This is a WoW Skinning Guide that will help you level from 1-450 (updated for patch 3.1.3). If you are Skinning for leather for Leatherworking a major time saver would be to buy mats on the Auction House instead of Skinning. If you can't afford to do this and would like to take a glance at this Gold Guide for tips on how to make lots of gold.
Skinning is one of the easiest professions to level up, especially if you are leveling. To start Skinning you just need a Skinning Knife in one of your bags and simply need to kill beasts and click to skin. It's really that easy and before you know it you will be 450!
For the first 180 levels there are zones listed for both Horde and Alliance (in case you are doing this guide while leveling up).
| Projected Skill |
Zone |
NPCs |
| 1-75 |
Dun Morogh (south of Kharanos) or Durotar |
Crag Boars, Wolves, Leopards, Bears or Mottled Boars, Scorpids, Crocolisks |
| 75-130 |
Loch Modan or The Barrens |
Bears, Boars, Threshadons, Lurkers or Kodos, Giraffes, Hecklefangs, Plainstriders, Prowlers |
| 130-180 |
Wetlands or Thousand Needles |
Crocolisks, Highland and Mottled Raptors, Whelps or Highperch, Serpents, Pesterhides, Saltstones |
| 180-220 |
Stranglethorn Vale (north) |
Raptors, Panthers, Tigers |
| 220-250 |
Stranglethorn Vale (near Gurabashi Arena) |
Raptors, Gorillas, Basilisks |
| 250-300 |
Azshara or Un'Goro Crater |
Stags, Hippogryphs or Dinosaurs |
If you'd like, you can start off this section in Eastern Plaguelands, Winterspring, or even Silithus until you reach 325, at which point you'll want to head to Outland.
| Projected Skill |
Zone |
NPCs |
| 300-310 |
Hellfire Peninsula |
Helboars |
| 310-330 |
Hellfire Peninsula |
Ravagers, HelBoars |
| 330-350 |
Nagrand |
Clefthoofs, Talbuks, Windrocs, Elekk |
| 350-375 |
Shadowmoon Valley, Blades Edge Mountains, or Netherstorm |
Various Beasts |
This is the last section of the guide, you will be in Northrend for this section. If you are sick of Skinning and would like to simply buy mats at this point I sympathize with you. If you don't have the gold to be able to do this take a look at this gold making guide.
At 375 there is an alternate place you can go to in order to get to 405 (just so you aren't confused by it).
| Projected Skill |
Zone |
NPCs |
| 350-405 |
Howling Fjord |
Shoveltusks and Rams |
| 375-405 |
Borean Tundra (south of Fizzcrank's Airstrip) |
Mammoths |
| 405-430 |
Grizzly Hills |
Duskhowl Prowlers, Frosthorn Rams, Graymist Hunters, Grizzly Bears, Highland Mustangs, Ice Serpents |
| 430-450 |
Sholazar Basin |
Dreadsabers, Cobras, Goretalons, Hardknuckles, Grazers, Crocolisks, Wasps, Shattertusks, Rhinos |
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