If you’ve spent any time roaming Azeroth, you’ve probably crossed paths with players showing off flashy, hard-earned mounts that make you stop and stare. From fiery dragons to spectral tigers, WoW has thousands of mounts to unlock, but only a handful are so scarce that most active players have never even seen one in game. If you’ve ever asked what is the rarest mount in World of Warcraft, you’re not alone—collectors spend years chasing obscure, limited-edition mounts to pad out their collections and flex on other players.
What Is the Rarest Mount in World of Warcraft, Exactly?
The title of rarest player-obtainable WoW mount goes to the Original Black Qiraji Resonating Crystal, often called the Black Qiraji Battle Tank. This bug mount was only awarded to players who completed the massive Scepter of the Shifting Sands questline before the Gates of Ahn’Qiraj opened on their specific realm back in 2006. I’ve been playing WoW on and off since Wrath of the Lich King, and in 16 years of logging in almost daily, I’ve only seen this mount in person twice. Both times were on old, low-population legacy realms, and the players riding them had accounts dating back to the original vanilla launch.
Estimates from WoW data trackers say less than 0.1% of all active WoW accounts have this mount unlocked. Unlike other rare mounts, there’s no way to get it through in-game farming, real-money shop purchases, or trading card game codes. It’s permanently unobtainable for anyone who didn’t complete the questline before their realm’s AQ gates opened 18 years ago.
Why This Mount Is So Impossible to Find Today
The Gates of Ahn’Qiraj was a one-time per realm event that never got a rerun, even during WoW Classic servers. The questline to earn the scepter required months of grinding, including endgame 40-man raid clears, gathering extremely rare crafting materials that cost hundreds of gold at the time, and completing 40-person group quests that required coordination across multiple guilds. Even if you poured dozens of hours into the questline, you only qualified for the mount if you turned in the final scepter before the first player on your realm rang the gong to open the gates.
Once the gates opened on a realm, the entire questline was removed forever in 2006. If you’re still holding out hope of unlocking what is the rarest mount in World of Warcraft, you’re out of luck, unless you’re willing to buy a 18-year-old account with the mount unlocked, which we strongly advise against. Account selling violates Blizzard’s terms of service, and you’ll almost certainly get scammed or have the account banned down the line.
Other Ultra-Rare WoW Mounts Worth Chasing
You don’t have to limit your collector goals to a mount no one can get anymore. There are dozens of ultra-rare mounts that are either still farmable or occasionally re-released during limited events, and they’re still rare enough to turn heads when you ride through a capital city. Some of the most sought-after options include:
You don’t have to spend thousands of dollars or grind PvP for months to get a cool rare mount. Many active players focus on low-drop-rate mounts from legacy raids or limited-time events, which are still rare enough to impress other players without the massive time or money investment of the ultra-rare options.
Tips for New WoW Mount Collectors
If you’re just starting to build your mount collection, there are a few simple rules that will save you a ton of time and frustration down the line. First, always prioritize limited-time event mounts first, because they go away when the event ends, and you might have to wait a full year to try again. For example, the Love Rocket from the Love is in the Air event only drops during February, so don’t skip your daily runs while it’s active if you want a shot at it.
Second, use addons that track your mount collection and show you which drop sources you haven’t tried yet. That cuts down on wasted time running old raids for mounts you already unlocked, and helps you keep track of weekly lockouts for world bosses and legacy raids. Third, never fall for scams promising rare mounts for real money. Most of these offers are fake, and buying accounts or codes from third-party sites can get your WoW account permanently banned. It’s always better to earn mounts legitimately, even if it takes longer.
At the end of the day, mount collecting is supposed to be a fun side activity, not a chore that makes you hate logging in. You might never get your hands on the mount that answers what is the rarest mount in World of Warcraft, but that doesn’t mean you can’t build a collection you’re proud of. Even common mounts have cool backstories, and half the fun is the grind to unlock them, not just the end reward. Next time you’re bored between raid nights, pick a random low-drop mount to farm, you might get lucky and walk away with something super rare.
