World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King Classic
- Platform(s):
- PC
- Developer(s):
- Blizzard
- Publisher(s):
- Activision
- Genre(s):
- MMORPG
- Multiplayer:
- Online Multiplayer
- ESRB:
- Teen
- Released:
- 2022-09-26
- Franchise:
- Warcraft
Quick Links
Skinning is a primary crafting profession in World of Warcraft Classic. It's considered a gathering profession as it only involves the collecting of materials from slain corpses for use in other professions, namely Leatherworking. The level cap of professions is increased from 375 to 450 in Wrath 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 bonus Master of Anatomy.
Skinning is often paired with Leatherworking as a second primary profession. The bulk of materials used in Leatherworking is provided by the materials gathered from Skinning.
Skinning Trainers
Level | Horde Trainers | Alliance Trainers | Neutral Trainers |
|---|---|---|---|
1 - 300 | Thuwd, Orgrimmar [63,45] | Maris Granger, Stormwind [68,49] | |
Mooranta, Thunder Bluff [45,43] | Balthus Stoneflayer, Ironforge [40,33] | ||
Killian Hagey, Undercity [71,59] | Eladriel, Darnassus [64,22] | ||
Tyn, Silvermoon City [85,78] | Remere, The Exodar [66,74] | ||
300 - 350 | Moorutu, Hellfire Peninsula [56,39] | Jelena Nightsky, Hellfire Peninsula [54,63] | Seymour, Shattrath City [63,66] |
350 - 450 | Roberta Jacks, Howling Fjord [78,28] | Frederic Burrhus, Howling Fjord [60,64] | Derik Marks, Dalaran [35,28] |
Tiponi Stormwhisper, Borean Tundra [76,38] | 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.
Leather | Corpse Level | Zone | Leatherworking | Skinning Levels |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 - 17 | Azeroth | - | 1-40 | |
5 - 26 | Azeroth | 3 Ruined Leather Scraps | 1-130 | |
15 - 37 | Azeroth | 4 Light Leather | 50-185 | |
21 - 51 | Azeroth | 5 Medium Leather | 105-255 | |
36 - 56 | Azeroth | 6 Heavy Leather | 180-280 | |
44 - 64 | Azeroth | 6 Thick Leather | 220-320 | |
58+ | Outland | - | 290-350 | |
58+ | Outland | 5 Knothide Leather Scraps | 290-375 | |
- | Outland | 5 Knothide Leather | - | |
67+ | Northrend | - | 350-385 | |
67+ | Northrend | 5 Borean Leather Scraps | 350-475 | |
- | Northrend | 6 Borean Leather | - |
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 article for exact calculations)
Red | Skill level not high enough |
|---|---|
Orange | Low chance of success; high chance of skill-up |
Yellow | Moderate chance of success; moderate chance of skill-up |
Green | 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:
Enemy Level | Required Skinning Level | Example |
|---|---|---|
1-10 | 1 | |
11-20 | (Enemy Level * 10 ) - 100 | Enemy Lvl 13: (13*10)-100 = 30 Skinning Lvl |
21-73 | Enemy Level * 5 | Enemy Lvl 21: (21*5) = 105 Skinning Lvl |
<73 (WotLK) | (Enemy Level * 5) + 5 | Enemy Lvl 73: (73*5)+5 = 370 Skinning Lvl |
74-80 (WotLK) | (Enemy Level * 5) + 10 | Enemy Lvl 74: (74*5)+10 = 385 Skinning Lvl |
Azeroth Skinning 1 to 300
Make sure to pick up Apprentice Skinning from the appropriate trainers in your area. Let's start with the good old Classic zones of Azeroth.
Levels 1 to 75
For the Horde, the best routes are near the Orcs and Trolls starting areas in Durotar. Starting at Sen'jin Village and heading North towards Razor Hill then making a detour West and North to Orgrimmar. Look for Boars, Scorpions, Raptors, and Crocolisks.
If you are skinning as you level an Undead character, travel around Brill in Tirisfall Glades and look for Hounds and Bats then head south into Silverpine Forest looking for Moonrage Wargens.
For Tauren, start skinning around Bloodhoof Village in Mulgore then travel around Thunderbluff and skin Prowlers, Plainstriders, and Wolves.
For the Alliance, the best routes are near Goldshire, focusing on skinning the Boars at the farms nearby. Then head East to Eastvale Logging Camp looking for Wolves and Bears.
For Gnomes and Dwarves, start around Kharanos and loop around the lake at Brewnall Village look for Boars, Wendigos, and Wolves.
Night Elves should look for Prowlers around Dolanaar in Teldressil and then once in Darkshore look for Prowlers and Bears around Auberine.
At level 50 you can learn Journeyman Skinning.
Where To Skin For Levels 75 to 125
For the Horde, the Barrens is the best place to go. Starting near The Crossroads look for Plainstriders, Raptors, and Prowlers. Then head south to Camp Taraujo and skin Hyenas, Thunderhoofs, and Thunderhawks.
If you are in leveling Ashenvale look out for Bears, Stags and Wolves.
For the Alliance, Humans can make their way to Westfall traveling along the East side of the map down to Sentinel Hill skinning Goretusks as well as in Red Ridge Mountains near Lakeshire skinning Whelps and Boars nearby.
For Gnomes and Dwarves travel north from Loch Modan to Wetlands skinning Crocolisks and Raptors along the path to Menethl Harbor.
Skinning In Dungeons
At about level 70, you can also farm in the Dungeons if you want to avoid 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 into Wailing Caverns in The Barrens. There are many level 18-19 Raptors in the first area that you can skin.
Don't forget to pick up Expert Skinning at level 125 from the trainer before heading back out again.
Where To Skin For Levels 125 to 160
Continuing on south for Horde players coming from the Barrens, Thousand Needles has Hyenas, Wyverns, Lions and Thunderhawks in the lower section between the tall pillars.
Hillsbrad Foothills is the next area for Undead, here you'll find Bears and Mountain Lions to skin near Tarren Mill.
Alliance players will be interested in Arathi Highlands for a longer duration skinning the lower level north group of Raptors followed by the higher level ones to the south. Alternatively, Duskwood has a few Ravagers and Wargs that can also be skinned.
At level 125Skinning you can also enter Razorfen Kraul in the southern part of The Barrens. Here you can focus on the Boars and Bats in this area.
Where To Skin For Levels 160 to 200
The Shimmering Flats in the southern section of Thousand Needles is a good area to skin Basilisks and Turtles.
Stranglethorn Vale is 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 by Hemit Nessingwary in the north.
If you're up in Alterac Mountains look for the Yeti Cave for a nice dense location of skinnable bodies, there are also Mountain Lions nearby too. In Dustwallow Marsh look for Raptors and Crocolisks.
At level 175, the dungeon Uldaman in the Badlands also has a large amount of skinnable mobs. Entering through the back door is the best strategy to get to Cleft Scorpids and Deadly Cleft Scorpids.
Where To Skin For Levels 180 to 220
Continuing on south in Stranglethorn Vale you'll find Raptors and Gorillas that you can skin on the west side of Gurubashi Arena.
In the Swamp of Sorrows look for Panthers, Jaguars, and Crocolisks.
In Feralas look for Hippogryphs, Apes, Bears, Wendigos, and Wolves. There is a particularly great spot for Alliance near Feathermoon Stronghold.
At level 200 you can head back to the trainer and learn Artisan Skinning
Where To Skin For Levels 200 to 275
More areas in Stranglethorn Vale include the Gorillas northeast of Booty Bay and the Jaguars on the Island on the southern tip east of Booty Bay.
In the Blasted Lands the northern section has a good amount of Snickerfangs and Boars.
At Level 60, before entering, Dire Maul look for the Gordok Hyenas then enter the Dungeon at 285 to skin Gordok Mastiff.
Where To Skin For Levels 275 to 300
The best place to go is undoubtedly Un'Goro Crater where 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 with Gorillas in it.
The western coast of the Hinterlands towards Raventusk Village has a lot of Turtles as well.
Other good sources of Skinning in this end-range of Classic include the Bears of Western Plaguelands, Plaguehounds and Plaguebats of Eastern Plaguelands, Winterspring Yetis, Chimeras, and Bears, and Dragonkin and Scorpids of Burning Steppes.
Outland Skinning 300 to 350
Where To Skin For Levels 300 to 350
In The Burning Crusade both Alliance and Horde are competing in the same areas for resources. To start things off, head to the trainers at each faction's respective bases in Hellfire Peninsula if you haven't already learned Master Skinning.
- Horde: Thrallmar
- Moorutu [56,39]
- Alliance: Honor Hold
- Jelena Nightsky [54,63]
Where To Skin For Levels 300 - 330
Look for Helboars and Ravagers. If you are also leveling Leatherworking, focus on Ravagers mainly. Ravagers have a chance to loot Crystal Infused Leather which will help with some recipes in this bracket.
Where To Skin For Levels 330 to 350
From 330 onwards you can head to Terrokar Forest to slay and skin Basilisks and Warp Stalkers. Stick to the northern part of the zone as that is where the majority of skinnable mobs are located.
You can also head to Nagrand instead as there are plenty of Clefthoofs and Talbuks that roam the area in large groups. Clefthoofs sometimes drop Thick Clefthoof Leather which is also useful in Leatherworking.
Northrend Skinning 350 to 450
Where To Skin For Levels 350 to 450
Once you've sailed to Northrend, head to the corresponding faction Skinning Trainer to learn Grandmaster Skinning. There is also a Neutral trainer in Dalaran. Here are the trainers:
- Horde:
- Roberta Jacks, Howling Fjord [78,28]
- Tiponi Stormwhisper, Borean Tundra [76,38]
- Alliance:
- Frederic Burrhus, Howling Fjord [60,64]
- Trapper Jack, Borean Tundra [58,72]
- Neutral:
- Derik Marks, Dalaran [35,28]
Where To Skin For Levels 350 to 400
There is a good section for Alliance north of Riplash Strand, you'll be skinning Whooly Rhinos here.
For the Horde a nice spot is just north of Warsong Hold.
Where To Skin For Levels 400 to 450
The Hardknuckle Gorillas in Sholazar Basin near Hemet Nesingwary in the southern region are going to be a great dense source of Borean Leather. There are also Emperor Cobras scattered around the center of the map. Dragonkin are also plentiful in the northern region called The Savage Thicket.
You can also head over to The Storm Peaks for another great spot both north and south of Brunnhildar Village. Look for Rhinos and Wyrms.
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 our Leatherworking 1- 450 leveling guide too