WotLK Classic Skinning Profession and Leveling 1-450 Guide

Skinning can be a very useful Profession in Wrath of the Lich King as there are plenty of items and consumables that require leather to make. While leveling, it is very convenient to pick up gathering professions, since they do not require much time to train. With Skinning, you will also be able to skin what you kill.

Skinning can be used on Beasts, Dragonkin, Silithids, and very rarely on Humanoids. You can only skin a mob if the corpse has been completely looted. Skinning works great when paired with the crafting profession Leatherworking as it directly fuels its material needs.

In order to start Skinning, you need to purchase a Skinning Knife from any Skinning trainer or general goods vendor. You need this item in your inventory in order to skin a mob, but you do not need to wield it to skin.

The Skinning skill required to skin a mob's corpse can easily be figured out. Simply multiply the Mob's level by 5 and that will equal the Skinning skill required. For example, a Level 10 mob will require a Skinning skill of 50 to skin its corpse. Keep this in mind when deciding what level mobs you should be killing.

You can learn Skinning from any Skinning trainer, which are found in capital cities. When you arrive at a major city, you can ask any city guard for directions and pick the Skinning trainer option under the professions section. This will mark its location on your map, allowing you to easily find them and get the Skinning skill.

To train past 300 skill level, you need to speak with a Master Skinning trainer in either Outland or Northrend. This will allow you to train up to level 375 Skinning.

To learn Skinning past 375 skill level you must travel to Northrend and talk with a Grand Master Skinning trainer found below. This will allow you to max your Skinning skill out at 450.

• Trapper Jack in Borean Tundra;
• Frederic Burrhus in Howling Fjord.

• Tiponi Stormwhisper in Borean Tundra;
• Roberta Jacks in Howling Fjord.

• Derik Marks in Dalaran City.

Skinning is very different from other gathering Professions, since it requires you to kill a mob in order to interact with the skill. If you are behind in skill level, or want to power-level Skinning, then here are the best places to train Skinning at each skill level.

Look for Beasts in any of the starting zones as they will yield either Ruined Leather Scraps or Light Leather. Aim to kill and skin anything you have slain, or anything killed by others in the area. It is very common for people in starting areas to kill and not skin their own Beasts, offering you essentially free skill-ups.

Before continuing on to the next area, make sure to head to your local trainer and learn Journeyman Skinning, allowing you to reach 150 skill level. 150.

Here you will need to start looking for higher level mobs that award Medium Leather and Heavy Leather. Aim to kill and skin mobs around the Level 13-30 range.

The first thing you need to make sure to do before you keep killing and skinning away is to head to the nearest major city and learn Expert Skinning, increasing your cap to 225.

Now that you can train Skinning up to 225 skill level, you will aim to skin mobs that drop Heavy Leather and Thick Hide. Try to be killing mobs in the level range of 30-45 as these will almost always offer you a skill increase.

Make sure to take one final trip to your nearest city and visit the local Skinning Trainer to learn Artisan Skinning, increasing your maximum skill level to 300.

you will focus on mobs around Levels 45-50 until you get to 250 Skinning, as this allows us to gather Rugged Leather. From here, focus on whichever mobs you can kill the fastest while also still getting nearly guaranteed skill-ups on each skin. The closer you get to 300 the higher the Level of enemy you will need to kill, but you can also choose to farm easy-to-kill mobs for a longer period of time.

Be sure to head to a Master Skinning trainer in Outland to unlock Master Skinning, increasing your Skinning skill level cap to 375.

Hellfire Peninsula offers a multitude of lower-level Beasts, having plenty of boars and ravagers to skin all throughout the zone. You will want to stay here until at least 330 skinning, and staying even a bit past that is fine.

After reaching 330 skill, you will head to Nagrand as you can now skin all of the mobs you will be killing. Head to the Northern side of Nagrand and proceed to kill and skin all Talbuks and Clefthoofs around you.

When your Skinning skill reaches 350, you will be able to skin the vast majority of mobs found in Outland. You can choose at this point to head to a higher-level zone for these last few skill-ups, or simply stay in Nagrand and finish it off; the difference in speed is very minor.

Be sure to head to a Grand Master Skinning trainer in Northrend as shown above to unlock Grand Master Skinning, allowing you to max out your Skinning at 450 skill level.

Borean Tundra has a ton of Rhinos and Mammoths to kill, allowing you to quickly level up Skinning in this zone. You can easily stay in this zone until level 400 as the beasts in this area are very clumped up and high in numbers.

Grizzly Hills is mostly full of beasts, with a large abundance of Bears and Stags available throughout the zone. Having so many beasts available in the area, you can choose to stay in this zone until level 425 if you are farming easily.

Sholazar Basin is yet another zone almost entirely full of skinnable beasts. This zone features a large selection of Crocodiles, Mammoths, Lynxs, Gorillas, and more spread entirely through it. You can stay in this zone up to 450 if you are easily farming without being contested.

Storm Peaks is the last zone you will need to reach 450 skill in Skinning. This zone has a few areas that are heavily populated with Mammoths, Rhinos, and Jormungars. The high level mobs here reward high quantities of leather, making this a great zone to farm for skill points and gold.

Throughout your adventures in Wrath of the Lich King with skinning you may have come across a few rare or unique skinned leathers. These are typically used in gear crafting or endgame consumables and can be quite profitable when farmed. Look for these skinnable items while you are out in the wordl:

• Arctic Fur — Has a small chance to be skinned from any mob in Northrend.
• Icy Dragonscale — Sometimes skinnned from Dragonkins.
• Jormungar Scale — Sometimes skinnned from Jormungars.
• Nerubian Chitin — Sometimes skinnned from Nerubians.

Skinning provides you with a unique buff Master of Anatomy, increasing your Critical Strike Rating based on your Skinning skill level.

Buff	Skill Required	Details
Master of Anatomy (Rank 1)	75	Increases Critical Strike Rating by 3.
Master of Anatomy (Rank 2)	150	Increases Critical Strike Rating by 6.
Master of Anatomy (Rank 3)	225	Increases Critical Strike Rating by 9.
Master of Anatomy (Rank 4)	300	Increases Critical Strike Rating by 12.
Master of Anatomy (Rank 5)	375	Increases Critical Strike Rating by 20.
Master of Anatomy (Rank 6)	450	Increases Critical Strike Rating by 40.

Skinning is just one of the many professions you may choose to level in Wrath of the Lich King Classic. To learn more about the other options available, we recommend checking out our overviews of all professions and their unique bonuses below.