Just to note this Skinning guide is not about making gold with skinning, it's just a simple guide which show you the fastest way to level your Skinning.

If you are low on gold, I recommend you to try this Gold Making Guide, it can help you to make loads of gold. You also need to realize this is not a leveling guide, so if you are looking for a leveling guide, the best one is this 1 - 80 Leveling Guide.

This guide is aimed for higher level players, who want to switch their profession at higher levels, but this don't means it's not good for lower level players. Leveling your Skinning will be easy, and even easier if you use this Skinning guide, but hell it's really boring. You will have to run around and skin hundreds or even thousands of mobs in WoW.

I found many other Skinning guide on the internet, they just list the best zones, usually the zones with the most beasts in it. However, while you travel between those zones, you will loose a lot of time and you won't level your skinning faster. This Skinning guide will show you two simple path which I found the fastest way to level Skinning, one for Horde and one for Alliance. You can find a few formulas below, these might help you while you will leveling your Skinning.

Up to skinning 100, you can find out the highest level mob you can skin by: ((Skinning skill)/10)+10. Example: ( 50 / 10 ) +10 = 15

From skinning level 100 and up the formula is simply: (Skinning skill)/5. Example: (175 / 5 = 35)

Skinning is the best combined with Leatherworking, If you want to level your Leatherworking too, make sure to check out my Leatherworking leveling Guide.

With the Skinning Enchant to gloves, you can skin an enemy 1 level higher than you normally would be able to do so. Skinning does not have any character level requirements in order to learn the next skill proficiency level. Please note that even if a mob is red/orange to you, that this DOES NOT guarantee that you'll get a skill up. It's more likely, but not to be expected every time.

Skinning guide sections:

1-75 Durotar, Dun Morogh
75-155/165 The Barrens, Loch Modan, Wetlands
155/165-205 Thousand Needles, Arathi Highland
205-300 Un'Goro Crater, Feralas
300-360 Hellfire Peninsula, Nagrand
360-450 Borean Tundra, Sholazar Basin
Related Guides:

WoW Leatherworking Leveling Guide 1-450.

1-75 Skinning Guide

Visit any Skinning Trainer located in World of Warcraft, and learn Skinning Apprentice.

Don't forget to buy the SKINNING KNIFE. I always forgot it. After you bought the knife, just follow the zones listed in the guide. This knife does NOT have to be equipped.

Beasts in the immediate starting area can't be skinned, because that area is for level 1-6 players and you won't have any profession until you reach level 5.

Alliance:

From 1 to 50 make a circle around that lake near Ironforge, when you reach 50 you can go and visit your Skinning trainer at Ironforge and learn Journeyman Skinning. After you learnt it, you can continue to level your Skinning until around 75, while you move toward Loch Modan. Keep in mind, it's not guaranteed that you will reach 75, but if you won't reach it you can just still go to Loch Modan, lower skill will be enough too.

Horde:

From 1 to 75 you will start at Sen'Jin Village in Durotar and head toward Orgrimmar, while you skin every beast you see. When you reach Orgrimmar, visit your Skinning trainer and learn Journeyman Skinning. After that, fly to Crossroads which is located in The Barrens. Keep in mind, it's not guaranteed that you will reach 75, but if you won't reach it you can just still go to Orgrimmar, Skinning 50 will be enough too.

75-155/165 Skinning Guide

Alliance:

From 75 to 115 follow the path you see on the picture below, after you reach 115 you can head toward Wetlands. If you go there at lower Skinning level, there might be some beast which you won't be able to Skin.

From 115 to around 140, follow that river you see on the picture and Skin the beasts you find. At 140 or a bit more, you will reach the city and you will have to fly to Ironforge in order to learn Expert Skinning. After you learnt the skill, fly back to Wetlands and continue to level up your Skinning until 155, so you will be able to skin the level 31 Raptors in Arathi, which is the next part in this Skinning Guide.

Horde:

75-125 Skin the beasts you find while you head toward Camp Taurajo. Make sure that you have Skinning 125 when you reach the Camp, else Dranh at Camp Taurajo won't be able to teach Expert Skinning to you. From 125 to 165 head toward Thousand Needles and skin the beasts you see. To be honest, I feel sorry for Alliance players at this point of the Skinning guide. Horde players have such a good traveling roads, it's a lot easier to level Skinning as a Horde player than as an Alliance.

155/165-205 Skinning Guide

Alliance:

Follow that path on the map from 155-170, when you reach 170 you can head toward the orange 170-205 part. You will find higher level raptors there. However there are level 36-37 raptors at the south-east corner of the orange zone. Don't go there until you have Skinning 180. After you reached Skinning 205, you can go to Ironforge and learn Artisan Skinning. When you learnt the skill, go to Feralas.

Horde:

From 165 to 205 just follow the path you see on the picture. Make sure that you have Skinning 205 before you leave Thousand Needles. After 205 go to Tanaris and fly to Feralas, at Feralas find Kulleg Stonehorn he will teach you Artisan Skinning.

205-300 Skinning Guide

From 205 to 230 just skin mobs around Camp Mojache, this one is doable for both Horde and Alliance. When you reach 230, mount up and head towards the Yeti cave, it's where you can see the 230-260 part on the map. If the Yeti cave is farmed by someone you can head to South and kill Hippogryphs. After you reached 260, follow the path to the 260-280 part. There is another Yeti cave there, but those Yetis are higher levels. When you killed all of them, you can find a lot of beasts in front of the cave. At Skinning 280 you can fly to Un'goro Crater, however you can stay here too, and skill up your skinning by killing the beast in front of the cave.

300-375 Skinning Guide

From here you will gain skills much less frequently, as you will see on the picture below.

Go to Thrallmar and find Moorutu if you are Horde player, he will teach you Master Skinning. For Alliance go to Honor Holde and find Jelena Nightsky. The paths on the map are pretty straightforward. Just follow those paths and when you reach 330, go to Nagrand.

Kill Talbuks and Clefthoofs. You can stop at 350 and go to Northreand, if you want to.

360-450 Skinning Guide

Go to Northrend and learn Skinning Grand Master.

Kill Rhinos.

Kill Gorillas, this place is also one of the best place to farm Borean Leather.

I hope you liked this Skinning guide, GZ to 450!