Classic Skinning Profession Guide
Skinning is a gathering profession, with which you can skin Leather from certain dead mobs (mostly Beasts and Dragonkins). It is a very useful support profession that works very well with Leatherworking, but also with Tailoring and Blacksmithing.
While there are no new skins of note in Season of Discovery, you will still need many types of skins for the new quests and crafts made available in SoD.
Skinning in Season of Discovery
Currently there are no new skins, hides, or skinning-related Season of Discovery specific content. Many of the new crafts in SoD do require skins and hides, however, making Skinning a critical profession for the SoD economy.
Introduction
Skinning is a very popular and useful profession in WoW Classic. While leveling, it is very convenient to pick up gathering professions, since they do not require much time to level. With Skinning, you will be able to skin what you kill.
Skinning can be used on Beasts, Dragonkin, some Humanoids, and Silithids. You can only skin a mob if the corpse has been completely looted. Skinning works great when paired with the crafting profession Leatherworking.
In order to start skinning, you need to purchase a Skinning Knife from any Skinning trainer or general store. You need this item in your inventory in order to skin a mob, but you DO NOT need to wear it to skin.
With the release of Zul'Gurub, there is a BiS Skinning knife that gives the same bonus as the Finkle's Skinner from the Beast, the Zulian Slicer, which gives you a +10 Skinning bonus.
Zul'Gurub also contains 41 Zulian Crocolisks, which can be skinned for 1-2 Rugged Leather, 1-2 Thick Leather, or 1 Rugged Hide.
Trainer Locations
Alliance
- Balthus Stoneflayer — Ironforge (40,32)
- Maris Granger — Stormwind City (68,49)
- Eladriel — Darnassus (30,52)
- Helene Peltskinner — Elwynn Forest (46,62)
- Radnaal Maneweaver — Teldrassil (42,50)
- Jayla — Ashenvale (50,67)
- Wilma Ranthal — Redridge Mountains (89,71)
Horde
- Killian Hagey — Undercity (70,59)
- Thuwd — Orgrimmar (63,45)
- Mooranta — Thunder Bluff (44,43)
- Dranh — Mulgore (45, 59)
- Yonn Deepcut — Mulgore (45,58)
- Rand Rhobart — Tirisfal Glades (65,60)
- Kulleg Stonehorn — Feralas (74,43)
- Malux — Desolace (23,69)
Types of Leather
There are many different types of Leather, from the ones commonly used in Leatherworking and rarer ones, used to craft specific gear with Leatherworking, but also Blacksmithing and Tailoring.
Commonly Used Leather
- 1-17: Ruined Leather Scraps
- 1-27: Light Leather
- 3-27: Light Hide
- 11-37: Medium Leather / Medium Hide
- 23-46: Heavy Leather / Heavy Hide
- 35-63: Thick Leather / Thick Hide
- 40-63: Rugged Leather / Rugged Hide
Leather Encountered While Leveling
- Wool Cloth — skinned from Sheep in low-level zones (they can also be skinned for Ruined Leather Scraps and Light Leather) and used for a number of low-level Tailoring recipes;
- Deviate Scale/ Perfect Deviate Scale — skinned from Deviate mobs in Mulgore and Wailing Caverns, and used in Leatherworking to make Deviate Scale Belt, Deviate Scale Cloak, and Deviate Scale Gloves;
- Red Whelp Scale — skinned from Whelps in the Wetlands and used to make Red Whelp Gloves by Leatherworkers;
- Shiny Fish Scales — skinned from Frenzy fish around Azeroth and used by Shamans to fuel their Water Breathing spell;
- Shadowcat Hide — skinned from Panthers in Stranglethorn Vale and Swamps of Sorrows, needed to make Shadowskin Gloves and Dusky Boots with Leatherworking;
- Scorpid Scale — skinned from Level 40 to 54 scorpion mobs and used in Leatherworking to make Tough Scorpid Boots, Tough Scorpid Bracers, Tough Scorpid Breastplate, Tough Scorpid Gloves, Tough Scorpid Helm, Tough Scorpid Leggings, and Tough Scorpid Shoulders;
- Worn Dragonscale — skinned from Level 40 to 60 Dragonkin mobs throughout Azeroth and used in Leatherworking to make Dragonscale Gauntlets and Dragonscale Breastplate;
- Chimera Leather — skinned from select mobs in Winterspring and Azshara and needed to make Chimeric Boots, Chimeric Gloves, Chimeric Leggings, and Chimeric Vest with Leatherworking;
- Warbear Leather — skinned from Level 50 to 60 bears (mostly in Winterspring) and used in Leatherworking to make Warbear Harness and Warbear Woolies;
- Heavy Silithid Carapace — skinned from Silithid in Un'Goro Crater and Silithus, and used by Leatherworkers to make Sandstalker Bracers, Sandstalker Gauntlets, and Sandstalker Breastplate;
- Heavy Scorpid Scale — skinned from Level 50 to 60 scorpion mobs (mostly in Silithus) and used to make Icy Scale Bracers, Icy Scale Breastplate,and Icy Scale Gauntlets (by a Leatherworker or Craftsman Wilhelm).
End-Game Leather
- Scale of Onyxia — skinned from Onyxia and needed to make Onyxia Scale Cloak (Leatherworking), which people need to defeat Nefarian in Blackwing Lair;
- Core Leather — Ancient Core Hounds and Magmadar in Molten Core and used to make high-end Blacksmithing, Leatherworking, and Tailoring recipes;
- Pristine Hide of the Beast — skinned from The Beast in Upper Blackrock Spire and the objective of the quests that reward you with Breastplate of Bloodthirst, Cap of the Scarlet Savant, and Leggings of Arcana;
- Brilliant Chromatic Scale — skinned from Chromaggus and dropped by elite Dragonkin mobs in Upper Blackrock Spire, it is used in Leatherworking to make Chromatic Gauntlets and Chromatic Cloak, and is needed for the quests that reward Breastplate of the Chromatic Flight, Legguards of the Chromatic Defier, and Legplates of the Chromatic Defier;
- Black Dragonscale — skinned from Elite Dragonkin mobs in Blackwing Lair and Burning Steppes, and used by Warlocks for their class quest Doomsday Candle and by Leatherworkers to make Chromatic Cloak, Black Dragonscale Boots, Black Dragonscale Breastplate, Black Dragonscale Leggings, and Black Dragonscale Shoulders.
Leveling
Skinning is very different from other gathering professions, since it requires you to kill a mob in order to interact with the skill. You can choose to passively level Skinning by skinning whatever mobs you can skin as you level. If you are behind in level, or want to power level Skinning, then here is a list of the best places to train Skinning at each level.
Alliance: 1 to 100
Horde: 1 to 100
Alliance & Horde: 100 to 300
Changelog
- 03 Feb. 2024: Updated for Season of Discovery Phase 2.
- 15 Apr. 2020: Updated for the release of Zul'Gurub.
- 15 Aug. 2019: Page added.
Classic Class Guides
Classic Dungeon Guides
Classic Profession Guides
Classic Reputation Guides
This guide has been written by Seksi, original vanilla player and multi-class player, currently playing on Gehennas Horde. You can find him on the Classic Warrior, Mage and Shaman Discords, as well as the Icy Veins Discord.
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