If you’re jumping into WoW for the first time in 2026, or coming back after a 5+ year break, you’ve probably noticed a lot of old mount rules have gone out the window. The latest Worldsoul Saga mid-patch rolled out streamlined unlock paths for new players, but also removed a lot of legacy requirements that long-time players took for granted. I’ve spent the last 3 months testing all the new paths on both retail and Classic Fresh servers, so I can break down exactly how to mount in World of Warcraft without wasting hours on outdated guides that don’t apply anymore.
Core Basics: How to Mount in World of Warcraft for First-Time Players
Gone are the days of grinding to level 20 just to stop walking everywhere across Elwynn Forest or Durotar. As of the 2026 patch, all new characters unlock ground riding training at level 10, for just 1 silver from your faction’s riding trainer in your starting capital city. Once you’ve bought the training, you’ll get a free faction-specific ground mount added directly to your mount collection tab. If you’re still figuring out how to mount in World of Warcraft, don’t stress about rare or premium mounts right away, the default starter mounts are more than enough to get you through early content.
To summon your mount, you first need to drag the mount icon from your collection tab to your action bar. You can also set a keybind for summon random favorite mount in your interface settings, which is what I use 90% of the time to save bar space. If you’re playing on a controller, you can map the mount summon to your D-pad up by default, no custom settings required. Once you get the hang of summoning your mount, you can start marking favorites to make sure you only pull out mounts that match your character’s aesthetic.
If you can’t summon your mount right after buying training, double check these three things first:
2026 Flying Mount Unlock Requirements for All Expansion Zones
The biggest 2026 change to WoW mount systems is the account-wide flying unlock for all pre-Worldsoul Saga expansion zones. That means if you have one level 70 character on your account, all your alts can fly in zones from Battle for Azeroth, Shadowlands, Dragonflight, and The War Within automatically, no extra questing required. I tested this last week with a new level 10 alt I made for a lore playthrough, and I was able to fly around Dragonflight zones as soon as I hit level 30, no Pathfinder grind required.
For the new 2026 Worldsoul Saga zones, you still need to unlock flying by completing the main story campaign for each chapter, and reaching renown level 15 with the zone’s main faction. The grind is 70% shorter than it was for Dragonflight Pathfinder, so most players can unlock flying in a new zone within 8 to 10 hours of questing, if they don’t get distracted by side content. You don’t need to buy any extra flying training for these zones, the unlock automatically upgrades your riding skill for free.
Pro tip for returning players: If you unlocked Pathfinder for any older expansion before 2026, you’ll get a free exclusive cloud serpent mount added to your collection the first time you log in after the patch, as a thank you for grinding the old requirements. I got mine last month, and it’s easily one of my top 5 favorite mounts in the game right now. If you don’t see it in your collection right away, check your in-game mail, it can take up to 15 minutes to arrive after your first login.
Common 2026 Mounting Bugs and Quick Fixes You Can Try
I’ve run into almost every mounting bug imaginable while testing the 2026 patch, so I can tell you which fixes actually work, and which ones are just old forum myths that don’t apply anymore. The most common bug right now is the “mount summoned but not visible” error, which usually pops up after you fast travel between zones, especially if you’re using a custom transmog for your mount. It’s annoying, but it’s almost never a permanent issue, so don’t panic if it happens to you.
For the invisible mount bug, the fastest fix is to dismount (even if you can’t see the mount, press your dismount key) then disable all your add-ons and reload your UI. 9 times out of 10, that will fix the issue immediately, no restart required. If that doesn’t work, you can submit a ticket to support, but wait times are currently 3+ days for non-urgent issues, so it’s better to try the UI reset first. The devs have said they’re rolling out a permanent fix for this bug in the next small patch, due out in late April 2026.
Another common bug affects Druid and Shaman players who use travel form as their default mount. If your travel form is defaulting to ground form even in flying zones, go to your interface settings, under the “Mounts” tab, and uncheck the box that says “prefer travel form over flying mounts”. That was a new setting added in the 2026 patch that’s turned on by default, so a lot of players don’t even know it exists. I spent 2 days confused about why my Druid couldn’t fly before I found this setting, so save yourself the hassle.
If you’re playing on Classic Fresh 2026 servers, the only mounting bug you’re likely to run into is the “mount doesn’t increase speed” error, which is almost always caused by a conflicting add-on that’s not updated for Classic. Delete your WTF and Cache folders, and only use add-ons that have been updated in the last 3 months to avoid this issue.
Hidden 2026 Mounts You Can Unlock Early for Free
You don’t have to spend hundreds of thousands of gold on the auction house to get cool mounts in 2026. There are 17 new hidden mounts added in the latest patch that you can unlock in under an hour each, no gold required, as long as you’re level 20 or higher. Most of these mounts are account-wide too, so you only need to unlock them once to use them on all your characters.
My favorite free hidden mount is the Mossy Badger Mount, which you can get by collecting 10 wild berries from the edge of the Emerald Dream zone and giving them to the badger NPC hiding behind the Dreamgrove. You don’t even need to have unlocked the Emerald Dream to get to the berry spawns, you can just fly there from Stormwind or Orgrimmar if you have flying unlocked. The badger has a little leaf crown, and it makes the cutest snorting noise when you jump, I use it for all my questing alts now.
Another easy free mount is the Mechanical Squirrel Mount, which drops from the rare spawn Clockwork Engineer in Gnomeregan for Alliance players, and Razorfen Kraul for Horde players. The rare has a 100% drop rate for the mount the first time you kill it, so you don’t have to grind it over and over. It’s tiny, so it’s perfect for trolling group content by hiding behind other players’ mounts during raid waits.
Important note: All these hidden mounts are usable on low level characters as soon as they unlock ground riding, so they’re perfect if you want to make your new alt playthrough feel more fun without spending gold. If you’re having trouble finding any of the spawn points, there are user-created map pins on WoW Head that mark exactly where to go for each mount.
At the end of the day, learning how to mount in World of Warcraft in 2026 is way simpler than it used to be, even with all the new changes to the riding system. Don’t waste time following old guides from pre-2026 that tell you to grind for hours to unlock basic riding, most of that content is completely outdated now. If you run into any snags that aren’t covered here, drop a comment below and I’ll help you work through it, I’m checking comments every day this month while I grind for the new raid mount. Happy riding!
