I still remember my first week playing World of Warcraft back in high school. I rolled a human paladin, spent three hours walking from Stormwind to Darkshore because I didn’t know fast travel existed, and swore I’d never waste that much time running again. If you’re tired of trekking across zones on foot at snail speed, you’re in the right place. This guide breaks down exactly how to get a mount in World of Warcraft for new players, with zero confusing endgame jargon or hidden grind requirements.
How to Get a Mount in World of Warcraft: First Unlock Requirements
First, let’s cover the basics for brand new players. If you’re starting fresh on Exile’s Reach, the new player starter zone, you’ll unlock the first mount quest as soon as you hit level 10. The quest will send you to your faction’s capital city (Stormwind for Alliance, Orgrimmar for Horde) to learn Apprentice Riding skill and pick up your first ground mount. You don't need to spend gold on your first ground mount if you complete the Exile's Reach questline, as it’s given to you for free as a quest reward. Most new players don’t realize how to get a mount in World of Warcraft this easily, so they end up wasting gold on random mounts from the auction house before they even unlock riding skill. If you skipped Exile’s Reach and started in a race-specific starter zone, you can pick up the same quest from the riding trainer in your capital city at level 10. The Apprentice Riding skill only costs 1 gold, which you’ll easily earn from the first 10 levels of quest rewards, so you won’t have to grind copper for hours to afford it. In many cases, new players accidentally skip this quest because it’s not marked as a main story quest, so be sure to check your quest log for any blue exclamation marks near the riding trainer when you hit level 10.
Easy Free Mounts You Can Earn Without Grinding
Your first faction mount is just the start. There are dozens of free mounts you can earn without spending extra gold, farming rare mobs, or grinding endgame content. Most of these are accessible to new players within their first 20 hours of play, so you can expand your collection early on. Here are three of the easiest free mounts to pick up first:
- Class-specific mounts: Classes like Paladins, Warlocks, Shamans, and Druids get unique class mounts automatically as part of level-up quests. For example, Paladins get their iconic charger at level 20, no extra gold or reputation required, and it’s tailored to your faction’s aesthetic. Druids even get shapeshift forms that count as mounts, so you don’t have to summon a separate creature at all.
- Faction heritage mounts: If you level a character of a specific race from level 1 to 50 without using a race change or level boost, you’ll unlock a free heritage mount alongside the race’s heritage armor set. These mounts are tied to your race’s lore, like the Ironforge ram for Dwarves or the Darkspear raptor for Trolls, and they’re some of the most unique ground mounts in the game.
- Event starter mounts: If you log in during annual in-game events like Brewfest or Children’s Week, you can earn free mounts with just a few short quests. The Brewfest ram, for example, only requires you to complete 3 daily quests during the Brewfest event, and you can keep it forever once you earn it.
You don’t have to stick to just one mount on a single character, either. These free mounts work across all your account characters once unlocked, so you can use your Dwarf heritage ram on your human mage if you want. I earned my Troll heritage mount last year when I leveled a shaman for fun, and I still use it on all my Horde alts because it’s way cooler than the basic Orgrimmar wolf.
How to Unlock Flying Mounts for Open World Travel
Ground mounts are a huge upgrade from walking, but flying mounts cut travel time even more, especially if you’re jumping between zones to complete quests or farm materials. If you already know how to get a mount in World of Warcraft for ground travel, you’re probably eager to unlock flying next. For the latest expansion, Dragonflight, you’ll unlock dragonriding first as part of the main campaign when you hit level 60. Dragonriding is a custom flight system for Dragonflight zones that lets you soar, dive, and gain speed as you fly, and it’s unlocked automatically as soon as you finish the first 3 chapters of the Dragonflight main story. Dragonriding is faster than traditional flying mounts in Dragonflight zones, so you’ll want to prioritize unlocking it before you start exploring the rest of the expansion’s zones. If you want to fly in older pre-Dragonflight zones, you can unlock Expert Riding skill at level 30 from your faction’s riding trainer for 250 gold. That’s a tiny amount of gold for level 30 players, as you’ll earn well over 1000 gold from quest rewards by that point. You don’t have to complete any extra quests or reputation grinds to unlock old world flying anymore, which is a huge change from earlier expansions. The only catch is that traditional flying mounts don’t work in Dragonflight zones, so you’ll have to use your dragonriding drake there.
Pro Tips to Get Rare Mounts Faster Without Paying Real Money
Once you’ve got your basic ground and flying mounts unlocked, you might want to start hunting for rare, unique mounts to show off to your friends. You don’t have to spend real money on the in-game store to get cool mounts, either. Most of the rarest mounts in the game are earnable through regular play, if you know where to look. Weekly legacy raid runs are the fastest way to get rare old expansion mounts. Old raids from expansions like Wrath of the Lich King, Cataclysm, and Mists of Pandaria can be soloed in 10 to 15 minutes each at level 70, and many have rare mount drops with 1% to 3% drop rates. If you run 10 legacy raids a week across 2 or 3 alts, you’ll likely get at least one rare mount every 2 to 3 months. I got my Invincible mount from Icecrown Citadel last year after 8 months of weekly runs, and it’s still my most used flying mount. You can also earn rare mounts from faction reputation grinds. Most endgame factions give a free mount when you hit Exalted reputation, and many of these are unique to that faction. Mounts from reputation factions are usually account-wide once you hit exalted, so you can use them on all your characters even if you earned the reputation on a different toon. If you don’t want to grind reputation, keep an eye on seasonal events. The Headless Horseman’s mount from Hallow’s End and the Love Rocket from Love is in the Air are two of the most popular rare mounts in the game, and they only require you to run a short daily dungeon during the event window. You don’t have to spend gold or do any extra grind to enter those dungeons, so it’s worth running them every day while the event is active. If you’re still confused about how to get a mount in World of Warcraft that fits your playstyle, you can browse your collections tab to see all the mounts you’re eligible to earn, with hints on where to find them.
At the end of the day, learning how to get a mount in World of Warcraft is one of the biggest quality of life upgrades you can unlock as a new player. You don’t have to stress about collecting hundreds of mounts right away, either. Start with your free starter ground mount, unlock dragonriding as soon as you hit Dragonflight, and then work on rare mounts as you play through content you already enjoy. I still have my first basic human horse in my mount collection 12 years later, and it’s still a fun reminder of my first few weeks fumbling through Azeroth. Take your time, and don’t be afraid to test out different mounts to find the ones that fit your character’s vibe best.
