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The profession of leatherworking is a primary trade skill in the World of Warcraft. When choosing leatherworking as a primary skill, make sure you really want it, as you may only have two primary tradeskills at once. Also when you choose leatherworking you are pretty much locked into taking skinning as your second primary skill. You are able to unlearn trade skills but if you do this, you will lose all your skill points in it. If you were to start leatherworking again you would have to start from the bottom, not at your last skill level.

Now with the Burning Crusade out, there's many more items and trainers you will need to seek out in order to progress with your skill levels as a leatherworker, keep an eye out for updates to this guide as we add more information on where to find your Master trainers and what to expect from Leatherworking!

What items do Leatherworkers produce?

Leatherworkers produce a variety of useful items, the main item they produce though is armor (leather and mail). Leatherworkers also produce some secondary items that include:

• Quivers and Ammo pouches -Bags that only hold arrows or bullets but provide a weapon speed increase to bows, guns and crossbows.
• Armor kits - Adds armor class to your armor permanently, much like an enchantment

Is there a complete list of items that leatherworker produce?

YES! We at TenTonHammer have produced a complete list of leatherworker items their abilities skill and items required to create them and much more. We maintain them in HTML format and as a PDF ready to download and print as a handy reference.

Who uses Leatherworking?

Usually classes that can use leather and / or mail armor benefit from leatherworking. This means that shamans and hunters benefit the most as they are able to use all the armor that can be produced by leatherworking. Rogues and druids are also benefit from leatherworking but can not make use of the mail armor that can be produced at high levels. Other classes can gain some benefit from leatherworking, for example: quiver and ammo pouch production, armor kits, profit, etc. Really though only leather and mail wearers see enough benefit to have leatherworking as a primary skill.

Why should I be a Leatherworker?

Leatherworking is an excellent choice if you want to make your own armor or if you want to make armor for your friends or to sell and trade. Being a leatherworker can save you a ton of money on "Blue" armor from the auction house later in the game.

What other skills go well with Leatherworking?

Skinning is a must if you are a leatherworker, as you can then find your own materials to use instead of having to buying them. While it is possible to be a leatherworker without taking skinning, it would be extremely expensive to do.

Where do I train to be a leatherworker?

All major cities and most towns have leatherworking trainers. To train as a journeyman you need 50 skill points in Leatherworking and at least level 10. Once you get to higher levels you must journey to a few specific towns to get training. To train as an expert leatherworker you must have 125 skill points and be at least level 20. To become an Artisan you must first get to 200 skill points and level 35.

Are there high level specialties available for Leatherworkers?

There are three different specialties available to high level Leatherworkers They are Elemental, Tribal and Dragonscale leatherworking.

Elemental Leatherworkers create items that increase your resists. These items are mainly used by Rogues and feral Druids.

Tribal Leatherworkers creates items that give intelligence and stamina bonuses. It is excellent for Druids. It also has some +crit and +dodge bonuses for Rogues in the Devilsaur set.

Dragonscale Leatherworkers specialize in mail armor. Due to this it is mainly taken by Shamans and Hunters.

Where do you train in the specialty versions of Leatherworking?

This depends on what faction you play. Once you reach level 40 and at least 200 skill points you can specialize in leatherworking by finding one of the three specialist trainers.

TenTonHammer's Reference Guide to Leatherworking	TenTonHammer's Reference Guide to Leatherworking (PDF)

Which specialization should I chose?

There is no right or wrong answer here. Some players focus on what is useful for themselves, while others focus on what will earn them the most in the auction house, still others focus on what is needed by the guild. In the end the best bet is to pick the one that suits your play style. If you are always making and selling items pick the one that sells in the auction house on your server. If you know you are rarely going to raid pick the one that suits your class best as you are not likely to get epic set items, so this will generate some of the best items you can get.

How do I make Leatherworking items?

In your skills section, there will be a leatherworking icon, click it to bring up your list of patterns. If you have the required ingredients a number will show up beside the pattern, this is how many you can make of that item. I find it easiest if you put the icon on a hot bar.

What ingredients are used in Leatherworking?

The primary ingredient in almost all leatherworking patterns is some type of leather or hide and thread. In addition some patterns use items such as: pearls, gems, scales, pieces of elements and much more. Some patterns also use ingredients made from other tradeskills such as iron buckles from blacksmiths, potions from alchemists, and cloth from tailors.

Is there a complete list of ingredients used in Leatherworking?

Yes, we have compiled a complete list of all items used in leatherworking. It is current as of patch 1.8. You can find it here.

Why can't I make a Runic Leather Belt?

You can only make those items which you have the patterns for. You are given some basic ones when you first start, but for the rest they have to be found on mobs, or buy from NPCs or other players. Some of the best patterns are only found as rare drops from high level instance dungeons. Also you can only use the patterns that you have the required level of skill in leatherworking for.

How do I increase my Leatherworking skill?

Your increase your skill by creating leatherworking items of a progressing level of difficulty as explained in the next few points.

Why didn't my skill increase 30 points when I made 30 belts?

Your skills increase only if you produce items that have a high difficulty rating. All production patterns are color coded for complexity.

What are the difficulty ratings for patterns?

From easiest to hardest the color are gray, green, yellow, orange and red. Patterns that are red will never be in your list of patterns, but they are visible at the leatherworking trainers. Orange patterns will always increase your skill, yellow patterns sometimes increase your skill, green patterns will rarely increase your skill, and gray patterns will never increase your skill.

What is the best way to level Leatherworking?

There are two main things to remember when trying to level your leatherworking skill. The first is to only make orange difficulty items whenever possible. Only make yellow difficulty items when they are significantly cheaper to produce than orange difficulty items.

The other secret to leveling leatherworking is to always create the item at each skill level that has the lowest ingredient cost. Always check all the recipes that you are able to make at the time and build the cheapest one. For example one item may require 10 light leather, while another requires 15. If they are the same difficulty rating, then you should always make the item requiring only 10 light leather. Our guide to leatherworking patterns is a great help in planning items to build to level as it shows when the item drops to green difficulty and not worth producing any more. Our guide can be found here or a downloadable PDF version of it here.

If you are looking for a way to "power" level your leatherworking skill, check out our Leatherworking Leveling Guide! We've found the easiest way to get your leatherworking up quickly!

Are there quests for Leatherworkers?

Yes. Currently there are a few quests for Leatherworkers

A low level quest for the Alliance side from Lotherias in Darnassus in which she wants you to help her make leather goods. She needs the following: 1 Embossed Leather Glove, 5 Embossed Leather Boots and 5 Embossed Leather Cloaks. The reward is a moonglow breastplate pattern.

The equivalent low level leatherworking quest for the Horde is given out by the leatherworking trainer in Thunderbluff. Its reward is a kodo leather bag pattern (6 slot container). There is a third quest for both sides. It is given out by Ebru in the Wailing Caverns. Its reward is the Deviate scale belt pattern.

There are also the wild leather quests. These are a series of quests that reward you with additional leatherworking patterns. They begin with: Pratt McGrubben, in Feathermoon Stronghold, Feralas for the Alliance, and Jangdor Swiftstrider, in Camp Mojache, Feralas for the Horde. The patterns that you are rewarded with are shown below. These wild leather quests are required for Tribal Leatherworking, however are available for all other Leatherworkers, regardless of specialization.

After completing my specialization quest the trainer only has two patterns to teach. Is this right?

Yes, other than the first two, all specialized patterns are drops from mobs.

Where can I find official Blizzard info on Leatherworking?

• Professions: http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/professions/
• Leatherworking: http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/professions/leatherworking.html

  Where can I find info from other Leatherworking guides?

• http://www.wowwiki.com/Leatherworking - guide to leatherworking
• http://www.worldofwar.net/professions/leatherworking/index.php

   

The specialization quests all require you to provide certain items. Knowing what they are, and having them already made before journeying to the trainer is far better than having to return later.