinnable mobs. Entering through the back door is the best strategy to get toCleft ScorpidsandDeadly Cleft Scorpids.
Where To Skin For Levels 180 to 220
Continuing on south inStranglethorn Valeyou’ll findRaptorsandGorillasthat you can skin on the west side ofGurubashi Arena.
In theSwamp of Sorrowslook forPanthers,Jaguars, andCrocolisks.
InFeralaslook forHippogryphs,Apes, Bears, Wendigos,andWolves. There is a particularly great spot for Alliance nearFeathermoon Stronghold.
Atlevel 200you can head back to the trainer and learnArtisan Skinning
Where To Skin For Levels 200 to 275
More areas inStranglethorn Valeinclude theGorillasnortheast ofBooty Bayand theJaguarson the Island on the southern tip east of Booty Bay.
In theBlasted Landsthe northern section has a good amount of Snickerfangs andBoars.
At Level 60, before entering,Dire Maullook for the Gordok Hyenas then enter the Dungeon at 285 to skinGordok Mastiff.
Where To Skin For Levels 275 to 300
The best place to go is undoubtedlyUn’Goro Craterwhere nearly anything with a pulse can be skinned. There are a lot of dinosaurs here roaming around and there’s a good cave in the north withGorillasin it.
The western coast of theHinterlandstowardsRaventusk Villagehas a lot ofTurtlesas well.
Other good sources of Skinning in this end-range of Classic include theBearsofWestern Plaguelands,PlaguehoundsandPlaguebatsofEastern Plaguelands,Winterspring Yetis,Chimeras, andBears, andDragonkinandScorpidsofBurning Steppes.
Outland Skinning 300 to 350
Where To Skin For Levels 300 to 350
In The Burning Crusade bothAlliance and Horde are competingin the same areas for resources. To start things off, head to the trainers at each faction’s respective bases inHellfire Peninsulaif you haven’t already learnedMaster Skinning.
Where To Skin For Levels 300 - 330
Look forHelboarsandRavagers. If you are also levelingLeatherworking, focus onRavagersmainly. Ravagers have a chance to lootCrystal Infused Leatherwhich will help with some recipes in this bracket.
Where To Skin For Levels 330 to 350
From 330 onwards you can head toTerrokar Forestto slay and skinBasilisksandWarp Stalkers. Stick to the northern part of the zone as that is where the majority of skinnable mobs are located.
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You can also head toNagrandinstead as there are plenty ofClefthoofsandTalbuksthat roam the area in large groups. Clefthoofs sometimes dropThick Clefthoof Leatherwhich is also useful inLeatherworking.
Northrend Skinning 350 to 450
Where To Skin For Levels 350 to 450
Once you’vesailed toNorthrend, head to the corresponding faction Skinning Trainer to learnGrandmaster Skinning. There is also aNeutraltrainer inDalaran. Here are the trainers:
Where To Skin For Levels 350 to 400
There is a good section for Alliance north ofRiplash Strand, you’ll be skinningWhooly Rhinoshere.
For the Horde a nice spot is just north ofWarsong Hold.
Where To Skin For Levels 400 to 450
TheHardknuckle GorillasinSholazar BasinnearHemet Nesingwaryin the southern region are going to be a great dense source of Borean Leather. There are alsoEmperor Cobrasscattered around the center of the map.Dragonkinare also plentifulin the northern region calledThe Savage Thicket.
you’re able to also head over toThe Storm Peaksfor another great spot both north and south ofBrunnhildar Village.Look forRhinosandWyrms.
Final Thoughts
Skinning isn’t the most difficult profession to level, but finding good places to raise the skill levels can sometimes be challenging. We hope this guide helps you find all the best places to level Skinning optimally. Now that you’ve got yourself a max level Skinning gatherer and the knowledge of where to get all the required materials for it check out ourLeatherworking 1- 450 leveling guidetoo
