Best Leather Farming and Leveling 1-300 Routes - WoW Classic

By RenataKane Updated: 2024/11/18

Skinning Profession in Classic WoWBeasts Dragonkin FelhoundDemon Humanoids Skinning Differences between Classic and RetailIn Retail: Skinning KnifeIn Classic:Skinning KnifeIn Retail: In Classic: OwlbeastsYetiWorgenIn Retail: n Classic: How to Use This GuidePositive factorsNegative factorsFarming Tips are handy tips and personal favorite spots for leather farming.Understanding Skinning Level RangesIMPORTANT: Levels in this guide refer to the level of mobs you will skin for this type of leather, not to your Skinning level.Start Level: Sweet Spot:Overlap: or End Level: Hides: Farming Light Leather and Light Hides in Classic WoWMob Level Ranges to Farm Light Leather and Light Hides
Start Level: 6
Sweet Spot: 11-20
Overlap: 6-15 | 16-25
End Level: 25
Hides: 11-25Light LeatherLight HideRuined Leather ScrapsObjective Of:

The Alliance Needs Light Leather!

The Alliance Needs More Light Leather!

Farming Tips: Although not highlighted here as a farming spot because of the low level, Durotar has a lovely little secret: Scorpids. Many drop Dry Scorpid Eye, which may not seem a big deal, until you realize they vendor for . This is good money for low levels just starting out!
Best Places to Farm Light Leather and Light Hides

LOCH MODAN

Teeming with boars, bears, and crocs, Loch Modan is a skinner's paradise with an easy line of demarcation: the Loch. Keep west of the Loch until you're high enough level to handle the level 14-17 mobs on the eastern side; you'll be less likely to skin pesky Ruined Leather Scraps instead of Light Leather. The eastern camps also have fewer problems with having to clear non-skinnable mobs, like the trogs, kobolds, and various spiders on in the west.

However, the western areas play nicely into some sideline Linen Cloth farming, making clearing the trogs and kobolds feel like less of a nuisance.

Mining and herbalism are both good in Loch Modan.

DARKSHORE

Darkshore is so crowded with skinnable mobs that it became necessary to create this map a bit differently, dividing the sections by levels rather than calling out individual mob types. Striders, bears, and cats roam the entire zone, as well as a band of underwater threshers off the coast of Auberdine. The levels get progressively higher further out from Auberdine, either south or east.

If you aren't afraid of a little water battle, the Threshers are a good camp for herbalists, as this is also a good area for farming valuable Stranglekelp.

In general, the animals are more out in the open instead of right near the eastern edge, so it's good for herbalism but not ideal for mining. You will also want to stay out of the undead and furlbog camps unless you have other business there, but this zone is so rich in skinnable targets this won't cause any hardship.

THE BARRENS

The Barrens also required a different map approach, because of the sheer number and variety of skinnable mobs. The easiest way to think of this map is that the mob levels circle out from the Crossroads, with the lowest-level mobs being closest and the highest-level mobs being the furthest away. With Cats, Striders, Raptors, Zhevra, Hyenas, Turtles, Giraffes, and even the occasional Kodo, the Barrens is a great place to farm. Mining and Herbalism are both great here. Those choosing to do some linen farming can stick to the oases, with a good mix of skinnable mobs mixing with cloth-dropping centaurs.

Most of your Light Leather farming will go on north of Camp Taurajo, but if you want to stay in zone as you level, the mobs south of Camp T transition into Medium Leather. They aren't the best for targeted Medium Leather farming as they're well in the overlap zone.

Farming Tips: The Barrens is home to Wailing Caverns, which has a long series of tunnels that lead to the dungeon entrance. These are full of elite Deviates. This should only be undertaken in a group at level, as these are full of elites, but you'll get Deviate Scale and Perfect Deviate Scale as well as Light Leather for your trouble.

Farming Medium Leather and Medium Hides in Classic WoWMob Level Ranges to Farm Medium Leather and Medium Hides
Start Level: 16
Sweet Spot: 21-30
Overlap: 16-25 | 26-35
End Level: 35
Hides: 16-35 (same)Medium LeatherMedium HideObjective Of:

The Alliance Needs Medium Leather!

The Alliance Needs More Medium Leather!

Best Places to Farm Medium Leather and Medium Hides

STONETALON MOUNTAINS

Your main farming spots are going to concentrate on two areas: the Pridewing Chimera camps leading to Stonetalon Peak in the center and north of the zone, and Basilisks and Chimera in the Charred Vale. (There are a few other pockets of Pridewings, but these are out of the way and don't incorporate well into a good farming loop).

Despite the lower start level of this zone, good leather farming starts at the sweet spot (Level 21) with Pridewing chimera and Basilisks north of Sunrock Retreat. If there isn't much competition and you're getting good repop, you can stay right in that area until level 23 or 24. Otherwise, you can go north along the road, killing Coursers on the way, and then hunt both Coursers and Moonstalker cats in Stonetalon Peak. Take this way if you're a miner or herbalist, as there are plenty of opportunities for both along this route.

In your mid-20s, head down toward the Charred Vale to hunt Basilisks and Chimera.

Farming Tips: The Charred Vale may seem less than ideal because there are also a lot of Harpies in this area, but you can kill them to collect valuable Wool Cloth at the same time. There is also excellent mining and herbalism in this area.

HILLSBRAD FOOTHILLS

Hillsbrad Foothills doesn't have terrific mob density (mobs are a bit more spread out), but the sheer number of Bear camps alone is significant and well worth the effort. Also in the mix are Cats (mountain lions), a cave of Yeti, and neutral Turtles that spawn regularly along the river from Tarren Mill to Southshore (the Turtles are involved in the quests Soothing Turtle Bisque / Soothing Turtle Bisque, and drop the Turtle Meat needed to create this recipe thereafter. However, they aren't high enough level to skin for Turtle Scales).

The map pattern here focuses on the main road from Silverpine to Tarren Mill. The lowest level mobs are along the road, and the further you get from that road, the higher level the mobs become. There are two hazards in this zone to be aware of: there is a large elite yeti that crosses between the caves and north of Hillsbrad Fields, and in the mountains north of Durnholde Keep, a pair of level 40 elite Gryphons patrol the path entrance to the Hinterlands.

Herbalism is great in this zone, but mining is only fair. Stick around the area of the yeti caves, the road north to Alterac Mountains, or the mountains north of Durnhold if mining is a priority for you.

Farming Tips: Horde will find this a much friendlier zone than Alliance, although there are few quests available. That said, Tarren Mill is a super popular area for world PvP, and you may find the area impossible to farm due to the sheer number of people in the zone.

THE WETLANDS

The Wetlands' map scheme follows the main road from Dun Algaz to Menethil, with the lowest level mobs along the road and the mobs getting higher level the farther from the road you get.

Crocs will be a main target here (Alliance should make sure to pick up the quest Young Crocolisk Skins from James Halloran in Menethil Harbor). Density isn't great and movement through the various waterways isn't always easy, but it's a target-rich environment, particularly if you have the ability to pull them out of the water. The followup quest to Young Crocolisk Skins, Apprentice's Duties, awards Recipe: Crocolisk Gumbo, and you can also farm Tender Crocolisk Meat for this at the same time (Horde players will need to buy this recipe from the neutral Auction House).

There are also several Raptor camps, which are great because of they drop both Raptor Egg and Raptor Flesh, which are in high demand for leveling Cooking (Recipe: Curiously Tasty Omelet and Recipe: Roast Raptor).

If that wasn't incentive enough, the Whelps can also be skinned for Red Whelp Scale, a reagent for Red Whelp Gloves (Alliance players can buy the pattern Pattern: Red Whelp Gloves from Wenna Silkbeard in the Wetlands when she has it in stock; Horde players will need to purchase it off the neutral Auction House). There's also a (minuscule) chance of getting the Tiny Crimson Whelpling pet.

Farming Tips: This is an Alliance zone; although Horde will be able to farm here, there are no flight points or quests available in this zone for Horde players.

Farming Heavy Leather and Heavy Hides in Classic WoWLevel Ranges to Farm Heavy Leather and Heavy Hides
Start Level: 26
Sweet Spot: 31-40
Overlap: 26-35 | 36-45
End Level: 45
Hides: 26-45 (same)Objective Of:

The Horde Needs Heavy Leather!

The Horde Needs More Heavy Leather!

STRANGLETHORN VALE

With so many beasts in STV, it can be a skinner's paradise -- if it's not overcrowded. The main issue with STV is that it's a quest-heavy, popular zone for several reasons, including heaps of quests, great mining and herbalism, and unparalleled skinning opportunities.

The map's organization starts primarily out from Nesingwary's camp northwest of Lake Nazferiti and goes out from there. Large camps of Cats, Raptors, Crocolisks, and Gorillas range out from this central area, increasing in level as they move away from Nesingwary's.

Be sure to stop by Nesingwary's to pick up the quests Panther Mastery, Tiger Mastery, Raptor Mastery, and The Green Hills of Stranglethorn before heading out for the hunt.

Raptors are particularly juicy targets for another reason: they drop both Raptor Egg and Raptor Flesh, which are in high demand for leveling Cooking (Recipe: Curiously Tasty Omelet and Recipe: Roast Raptor).

Crocolisks near Lake Nazferiti and up into the river north of Nesingwary's camp are good hunting. Saltwater Crocolisks along the shoreline of the Vile Reef near Grom'gol Base Camp are fair game, but not included in a farming loop as they are in among elite Elder Saltwater Crocolisks, who can be bad news at level. Be sure to pick up the questline Some Assembly Required from Drizzlik prior to hunting any crocs.

Farming Tips: If you're not farming at level, STV often isn't a great choice for skinning. While it certainly has the mob density to be a great farm, it has stiff competition from quests. That said, if you can find players who are killing and looting mobs but aren't skinning them, this place can be a gold mine. Use your judgment about the day's traffic to make a final decision.

ARATHI HIGHLANDS

Arathi is short on variety, but not on spawn. The zone is crawling with huge swaths of Raptors, which in addition to being great sources of Heavy Leather and Heavy Hides from skinning, drop both Raptor Egg and Raptor Flesh, which are in high demand for leveling Cooking (Recipe: Curiously Tasty Omelet and Recipe: Roast Raptor). The Raptors range in levels from 30-37, putting it squarely in the sweet spot for Heavy Leather.

The Arathi map concentrates the lowest level Raptors (30-31) along the main east-west road and near the settlements of Refuge Point and Hammerfall. The Raptor levels increase as it moves away from the main road.

Arathi is also a surprisingly good zone for both mining and herbalism, and typically not as crowded as Stranglethorn Vale.

Farming Tips: Horde players, particularly anyone who values Agility, should stop by Hammerfall and pick up the quest Hammerfall from Gor'mul. This leads a multi-quest line that requires killing large numbers of Raptors and ends with a three-charge agility buff item.

DESOLACE

Unlike Arathi, Desolace has great variety, to the point that it becomes more useful in the map to lump Hyenas, Scorpids, and Basilisks (HSBs) together, and put the Thunder Lizards separately. The zone levels start in the upper northeast corner (30-31) and progressing southwest with the zone. The Scorpids are too low level to drop Scorpid Scales.

In addition to the breeds above, there are also small numbers of random Kodos sprinkled into the mix. There are several Kodos in and around the Kodo Graveyard, but this has two negatives and one positive. First, the graveyard Kodos are involved in the quest Kodo Roundup, and you won't make friends killing them. Second, the Kodo Graveyard has lots of unskinnable Swoops in and around the kodos -- more birds than kodos, truth be told. However, if you're an Herbalist, it's one of the few camps in Azeroth for Grave Moss.

Farming Thick Leather and Thick Hides in Classic WoWLevel Ranges to Farm Thick Leather and Thick Hides
Start Level: 36
Sweet Spot: 41-50
Overlap: 36-45 | 46-60
End Level: n/a
Hides: 40-60Thick HideThick LeatherObjective Of:

The Alliance Needs Thick Leather! / The Horde Needs Thick Leather!

The Alliance Needs More Thick Leather! / The Horde Needs More Thick Leather!

THE HINTERLANDS

Although the Hinterlands has both a major Horde base and an Alliance base, the clear level delineation of this zone favors the Alliance, moving from lowest to highest as it moves east further from Aerie Peak. Mob density is only moderate, but there are enough wolves in a good level range to keep any skinner busy.

There are skinnable Razorbeak gryphons scattered throughout the zone, but few concentrated camps and only Horde can kill them. The highest concentration of them is located near Alliance-controlled Aerie Peak, which isn't a safe camp.

The most popular camp in the zone is the Snapjaw turtle camp on the eastern shoreline near Revantusk Village, the Horde base. Concentration is high, repop is good and they can be skinned for valuable Turtle Scale in addition to Thick Leather. Alliance will need to be careful not to get too close to the Horde guards. The turtles are neutral, making it easy to control pulls, though you will need to watch for of the elite hostile turtle Gammerita , depending on your level. Horde players can easily get rid of her by training her to the Revantusk guards if they can't handle her alone.

TANARIS

This map gets a different approach because three of the major targets -- Scorpids, Basilisks, and Hyenas -- intermingle with one another to the degree that it's more useful to discuss level bands in the zone. The levels start lowest near Gadgetzan and increase the further southwest you travel in the zone. Mob density is moderate.

Tanaris gets bonus points for two special skins available: Turtle Scale and Scorpid Scale. Scorpid Scales have a chance to be skinned off nearly any scorpid in the zone, and Turtle Scales can be skinned from the Steeljaw Snapper and Surf Glider turtles along the eastern and southeastern coasts.

Farming Tips: There are some excellent side farms in Tanaris. The carrion birds drop Giant Egg, needed for Clamlette Surprise, the quest needed to advance Cooking to 300. Also, the ogre camps in the 46-49 ranges are great camps.

FERALAS

Feralas is teeming with skinnable mobs, including Bears, Wolves, Hippogryphs, Screechers, Apes, Faerie Dragons (sprite darters), and Yetis. It gets high marks for density and discrete camps. Most of the mobs are in the sweet spot, and the zone is fantastic for both mining and herbalism.

However, it's also one of the most popular skinning zones in the game, partly due to the fact that several leatherworking quest lines occur here. The iron ore farming and herbalism are also excellent here, increasing traffic and competition. There is also a quest line called Testing the Vessel which has you hunting down several choice skinning species (Owlbeasts, Hippogryphs, and Faerie Dragons). The quest's item also annihilates the bodies, making it impossible to skin. The owlbeasts are not found in Feralas, but the hippogryphs and faerie dragons are, making those a more competitive farm.

While there are large numbers of skinnable mobs on the Isle of Dread, there are also too many elites for this to be an efficient camp.

Farming Tips: I'm not the only person in the game who counts this as my favorite all-around farming zone. Still, the extreme popularity also means many non-skinners will be killing here as well, which may give you great opportunity to skin other people's leavings without having to do the work of killing the mobs. Just be polite and avoid premature skinning of hippogryphs and darters, or you'll interfere with some people's Muisek quests.

Farming Rugged Leather and Rugged Hides in Classic WoWLevel Ranges to Farm Rugged Leather and Rugged Hides
Start Level: 46
Sweet Spot: 51-60
Overlap: 46-60
End Level: n/a
Hides: 46-60Objective Of:

The Horde Needs Rugged Leather!

The Horde Needs More Rugged Leather!

UN'GORO CRATER

Technically speaking, Un'Goro Crater is an overlap zone, with good chances to get both Thick Leather and Rugged Leather, though the mob levels are more favorable to Rugged. It's the only overlap zone to be counted in the top zones for skinning. Still, a skinning guide that doesn't cover Un'Goro Crater is like a history of the Horde that doesn't mention orcs.

Un'goro is chock full of skinning goodness, primarily from Ravasaurs, Diemetradons, Pterrodax, and Gorillas. Its high point scale comes from excellent density and camps, as well as fantastic herbalism and mining. Add in the ability to acquire Devilsaur Leather, and it seems like a slam-dunk.

However, Un'goro has downsides. It has heavy competition from quests, from herbalists and miners, as well as from other skinners. It earned minus points for hazards, namely the many wandering elite Devilsaurs and the challenges farming Pterrodax, which are fond of Fear as a defense mechanism. It's easy to tag elite Stegosaurs by accident, particularly if you use any kind of AOE. Still, the fact that it rated second among Rugged Leather zones, even with all these all these minuses, says a lot Un'goro's overall quality.

But if you can accept the rodeo atmosphere of Un'goro, the leather overlap, and the occasional squashing by the Devilsaur you didn't see coming, Un'goro is a bountiful skinning zone with other farming advantages.

Farming Tips: You can also collect the Red Power Crystal, Yellow Power Crystal, Green Power Crystal, and Blue Power Crystal for the various Pylon quests associated with J.D. Collie in Marshall's Refuge. Power Crystals are components in blacksmithed Thorium Armor, and are also used in repeatable quests for making self-buff crystals: Crystal Force, Crystal Spire, and Crystal Yield.

EASTERN PLAGUELANDS

Eastern Plaguelands is short on variety but not on spawn. Vast fields of Plaguehounds and Plaguebats stretch over the southern and eastern parts of the zone. Just be aware that the Frenzied Plaguebat (57-58) uses Fear as a primary defense, so they're annoying to farm. Also, try to avoid wandering Noxious Gargoyles; they have an anti-healing debuff that lasts for 45 seconds, so you'll be waiting a while to eat before you can move on.

At highest levels, Terrordale, the village west of Plaguewood, has a large population of Plagued Swine, as well as a couple of small areas of hounds and bats nearby.

Eastern Plaguelands has excellent herbing and decent mining opportunities, and you can easily avoid the undead and troll camps if you're concentrating just on leather farming.

Farming Tips: Eastern Plaguelands' undead camps are a great side farm for both Runecloth and for Scourgestones for Argent Dawn. Acquire an Argent Dawn Commission trinket from Argent Dawn Commission or Argent Dawn Commission to start earning Scourgestones from undead kills.

WINTERSPRING

Winterspring's mob levels follow a logical progression: lowest levels are along the road from Timbermaw to Everlook, and then range outward from Everlook. Bears and Chimera are the primary targets, with nice side camps of Yeti and Frostsaber cats. There is also very good Thorium mining, and only zone where herbalists can pick Icecap.

A good side farm is Winterfall Furlbog, which drop Winterfall Spirit Beads. Turn 5 of these in to Salfa for Beads for Salfa to earn 575 experience and 50 reputation with Timbermaw Hold.

Farming Tips: Alliance players can combine skinning with the quests necessary to acquire the Reins of the Winterspring Frostsaber mount. The first part of this quest involves acquiring large numbers of Shardtooh bears and Chillwind chimera, so you can combine errands. See Winterspring Frostsaber Reputation Guide in Classic WoW for more information.

Comments

Comment by KnuteOle

Solid guide! I'm looking forward to farming leather again in the old zones.

Yetis were always my favorite mob of choice for farming because they'd also drop cloth, coins, and occasional greens. I leveled up my skinning and LW farming the yeti cavern just north of Khranos during vanilla. By the time I got to the back of the cave, yeti's had respawned at the entrance.

For rugged hide, the cave southeast of Everlook was a good one, and they dropped rune cloth which was highly valuable.

Comment by bonzybabee

Just went to the owlbeasts in Hinterlands. They are not skinnable. At least the 42-44 ones are.

Comment by Xandraroes

A great place to farm Heavy and Medium leather right now while many players are in the 30 lvl range is the Crystal Spine Basilisk in Stranglethorn Vale. They're part of a quest with a low drop rate, have decently fast respawn, and you can easily follow other players along and skin as much as you want.

Comment by Hamorm

The stonetalon peak suggestion in this guide is way off. The skinnable mob density there is very low -- particularly in the charred vale. I think it's only positive is that it's a horde friendly leveling zone. If you are actually farming leather at a higher level, it's not worth your time.

Comment by 256124

Only higher level STV mobs reliably drop heavy leather, otherwise you will get significantly more medium leather.

Best Leather Farming and Leveling 1-300 Routes - WoW Classic

Contribute