One Step Closer...Riding The Raptor

Well, I tried again for my Hawkstrider from Magister's Terrace...I'm reasonably sure RNG is going to make me run that damn instance at least a thousand more times before I see the mount again. Let's pray I don't have anyone with me this time...lol!

Anyway...

Frustrated and annoyed at yet another fruitless run through H:MgT, I noticed that my Zul'Gurub raid had unlocked. -_- I honestly had no desire to go ALL the way to Stranglethorn Vale to beat up two frustrating bosses just to be more annoyed that nothing good dropped.

But I went anyway.

Why?

Because that's what obsessive mount farmers do. We go "anyway".

So, I mounted up and ran to Bloodlord Mandokir and started the fight. I'm not really sure WHY, but the fight seemed to last an extra long time. It was getting borderline annoying. I killed his pet raptor Ohgan or whatever it's called just to enrage him because he was really getting on my nerves with his whole...not dying...thing.

Anyway, after a lengthy fight...he finally went down and I looted him.

Lo and behold...the Swift Razzashi Raptor dropped!!! I was giddy! I looted him up and rode him over to the "tiger boss" (known better as High Priest Thekal...) but he didn't drop a mount for me. I forgive him this time. I never thought I'd see this mount drop! I'm still giddy, come to think of it...

Anyway...here are a few pictures of my druid and her new mount... :)
I apologize that the pictures are so dark...the only place I could quickly snap a screen shot without other players randomly running into frame was in the Dalaran Sewer...yeah...eew...

But it works...right? I'm pretty fond of this mount. Not only because it's rare, but because it's one of the very, very few "horde" mounts that we Alliance players can get our paws on. This is the only raptor (at least at THIS point) that Allies can get.

Writing about the amazing raptor drop made me want to talk about some of my other not-so-common mounts. Now, they aren't rare, most of them. But you don't often see the Netherwing Drakes much these days. It's a world of proto-drakes and other assorted flying mounts. I have 78 mounts now...I'm definitely not going to talk about each and every one of them. I mean, most of them are just faction mounts from our capital cities and stuff. Those aren't really amazingly special. I ride them occasionally, for a change of flavor, but eh...everyone can have them so they're not so amazing to me. I'm not going to blabber on and on incessantly about them. I'll post the pics with a description of the mount or where it came from or something...sound about right?

Awesome! Let's have a look at some of Des's favorite mounts from her ever-growing mount collection! :)

Swift Razzashi Raptor

This drops from Bloodlord Mandokir in Zul'Gurub. WoWHead.com claims a .9% Drop rate on this. Eeeew!

The Albino Drake

This mount rewarded to you after completing the achievement: Leading the Cavalry (Obtain 50 Mounts)

The Black War Tiger

This is one of the PvP mounts. Formerly, this mount was obtained by turning in Honor Tokens from 3 different battle grounds. Now, you can get it simply by earning 50,000 Honor from any battleground. There are 5 Additional PvP mounts which I will talk about more when I finally manage to get them all. :) It should be very soon...actually.

Cenarion War Hippogryph

In order to get this mount, you need to be exalted with the Cenarion Expedition. The mount can then be purchased in Zangarmarsh, Outlands. Previously, this mount had NO ground animation and would skim along the ground. A few patches ago, they added a ground animation for this though. Honestly? I thought it was awesome without the ground animation...much more unique. This is the same hippogryph that you would ride when leaving from any Night Elf City (ie, Darnassus or Feathermoon Stronghold).

Darnassian Nightsaber

If you've got your eye on this saber, then you need to head out to the Argent Tournament. I'm not 100% sure, but I believe that you need to be exalted with Darnassus as WELL as completing the 5 days worth of dailies and become a Champion of Darnassus. You'll then have access to their quartermaster and will be able to purchase this mount for 100 Champion's Seals. It's gorgeous and one of my faves!

Rivendare's Deathcharger

Head to Stratholme if you're after this horse. I posted a quick run through previously, on how to get your paws on this mount. Kill 3 Ziggurats, some Abominations, Rammstein, some skellies and then the great Baron himself and this could be yours! Not to mention, you'll get Argent Dawn rep from doing it!

Celestial Steed

I've gotten a little grief for having this mount because you have to purchase it from the Blizzard Pet Store online ($25.oo US). I explained why I bought it in a previous entry, so I'm not going to get into that again. This mount is really beautiful when you get up in a dark sky or run it across some water! Definitely one of my faves! It's the only flying horse that I have so far! A special note about this mount...It "levels" with your riding skill. So you can use it at level 20, and its speed will increase as you learn new riding. When you learn Flying, this mount will turn into a flying mount (definitely making it worth $25 to me). This mount, upon purchase, becomes available to all of your characters on all US realms that are on the same game license together. Yes, VERY nice. Also, if you have a 310% speed flying mount...this one ALSO becomes 310% speed. Lots of great perks with the steed, eh?

The Green Proto-Drake

The fact that I have this mount annoys a few people. In order to get this one, you need to get your reputation to revered with the Oracles in Sholazar Basin. After that, you can purchase a "Mysterious Egg" from the Oracle quartermaster in Sholazar. The egg has a 7 day "incubation" period and will reward you with one of the following "rewards": Aged Yolk, Cobra Hatchling,
Tickbird Hatchling, White Tickbird Hatchling, Proto-Drake Whelp or the Reins of the Green Proto-Drake. There are a lot of frustrated people who have purchased an egg every 7 days and still have yet to get this mount. :( Hang in there, guys! You'll get it eventually!

Raven Lord

In order to get this mount, you need to be friends with a druid (or be a druid yourself) that has completed the quest chain for their Swift Flight Form. You and your druid friend need to also be honored with Lower City (Burning Crusade) in order to get the key to enter Heroic: Sethekk Halls. The druid will have obtained an "Essence-Infused Moonstone" from the quest chain - guys... stop checking your bags...It will be on your Key Ring :) and can then summon this boss once per day. As a bear, this fight was tough until I got a few decent pieces of gear, so it might not be a bad idea to find a farming partner for this. Stuns...Anzu uses a lot of stuns...and you can no longer LoS his screech. Just saying...

Swift Moonsaber

This is another absolutely GORGEOUS saber mount. I saw this once in Dalaran and decided I need to figure out how to get one. This mount can be purchased from the Darnassus Quartermaster at the Argent Tournament grounds, but you do NOT have to be a champion of Darnassus in order to get it. You don't even need to do any dailies out there. You need only be exalted with Darnassus, have 500 gold and 5 Champion's Seals. To get 5 Champion's Seals without doing the dailies, just run Heroic: Trial of the Champion a few times. Unless things have changed, the bosses each drop Champion's Seals along with the regular loot and shards. :)

Swift Zhevra

This mount isn't necessarily "pretty" or "gorgeous" but it's a little unique. This mount is obtained through the Refer-A-Friend program. Yes, a clever ploy by Blizzard in order to make us "collectors" either badger our friends into playing or create a second account and do just enough to meet the requirements, then cancel. Fortunately, my mom had been interested in playing the game for awhile, having heard my husband and I chattering about it frequently. I was able to get this mount through referring her to the game. It's not one of my favorites, but it's the mount I always turn to when I'm feeling a li'l ducky...you know...quirky and crazy. STRIPES!

The Violet Proto-Drake

This was such a PITA to get...To get this mount you must complete every meta-achievement for each of the "World Events". I kid you not! There is PvP mixed in, which really frustrated me quite a bit. I ended up begging my husband to help me get through some of the PvP stuff, and I
would NOT have this mount if it weren't for him. [For the Children!] was probably one of THE worst meta achievements to get. Seriously, look it up on wowhead...for someone who really doesn't like PvP...this mount might be difficult to come by. This is ALSO one of the few 310% speed flying mounts.

Winterspring Frostsaber

I saved my favorite for last. This is an Alliance Only mount (sorry hordies), just like nearly all of the saber mounts. I will not lie to you and say that getting this mount was easy, because it wasn't. In northern Winterspring, there is a repeatable quest that you can get from Rivern Frostwind. Alliance members start off at neutral. You know what? I'll explain this grind in another post...it's no less than epic. This is one of my absolute favorite mounts...period. The first reason is that I met a really awesome friend while grinding for this mount (Yep, talking about you, J *wave*). Also, because of the monotony of this grind, I ended up grinding a lot of the rep with a friend who came up on his Death Knight to give me the "On a Pale Horse" speed buff. It was definitely a bonding experience. So, be prepared for a really long grind if you've got your heart set on getting this one. Seriously. Epic Grind.

Well there you go. Those are a few of my favorite mounts...posted here in celebration of getting my raptor from ZG finally. I am obsessively farming the Swift Zulian Tiger and the White Hawkstrider right now. I would happily farm the Ashes of A'lar every week, but that takes more than one person. The Kael'thas fight in Tempest Keep is not something that can be soloed just yet. Maybe someday, but for now it requires a full party and it's just not something I've been able to get together. Once I get the tiger and the hawkstrider I'll put more time and effort into starting phoenix mount farm runs. Ah well...Oh and, I actually ended up getting the mount last Thursday (4/22/10), but just now got around to finishing up the post. Yeah, I know...I'm a slacker. Sorry...hehe.