The best place to farm Light Leather in WoW Forever is a camp of level 16 to 21 beasts: they drop about 1.1 Light Leather per skin, a fifth more than the level 11 to 15 beasts you skin while questing. Horde players have the biggest farm in the game, the central Barrens between the Crossroads and Camp Taurajo. Alliance players farm southern Darkshore or eastern Loch Modan, and both factions can use western Ashenvale. This WoW Forever Light Leather guide has a loop map for each main camp, leather per hour, what Leatherworking needs and what it all sells for.
The short version for crafters: Light Leather is easy, Light Hide is not. Beasts give a Light Hide on about one skin in 20, and Forever added 39 Leatherworking recipes that use Cured Light Hide to the 10 from Classic, per SeeMeta’s Forever recipe data. The 26 hides on our Leatherworking route take longer to farm than its 211 Light Leather.
How solid this is: WoW Forever keeps Classic’s mob spawns in the original zones, so the camps and counts below hold in Forever. They come from the cmangos Classic database, placed on Forever’s zone maps with the beta client’s map bounds, the same method as our WoW Forever leather farming guide. Mob levels, health and drop chances are Classic data, because Forever’s loot tables aren’t public. What Forever adds: faster respawns in Ashenvale and Duskwood (October 1 notes, which also kept Classic’s one skin per corpse) and launch respawn rates, fastest in the starting zones (November 2 notes). Blizzard plans to slow the low zones down again later; no hotfix through November 12 has. Item, recipe and vendor values are from the live client (build 1.60.1.70938, November 13).
Best Places to Farm Light Leather in WoW Forever
The best Light Leather farms in WoW Forever are the central Barrens for the Horde, southern Darkshore and eastern Loch Modan for the Alliance, and western Ashenvale for both. Counts, levels and drops are Classic data; per hour is our estimate at 120 skins an hour.
| Camp | Faction | Beast level | Skinning needed | Beasts | Light Leather per skin | Light Leather and Light Hide per hour |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central Barrens, Crossroads to Camp Taurajo | Horde | 16-21 | 60-105 | about 480 in the zone | 1.1, plus 0.2 Medium | 130 and 6 |
| Northern Barrens around the Crossroads | Horde | 11-16 | 10-60 | about 960 | 0.9, plus 0.35 Ruined Leather Scraps | 110 and 6 |
| Silverpine Forest, bears and worgs | Horde | 11-17 | 10-70 | about 145 | 0.94 | 115 and 6 |
| Southern Darkshore, Ameth’Aran to the Master’s Glaive | Alliance | 11-20 | 10-100 | about 230 | 0.97 (1.07 on the level 16-20 beasts) | 115 and 6 |
| Eastern Loch Modan | Alliance | 13-17 | 30-70 | about 85 | 1.0 | 120 and 6 |
| Westfall, Goretusks | Alliance | 12-17 | 20-70 | about 115 | 0.94 | 110 and 6 |
| Northern Duskwood, Dire Wolves | Alliance | 19-21 | 90-105 | about 65 | 1.1, plus 0.2 Medium | 130 and 6 |
| Redridge, Great Goretusks and Black Dragon Whelps | Alliance | 16-18 | 60-80 | about 65 | 1.0; the whelps add 0.45 Black Whelp Scale | 120 and 6 |
| Western Ashenvale, Wild Bucks and Ghostpaw Runners | Both | 18-20 | 80-100 | about 100 | 1.1, plus 0.2 Medium | 130 and 6 |
Skinning needed follows Classic’s rule, which Zockify’s Forever guide also gives: (level minus 10) times 10 for beasts of level 11 to 19, five times the level from 20. Our WoW Forever skinning leveling guide has the full skill table and the 1-300 route.
Light Leather per Hour and Kill Speed
Expect about 130 Light Leather an hour on level 16 to 21 beasts at their own level and around 200 on a level 30 character; both are our estimates. Level 16 to 21 beasts have 300 to 530 health in Classic data, and Blizzard’s November 2 notes raised class damage while raising health only for higher-level creatures, so they die at least as fast as in Classic. At level a kill takes about 10 to 15 seconds; with looting, skinning and walking that is the 120 skins an hour our leather farming guide assumes. A level 30 character kills in a hit or two and manages 180 skins or more: about 200 Light Leather, 35 Medium Leather and 9 Light Hides an hour.
Respawns are 4.5 to 5 minutes in Classic data and faster at launch, so on our loops a solo farmer rarely waits for a beast. Other skinners are the limit: every corpse can only be skinned once. Blizzard’s November 9 hotfix lowered the number of players in crowded zones, which helps.
Horde: The Barrens Light Leather Farm
The Barrens is WoW Forever’s best Light Leather farm and the biggest in the game: about 480 beasts of level 16 to 21 and 960 of level 11 to 16 in Classic data. The best stretch runs from south of the Crossroads past Camp Taurajo, where Ornery Plainstriders, Sunscale Scytheclaws, Zhevra Chargers and Stormsnouts give way to Thunderheads and Zhevra Coursers. The loop starts on the road south of the Crossroads, swings west through the plainstriders, follows the road south past Camp Taurajo and comes back up the east side, threading between the Bristleback quillboar camps and well clear of Northwatch Hold. One lap is about 4,200 yards with about 110 beasts along it.
The loop needs Skinning 60 for the level 16 beasts and 105 for the Thunderheads. Below 60, farm the level 11 to 16 plainstriders, zhevras, Sunscale raptors and hyenas anywhere around the Crossroads: 0.9 Light Leather per skin plus Ruined Leather Scraps, no loop needed. Dranh in Camp Taurajo trains every Skinning rank. Undead players can start with Silverpine Forest’s bears and worgs.
Alliance: Southern Darkshore and Eastern Loch Modan
The Alliance has no camp as big as the Barrens. Southern Darkshore is its best Light Leather farm in Kalimdor, eastern Loch Modan the best in the Eastern Kingdoms.
Southern Darkshore
Southern Darkshore has about 230 skinnable beasts between Ameth’Aran and the Master’s Glaive: Rabid Thistle Bears, Foreststriders and Moonstalkers (level 11 to 16) in the north half, and about 95 Giant Foreststriders, Moonstalker Sires and Grizzled Thistle Bears (16 to 20) in the south. The loop runs south on the west side of the pond and back on the east side, about 3,000 yards with 110 beasts along it. Its southern half passes 50 to 100 yards from the Blackwood furbolg camps, the Twilight’s Hammer camp at the Master’s Glaive and the golems at Remtravel’s Excavation, so pull carefully there at level 16 to 18. Our leather farming guide maps the rest of Darkshore.
Eastern Loch Modan
Eastern Loch Modan is small but quick: about 40 Black Bear Patriarchs and Elder Mountain Boars (level 16 to 17) and 45 Grizzled Black Bears and Mangy Mountain Boars (13 to 15), on a 1,300-yard loop around the ridge in the middle of the meadow. Fly to Thelsamar and ride around the south end of the loch. The loop stays south of the elite Mo’grosh ogres and north of the troggs at Ironband’s Excavation Site. The Young Threshadons in the loch give 1.18 Light Leather per skin, but you fight and skin them in the water.
Both Factions: Western Ashenvale
Ashenvale’s 100 Wild Bucks and Ghostpaw Runners (level 18 to 20) north-west of Astranaar give 1.1 Light Leather per skin, and Ashenvale is one of the five zones where Blizzard’s October 1 notes raised respawn rates. Horde players fly to Zoram’gar Outpost; Alliance players fly to Astranaar and keep away from Zoram’gar’s guards and the Forsaken camp in the northern part of the bucks’ range. Our leather farming guide’s Ashenvale map shows them in green.
How Much Light Leather Leatherworking Needs
A WoW Forever Leatherworker needs about 211 Light Leather and 26 Light Hides on our route, all of it before skill 125, plus 95 Ruined Leather Scraps for the first 30 points. The route is the one in our WoW Forever leatherworking leveling guide, built from the game’s skill-up data:
| Skill | Recipe | Light Leather | Light Hide |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1-30 | Light Leather from Ruined Leather Scraps (and one Camp Tent at 20) | Makes about 26 for the next step | |
| 30-55 | Cured Light Hide | 26 | |
| 55-75 | Embossed Leather Gloves | 35 | |
| 75-80 | Medium Leather | 26 | |
| 90-100 | Fine Leather Belt | 90 | |
| 100-125 | 10 more Fine Leather Belts for the Dark Leather Belts | 60 | |
| Total | 211 | 26 |
At 1.1 per skin, the 211 Light Leather is about 190 skins, under two hours on a good camp. The 26 Light Hides are about 520 skins at one hide per 20, over four hours. That is why the hides, not the leather, decide how fast a Leatherworker gets past 55 without buying.
Forever adds Light Leather uses that Classic didn’t have. All values are from the live client:
| Item | Light Leather | Other materials | What it is |
|---|---|---|---|
| Camp Chair (Skinning 20) | 3 | 2 Simple Wood | Camp object: 2% critical strike for the camp. Used up when placed |
| Camp Tent (Leatherworking 20) | 5 | Camp object: tops rested XP up to 5% of a level. Used up when placed | |
| Light Leather Reagent Bag | 8 | 1 Cured Light Hide, 3 Coarse Thread | 6-slot bag for Forever’s reagent bag slot |
| Rare leveling chests (six lines) | 16 | 2 Cured Light Hides | Leatherworking’s new rare gear for levels 12 to 25 |
| Rare belts, gloves and boots of the same lines | 10 to 14 | 2 to 4 Cured Light Hides, 2 to 3 Pristine Leather | Same lines; the pants take 4 Cured Light Hides and Medium Leather |
| Four rare boots (Black Whelp Slippers, Moonglow Boots, Murloc Scale Shoes, Dark Leather Boots) | 12 to 24 | 2 Cured Light Hides | Skill 35 to 40 |
| 24 Gustwoven and Windraveled pieces | 4 to 7 | Coarse Thread; four take a Cured Light Hide | New uncommon gear, skill 50 to 60 |
| Satchel of Copper Bombs (Engineering) | 6 | 20 Rough Copper Bombs, 4 Handfuls of Copper Bolts | New in Forever |
Camp objects add up over time. Blizzard’s camping article gives all camp features a shared one-hour cooldown, and in the live client the chair and tent are used up when placed, so a skinner who sets out a chair at every hourly stop uses 3 Light Leather an hour of play. A rare chest, belt, gloves and boots of one line take 52 Light Leather and 11 Cured Light Hides; our leatherworking guide covers the patterns.
Light Hide: Where It Drops and What to Do With It
Light Hide drops on about 5% of skins from every beast of level 11 to 21 in Classic data, and on 2 to 4% from level 22 to 25 beasts, which drop Medium Hide more often. The chance hardly changes from camp to camp, so the best Light Hide farm is simply the best Light Leather farm: about 6 hides an hour at the beasts’ level, 9 when you kill fast (our estimate).
Leatherworkers turn it into Cured Light Hide with one Salt from the vendor; the trainer recipe gives skill up to 70. Cured Light Hide goes into the route above, the rare leveling gear and the reagent bag. One skinner leveling Skinning to 300 collects only about 5 Light Hides, on the yield estimate behind our skinning guide, against 26 on one Leatherworker’s route, so keep your hides: a Leatherworker will pay more than the vendor’s 50 copper.
What Light Leather Is Worth in WoW Forever
Light Leather sells to vendors for 15 copper each, 3 silver for a stack of 20, in the live client. Light Hide sells for 50 copper, Cured Light Hide for 1 silver 10 copper and Ruined Leather Scraps for 7 copper. Auction House prices differ by realm and move every day, so we don’t print one; check your own realm.
Our estimate of where prices go: Light Leather is the cheapest leather in Forever. A Leatherworker needs about twice what one skinner collects while leveling Skinning (211 against about 105), and every starting zone is full of skinners. Camp chairs, tents and the rare leveling gear keep some demand going after launch. Light Hide should hold its value better: one Leatherworker needs about five times what a leveling skinner collects. Sell Light Leather in full stacks while new Leatherworkers level, and sell hides to them, not the vendor.
Zockify’s Waylaid Crate list says an Apprentice Textiles crate also takes 20 Light Leather for Merchant’s Favor, but the crate recipe in the client only lists 40 Linen Cloth, so check in game before you hold leather back for it. Pristine Leather, Forever’s Scarce skinning extra, can come from any of these beasts; the rare belts, gloves and boots need 2 or 3 each, and the Bountiful Harvest perk in our Legacy System guide makes Scarce finds more likely.
For the next tier, our Medium Leather farming guide covers the level 25 to 30 camps, and the WoW Forever leather farming guide has the best farm for every tier up to Rugged. The quillboar, furbolg and Twilight camps beside these loops are level 16 to 20 humanoids that drop Linen and Wool Cloth; our WoW Forever Wool Cloth farming guide has better camps for that. The rest of the series is in our WoW Forever hub.
FAQ
Where is the best place to farm Light Leather in WoW Forever?
The Barrens for the Horde: about 480 beasts of level 16 to 21 at 1.1 Light Leather per skin in Classic data, densest between the Crossroads and Camp Taurajo. Alliance players farm southern Darkshore or eastern Loch Modan; western Ashenvale works for both factions.
What level mobs drop Light Leather in WoW Forever?
Beasts of level 11 to 21 drop Light Leather on most skins in Classic data, and beasts of level 16 to 21 drop the most, about 1.1 per skin. From level 22 Medium Leather takes over, and below level 11 most skins give Ruined Leather Scraps.
What drops Light Hide in WoW Forever?
Every skinnable beast of level 11 to 21 drops Light Hide on about 5% of skins in Classic data. The chance hardly changes between camps, so farm the densest Light Leather camp and expect about one hide per 20 skins.
How do you make Cured Light Hide in WoW Forever?
Leatherworkers learn Cured Light Hide from the trainer at about skill 30: one Light Hide and one Salt make one Cured Light Hide, with skill-ups until 70.
Can you buy Light Leather from a vendor in WoW Forever?
No vendor sold Light Leather in Classic, and Forever’s notes don’t add one, so it comes from skinning or the Auction House. Leatherworkers can also make one Light Leather from three Ruined Leather Scraps.
Sources: Blizzard’s development notes (October 1, November 2), WoW Forever hotfixes (November 5 to 11) and camping article. Classic beast spawns, levels, health and skinning loot from the cmangos Classic database, our calculation; recipe data from SeeMeta and the live client (build 1.60.1.70938, read via wago.tools); crate list from Zockify; Leatherworking demand from our own route. Maps: Blizzard Entertainment, from Warcraft Wiki’s map files.