Rarest mounts in World of Warcraft & how to get them (as of The War Within)

Whether you’re a dedicated collector or more concerned with killing bosses, chances are you’ve spent some time hunting for new mounts in World of Warcraft.

Every expansion has had its fair share of rare and exclusive mounts, ranging from zombie horses with seemingly impossible drop rates, to flaming bumblebees that require lengthy Renown grinds.

Finding a rare mount can be an absolute rush – but it can also be time-consuming, utterly frustrating, and expensive, too. So here’s a guide on how to get the rarest mounts, from Vanilla WoW all the way to current-day with The War Within expansion.

This article will not include PvP drops, Black Market Auction House purchases, TCG mounts, or legacy items that are no longer obtainable. Every mount here is still possible to pick up at the time of writing.

Rivendare’s Deathcharger (Vanilla)

Starting off with a classic from Classic, Rivendare’s Deathcharger is arguably one of the most iconic mounts in World of Warcraft – and it’s a pain to get, too.

Introduced in the Shadow of the Necropolis patch, Rivendare’s Deathcharger is an incredibly rare drop from Lord Aurius Rivendare in Stratholme. The drop rate is reportedly just below 1%, with Wowhead placing it at 0.9%, meaning you’ll need to run the instance over and over to get this mount.

Alternatively, Rivendare’s Deathcharger can occasionally appear on the Black Market Auction House, which is worth watching out for if you’ve got Gold to burn.

Blizzard

If you’ve never been to the Black Market Auction House before, it’s changed location over the years but the process is relatively similar.

Items on the Black Market Auction House are ludicrously expensive and sold by NPCs instead of players. They’ll have a timer on them, and once the timer runs out or once they sell, you likely won’t see that item up for grabs for a good while.

The location of the Black Market Auction House can be seen below, so it’s worth heading to Valdrakken and trying your luck if Rivendare’s Deathcharger won’t drop for you.

Blizzard

It’s in a cave underneath Little Scales Daycare in Valdrakken, so it’s not too hard to find if you’ve got a max-level character with the flight path unlocked.

Ashes of Al’ar (Burning Crusade)

Blizzard

Arguably more iconic than Rivendare’s Deathcharger, Ashes of Al’ar is one of the most instantly recognizable mounts in the game, thanks to its luminous color palette and flight trail.

To get this mount, you’ll need to defeat Kael’thas Sunstrider in The Eye, Tempest Keep. It has a drop rate of 1.7%, making it marginally easier to get than some mounts in this list but still incredibly rare. If you’re running Tempest Keep, go with empty bags – you can pick up some valuable items to sell here.

Similarly to Rivendare’s Deathcharger, there’s a low chance of coming across Ashes of Al’ar on the Black Market Auction House, but it’s pretty unlikely.

The Horseman’s Reins (Burning Crusade)

Blizzard

Seasonal Battle Pets and mounts are notoriously tricky to get, and the Headless Horseman’s mount is one of the most infamous. Tying into Hallow’s End (which takes place around Halloween, unsurprisingly), this hellish horse is a highly coveted collector’s piece.

It’s rewarded from the item The Horseman’s Reins, which you can get from Loot-Filled Pumpkins. The drop rate from these gourds is around 0.3-0.4%, meaning you’ll need to stock up on them if you want even the smallest chance of grabbing the reins.

Loot-Filled Pumpkins come in various rarities. You’ll want the Epic Loot-Filled Pumpkin (the purple one, not the blue Loot-Stuffed Pumpkin) and you’ll need to be max level in order to pick this up during the Hallow’s End event.

Phosphorescent Stone Drake (Cataclysm)

Blizzard

This is a simple world drop that’s similar in rarity to the legendary Time-Lost Proto Drake. When you find the correct mob to kill, it’s a 100% guaranteed drop. The issue is finding the mob in the first place.

The mob you’re looking for is Aeonaxx who has a spawn timer of roughly 2-8 hours, following a looping pattern in Deepholm. Aeonaxx shares a spawn timer with a bat called Blood Seeker.

Some players have reported better luck with finding Aeonaxx when turning War Mode on and using Chromie Time to timeline-hop with their characters.

Invincible (Wrath of the Lich King)

Blizzard

It wouldn’t be a list of the rarest mounts without the iconic winged horse making an appearance. Despite being in the game for a good while now, Invincible is still an impossible dream for many collectors, thanks to its drop chance and the distance it takes to get the drop.

On paper, all you need to do to loot Invincible’s Reins is defeat the Lich King in Icecrown Citadel. As of The War Within (and several expansions before it), this is incredibly easy solo. Make sure you have empty bags going in, as it’s possible to pick up some interesting transmog and Battle Pets.

The difficulty with Invincible is its drop chance. Sitting at under 1% according to Wowhead, this mount is rare even to see, let alone pick up. Having to work through Icecrown Citadel each time to get to the Lich King can be grueling after a certain amount of attempts.

X-45 Heartbreaker (Wrath of the Lich King)

Blizzard

If you ask a mount collector to name a drop that’s haunted them for years, chances are that they’d say the X-45 Heartbreaker. This pink rocket lives up to its name, breaking hearts every year with its abysmal drop rates, and it sometimes puts people off mount collecting entirely.

To get the X-45 Heartbreaker, it’ll need to be the Love is in the Air event, which takes place around Valentine’s Day. The rocket is contained within Heart-Shaped Boxes, with Wowhead reporting the drop rate as a measly 0.07%, meaning it’s one of the hardest mounts in this list to get.

It’s important to note that you must be playing with a character that is at least level 60 in order to get a chance at this mount.

Risen Mare (Battle for Azeroth)

Blizzard

The Risen Mare is an Island Expedition reward, specifically dropping from Havenswood Salvage with a roughly 12% drop rate chance.

The Verdant Wilds Salvage item is also listed as having a 1% chance of dropping the Risen Mare mount, giving players a few options for their missions.

To take part in Island Expeditions, you’ll need to make enough progress with the Battle for Azeroth campaign that you have two footholds set up on the opposite faction’s continent. Then, you’ll need to work through the quest, The Azerite Advantage, which will act as an introduction to Island Expeditions.

Completing Island Expeditions is relatively simple. All you need to do is go to your faction’s Island Expedition Table and pick your desired Island (for the Risen Mare, pick Havenswood) to start.

When you land on the Island, the aim is to gather 12K Azerite as quickly as possible by killing enemies, mining, using extractors, and finding chests. The rarer the enemies, the more Azerite you’ll get from killing them.

With The War Within gear, Island Expeditions should be a breeze, and you may even pick up some other mounts or treasures in the process, too.

Silent Glider (Battle for Azeroth)

Blizzard

The Silent Glider is an interesting mob drop mount that you’ll need to head to Nazjatar for. The gothic stingray drops from the level 51 rare Soundless, which seems to have had its drop rates buffed in recent years.

Initially, the drop rate was around 1.4-1.7%, but many players have reported that it took them around 30 kills to get their hands on this mount. Common tips for farming this out apply – stick War Mode on and consider trying it out in Chromie Time.

Inquisition Gargon (Shadowlands)

Blizzard

This mount can be a nuisance to pick up if you choose anything other than Venthyr when selecting a covenant in Shadowlands. It’s a covenant-exclusive mount and it requires a reputation grind, too.

To get the Inquisition Gargon, you’ll first need to make sure that you are playing a Venythr character and that you have unlocked The Avowed faction. To gain access to this faction and farm reputation:

1. Make sure you’re at least level 60.
2. Start the storyline called “The Final Atonement”, beginning with the quest “An Abuse of Power” from The Accuser in Absolution Crypt. There’s a breadcrumb quest leading to this called “The Absolution of Souls” which Venthyr can get from The Accuser in Sinfall.
3. Follow the questline along until “Halls of Atonement: Your Absolution” and start keeping an eye out for Sinstone Fragments, both in the Halls of Atonement Dungeon and the area around it. Sinstone Fragments are used to purchase items from the vendor for The Avowed, but they’re also used to create Sinstones, which allow you to challenge Inquisitors in and around the Halls of Atonement.
4. The best methods for farming The Avowed reputation change as you progress:
   • To get to Friendly. Burn through mobs outside the Halls of Atonement Dungeon and save up your Sinstones and Sinstone Fragments.
   • To get to Honored. Do the Dungeon as many times as possible. Kill Inquisitors (using Sinstones to access them) and track down Fugitive Souls in the overworld near the Dungeon once you’re Instance Locked.
   • To get to Revered and Exalted. Continue burning through Inquisitors and Fugitive Souls, keeping an eye out for Rares and using Reputation-boosting items where possible.

Once you reach Exalted with The Avowed, save up 2000 Sinstone Fragments and head to Archivist Janeera in the Halls of Atonement. Here, you’ll be able to buy the Inquisition Gargon.

Pond Nettle (Legion)

Blizzard

This is the first Profession-based mount on the list, revolving around Fishing in Legion. To get it, grab a Strong Fishing Pole and make sure you’ve maxed out Legion Fishing.

Then, start fishing in the Antoran Wastes, Krokuun, and Eredath. There’s a minute chance of coming across this mount in these locations, with players reporting that it took them anywhere from 100 casts to 10,000 casts to get their hands on the mount. It has seemingly been buffed in Dragonflight, so it’s worth spending some time searching for it in The War Within.

Valiance (Dragonflight)

Blizzard

Valiance has a surprisingly old-school feel to it for a mount that was introduced with Dragonflight, dropping from Instructor Razuvious in Naxxramas. There are several steps to follow in order to gain access to it:

1. Unlock the secret entrance to Naxxramas via Old Scholomance.
2. Unlock the vendor Zackett Skullsmash and buy Rotten Delicious from him in return for 30 Death’s Bargaining Chips.
3. Enter 10-man Naxxramas and find Valiance in Instructor Razuvious’s room, ensuring that Instructor Razuvious is alive. Give Rotten Delicious to Valiance.
4. Find a Death Knight Understudy, mind control them, and bring them to Valiance. This should lead the NPC to mount Valiance.
5. Walk over to Razuvious and end the Mind Control. This will make the Death Knight Understudy attack you.
6. Defeat both the Understudy and Rasuvious.

From here, you should be able to simply loot the Reins of Valiance from Instructor Razuvious as if it was any other item.

Cobalt Shalewing (Dragonflight)

Blizzard

This mount is a rare drop from the Elite Rare Karokta, which can be found in Zaralek Cavern. There are no specific quests or tasks to complete in order to unlock it, it’s simply a case of finding the mob and killing it in order to get the mount.

The difficulty lies with its drop rate. The drop rate is generally believed to be around 0.7%, although some players have shared that they feel it’s closer to 1-3% instead. It’s an incredibly rare mount to even see in the game, let alone pick up, so be prepared to camp for it.

Liberated Slyvern (Dragonflight)

Blizzard

The Reins of the Liberated Slyvern can be found by defeating Breezebiter, a rare spawn that appears to the Northwest of Azure Archives in The Azure Span.

The drop chance for this mount is in the realm of 2%, meaning you’ll have to kill the mob a fair few times in order to have a good chance at grabbing it. The spawn timer is relatively low, with Breezebiter taking up to 2 hours to reappear, meaning it’s one of the most easily obtainable rare mounts in this list.

Renown mounts (The War Within)

Blizzard

Rare mounts from The War Within are somewhat up in the air at the time of writing, as some players have only just gained access to PvE content like Raids and some mounts (like the Earthen Allied Race’s mounts) aren’t available to unlock yet.

One type of mount that is incredibly rare right now is the top-tier Renown mount, available for a handful of different factions within the game. These include:

• Cyan Glowmite. Requiring Renown 23 with The Assembly of the Deeps, this mount costs 11,375 Resonance Crystals and can be purchased from Waxmonger Squick in The Ringing Deeps.
• Shackled Shadow. Available at Renown 23 with Hallowfall Arathi, this mount can be purchased for 11,375 Resonance Crystals and it can be purchased from Auralia Steelstrike who can be found in Hallowfall.
• Smoldering Cinderbee. Requiring Renown 23 with Council of Dornogal, this lava bee can be bought for 11,375 Resonance Crystals from Auditor Balwurz who is in Dornogal.
• Aquamarine Swarmite. This mount requires Renown 23 with The Severed Threads and can be purchased for 3940 Kej from Lady Vinazian. This NPC’s location is currently unknown but we’ll update with further information shortly, so check back.

These mounts won’t be the rarest treasures from The War Within for long, but considering how long the expansion has been out for and how long it takes to grind Renown, they’re currently niche and uncommon to see roaming around the game.

There are other ways to get rare mounts in The War Within that aren’t as time-consuming or costly. Some can be obtained through Delve achievements. For example, make sure to check out our full guide to Delves for more information.

If you’re planning to speed through old Dungeons and Raids to get your hands on other mounts in The War Within, make sure to take a look at our DPS and Tank tier lists so you know which classes are hitting the hardest right now.