Highlights
- Rare mounts in World of Warcraft are a major status symbol and can be obtained through various means such as questing, raids, and promotions.
- Vintage content on other servers allows players to solo older expansions and obtain rare mounts that are no longer available in the retail version of the game.
- Mount farming is a popular activity for completionist gamers while they wait for new content drops, providing them with the opportunity to collect and show off the rarest mounts in the game.
There's an impressive variety of mounts available in World of Warcraft. Owning a rare, expensive, or unique mount is a major flex, and players who have earned their fancy rides like to show off. They are obtainable through questing, reputation grinding, dungeons, raids, and certain promotions. Plenty of completionist gamers collect them just so they can say they have the rarest mounts in the game.
Retail WoW has level scaling, but some vintage content on other servers is solo-able for players who want to go back and obtain older mounts from the previous expansions. Mount farming is one thing to keep players busy while they're waiting for the next content drop.
Updated September 24, 2023 by Kristy Ambrose: Azeroth keeps changing, and the new Classic WoW Hardcore servers are an example. Other players are still having some fun with the Wrath of the Lich King expansion, and the extra content for the Dragonflight expansion is enjoying a positive reception from both players and critics.
The vintage editions of the game, which now have their separate servers, have a few of the rarest mounts in WoW, even a few that are now unavailable. Occasionally, they'll appear on the modern Auction House for game-show level prices. With more expansions, there are always more rare and wonderful mounts to find, buy, and brag about.
22 The Sea Turtle
- Obtainable via random fishing nodes throughout Northrend.
For players that have never gone fishing in Northrend, this mount is a rare sight, but for those that spend time grinding the most important secondary profession, it's one of the easiest to get. This unique mount is only available from fishing nodes in Northrend, and it's a random drop, so the only way to find it is to go out into the wild and bait a hook.
There are a few guidelines to follow to make it easier to find this mount. It's only found in schools of fish, not open water, and players have an equal chance of finding it in both fresh and salt water. It's a slow mount no matter what the character's Riding skill level, but it's extra fast in the water.
21 Gorestrider Gronnling
- Complete the Achievement, Glory of the Draenor Rider.
Available only to Horde players who have managed to complete one of the game's longest and most complicated achievements, players who have the Gorestrider Gronnling have earned it. Every single requirement in the "Glory of the Draenor Raider" achievement involves completing a quest attached to either the Blackrock Foundry or Highmaul raids.
There are a total of 17 achievements on the list, and they not only include surviving the raid but always come with some other condition, such as defeating the boss Kargath Bladefish without destroying any of the surrounding fire pillars. That makes it one of the rarest mounts in WoW that's still available in the game.
20 Sinrunner Blanchy
- Bring six specific items to Dead Blanchy in Revendreth.
While owning stats is not yet easily available for Shadowlands mounts, Sinrunner Blanchy takes some complex item gathering and several days of a continuous effort to unlock, making it one of the rarest mounts from the new update.
To get this horse of the damned, players must collect eight handfuls of oats, one grooming brush, four sturdy horseshoes, one bucket of clean water, one comfortable saddle blanket, and three Dreadhollow apples. Players then give each set of items to the horse, in order, over six days. If they befriend the undead beast, they may help Blanchy ride once more.
19 Prestigious Midnight Courser
- Reach 250 Honor.
Part of the rarity of this mount came from changes to the Honor system in-game. It takes 250 Honor to unlock the Prestigious Midnight Courser and when some players were essentially reset to lower levels many weren't interested in grinding to unlock this rare mount a second time.
Any players with a penchant for PVP may want to hunt this one down as it's an impressive ride indeed, along with being one of the rarest mounts in the game.
18 Swift Shorestrider
- Available for players who have a Wasteland Tallstrider card from the Throne of the Tides expansion.
It's been seven years since the end of the World of Warcraft TCG. While Hearthstone is now quite the beloved title, the game doesn't include special codes to unlock in-game content. Neopets may have done it first but these special cards are part of what drove sales of the game.
The Swift Shorestrider was originally only available if players had the Wasteland Tallstrider card from the Throne of the Tides expansion. A special card for the mount was also released at Blizzcon 2019 but with prices on eBay averaging over $400 for an unscratched card, the mount is likely to remain one of the rarest in the game.
17 White Riding Camel
- Obtained by a rare card in the Hearthstone expansion Tomb of the Forgotten.
This is an extremely rare mount because it's only obtainable through a rare card from the trading card game, Hearthstone. The card game uses the same lore and famous figures as World of Warcraft and there's a lot of crossover between the two. Players have to redeem this card with a special NPC in Booty Bay to get the mount.
The White Riding Camel was released back in 2012 and can still be bought online or in-game by other players. Out of the other camel mounts in the game, this may be the best-looking one but not the easiest to obtain.
16 Wastewander Skyterror
- Purchased from Quartermaster Qorra in Uldum for 24,000 gold.
Not only does a gamer have to gain Exalted status with the obscure Uldum Accord, but they also have to save up a ridiculous amount of gold. Once they have a tidy sum of 24,000 gold required, they can bring it to Qorra in Ramkahen, and acquire this unique mount.
There are a lot of flying mounts in the game, but strangely enough, very few of those are birds, and even fewer of those birds are available to Horde players. This is a rare mount because of the Reputation gain involved and the paywall, but even more coveted by Hordies for this very reason.
15 Swift Zulian Tiger
- Extremely rare drop from High Priest Thekal in Zul'Gurub.
A guild breaker from back when that was a new concept, this handsome mount is only available in the 20-man raid Zul'Gurub. It very occasionally drops from High Priest Thekal and it's coveted for several reasons, not the least of which is that it looks so badass, but also because it's one of the rarest mounts in WoW.
It's not just a name. The Swift Zulian Tiger is extra fast, it's the only tiger mount in the game, and it's the only big cat mount available to Horde players. In the current version of Classic WoW, these are rare, but unheard of, and it's possible to tell who's been grinding their Zandalari Rep and wearing their 3rd-tier armor sets.
14 X-51 Nether-Rocket
- A rare trading card mount from Hearthstone's Servants Of The Betrayer.
Once again the trading card game holds a mount out of the reach of many players. Anyone could find the X-51 Nether Rocket card in the Servants of the Betrayer expansion but only 1% of total players still have it to this day, making it one of the rarest mounts in WoW.
Ironically, the card also gave a second mount hilariously named the X-51 Nether-Rocket X-TREME which a total of 3% of the player base still has to this day. The less extreme mount is the rare one? Strange times indeed.
13 Tyrael's Charger
- Drops from a randomly-spawning Treasure Goblin.
Tyrael's Charger goes back a long way, to the release of Diablo 3 and the Mists of Pandaria Expansion in 2012. Ten years ago, players received it when they bought the limited-time offer WoW Annual Pass, which included a year's worth of game time along with a few other goodies.
Extra gifts along with the extended subscription included a free copy of Diablo 3, guaranteed access to the beta test version of MoP, and Tyrael's Charger. This otherwordly and rare mount became sought after by Paladins and Priests, but when the Annual Pass went away so did this mount. It popped up again in the Taiwan Battle Shop in 2017 when Blizzard offered the same deal there.
12 Heavenly Onyx Cloud Serpent
- A rare drop from the Sha of Anger in Kun-Lai Summit.
The cloud serpent mounts are some of the most impressive mounts in the game, and the Heavenly Onyx Cloud Serpent is proof. The black-and-white glow gives it a unique look, and it looks even better when flying around. It is, however, a pretty difficult mount to obtain, as the player will have to farm the Sha of Anger which is only lootable once a week.
The best way to do this is to have multiple characters kill the Sha of Anger every week. It is worth noting that it is an extremely low drop chance, which is why this is one of the rarest mounts in the game.
11 Thundering Cobalt Cloud Serpent
- Very rare drop from the boss Nalak in the Eye Of Thunder instance.
Grab the strongest weapons around, because it's time to do some raids. Thundering Cobalt Cloud Serpent is a gorgeous mount but only drops upon defeating Nalak. Not to mention, the drop rate is only 0.6% for this rare WoW mount.
Even with a Mogu Rune of Fate, the odds don't get that much higher. Players also must become good friends with the Order of the Cloud Serpent to be given the spell necessary to ride. If they manage to meet these requirements players will be cruising in style.
10 Silent Glider
- Rare random drop from Soundless in Nazjatar.
With an estimated drop rate of only .58%, it's no wonder the Silent Glider remains one of the rarest mounts in WoW. Still, who doesn't want to ride around on a hardcore spiky fantasy game Manta Ray? It also flies gloriously through the air.
Players will need to take down rare Soundless in hopes of getting this mount. These enemies only drop loot once per day, making the grind an extreme test of patience, but a worthy task once players can show off this awesome ride.
9 Son Of Galleon
- A very rare drop from Galleon in the Temple of the Four Winds.
Have 20,000 gold or more to hopefully buy the saddle needed to ride this mount? Have enough time to watch the Black Market for bidding to begin? Have the guts to take on the Galleon? Any players that said yes to all these questions will have a chance to get in on the fun of having this rare mount for themselves.
This bulky dino boy is perfect to saunter around the game in, especially since so few other players can do the same. It's a great way to show off.
8 Solar Spirehawk
- Drop from Solar Spirehawk, a boss that patrols the zone of Spires of Arak.
Solar Spirehawk is visually gorgeous yet so rare to see in the game. Players have estimated it has a .03% of dropping as loot from Rukhmar in the Spires of Arak, which may explain why so few are seen riding this glorious avian.
Still, with the dedication to take down Rukhmar enough times, players can look amazing on this fiery bird as they soar through World of Warcraft.
7 The Polar Bear
- Randomly drops from the Hyldnir Spoils reward, which is unlocked via the Sons of Hodir Quest chain.
There are two polar bear mounts in the game, and one is still available while the other can only be purchased in certain places online. The Polar Bear mount players can still get today is one of the random possible drops from the Hyldnir Spoils, which is the reward for completing the daily quest in Brunhildar Village.
The only other polar bear mount in the game was rewarded to players who bought a long-term subscription to World of Warcraft in 2008 when the Wrath of the Lich King expansion was originally released. Some players kept their reward and never redeemed the code for it, and today these can sell for high amounts of real-world cash.
6 Deathcharger's Reins
- An extremely rare drop from Baron Rivendere, the final boss of Classic Strathholme.
This could be the rarest mount in Classic WoW with a drop rate of less than one percent making it notorious among mount collectors. Unlike other rare mounts that can only be found in raids or as high-level PVP rewards, this mount is a rare drop from the boss at the end of Stratholme, Baron Rivendere.
It's the only undead horse mount available to Alliance players, making it the mirror-universe version of the Swift Zulian Tiger. Historically, this is one of the rarest mounts in WoW and still holds one of the titles.
5 Ashes of Al'ar
- Rare drop from Kael'thas Sinstrider, the final boss of The Eye raid.
A glorious phoenix that drops from the last boss of The Eye, Kael'thas Sinstrider, and according to the lore was his loyal pet. The drop rate is only a bit better than the Deathcharger, which means it hovers near 1% making it one of the rarest mounts in WoW.
This isn't just a stunning and rare mount, however. It's also a unique in-game memorial dedicated to Ezra Chatterton, a World of Warcraft player who also helped Blizzard designers create a Tauren NPC called Ahab Wheathoof.
4 Obsidian Worldbreaker
- Completing the 15th Anniversary event and the related Achievement, Memories of Fel, Frost, and Fire.
In 2019, World of Warcraft celebrated its 15th Anniversary, and along with several events and prizes, a new achievement was created. It was called "Memories of Fel, Frost, And Fire" and it required the player to complete a series of quests and bosses inspired by Chromie's Memories of certain previous expansions.
It's not an easy thing to do, either. Each challenge is divided into three different 25-man raids with an iconic figure from lore at the end. After the 15th anniversary event, the achievement was discontinued and the mount went with it. Some are still available via the in-game Black Market but prices are high.
3 Deepstar Polyp
- Rare drop from the elite NPC Hirukon that patrols the zone of Zerith Mortis.
A rare spawn and an even rarer drop is why the Deepstar Polyp is one of the most sought-after mounts in the game. Players are known to camp in its habitat for hours even to catch a glimpse of the thing, which looks like a big white octopus hovering above the water, and sometimes it never appears.
Even if a player does succeed in finding this creature and killing it, the loot table is vast, and this mount only has a 4% chance of dropping. Other sought-after items dropped by Hirukon include rare crafting materials and objects required for the nearby Core Configuration Console.