WoW Forever Skinning Guide: Leveling 1-300, Trainers and Gold
What to Know Before the First Knife
Skinning in WoW Forever works almost exactly like it does in Classic. You kill beasts, Dragonkin and a few other creature types, then loot leather, hides and scales from the bodies. You can start at level 1: trainers in the starter zones teach the Apprentice rank, which covers the first 75 skill points.
Skill level decides everything else. It determines which mobs you can skin and, with it, which zones make sense next. The formula is short, and it is broken down with numbers below.
Below you will find new materials, leveling from 1 to 300, making gold, gear with Legacy bonuses, trainers and the best race and class. The skill values come from the beta client, so they may shift slightly by release.
New Materials and Campfire Items
The profession barely changed, but WoW Forever adds five new materials: Fel Hide, Fel Leather, Pristine Scale, Pristine Leather and Pristine Hide. Fel Leather and Fel Hide are regular drops, while the Pristine materials are Scarce resources.
Like other professions, Skinning unlocks Campfire items. Each one grants +2% critical strike chance:
Camp Chair - available at skill 20.
Field Guide - skill 140, plus the Track Beasts spell. Players report that the book and spell drop from Lady Anacondra in Wailing Caverns.
Trapper's Workbench - skill 300, plus access to one trap.
Camp Chair does not stack with the Moonkin Aura, so you pick one of the two.
The Skill Formula and Leveling 1-300
The skill you need depends on the mob level:
level 1-10 mobs can be skinned at skill 1;
level 11-20 mobs need (mob level - 10) x 10, so a level 20 mob requires 100;
above that the rule is simple: mob level x 5. A level 37 mob needs 185 skill and a level 46 mob needs 230.
Skill | Highest mob level |
|---|---|
75 | 17 |
150 | 30 |
200 | 40 |
250 | 50 |
300 | 60 |
Skinning never pulls you off your quests: you kill the mobs you would be killing anyway. That is why there is no dedicated 1-300 route, and 1-60 leveling stays the priority while the skill grows alongside it. If you need levels faster, part of the time can go to dungeons such as The Deadmines.
Route by Zone
Treat the list below as a guide, not a strict plan: pick the zone where mob levels match your current skill.
1-75. Your starter zone: Durotar, Mulgore, Tirisfal Glades or Zephras Isle for the Horde, Dun Morogh, Elwynn Forest, Teldrassil or the same Zephras Isle for the Alliance. There is plenty to do, and the first points come fast. New characters can also use the Starter Pack.
75-150. At skill 75 you can skin beasts up to level 17, and then you need to visit a trainer. Loch Modan, Northern Barrens, Westfall, Silverpine Forest and zones of the same level fit well. After skill 125 and more training, move to Ashenvale, Southern Barrens, Duskwood, Wetlands and similar areas.
150-225. Skill 150 opens level 30 mobs: Arathi Highlands, Alterac Mountains, Thousand Needles, Riverglades, Badlands and others. If you do not want to run Riverglades yourself, there is Riverglades Completion. Skill 200 lets you move to level 40 mobs in Feralas, Tanaris, the Hinterlands and Searing Gorge. Train up to 225, the Artisan cap.
225-300. No trainer is needed anymore, and the skill keeps growing on its own. From 250 you reach level 50-60 zones such as Un'Goro Crater, Blasted Lands, the Plaguelands, Felwood and Winterspring.
Recent developer changes touched this profession too. The November 6 hotfix: the Rough Wolf Pelts quest is canceled automatically if you unlearn Skinning. The November 9 hotfix: the NPCs Vitrix, Snowtalon and Cinder in Shaper's Terrace now drop loot correctly, including higher-level materials.
Making Gold with Skinning
Skinning is convenient: materials drop from the mobs you already kill, with no backtracking or detours. The downside is demand. Leather, hides and scales matter most to Leatherworking and other crafts need them less, so players report prices usually sit below ore or herbs.
Pairing professions is therefore sensible. Leatherworking covers your own gear: if your class wears leather or mail, you spend less gold on equipment. A second gathering profession, Mining or Herbalism, can run beside it. It means detours to nodes, but more goods reach the market.
There are more ways to earn than one profession, and they are covered on the WoW Forever Gold page. If farming does not fit your schedule, you can buy the amount you need there.
Gear and Legacy Bonuses
Forever has little Skinning gear. Two glove enchants add +5 (Enchant Gloves - Skinning) and +10 (Enchant Gloves - Advanced Skinning) skill.
Keen Skinning Knife. A Horde-only reward for the quest Unwelcome Guests, it adds +3 skill while equipped.
Cartilage Shapers. Gloves with a +4 bonus. Players report they drop from Lyn the Ignored.
The bonuses are small, so their main use is reaching a skill breakpoint a little earlier. The knife also takes up your weapon slot, so you will have to swap it out in combat.
The Legacy system also works for Skinning. Four bonuses apply:
Working Overtime raises your chance to gain skill in any profession, which is noticeable over the long road to 300.
Dedicated Study adds +1 to your lowest profession once a day.
Bountiful Harvest raises your chance to find Scarce materials such as Pristine ones.
Performance Bonus relates to rewards for turning in supply crates.
For how to earn and spend points, see the page on Legacy Points, and for crate rewards, Merchant's Favor.
Trainers
There are 23 Skinning trainers in the game: 10 for the Alliance, 11 for the Horde and 2 neutral. Each faction has three trainers who teach only the Apprentice rank, and the rest go up to Artisan.
For newcomers. Riley Peltskinner in Northshire and Kagil in the Valley of Trials sit in the starter zones but teach only Apprentice.
Alliance cities. Balthus Stoneflayer in Ironforge and Maris Granger in Stormwind.
Horde cities. Thuwd in Orgrimmar, Killian Hagey in Undercity and Mooranta in Thunder Bluff.
Neutral. On Zephras Isle, Mendalass Tattermend in Shen'dar Village and Ishlee Breezewhisper in Valanaar teach up to Artisan regardless of faction.
Visit a trainer around 75 and again between 125 and 150 to avoid extra stops. Training ends at Artisan (225).
Best Race and Class for Skinning
Race and class barely affect leveling, since you will kill thousands of mobs either way. Still, if you want the most out of it, look at how fast you kill beasts.
Trolls have the Beast Slaying racial, which boosts damage against beasts, and players often recommend it for this path. Among classes, guide authors most often pick Hunter: the profession suits it, and tracking such as Track Beasts helps you find the right mobs. Druids, Shamans and Rogues are also good for those planning to craft gear from the leather they gather.
For a side character that only gathers resources, the choice does not matter much. The principle is simple: the faster you kill a mob, the more hides end up in your bag. Your main will benefit from Pre-Raid Gear picks, and loot-rich runs are listed in All Dungeons.