TBC Classic Skinning Profession Guide (Phase 3)

Skinning is the most low-maintenance gathering profession in the game. It doesn't force you to hunt nodes on the minimap or spend time on separate routes: you simply kill the beasts you'd be killing along the way anyway and skin them.

Leatherworkers need leather constantly, and in Outland you also get Fel Scales and Fel Hide — materials without which not a single set of raid armor can be crafted. Demand for them holds up throughout the entire expansion.

The profession fits perfectly on any character who kills a lot: hunter, druid, rogue. The classic combo is Skinning together with Leatherworking, but pairing it with Mining or Herbalism works too if you just want to sell raw materials.

Ranks up to 300 skill are learned in the capitals; the Master rank (300-375) is learned in Outland.

Horde

Thuwd — Orgrimmar

Tyn — Silvermoon City

On the way to 300 skill it's convenient to buy the ranks from Dranh at Camp Taurajo and Kulleg Stonehorn at Camp Mojache — they stand right along the leveling route.

Alliance

Balthus Stoneflayer — Ironforge

Maris Granger — Stormwind City

Remere — The Exodar

Masters in Outland (300-375)

Moorutu — Thrallmar, Hellfire Peninsula

Jelena Nightsky — Honor Hold, Hellfire Peninsula

In Shattrath the Master rank is taught by Seymour — he is neutral and available to both factions.

There's no need to buy materials; the profession is leveled purely by gathering. You'll only need a couple of things:

• Skinning Knife — sold by any Trade Goods vendor. You don't need to hold it in your hands; simply having it in your bag is enough.
• Free bag space: leather drops in stacks and fills up your inventory faster than you'd think.

Enchant Gloves - Skinning adds +10 to the skill. This lets you skin beasts you technically haven't leveled up to yet, and noticeably smooths out the bottlenecks along the route. Apply it as soon as you get the chance.

From here on — it's just clearing zones:

Levels 1-75

The Horde starts in Durotar: head from Sen'jin Village toward Orgrimmar and skin everything you come across on the way.

The Alliance works in Dun Morogh: a loop around the lake near Ironforge, then toward Loch Modan.

At 50 skill, return to the trainer for the second rank — without it your progress will stall.

Levels 75-155

The Horde goes through the Barrens to Camp Taurajo. By the time you arrive your skill should be around 125 — then Dranh will immediately sell you the next rank. From there move on toward Thousand Needles.

The Alliance descends into Wetlands and follows the river to Menethil Harbor, skinning crocolisks and raptors. At 125+ fly to Ironforge for the new rank and return to grind up to 155.

Levels 155-205

Both factions work in Thousand Needles. There are plenty of beasts there, they stand close together, and this stretch goes faster than the previous one.

Closer to 205 grab the Master rank: the Horde — from Kulleg Stonehorn at Camp Mojache, the Alliance — from Balthus Stoneflayer in Ironforge.

Levels 205-260

Feralas, the area around Camp Mojache. First skin everything around the camp, then move over to the yeti cave.

Levels 260-300

Continue on the yetis in the second Feralas cave. From 280 you can fly over to Un'Goro Crater — there are more beasts there and they're bigger, but the competition is higher too.

If Feralas is taken, the entire 205-300 stretch can be closed out in Un'Goro alone. The difference in speed is small, so choose based on server population.

Next you'll need the Master rank from Moorutu, Jelena Nightsky or Seymour.

Levels 300-310

Hellfire Peninsula, the area around Zeth'Gor. Skin the Starving, and then the Mad Fel boars.

Levels 310-330

In the same place, switch to Sharptalons and Ravagers — they give skill more consistently and drop more often.

Levels 330-375

Nagrand, talbuks and clefthooves. This is the best zone in the expansion for Skinning: there are lots of beasts, they respawn quickly, and they yield the most expensive raw materials.

From 360 skill you can skin any Outland beast without penalties, so you can finish off the last levels wherever is most convenient for you — even while doing quests.

Your main income is farming Nagrand and Shadowmoon Valley. Fel Hide and Fel Scales sell at the auction house at any hour of the day, because leatherworkers keep them in constant use.

Separately, it's worth remembering the spots where Cobra Scales and other rare materials drop: they appear less often, but the price per stack is many times higher than that of ordinary leather.

If you have Leatherworking, it's more profitable not to sell the raw materials but to turn them into finished items and armor kits — the margin is noticeably larger than on bare farming.