In our last article, we covered the best ground mounts in World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth. This time, we’re looking at some of the best flying mounts in the game. While flying hasn’t been unlocked in Kul Tiras and Zandalar as of Patch 8.0, this feature will be available to players later in the expansion. Now is the time to prepare and hunt for new flying mounts to add to your collection!
Here is a list of some of the best flying mounts throughout all of World of Warcraft’s expansions. It is by no means comprehensive, but these mounts are either exceptionally rare, unique in appearance or are desirable for some other reason.
11. Solar Spirehawk
"Looking into the eyes of this mystical beast is like peering into the heart of the sun. Goggles are recommended when you're riding."
Solar Spirehawk
The Solar Spirehawk is impossible to ignore. As one of the brightest mounts in the game, it will attract attention from other players and pairs well thematically with any of the Firelands raid sets, Fire Mages or Blood Elven characters.
This flaming bird is the perfect mount for intense personalities and those who appreciate eye-catching items. While there are a few variations of this mount, none seem to stand up to how awesomely bright the Solar Spirehawk is. Make sure you match it with a fiery Transmog set to really blow people away!
There’s a few ways to find Rukhmar, who drops the mount. First, you have to head back to Draenor– not Outland from the Burning Crusade expansion, but the Warlords of Draenor zones. There’s a portal to Stormshield in Stormwind Keep, as well as the portal to its Horde equivalent, Warspear, located in the Valley of Strength in Orgrimmar. Don’t forget that old Garrison hearthstone collecting dust in your bags! Head over to the Spires of Arak by either flying there yourself or taking the flight path. There’s a bridge that leads into the dungeon, so stand in that spot facing south and wait for the huge glowing bird to path around some distance away. Since this is a world boss, it resets once a week with all the other raids; unfortunately, you aren’t able to use a token as a means to get another chance for it.
How To Get:
Appearance:
10. Headless Horseman
"Be it into the flood, or into the fire, this one will go where you require."
Headless Horseman’s Mount
This fearsome horse has managed to strike both fear and awe into the hearts of Azeroth’s denizens. During the beloved Hallow’s End holiday, this steed aids its malevolent master, The Headless Horseman, as he terrorizes towns.
Because of its low drop-rate and the fact that it can only be farmed during a holiday, the mount is highly desired by collectors. The mount looks fantastic with many of the darker Transmog sets in the game, particularly with Death Knights and Demon Hunters. When the horse gallops through the air, it leaves behind a trail of green flames.
Come Hallow’s End in late October into November, people scramble to get their hands on this elusive mount. While the drop rate isn’t the best, the bright side is that the dungeon finder cuts out traveling altogether. Once your dungeon queue pops, take it and finish the short scenario to defeat the Headless Horseman — simple as that. Hopefully, luck favors you that day and you receive it from the Loot-Filled Pumpkin. If you don’t get the mount, try again the following day when dailies reset on your server until the event ends.
How To Get:
Appearance:
9. Icebound Frostbrood Vanquisher
"Raised from the chilling depths of Icecrown, Frostbrood Vanquishers are considered among the fiercest and most relentless of all frost wyrms."
Icebound Frostbrood Vanquisher
Emanating a frosty aura, this massive undead wyrm strikes fear into the hearts of those who happen to cross its path. It is the undead version of the majestic dragons seen throughout Azeroth.
Want to look like a Death Knight without actually playing one? This mount is for you! This skeletal dragon is a great way to sell your character’s menacing nature to passersby.
Two skins of this mount exist: the 10-man raid version, and a separate 25-man raid variant. The Icebound Frostbrood Vanquisher is the 25-man version, so make sure your raid dungeon difficulty is set to the 25-man Heroic. Please note that you can do the rest of the raid on Normal mode, but you must finish the final encounter on Heroic to unlock the mount, which saves time and makes the run a lot speedier.
It's a bit of a hassle to get to Icecrown Citadel, but the tried and true method is to use your old Dalaran hearthstone. Once you’re in Dalaran, run to your faction's side of the city and take the portal to the Vale of Eternal Blossoms. Take the ramp that leads to the portals, and one of them will be old Dalaran in Northrend. Hop onto your flying mount, and head north to Icecrown until you find the massive citadel and the portal leading into the raid. All seventeen achievements are required to get the Glory of the Icecrown Raider, which will grant you the mount. Thankfully, you don’t need to take a friend along and the content is easily soloable by a high-level character.
How to Get:
Appearance:
8. Thundering Cobalt Cloud
"This is a descendant of the irascible Nalak. Lightning erupts from its scales and arcs over the saddle. Dare you sit?"
Thundering Cobalt Cloud Serpent
Cloud Serpents are endemic to Pandaria. Their colors are just as varied and as unique as they are. They are usually seen flying around in the open skies, used as loyal mounts by the Pandaren Cloud Serpent riders.
Sweeping, graceful movement of the Cloud Serpent mounts is still impressive to this day, even if Mists of Pandaria is quite dated. The Cobalt variant of the mount is particularly astonishing, featuring a shade of blue rarely seen in the game’s art. The mount is a natural companion to the lightning-wielding Elemental Shaman or for anyone who has fond memories of Pandaria.
Similar to Rukhmar and its mount drop, the Thundering Cobalt Cloud Serpent also drops from a world boss, Nalak. Nalak is located in Pandaria on the Isle of Thunder. Make sure you’re back in the Vale of Eternal Blossoms and take a flight path out to Townlong Steppes to the Shado-Pan Garrison. Once you arrive, you will see a portal that can take you to the island. All roads will converge into one path, and from there you head directly north until you start to see the raid entrance to Throne of Thunder. If Nalak has already been defeated, wait a bit, and he will respawn within the next fifteen minutes or so. Like Rukhmar, you also have to wait until the raid reset if you don’t get the mount on your first drop.
How To Get:
Appearance:
7. Corrupted Dreadwing
"Bathed in the blood of demons, these corrupted Dread Ravens are significantly more aggressive, and will often kill one another if kept in confinement."
Corrupted Dreadwing
Dread Ravens, and the corrupted Dreadwing, are native to Draenor. They are most commonly spotted in Spires of Arak, where the avian Arakkoa reside.
The Corrupted Dreadwing captures the dark aesthetic of the Arakkoa and their ancient civilization. Reminiscent of Jim Henson’s designs in The Dark Crystal, a classic 1980s film, they are an excellent choice for a wide variety of different classes and Transmog sets.
Do you like grinding content for a few weeks to get to what you want? Wonderful, so do I! Thankfully with the Corrupted Dreadwing, it’s very straightforward and you don’t need to kill a raid boss. If you’re out in Draenor, start doing the Order of the Awakened quests until you reach Friendly reputation. In this process, you’ll receive Apexis Crystals, which is currency used by the faction’s reputation vendor, who sells the mount. While the mount costs 150,000 of the Crystals, take solace in that you’ll quickly accrue them by doing the initial quests and dailies. You’ll need to repeat the dailies to get more of the Apexis Crystals, but also farming areas that are teeming with elite mobs and treasure chests. It may take a week or two, but it’s most certainly worth it.
How To Get:
Appearance:
6. Flameward Hippogryph
"Flameward Hippogryphs revel in the defeat of Ragnaros, Lord of Fire."
Flameward Hippogryph
Hippogryphs are the constant companion of the fierce Night Elves. Though these loyal beasts are said to be blessed by the ancient spirits of nature, they too are susceptible to corruption.
This particular Hippogryph mount is reminiscent of the Firelands, changed into a monstrosity by the evil magic practiced by the servants of Raganaros the Firelord. Druids of the Flame are often seen riding these mounts. With the release of Druids of the Flame leather Transmog sets in Battle for Azeroth, your Druid can look just like Fandral Staghelm, the fallen hero of the Cenarion Circle.
As with the Corrupted Dreadwing, this mount requires a bit of a grind. First, head to Mount Hyjal in Kalimdor. The easiest way to get there is through the Cataclysm portals in Stormwind City, as well as Orgrimmar. If that doesn’t suit your fancy, hop onto your flying mount and make your way there on your own. The bad news is that you will need to complete a majority of the quests in the zone to get the achievement “Coming Down the Mountain.” Thankfully the map tracks the quests and will tell you what you’re missing. Once you’ve completed that storyline, you’ll unlock the Molten Front and – you guessed it – do another series of quests for the achievement, “The Molten Front Offensive.” The achievement itself is gated by the amount of marks you receive from dailies, so it will take nearly a month of time and some patience to get to there, but on the other side of it all, you will have a new mount in your collection.
How To Get:
Appearance:
5. Depleted Kyparium Rocket
"When Kyparite is depleted of its amber essence it becomes fairly resistant to the corrosion from rocket fuel."
Depleted-Kyparium Rocket
Known for toeing the line between genius and insanity, Goblins have continued to surprise – and horrify – with their inventions. If it doesn’t explode, then it wasn’t made right.
While this Kyparium Rocket is considered Depleted, do you really trust the Goblins? Be careful not to crash this thing, or you might beat Garrosh Hellscream’s record for largest yield explosive used in a military conflict on Azeroth. If your character is an Engineer or you’re known for your volatile temper and ability to explode at any moment, this mount might end up being your favorite.
There are a few ways to get your hands on this. If someone uses the Engineering Toy “Blingtron,” there is a low percentage of receiving the mount from a daily quest. If you’re a Goblin Engineer maxed out in Pandaria Engineering, you’ll be able to make it by learning the recipe from an Engineering trainer. The materials required are excessive, and just one of the components required costs 60,000 gold. If you want to forego the trouble of gathering all the materials, you might be able to find one on the Auction House for around 100,000 gold, which seems like the most economical choice.
Appearance:
4. Mimiron’s Head
"A token of titan craftsmanship hoarded by the Old God, Yogg-Saron. Currently the single largest mechanical gnome head in Azeroth."
Mimiron’s Head
For those of you who were around during Wrath of the Lich King and actively raided Ulduar, you probably recall how much of a stir Mimiron’s Head made in the community when it was discovered in the game files before the release of the patch. Still one of the most unique and eye-popping mounts in WoW, Mimiron’s Head sets you apart from the crowd.
What’s not to love about being behind the wheel of a flying head with guns mounted in its mouth? For Gnomes and Engineers, this mount is almost an essential part of their collection.
You’d think that this drops off of Mimiron in the Ulduar raid, but that isn’t the case. Get to Northrend’s version of Dalaran with the method described earlier in the article, and veer to the right to go into Storm Peaks rather than Icecrown. Flying all the way to the far north of the Storm Peaks will reveal the entrance of the raid, but make sure you ignore the side portals nearby – as they’re 5-man dungeons. Make sure you’ve set your raid settings to 25-man, and clear the entirety of the raid until you’ve reached the end boss, Yogg-Saron. Don’t talk to any of the Keepers on the central walkway, as this will immediately invalidate the chances of the mount dropping
How To Get:
Appearance:
3. Armored Skyscreamer
"Only those heroic souls who surmount every challenge the mogu tyrants place before them can proudly fly the skies on a war-prepared skyscreamer."
Armored Skyscreamer
The Armored Skyscreamer is another mount for people who love dinosaurs. Used by the Zandalari Trolls when they once served the Mogu and the Thunder King, Lei-Shen, Skyscreamers patrol the skies of the Isle of Thunder and swoop down to quickly kill their prey.
With a face only a mother could love, the Armored Skyscreamer’s jagged-toothed underbite is so ugly that it is almost endearing. Complete with golden headgear and armor, they are a great mount for the newly-released Zandalari Troll Allied Race, or for anyone who has a fondness for the mysterious Isle of Thunder.
Glory of the Thundering Hero rewards the player with this mount. You need a whopping twenty-three achievements required to get it but Throne of Thunder is still a lower-level raid and should be relatively easy to clear at max level. Eleven of the achievements require the Heroic difficulty, so it may just be in your best interest to keep it on Heroic for ease. The steps getting to this raid follow the same route to get to the world boss, Nalak, but instead of pausing in that courtyard, go straight ahead into the raid itself.
How To Get:
Appearance:
2. Invincible
"The famous steed of Arthas Menethil, who serves its master in life and in death. Riding him is truly a feat of strength."
Invincible
Astute players may have noticed an open grave in Tirisfal Glades, the Forsaken capitol region, during their adventures. This grave was not for any human, but for Arthas Menethil’s steed, now risen from the dead.
Invincible is coveted for many reasons: it was the horse belonging to Arthas Menethil in Warcraft 3, who later became the Lich King. The horse’s design is not only unique and eye-catching, but it is still exceptionally rare with a very low drop rate.
Much like the Icebound Frostbrood Vanquisher, Invincible also drops from Icecrown Citadel. The method remains the same: head to Dalaran in Northrend, and fly northward until you see the rising spires of the fortress. This mount only drops on 25-man, so it’s imperative you check your difficulty rating before running in. The final boss of the raid, the Lich King, has a chance to drop Invincible.
How To Get:
Appearance:
1. Life Binder’s Handmaiden
"Alexstrasza, the former dragon Aspect of Life, is known to be a kind and patient mentor. Under her tutelage, only the most dedicated pupils acquire the title of "Life-Binder's Handmaiden.""
Life-Binder’s Handmaiden
The Life-Binder's Handmaiden is a drake, which are younger dragons. They keep to the skies all over Azeroth; their variety and vibrancy making them stand out.
While drake mounts are dime-a-dozen in World of Warcraft, this one in particular stands out. With its vibrant coloration and large curling horns, its uniqueness catches the eye.
There are a few ways to get to the Caverns of Time. Once is going into Legion Dalaran, taking the central portal down and going straight. There are many portals in the Chamber of the Guardian, so make sure to choose the Caverns of Time. If you're in Northrend Dalaran, head up the stairs to the Violet Citadel where the portal awaits at the top. Once there, take the spiraling path downwards. The first tunnel on the right is the raid entrance. Make sure the difficulty is set to Heroic! This one comes from Deathwing, the last boss, and has a lower chance at dropping.
How To Get:
Appearance:
Have we missed anything? Is there a mount you’d like to see added to a future countdown? Blizzard frequently adds more mounts to the game, so we’ll always have more to cover. In the mean time, take to the skies and look extra stylish with the ones listed!
You may also like:
