Leatherworking is a crafting profession in World of Warcraft Retail’s current Midnight expansion. It converts leather, scales, threads, and special reagents into Leather and Mail armor, armor kits, embellishments, profession equipment, optional reagents, reagents, leg enchants, drums, and other useful crafted items. It is not a gathering profession, Cooking, or Fishing.
Leatherworking is one of the strongest choices for players who want to craft equipment through Crafting Orders, sell consumables and reagents on the Auction House, or support Leather- and Mail-wearing characters. It pairs especially well with Skinning, although the profession can also be profitable when supplied through the Auction House.
Leatherworking Profession Overview
Midnight Leatherworking uses a skill range of 1–100. The profession follows the modern Retail crafting system: recipes have quality levels, many valuable crafts use optional reagents, higher-end items can be requested through Crafting Orders, and profession stats influence the result, material cost, or number of items produced.
Leatherworkers create two main categories of combat equipment:
- Leather armor for classes such as Rogues, Druids, Monks, Demon Hunters, and Evokers using leather specialization.
- Mail armor for Hunters, Shamans, and Evokers using mail specialization.
The profession also creates several types of utility and support items:
- Embellished armor with special effects.
- Armor kits and leg enchants.
- Optional reagents that modify crafted gear.
- Reagents used by Leatherworking and other professions.
- Profession tools and accessories.
- Drums, including the Void-Touched Drums alternative to Bloodlust effects.
- House Decor items.
Leatherworking is divided into four Midnight specialization trees: Learned Leatherworker, Lasting Leather, Safeguarding Scales, and Flawless Fortes. You can eventually unlock every specialization, but Knowledge Points arrive gradually, so your first investment should match the type of crafts you intend to sell.
Is Leatherworking Worth It in Midnight?
Leatherworking is worth choosing if you want direct access to Leather and Mail gear crafting, regular Crafting Order opportunities, or a profession that can turn common leather and scale materials into higher-value finished items.
The profession is particularly attractive for the following players:
- Leather and Mail armor crafters: You can specialize in one armor type and serve players looking for high-quality gear.
- Dedicated crafters: High-quality armor, embellishments, and profession equipment can create repeat Crafting Order demand.
- Auction House sellers: Reagents, armor kits, leg enchants, drums, and profession accessories can be sold without relying entirely on personal customers.
- Players with a Skinning character: Your own materials reduce the cost of leveling and make market fluctuations less important.
- Alt armies: Multiple Leatherworkers can generate additional Concentration for profitable high-quality crafts.
Leatherworking is less attractive if you want a completely passive profession or dislike managing material costs. The most profitable recipes often require specialization, high-quality profession equipment, optional reagents, and careful use of Concentration. Competition can also be strong for popular armor pieces and common consumables.
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How to Learn Leatherworking
Visit a Midnight Leatherworking trainer and learn the profession directly. Trainers are available in Silvermoon and other Midnight zones. Current Leatherworking trainer names include Talmar, Jan’zel, and Zavahi.
If your character has never learned Leatherworking, the trainer may first teach the basic profession before offering Midnight Leatherworking. You can also abandon an existing profession and learn Leatherworking, but doing so removes your previous profession knowledge and recipes, so confirm the decision before replacing anything.
After learning the profession, open the Leatherworking profession window to see:
- Your current skill level.
- Available trainer recipes.
- Recipe difficulty and expected skill results.
- First Craft bonuses.
- Specialization trees.
- Available Knowledge Point sources.
- Required reagents and optional reagents.
Specializations become available after reaching 25 Leatherworking skill. Knowledge Points are then spent in the profession window to unlock recipes, improve secondary crafting stats, and increase your ability to create higher-quality items.
How to Level Leatherworking
Leatherworking is easiest to level in two stages. Trainer recipes provide a practical route from skill 1 through approximately skill 67. After that point, recipes become more expensive, skill-ups become less predictable, and your specialization choices have a much greater effect on the cost of reaching skill 100.
Do not automatically craft the most expensive recipe available. Check the recipe color, material prices, Auction House supply, and whether the item is likely to sell. Yellow and green recipes can fail to provide a skill point, so a shopping list should always be treated as an estimate rather than an absolute requirement.
Use every available First Craft bonus while leveling. First Crafts can provide Knowledge Points and Artisan Leatherworker’s Moxie, while also giving skill experience when you are not at maximum profession skill. Crafting each newly learned recipe once is often worthwhile, even when it is not the cheapest way to level.
Recommended Leveling Route
Leatherworking Skill 1–67
The trainer recipe route can take you through the first major portion of the profession. The following shopping list is designed for the commonly recommended path and assumes that material quality does not matter for the leveling crafts:
- 30 Silverleaf Thread.
- 930 Void-Tempered Leather.
- 465 Void-Tempered Scales.
- 4 Carving Canine.
- 2 Peerless Plumage.
The recommended sequence includes the following crafts:
- 3 Smuggler’s Leather Wristbands.
- 2 Smuggler’s Leather Footpads.
- 2 Smuggler’s Leather Tunic.
- 3 Smuggler’s Reinforced Binding.
- 2 Smuggler’s Reinforced Gloves.
- 3 Apprentice Jeweler’s Apron.
- 3 Smuggler’s Reinforced Shoulderguards.
- 8 Smuggler’s Reinforced Hood.
Because later crafts may be yellow or green, you may need additional Smuggler’s Reinforced Hoods or extra materials. If you craft every available recipe for First Craft rewards, your total material requirement will be higher than this basic route.
Leatherworking Skill 67–100
Skill 67 is the point where Leatherworking becomes considerably more expensive. Trainer recipes no longer provide the same reliable progression, so choose your next crafts according to your specialization and market plans.
Consumable-focused Leatherworkers can continue with Forest Hunter’s Armor Kit and other epic leg enchants. Embellishments such as Blessed Pango Charm may also provide useful progression, especially if you already have customers or can sell the finished item.
Combat Gear specialists can use gear such as Silvermoon Agent’s Deflectors and other epic Leather or Mail pieces. These recipes can provide skill points deep into the profession, but they may require valuable reagents, Sparks, or Crafting Orders.
Profession Equipment specialists can craft items such as Sin’dorei Alchemist’s Hat and Thalassian Alchemist’s Mixcap. These crafts can be profitable, but some higher-quality profession items require specialization and Crafting Orders rather than simple Auction House sales.
Before committing to the final 33 skill points, compare:
- The cost of the required reagents.
- The expected number of crafts needed.
- Whether the item can be sold or commissioned.
- Whether Concentration will be needed for a profitable quality.
- Whether an alternative recipe from a vendor, world drop, or specialization is cheaper.
Materials and Shopping List
The core Midnight Leatherworking materials are obtained mainly through Skinning, the Auction House, profession vendors, reputation vendors, and other crafters. The most important basic materials for the early leveling route are Void-Tempered Leather, Void-Tempered Scales, Silverleaf Thread, Carving Canine, and Peerless Plumage.
At endgame, keep the following material categories in mind:
- Leather: Used for Leather armor, armor kits, embellishments, and many profession recipes.
- Scales: Used primarily in Mail armor and scale-based Leatherworking recipes.
- Threads: Common supporting reagents used in many crafted items.
- Rare creature materials: Items such as Carving Canine and Peerless Plumage may be needed for specialized recipes.
- Optional reagents: Used to alter item effects, secondary stats, quality, or other crafting outcomes.
- Sparks and high-end reagents: Required for some epic combat gear and valuable commissioned crafts.
Do not buy the entire leveling list before checking your server’s prices. Leatherworking material prices can change quickly after raid releases, new character catch-up systems, profession balance changes, and major gearing periods. Buying in smaller batches also prevents you from being stuck with excess materials if a recipe becomes unprofitable.
Leatherworking Specializations and Knowledge Points
Midnight Leatherworking has four specialization trees. Each tree supports a different area of the profession, but all Leatherworkers should consider investing in the general stat improvements from Learned Leatherworker.
Learned Leatherworker
Learned Leatherworker is the foundation tree. It improves general Leatherworking performance through bonuses to crafting stats, Concentration efficiency, Ingenuity, Crafting Speed, Multicraft, and Resourcefulness.
This tree is useful regardless of whether you specialize in armor, profession equipment, reagents, or consumables. It does not unlock one narrow product category; instead, it makes many of your crafts cheaper, faster, or more reliable.
Lasting Leather
Lasting Leather focuses on Leather armor. It improves your ability to learn and craft Leather gear, including high-end epic patterns such as Silvermoon Agent’s Sneakers.
Choose this tree first if you want to serve Rogues, Druids, Monks, Demon Hunters, and leather-wearing Evokers. It is a strong option for Crafting Orders because players commonly seek specialized armor crafters for high-quality commissioned gear.
Safeguarding Scales
Safeguarding Scales focuses on Mail armor. It improves skill and crafting performance for Mail recipes, including items such as Farstrider’s Razor Talons.
Choose Safeguarding Scales first if your target customers are Hunters, Shamans, and Mail-wearing Evokers. Mail gear is a focused market, so building a reputation around this category can be more effective than trying to advertise every Leatherworking craft at once.
Flawless Fortes
Flawless Fortes supports a broad range of Leatherworking products, including profession equipment, leg enchants, reagents, armor kits, optional reagents, and other utility crafts.
This is the most flexible tree for players who want to sell on the Auction House or provide profession equipment through Crafting Orders. It is also useful for a Leatherworker who does not want to commit entirely to Leather or Mail armor.
Knowledge Point Sources
The main sources of Leatherworking Knowledge Points are First Craft bonuses and Profession Knowledge treasures. The crafting journal indicates when a recipe can provide a First Craft reward. Midnight also includes Knowledge treasures placed around the world, and addons can help track weekly and one-time profession Knowledge sources.
Spend Knowledge Points deliberately. Early points should normally go into Learned Leatherworker and one primary product tree. Spreading points evenly across every specialization can leave you unable to reach the skill thresholds needed for profitable high-quality crafts.
Best Specialization Paths by Goal
| Goal | Recommended first focus | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Leather armor Crafting Orders | Learned Leatherworker, then Lasting Leather | Improves general crafting performance before specializing in Leather gear. |
| Mail armor Crafting Orders | Learned Leatherworker, then Safeguarding Scales | Builds skill and recipe access for Mail armor. |
| Profession equipment | Learned Leatherworker, then Flawless Fortes | Supports tools, accessories, and broad utility crafting. |
| Auction House consumables | Learned Leatherworker, then Flawless Fortes | Improves reagents, armor kits, leg enchants, and other repeatable products. |
| Concentration-based crafting | Concentrated Crafter nodes within the general tree | Improves Ingenuity and Concentration efficiency for limited high-quality crafts. |
| Low-cost mass production | Mastering Multicraft and Resourcefulness nodes | Increases extra output and the chance to save materials. |
There is no permanently locked specialization choice. You can eventually complete every Leatherworking tree, but the process takes time. Your first build should therefore be based on the items you can realistically sell now, not on the assumption that every specialization will be available immediately.
Profession Stats, Tools, and Gear
Leatherworking uses four primary crafting stats:
- Ingenuity: Gives a chance to use less Concentration when Concentration is spent on a craft.
- Resourcefulness: Gives a chance to use fewer reagents.
- Multicraft: Gives a chance to produce additional items when crafting eligible products.
- Crafting Speed: Reduces the time required to complete crafts.
For high-quality gear and Concentration-based crafting, Ingenuity and Resourcefulness are especially valuable. Ingenuity helps stretch your daily Concentration, while Resourcefulness lowers the average material cost of expensive recipes.
For reagents and consumables, Multicraft is generally the most useful production stat. Resourcefulness is also valuable when the recipe uses expensive materials or when you craft large quantities for the Auction House.
Leatherworkers use one tool and two accessories. Important Midnight examples include:
- Sunforged Leatherworker’s Knife, a Leatherworking tool made through Blacksmithing.
- Thalassian Hideshaper’s Regalia, a Leatherworking accessory.
- Sunforged Leatherworker’s Toolset, a profession accessory made through Blacksmithing.
Higher-quality profession equipment provides stronger stats. Some blue and epic versions are learned through specialization, faction, reputation, or other progression and may be bind-on-pickup. In those cases, you may need to place a Crafting Order rather than purchase the item directly from the Auction House.
Tool enchants can be changed according to your crafting goal. A Multicrafting enchant supports reagent production, an Ingenuity enchant supports Concentration-based crafting, and a Resourcefulness enchant is useful for general orders where you are not relying on Concentration.
Important Leatherworking Crafts
Combat Gear
Leatherworking is the primary source of crafted Leather and Mail armor. These items can be created for personal use, sold through the Auction House when appropriate, or completed through Personal and Guild Crafting Orders.
High-end gear crafting is usually more profitable when you specialize in a narrow armor category. A Leatherworker known for maximum-quality Leather boots or Mail gloves is more likely to attract repeat customers than one who has only moderate skill across every recipe family.
Embellishments and Optional Reagents
Embellishments add special effects to eligible crafted gear. Optional reagents can modify the outcome of a recipe, so read the crafting window carefully before accepting an order. A customer may provide the expensive optional reagent, and using the wrong one can make the craft fail to meet the requested item setup.
Armor Kits and Leg Enchants
Forest Hunter’s Armor Kit and other epic leg enchants are useful both for leveling beyond skill 67 and for selling to players preparing their gear. These crafts are more dependent on character progression and raid demand than basic armor, so watch the market before producing large quantities.
Profession Equipment
Leatherworking creates profession equipment for other crafting professions. Examples include Sin’dorei Alchemist’s Hat and Thalassian Alchemist’s Mixcap. Profession gear can be a strong Crafting Order niche because customers often want a specific quality and may provide their own materials.
Drums and Utility Items
Leatherworking creates Void-Touched Drums, the Midnight alternative to Bloodlust-style utility, along with reagents, accessories, House Decor, and other support items. These products are often better suited to Auction House sales than personalized armor orders.
Making Gold with Leatherworking
Leatherworking gold-making falls into two broad categories: commissioned crafting and direct sales.
Crafting Orders
Crafting Orders are the main route for high-quality combat gear and some profession equipment. Customers may request a specific item quality, embellishment, optional reagent, or recraft. To compete effectively, you need strong specialization, high-quality profession gear, and a clear understanding of how much Concentration is required to reach the requested quality.
Do not accept every order automatically. Check whether the commission covers the time, Concentration, and material risk involved. If the customer supplies all reagents, a smaller commission may still be worthwhile. If you provide materials, calculate the full replacement cost before crafting.
Auction House Products
Reagents, armor kits, leg enchants, drums, optional reagents, and lower-tier profession equipment can often be sold directly through the Region-Wide Auction House. These items are easier to list than personalized armor but usually have more visible competition.
Use Resourcefulness and Multicraft when producing repeatable Auction House items. Compare the average cost of materials with the current selling price, and remember to account for failed sales, market undercuts, and materials consumed by experimentation or leveling.
Concentration and Alt Production
Concentration can allow a partially specialized Leatherworker to create higher-quality items using cheaper materials. This makes it particularly useful early in an expansion or whenever maximum-rank materials are expensive.
However, Concentration is limited. Once it is spent, you cannot continue using the same strategy indefinitely. Players who operate several Leatherworking characters can gain more total production, but maintaining alts is only worthwhile if the expected profit exceeds the time and setup cost.
Best Profession Pairings
Leatherworking and Skinning
Skinning is the natural pairing. It supplies leather, hides, scales, and rare creature materials used by Leatherworking. This combination reduces your dependence on the Auction House and lets you farm materials whenever prices rise.
Skinning also gives you a practical way to test which materials are currently valuable. If a rare leather or scale sells for more than the finished product provides after crafting costs, selling the raw material may be the better decision.
Leatherworking and Mining
Mining does not directly supply Leatherworking’s main materials, but it can provide a complementary income stream. Mining also supports Blacksmithing, which creates important Leatherworking tools and accessories.
Leatherworking and Another Crafting Profession
Pairing Leatherworking with Alchemy, Enchanting, or Blacksmithing can give you access to complementary consumables, enchants, or profession equipment. This is useful for players who want to support several crafting steps themselves, although it reduces your ability to gather your own leather.
Common Leatherworking Mistakes
- Spending Knowledge Points randomly: Early points should support one clear product goal.
- Ignoring Learned Leatherworker: General stat bonuses affect the entire profession and are useful for every build.
- Buying all materials at once: Prices and recipe profitability can change while you level.
- Using Concentration on low-value crafts: Save it for items with a meaningful quality or profit advantage.
- Assuming every yellow craft will grant a skill point: Keep extra materials available for failed skill-ups.
- Skipping First Crafts: Unique recipes can provide Knowledge Points and Moxie even when they are not part of the cheapest leveling path.
- Specializing in too many product types immediately: A focused crafter reaches useful skill thresholds sooner.
- Accepting unprofitable Crafting Orders: Include material costs, Concentration, and recrafting risk before accepting.
- Ignoring profession gear: Tool and accessory quality can determine whether you reach the requested craft quality.
- Confusing Leather and Mail specialization: Invest in the armor family your intended customers actually use.
Practical Leatherworking Tips
- Craft every new recipe that grants a First Craft reward when the material cost is reasonable.
- Use the Auction House for price checks before starting the 67–100 portion of leveling.
- Keep a reserve of leather and scales for unexpected First Craft recipes and customer orders.
- Use Skinning on a second character if you want to farm materials without giving up Leatherworking.
- Build a reputation around one armor category before expanding into every product family.
- Use Ingenuity and Concentration for expensive quality upgrades, and Resourcefulness for regular production.
- Use Multicraft when producing eligible reagents, drums, kits, or other repeatable consumables.
- Check the crafting journal frequently for newly available vendor, reputation, world-drop, and specialization recipes.
- Track Knowledge Point treasures and weekly sources so that your specialization does not fall behind.
- For Crafting Orders, confirm the required item, optional reagents, quality expectation, and commission before beginning the craft.
- When market prices are poor, stop crafting and sell your gathered materials or wait for demand from raid and gearing cycles.
