WoW – Skinning Leveling Guide 1-450
WoW Skinning
Do you want to learn to peel? The sound is sure to be kewl, and you’ll run around cleaning up after your own mess. Then why not! And I totally agree.
But before we get started, running around skinning any furry little mob you see in sight, read this first, to get an idea of how to level the skinning even faster! Because the only thing better than leveling skinning is leveling skinning faster.
Where to start
The main thing to know here is, sneakers, articles (bags) and types of leather. Let’s cover the basics.
Trainers:
They are everywhere, for both the Alliance and the Horde. So where do you find them? Here’s a list of the starting locations for both the Alliance and Horde and their respective skinning trainers.
Ranks you can learn from these trainers:
(Apprentice, Officer, Expert, Craftsman)
NB: These are all the skinners you should find in the original World of Warcraft game.
Alliance Skin Trainers
o NightElf (m), Radnaal Maneuver Weaver – Northwest of Ban’ethil Hollow – Teldrassil
o NightElf (f), Eladriel – Craftsmen’s Terrace – Darnassus
o Human (f), Helene Skinner – Golden Villa – Elwynn Forest
o Humana (f), Maris Granger – Old Town – Stormwind
o Dwarf (m), Balthus Stone Skinner – The Great Forge – Ironforge
o Human (f), Wilma Ranthal – Stonewatch Falls – Redridge Mountains
o NightElf (f), Jayla – Silverwind’s Refuge – Ashenvale
World of Warcraft: Burning Crusade (only)
o Furblog, Gurf – Stillpine’s Hold – Azuremyst Isle
o Draenei (f), Remere – Merchant Level – The Exodar
Horde Skinning Trainers
o Undead (m), Rand Rhobart – Southeast Brill – Tirisfal Glades
o Undead (m), Killian Hagey – Rogues’ Quarter – Undercity
o Tauren (m), Yonn Deep Cut – Bloodhoof Village – Mulgore
o Tauren (f), Mooranta – Medium height – Thunder Bluff
o Orco (m), Thuwd – El Drag – Orgrimmar
o Tauren (m), Dranh – Camp Taurajo – The Barrens
o Troll (m), Malux – Shadowprey Town – Desolace
o Tauren (m), Kulleg Stonehorn – Mojache Camp – Feralas
World of Warcraft: Burning Crusade (only)
o BloodElf (m), Mathreyn (only up to the official) – Entrance to the west of Silvermoon – Eversong Woods
o BloodElf (f), Tyn – Mayor of Elders – Silvermoon
Tools (elements):
Okay, now you’ve learned your Skinning skill and you’re ready to skin some monsters. Wait, wait, wait a second. You need some tools. or in the terms of the games, articles.
or (Required) Skinning knife
o (Suggested, but optional) Leather work bag like the ‘Bag of many skins’
You can escape without a skinning knife, if you attack with an ax, knife or sword. But only up to a certain level, and this only frees 1 space for the bag. AND YES, you MUST bring the skinning knife with you.
That’s why the ‘Many Skins Bag’ is so large that it can be used to store all your leather and skinning knife, and it’s BIG. Another great advantage. It is definitely worth the gold.
Types of leather:
I saw this somewhere and thought it was quite interesting. A list of all the types of leather available in the original World of Warcraft and at what level of mobs you can expect to see them. In the expansions, there is only 1 type of skinned hide from mobs.
o Ruined Leather Scraps – expected mob level: 1-16
o Light Leather – expected mob level: 1-27
o Light Hide – expected mob level: 10-27
o Medium leather – expected mob level: 15-36
o Medium skin – expected mob level: 15-36
o Heavy leather – expected mob level: 25-46
o Heavy Hide – expected mob level: 25-46
o Thick leather – expected mob level: 35-63
o Thick skin – expected mob level: 40-59
o Rough leather – expected mob level: 43-63
o Rough Hide – expected mob level: 47-63
NB: You can improve your leather with Leather Working. Sometimes I would get a guild or friend to do this for me in exchange for some leather items.
Let’s Skin!
Well, we have the skill, we have the tools, we learn a little about leather skinning. So now we need to know where to start. Well, if you’re doing this with a new character, then pretty much the first place where you can kill a mob, you can skin a mob. But here is a list of suggested areas that can really help you speed up this process.
Level your skinning from 1 to 25
Horde
o Undead – Hounds around Brill
o Orcs and trolls: wild boars and spotted scorpids around Sen’Jin village
o Tauren: marauders and stilt walkers of the plains around Bloodhoof Village
alliance
o Humans: wild boars around Golden Villa
o Gnomes and Dwarves: Wild Boars of the Crags and Southern Kharanos of Wendigo
o Night elves: night sabers and creatures around Dolanaar
Level your skinning from 25 to 50
Horde
o Undead: lunar rage wargs and wolverines around Silverpine
o Orcs and trolls: wild boars, scorpids, crocolisks and raptors around Orgrimmar
o Tauren – Prowlers and Praire Wolves around Thunderbluff
alliance
o Humans: marauders and bears around the Eastvale logging camp
o Gnomes and dwarves: wolves around Brenwall Village
o Night Elves: Moonstalkers and Bears Around Auberdine
Level your skinning to 50-100Horde
o Most races of the Horde: Plainstriders, Raptors, and Marauders around Crossroads
alliance
o Humans – Goretusks around Sentinel Hill
o Gnomes and dwarves: bears and crocolisks around Thelsamar
o Night Elves: Moonstalkers and Bears North of Auberdine
Level your skinning to 100-130
Horde
o Most races of the Horde: storm snout and thunder hawk around the Taurajo camp
alliance
o Most Alliance breeds: crocolisks and raptors around Bluegill Marsh and Whelgar’s Excavation Site
o Alternative: calf and wild boar around Lakeshire
Level your skinning to 130-150
Alliance and Horde have 3 areas to level now
o Mountain bears and lions around the Hillsbrad Foothills
o Ravagers and wolves in Duskwood
o Bears, deer and ghostly paws in Ashenvale
Level your skinning to 150-170
Alliance and Horde
o Yeti Cave in Hillsbrad Fields
o Mountain lions in the “daggers”
NB: these are the patches of land between Hillsbrad and Alterac mountains, one is called Corrans Dagger, hence the nickname
o Hyenas, Lions, Wyvern and Thunderhawks in Thousand Needles
o Bears, deer and ghostly paws in Ashenvale
Level your skinning to 170-180
Alliance and Horde
o Raptors in Arathi Highlands
o Turtles and basilisks at The Shimmering Flats
Level your skinning from 180-220
Alliance and Horde
o Raptors, panthers, and tigers around Camp Nessingwarys in Stranglethorn Valley
NB: actually you could get your skinning level up to 300 in and around STV as mobs range from level 34 to level 50
o Raptors and crocodiles in Dustwallow Marsh
o Thunder Lizards, Kodos, Basilisk, Scorpids and Hyenas in Desolace
o Cubs in Swamp of Sorrows
Level your skinning to 220-250
Alliance and Horde
o Raptors and gorillas around the Gurabashi arena
o Panthers, jaguars and crocodiles at Swamp of Sorrows
o Dragonkin, Coyotes and Ridge Stalkers / Huntresses in Badlands
o Wolves around Feathermoon Stronghold in Feralas
Level your skinning to 250-275
Alliance and Horde
o Snickerfangs and wild boars in the Northern Blasted Lands
o Silverwinds and Griffons in the Hinterlands
o Deer and hippogriffs in Azshara
o Hippogriffs, apes, bears, wolves, screamers and yetis in Feralas
Level your skinning from 275-300
Alliance and Horde, many options here, test your skills in:
o Jagueros and gorillas on Jaguero island
NB: Big island east of Booty Bay where Princess Poobah is detained
o Yetis, chimeras and bears in Winterspring
o Bears in Western Plaguelands
o Plaguehounds and Plaguebats in Eastern Plaguelands
o Turtles by Raventusk Village in The Hinterlands
o Turtles and chimeras in Azshara
o Dragonkin, Worgs and Scorpids in Burning Steppes
Well, I said I’d take you to 450, right? Well here is the Burning Crusade Skinning Guide. From now on, it’s the same for both factions.
Level your skinning to 300-330
o Hellboars & Ravagers around Hellfire Peninsula
Level your skinning to 330-350
o Talbuk’s and Clefthoofs all over Nagrand
NB: it is possible to continue to skinning 375 here unless you want a change of scenery
Level your skinning to 350-375
or Netherdrakes around Stormspire in Netherstorm
o Netherdrakes around Netherwing Fields in Shadowmoon Valley
o Raptors and wind snakes around Blade’s Edge Mountains
And here is my World of Warcraft Skinning guide for Wrath of the Lich King.
Level your skinning from 375 to 405
o Shoveltusks around Howling Fjord
Level your skinning from 375 to 405
o Mammoths around the Borean Tundra
NB: Usually there are also lots of dead around here.
Level your skinning from 405-430
o Deer, infected grizzly bears, wolves and everything else in Grizzly Hills
Level your skinning from 430 to 450
o Giraffes, mangal crocolisks, gorillas and just about anything in the Sholazar basin
Okay, and those are some of the best places to level the skinning profession from 1 to 450 pretty quickly. I think the fastest I’ve seen someone do this is in about 9 hours. Feel free to tell me your score! And if you can prove it, I’ll do a special article on your techniques!
Anatomy teacher
I remembered that I was going to mention this, and since WotLK, there are no longer any skill level vs character level restrictions. So if you want to be a youngster at 19, you can still skillfully level your skin up to 450!
o (75-149) Master of Anatomy Rank 1: Increase Critical Hit by 3
o (150-224) Master of Anatomy Rank 2: Increase Critical Hit by 6
o (225-229) Master of Anatomy Rank 3: Increase Critical Hit by 9
o (300-374) Master of Anatomy Rank 4: Increase critical hit by 12
o (375-449) Master of Anatomy Rank 5: Increase critical hit by 20
o (450+) Master of Anatomy Rank 6: Increase Critical Hit by 32
Okay, that’s it for now, I hope this guide has been helpful to you and your World of Warcraft skinning efforts.