World of Warcraftoffers no shortage of mounts to collect. After all, it was only a couple of years ago that an achievement forobtaining 500 mountswas made available, and even more mounts have been released since that time with the game’s latest expansion, The War Within.
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Looking back on the game’s twenty-year history, in honor of its 20th anniversary, we’ve compiled a list of some of the best mounts from each expansion that you can still get your hands on today. (This is not an all-inclusive list and as such, your favorite mount might not be found here, but feel free to share your favorite mount in the comments below.)
The in-game achievementThanks for the Carry!is received upon collecting 500 mounts, and rewards players theOtterworldly Ottuk Carriermount.
1Classic WoW: Rivendare’s Deathcharger
Source: Dungeon drop
While mounts that drop from dungeon instances are much more common today, back in the game’s original (“classic”) state, that wasn’t the case. In fact, in the base game, there was only one mount that could be received as a possible drop in a dungeon:Deathcharger’s Reins, which still today has a very low chance at dropping from Lord Aurius Rivendare, the final boss of the classic dungeon Stratholme.
Back in the early days of the game, riding around onDeathcharger’s Reinswas the envy of all other players in your realm. Today, it’s a nice addition to a mount collection with its nostalgic design. It can still be achieved today as a very low drop chance from Lord Rivendare. You can run through classic Stratholme once a day per character. (You also have a chance to get this mount by running Stratholme duringClassic Timewalking, which is active during the game’s 20th anniversary event.) Be warned, however, that some players have been chasing after this mount for years with no luck.
2The Burning Crusade: Ashes of Al’ar
Source: Raid drop
Ashes of Al’ar is a vibrantly colored phoenix mount that players have chased after since January 2007 - that’s when the raid Tempest Keep was first introduced. This mount, whichcanfly, is a possible drop from the final boss of that raid: Kael’thas Sunstrider. And much like other raid boss mounts, the drop rate is extremely low. Many players (including this author) have been after this bird for years with no success.
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Hallow’s End, an event in which you may also go trick-or-treating and bob for apples at inns in major cities, allows you a chance at this eerie mount.
Luckily, these days, Tempest Keep is trivial and only takes a matter of minutes to run through, so it’s easy for any max-level character to try for a chance at the mount once a week.During Burning Crusade Timewalking weeks, the Ashes of Al’ar mount also has a small chance at dropping from the Cache of Timewarped Treasures, which you get for completing a Black Temple run during the event week.
3Wrath of the Lich King: Invincible
Here’s another horse that has evaded plenty of players for well over a decade now. Invincible’s Reins is a possible mount drop The Lich King himself, the final boss you face off against in Icecrown Citadel, a raid that was released in December 2009. With a drop rate of only 0.8% (that’s according to Wowhead), your chances of getting this one might not exactly be high, but not impossible either.
The content is trivial now, so it’s easy to make running through Icecrown Citadel a quick weekly chore that you can check off your list. If you have the gold to spend, Invincible’s Reins (as well as certain other mounts on this list) also has a chance at showing up on the Black Market Auction House.
4Cataclysm: Twilight Harbinger
Source: Achievement
While there are multiple mount drops in Cataclysm that can be summarized as “luck of the mount drop,” the Twilight Harbinger is a sure thing once you complete the meta-achievementGlory of the Dragon Soul Raider. With 13 single achievements to complete for the overall “glory” achievement, it might seem daunting at first, but many of the single achievements can be done in a matter of one or two weekly runs. Six of the achievements involve killing each boss on heroic mode, which is an easy feat for max-level characters, while other achievements - like Ping Pong Champion and Maybe He’ll Get Dizzy… - are a little more involved and require completing tasks associated with each boss.
The only achievement that may take multiple weeks isChromatic Champion, which requires starting the final Deathwing fight from each aspect dragon’s platform. There are four aspect dragons in total, so four fight encounters you’ll need to complete. (However, if you have multiple high-level characters, this too can be done in a much shorter time span.) Once you’ve completed all of the single achievements, the meta achievement will trigger, rewarding you withReins of the Twilight Harbinger.
5Mists of Pandaria: Grand Expedition Yak
Source: Vendor purchase
Here’s another mount that isn’t up to chance: theGrand Expedition Yak, which changed the game back in 2012 as you could finally repair and transmog on the go, is still just as useful to have today as it was more than a decade ago. It’s a ground-only mount (meaning it cannot fly), but it can be mounted anytime you are outside and not in combat. Once mounted, you can sell junk items, repair your gear, and change your transmog - all in one.
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It’s not a cheap purchase, however. The Reins of the Grand Expedition Yak will cost you 120,000 gold from Uncle Bigpocket, who can be found in Kun-Lai Summit (coordinates 65.4, 61.6). If that’s out of your budget, there is a similar mount, theTraveler’s Tundra Mammoth,which is much cheaper and will enable you to vendor and to repair on the go. (No transmogs, however.) The Reins of the Traveler’s Tundra Mammoth can be purchased from exotic mount vendor Mei Francis in Dalaran (coordinates 58.0, 42.6) for a mere 16,000 gold.
6Warlords of Draenor: Solar Spirehawk
Source: World boss drop
The Solar Spirehawk is a possible drop fromRukhmar, the world boss located in the Spires of Arak in Draenor. She can be found circling Skyreach high up above in the northern part of the zone. While Rukhmar used to be a fight that would require teaming up in a raid group, it’s an old enough encounter now that she can easily be killed solo. The real difficulty here is waiting for the boss to spawn.
Similar to other mounts mentioned on this list, the Solar Spirehawk also has a chance at showing up on the Black Market Auction House. But it’ll cost you.
7Legion: Long-Forgotten Hippogryph
Source: World event
The Long-Forgotten Hippogryph is an interesting mount: It’s not a drop from a dungeon, raid, or boss, and you may’t buy it from a vendor. The Long-Forgotten Hippogryph is a secret mount, and you need to complete a certain sequence of interactions in Azsuna. You need to find and click on 5 Ephemeral Crystals throughout the zone.
The crystals are small and hidden throughout the Azsuna, and are on a respawn timer, so if someone just collected the crystals before you, you’ll have to wait a few hours before trying again. Coordinate points for all possible crystal spawns can be found onWowhead. Once you’ve collected all five, you’ll be rewarded with the Reins of the Long-Forgotten Hippogryph.
8Battle for Azeroth: Glacial Tidestorm
Battle for Azeroth has plenty of mounts worth mentioning (including an adorable alpaca namedMolliethat has eluded this author for years), but the one that gets a nod here is the one that’s eluded this author for years:Glacial Tidestorm.It drops from none other than Lady Jaina Proudmoore, a boss in the raid Battle of Dazar’alor, on Mythic mode.
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While it wasn’t that long ago that soloing Battle of Dazar’alor was unthinkable, it’s now a relatively easy task for any max-level character. You’ll still have to deal with the luck of the drop rate, however.
9Shadowlands: Arboreal Gulper
Source: Rare drop
Shadowlands, while likely not in the running for anyone’sfavoriteexpansion, had a wealth of mounts to collect. There were horses, larions, moths and - last but not least - frogs. The Arboreal Gulper is a guaranteed drop from the rare beastHumon’gozzin Ardenweald. As you’re able to probably guess, however, it’s not as simple as simply finding the beast out in the wild and killing him.
First you’ll need to find an Unusually Large Mushroom, an item that has a chance at dropping from most killable creatures in Ardenweald. You must then plant the mushroom in the Damp Loam pile, found northwest of Dreamsong Fehn (coordinates 32, 30). Humon’gozz will then appear.
While this is a ground-only mount, meaning it cannot fly, it has a special animation cycle. A little firefly flutters around you, and eventually, the Arboreal Gulper will capture the firefly with its long tongue.
10Dragonflight: Scrappy Worldsnail
Source: Dealer Vexil
This snail is on fire, and to get the reins to master him, you’ll need to be in the good graces of Dealer Vexil in The Waking Shores. You’ll need 1,000 Magmotes to exchange for the snail, and in order to farm for that currency, you need to complete a series of prerequisites.
The journey begins with a side quest chain in The Waking Shores, beginning with A Cultist’s Misgivings, Punching Up, Under Lock and Key, and The Shadow of His Wings. After completing the quest chain, the next step is to become a Worldbreaker. And to become a Worldbreaker, you must turn a Restored Obsidian Key to Igys the Believer, located in The Waking Shores (coordinates 34.8, 46.6). He’ll reward you with a Twilight Cache, which has a chance at containing the Worldbreaker Membership. Once you’re a Worldbreaker, all that’s left is to farm Magmotes until you hit the required amount. (And good news: since this is now “old” content, it’s much faster to farm and kill enemies for magmotes on your own.)
