Rare Mounts in WoW – Complete Farming Guide
Rare mount farming represents one of World of Warcraft’s most rewarding yet challenging endgame pursuits. With drop rates typically ranging from 0.5% to 2%, these prestigious mounts require patience, persistence, and often months or years of weekly farming. This comprehensive guide covers over 100 rare mounts, their exact drop rates, optimal farming strategies, and realistic time estimates for acquisition.
Whether you’re chasing Invincible from the Lich King, Ashes of Al’ar from Kael’thas, or any of the dozens of other rare drops scattered across Azeroth, this guide provides everything you need to maximize your farming efficiency and finally add these coveted mounts to your collection.
Understanding Drop Rates & Probability
Before diving into specific mounts, it is crucial to understand how drop rates actually work in order to manage expectations and avoid frustration.
What Drop Rates Really Mean
1% Drop Rate Example:
- Each kill gives you a 1% chance (1 in 100)
- After 100 kills, you have approximately a 63% chance of having seen it drop at least once
- After 200 kills, approximately 87% chance
- After 300 kills, approximately a 95% chance
- Some players will get it in 10 attempts, others may take 500+
Important: Each attempt is independent. If you’ve killed a boss 200 times without the mount, your 201st attempt still has exactly the same drop rate. There’s no “pity timer” or bad luck protection for most legacy mounts.
Weekly Lockouts Explained
Most rare mount drops come from legacy raids with weekly lockouts:
- You can only kill each boss once per week per character
- Lockouts reset on Tuesday (US) or Wednesday (EU)
- Using multiple characters significantly increases your weekly chances
- Example: 10 characters = 10 attempts per week instead of 1
Expected Time to Acquisition
For a 1% drop rate mount like Invincible:
- Single character: Average 100 weeks (nearly 2 years)
- 5 characters: Average 20 weeks (5 months)
- 10 characters: Average 10 weeks (2.5 months)
- But remember: These are averages. Individual results vary wildly
Raid Drop Mounts – Wrath of the Lich King
Invincible’s Reins (Lich King 25H)
Drop Rate: ~1%
Source: The Lich King, Icecrown Citadel 25-player Heroic
Lockout: Weekly
Difficulty: 25-player Heroic ONLY – does not drop on Normal difficulty
How to Farm:
- Enter Icecrown Citadel (Northrend, northwest Icecrown)
- Set raid difficulty to 25-player Heroic (right-click portrait → Raid Difficulty)
- Clear through to The Lich King (or use skip options if available)
- Kill The Lich King
Time Investment: With one character, expect 1-2+ years on average. With 10 characters, potentially 2-6 months.
Mimiron’s Head (Ulduar)
Drop Rate: ~1%
Source: Yogg-Saron, Ulduar Normal
Lockout: Weekly
How to Farm:
- Enter Ulduar (Storm Peaks, Northrend)
- Set to Normal
- Clear to Yogg-Saron
Reins of the Grand Black War Mammoth (Vault of Archavon)
Drop Rate: ~2%
Source: Any boss in Vault of Archavon (Wintergrasp, Northrend)
Lockout: Weekly (each boss has a separate lockout)
How to Farm:
- Enter Vault of Archavon in Wintergrasp
- Kill all 4 bosses for 4 separate mount chances
- Quick clear (5-10 minutes total)
Raid Drop Mounts – The Burning Crusade
Ashes of Al’ar (Tempest Keep)
Drop Rate: ~1.7-2% (varies by source, generally reported between 1.71% and 2%)
Source: Kael’thas Sunstrider, Tempest Keep: The Eye
Lockout: Weekly
Location: Netherstorm, Outland—fly northeast from Shattrath City
How to Farm:
- Portal to Shattrath City, fly northeast to Netherstorm
- Tempest Keep’s entrance is the central building
- Clear optional bosses or run straight to Kael’thas
- Kill Kael’thas Sunstrider (final boss)
Solo Strategy:
- Four council bosses can be killed in any order or skipped entirely
- Most players run directly to Kael’thas to save time
- The fight has multiple phases, but is easily soloable at max level
Time Investment: Slightly better odds than Invincible due to higher drop rate. With 10 characters, the average is 5-10 weeks.
Fiery Warhorse’s Reins (Karazhan)
Drop Rate: ~1%
Source: Attumen the Huntsman, Karazhan
Lockout: Weekly
Location: Deadwind Pass, Eastern Kingdoms
How to Farm:
- One of the fastest legacy raids to clear
- First boss – takes 2-5 minutes total
- Popular farm due to quick clear time
Swift White Hawkstrider (Magisters’ Terrace)
Drop Rate: ~1%
Source: Kael’thas Sunstrider, Magisters’ Terrace (Heroic)
Lockout: Daily (dungeon, not raid)
Location: Isle of Quel’Danas, Outland
How to Farm:
- Set to Heroic difficulty
- Quick 5-10 minute clear
- Can farm daily instead of weekly
Raid Drop Mounts – Cataclysm
Blazing Drake & Experiment 12-B (Dragon Soul)
Drop Rate: ~1% each
Source: Madness of Deathwing (Blazing Drake), Ultraxion (Experiment 12-B)
Lockout: Weekly
Location: Caverns of Time, Tanaris
How to Farm:
- Clear Dragon Soul on 25-player Heroic
- Ultraxion is mid-raid (Experiment 12-B)
- Madness of Deathwing is the final boss (Blazing Drake)
- Two mount chances per weekly clear
Flametalon of Alysrazor (Firelands)
Drop Rate: ~2%
Source: Alysrazor, Firelands
Lockout: Weekly
Location: Mount Hyjal portal, Cataclysm
How to Farm:
- Clear to Alysrazor (4th boss)
- The flying phase requires some coordination, even solo
- Farm on 25-player Heroic forthe best loot
Vitreous Stone Drake (Stonecore)
Drop Rate: ~1%
Source: Slabhide, Stonecore (Heroic)
Lockout: Daily
Location: Deepholm, Cataclysm
How to Farm:
- Quick dungeon farm (5-10 minutes)
- Second boss
- Daily lockout means more attempts per week
Raid Drop Mounts – Mists of Pandaria
Heavenly Onyx Cloud Serpent (Sha of Anger)
Drop Rate: ~0.03% (extremely rare)
Source: Sha of Anger (World Boss)
Lockout: Weekly
Location: Kun-Lai Summit, Pandaria
How to Farm:
- World boss with an extremely low drop rate
- Use Group Finder for realm-hopping
- Can attempt multiple times per day across different realms using the group finder
- One of the rarest regularly farmable mounts
Astral Cloud Serpent (Mogu’shan Vaults)
Drop Rate: ~1%
Source: Elegon, Mogu’shan Vaults
Lockout: Weekly
Location: Kun-Lai Summit, Pandaria
How to Farm:
- Clear to Elegon (4th boss of 6)
- One of the most visually striking mounts
- Farm on 25-player Heroic
Son of Galleon (Galleon)
Drop Rate: ~0.5%
Source: Galleon (World Boss)
Lockout: Weekly
Location: Valley of the Four Winds, Pandaria
How to Farm:
- World boss, long respawn timer
- Use Group Finder for cross-realm farming
- Can attempt on multiple characters weekly
Raid Drop Mounts – Warlords of Draenor
Solar Spirehawk (Rukhmar)
Drop Rate: ~1%
Source: Rukhmar (World Boss)
Lockout: Weekly
Location: Spires of Arak, Draenor
How to Farm:
- World boss spawns in the sky
- Check Group Finder for active groups
Ironhoof Destroyer (Mythic Blackhand)
Drop Rate: 100% (guaranteed)
Source: Blackhand, Blackrock Foundry (Mythic only)
Lockout: Weekly
Location: Gorgrond, Draenor
How to Farm:
- Only drops on Mythic difficulty
- Clearable solo at max level
Felsteel Annihilator (Mythic Archimonde)
Drop Rate: 100% (guaranteed)
Source: Archimonde, Hellfire Citadel (Mythic only)
Lockout: Weekly
Location: Tanaan Jungle, Draenor
How to Farm:
- Only drops on Mythic difficulty
- Highly sought-after for its unique appearance
Dungeon Drop Mounts – Legion
Midnight (Return to Karazhan)
Drop Rate: ~1%
Source: Attumen the Huntsman, Return to Karazhan (Mythic)
Lockout: Weekly
Location: Deadwind Pass
How to Farm:
- Queue for Mythic Return to Karazhan
- First boss
- Different mount than the original Karazhan (different color)
Raid Drop Mounts – Battle for Azeroth
Glacial Tidestorm (Mythic Jaina)
Drop Rate: 100% (guaranteed)
Source: Jaina Proudmoore, Battle of Dazar’alor (Mythic only)
Lockout: Weekly
Location: Zuldazar (Horde) / Boralus (Alliance)
How to Farm:
- Only drops on Mythic difficulty
- Requires navigation through the raid to reach Jaina
- Soloable at current gear levels
Uncorrupted Voidwing (Mythic N’Zoth)
Drop Rate: 100% (guaranteed)
Source: N’Zoth, Ny’alotha (Mythic only)
Lockout: Weekly
Location: Uldum, BfA
How to Farm:
- Only drops on Mythic difficulty
- Final boss of the raid
- Challenging mechanics require understanding
Rare Spawn & World Drop Mounts
Time-Lost Proto-Drake (Northrend)
Drop Rate: 100% (when you find and kill it)
Source: Time-Lost Proto-Drake (Rare Spawn)
Respawn: 6-22 hours (shares spawn with Vyragosa)
Location: Storm Peaks, Northrend
How to Farm:
- Long spawn timer, multiple spawn points
- Shares spawn with Vyragosa (higher spawn chance)
- Use the TomTom addon for spawn coordinates
- Camp multiple spawn points
- Server competition can be intense
Time Investment: Can take anywhere from days to weeks of camping. Players often rely on Mount Farming communities on Discord to get pinged whenever somebody finds the mount on their server.
Aeonaxx (Deepholm)
Drop Rate: 100% (when you find and kill it)
Source: Aeonaxx (Rare Spawn)
Respawn: 6-22 hours
Location: Deepholm, Cataclysm
How to Farm:
- Similar to Time-Lost Proto-Drake
- Flies a circuit around Deepholm
- High competition on populated servers/shards
Poundfist (Draenor)
Drop Rate: 100% (guaranteed)
Source: Poundfist (Rare Spawn)
Respawn: 20-60 hours
Location: Gorgrond, Draenor
How to Farm:
- Extremely long spawn timer
- Mount is guaranteed for ALL players who tag it
- Join camping groups via Group Finder
The War Within Rare Mounts (2025)
Beledar’s Spawn
Drop Rate: Low (estimated ~1-3%)
Source: Beledar’s Spawn (Daily Rare)
Respawn: Every 3 hours during Void/Night phase shift in Hallowfall
Location: Hallowfall, Khaz Algar
How to Farm:
- Use Group Finder to join raid groups covering all spawn locations
- Multiple spawn points when the crystal shifts
- Farmable multiple times per day
- One of the more accessible new rare mounts
Alunira
Drop Rate: Low (estimated ~1-3%)
Source: Alunira (Rare Elite)
Respawn: Variable
Location: Isle of Dorn, encircles its highest peak
How to Farm:
- Collect 10 Crackling Shards from mobs to create Storm Vessel
- Use Storm Vessel to remove Protective Stormshroud
- Then engage and kill Alunira
- Time-intensive due to the shard farming requirement
Siesbarg
Drop Rate: 100% (guaranteed from questline)
Source: Quest reward
Location: Azj-Kahet
How to Farm:
- Start with Vial of Tka’ktath’s Blood from Tka’ktath rare elite
- Requires collecting: 1,500 Nerubian Chitin, 1,000 Vials of Venom, 500 Bottles of Blood
- Extensive grind but guaranteed reward
- One of the most challenging new mounts
Efficient Farming Strategies
Weekly Lockout Route (Optimized)
Create a circuit hitting all high-priority mounts in 2-3 hours:
Phase 1 – Wrath Raids (45 mins):
- Ulduar (Mimiron’s Head)
- Icecrown Citadel (Invincible)
- Vault of Archavon (Grand Black War Mammoth – 4 bosses)
Phase 2 – Burning Crusade Raids (30 mins): 4. Tempest Keep (Ashes of Al’ar) 5. Karazhan (Fiery Warhorse)
Phase 3 – Cataclysm Raids (45 mins): 6. Firelands (Flametalon of Alysrazor) 7. Dragon Soul (Experiment 12-B, Blazing Drake)
Phase 4 – Pandaria+ Raids (30 mins): 8. Mogu’shan Vaults (Astral Cloud Serpent) 9. Throne of Thunder (Horridon’s mount) 10. Continue through expansions as needed
Total Time: ~2.5-3 hours per character per week
Multi-Character Strategy
Why Multiple Characters Matter:
With a 1% drop rate:
- 1 character: 100 weeks average (2 years)
- 5 characters: 20 weeks average (5 months)
- 10 characters: 10 weeks average (2.5 months)
- 20 characters: 5 weeks average (1.25 months)
Setup Strategy:
- Park characters at raid entrances
- Log in weekly for quick clears
- Prioritize highest-value mounts first
- Use Demon Hunter or Druid for mobility
Class Advantages for Farming
Best Classes:
- Demon Hunter: Double jump, glide, high mobility
- Druid: Instant flight form, travel form indoors
- Monk: Roll, high mobility
- Mage: Portals reduce travel time
DPS vs Tank vs Healer:
- DPS specs are typically the fastest for solo clears
- Tank specs are safer for challenging mechanics
- Doesn’t matter much for legacy content
Addon Recommendations
Rarity:
- Tracks your kill attempts
- Shows statistical probability
- Alerts when rare mounts drop
- Helps manage expectations
SavedInstances:
- Tracks lockouts across all characters
- Shows which raids you’ve completed this week
- Essential for multi-character farming
TomTom:
- Waypoint navigation
- Coordinates for rare spawns
- Create farming routes
HandyNotes:
- Marks rare spawn locations on the map
- Shows treasure locations
- The War Within plugin for new content
Black Market Auction House Strategy
The BMAH offers an alternative to RNG farming, but it requires a massive gold investment.
How BMAH Works:
- Invincible starting bid: 20,000 gold, often reaches 2-10 million gold final price
- Rare mounts appear unpredictably
- 24-hour auctions
- Extreme competition from mount collectors
BMAH Locations:
- Revendreth (Shadowlands)
- Valdrakken Night Market (Dragonflight)
- The War Within BMAH location (in the alley next to the tunnel to Azj-Kahet)
Strategy:
- Check BMAH daily on low-population realms
- Have millions of gold ready
- Expect fierce competition
- Consider if gold is better spent elsewhere
Is BMAH Worth It?
- For Invincible: Potentially 2-10 million gold
- That’s 3-25 WoW Tokens worth of gold
- Versus potentially years of farming
- The decision depends on your gold reserves and patience
Timewalking Mount Opportunities
During Wrath Timewalking events, the Ulduar Timewalking weekly quest rewards a cache with significantly higher drop rates for Invincible and Mimiron’s Head compared to normal farming.
When Timewalking is Active:
- Pick up the weekly Timewalking raid quest
- Complete Ulduar Timewalking
- Open Cache of Timewarped Treasures
- Much better odds than normal lockouts
- Do this on as many characters as possible
Other Timewalking Caches:
- Burning Crusade Timewalking: Black Temple quest cache can contain Ashes of Al’ar
- Check each Timewalking rotation for mount opportunities
Realistic Time Expectations
Best Case Scenarios
- Some players get Invincible on their first kill
- Others get multiple rare mounts in the same week
- RNG can be incredibly lucky
Average Case Scenarios
For 1% drop rate, mounts with 10 farming characters:
- 10-20 weeks (2.5-5 months) is a realistic average
- Some will take longer, some shorter
- Don’t get discouraged by bad luck streaks
Worst Case Scenarios
- Players have farmed Invincible for 500+ weeks (10+ years) without success
- 1% drop rate means 1% chance EVERY time
- No pity timers or bad luck protection on legacy mounts
- This is why people say mount farming requires “insane dedication.”
Is Rare Mount Farming Worth It?
Pros:
- Prestige and bragging rights
- Beautiful, unique mount appearances
- Sense of accomplishment when it finally drops
- Account-wide (most mounts)
- Fun weekly routine for collectors
Cons:
- Extreme time investment (years potentially)
- RNG frustration can be intense
- Weekly lockouts limit attempts
- No guarantees, even after hundreds of kills
- Opportunity cost (time spent farming vs playing current content)
Who Should Farm Rare Mounts:
- Mount collectors working toward 500+ mounts
- Players who enjoy routine weekly activities
- Those with multiple max-level characters
- Patient players who can handle RNG frustration
- Completionists
Who Should Skip:
- Players frustrated by RNG
- Those wanting guaranteed progression
- Limited play time (focus on current content instead)
- Impatient collectors
FAQ: Rare Mount Farming
Do rare mount drop rates increase over time?
No. The drop rate remains consistent across all expansions. A 1% mount in Wrath still has 1% drop rate today. There’s no increase over time or protection against bad luck for legacy content.
Can I get rare mounts from LFR or Normal difficulty?
Most rare raid mounts only drop on specific difficulties. Invincible only drops from 25-player Heroic, never Normal or LFR. Always check mount requirements before farming.
How many characters should I use for farming?
The optimal number of characters is 10-20. This provides you with 10-20 weekly attempts, instead of just 1, dramatically reducing the average acquisition time. More than 20 becomes tedious for most players.
Does killing the boss faster increase drop chance?
No. Drop rates are fixed and don’t change based on kill speed, group size, or any other factor. The only exception is that some mounts only drop on Heroic or Mythic difficulty.
Should I farm rare spawns or raid mounts first?
Raid mounts are more consistent (weekly attempts with known drop rates). Rare spawns require camping and have unpredictable spawn timers. Start with raid mounts for steady progress.
Can I buy rare mounts from other players?
Most rare mounts are Bind on Pickup and cannot be traded. The only way to acquire them is by farming the content or occasionally purchasing from Black Market Auction House with gold.
What’s the rarest mount currently obtainable?
The Heavenly Onyx Cloud Serpent from Sha of Anger has one of the lowest drop rates at ~0.03%. Among regularly farmable content, this is one of the rarest.
How do I deal with mount farming burnout?
- Set weekly limits (don’t farm daily)
- Rotate which mounts you prioritize
- Take breaks when frustrated
- Remember it’s a marathon, not a sprint
- Celebrate small victories (any mount drop, even non-rare)
Related Guides
Master your WoW mount collection with these comprehensive guides:
- Easiest Mounts to Get in WoW – Start with 50+ guaranteed mounts before tackling rare drops
- Complete WoW Mounts Guide – Full database of 900+ mounts organized by type and expansion
- Vendor Mounts List – Gold and reputation mounts with no RNG required
- Achievement Mounts Guide – Guaranteed mount rewards from Glory achievements
- WoW Battle Pets Guide – Collect pets while farming raid mounts
External Resources
Drop Rate Tracking:
- Wowhead: Community-reported drop rates and comments
- Data for Azeroth: Statistical drop rate tracking from player submissions
- Simple Armory: View your collection progress and missing mounts
Farming Tools:
- Rarity Addon: Track your attempts and statistical probabilities
- SavedInstances Addon: Manage lockouts across all characters
- TomTom Addon: Navigation and rare spawn coordinates
Last Updated: November 2025 – The War Within (Patch 11.2)
Drop rates are community-reported estimates and may vary. Farming rare mounts requires extreme patience and dedication. Set realistic expectations and remember that RNG is truly random—your experience will vary.
