Flying mounts intro

Beyond the Untamed Horizon

Less than twenty years ago, the orcs' former homeworld, Draenor, was ripped apart by the violent energies of several dimensional portals that tore the very fabric of the planet to pieces. This catastrophic event left Draenor a broken, shattered world that the survivors came to call Outland. To this day, some parts of Outland are still unreachable by foot or boat, floating eerily on the horizon as silent reminders of the terrible fate that befell Draenor. Yet the denizens of Outland have adapted and learned to harness some of the indigenous species as flying mounts, allowing adventurers to reach even the most remote and dangerous regions of this wild, untamed world.

One of the most exciting new features of World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade will be the introduction of a new kind of mount that will provide players with unprecedented freedom to explore the world of Outland from an entirely new perspective. After reaching level 70, players will eventually be able to obtain a flying mount for their characters. Outland is home to incredibly varied and exotic fauna, and the sentient inhabitants of this world have trained several unique creatures as flying mounts. Both Horde and Alliance will have their own special type of mount, but there are also mounts that will be extremely rare even among the most powerful characters. The nether drake is one of these.

With flying mounts, players will be able to take to the skies, to soar among the crimson clouds of Hellfire Peninsula or watch as Nagrand's sea of grass swaying in the breeze far below as they make their way to new lands. Players will have full control over their flying mounts, allowing them to roam the skies and freely explore all regions of Outland. In fact, certain areas of Outland will only be accessible by air, as some parts of the ruined world are floating out in the void, unreachable except by those who command one of Outland's flying creatures.

A few of these "unlockable" areas are actually located near some of the lower-level regions of Outland; a player's journey will take them through the Dark Portal to the very ends of Outland and finally back to where they started, thus completing the circle – but now they will be able to access regions that were previously only viewable from a distance. Some dungeons also feature wings that can't be reached without a flying mount, and this should provide players with a profound sense of advancement after having gained considerable experience, new abilities, and powerful weapons and armor. In a way, the flying mount represents the most tangible accomplishment of a character's progress up to level 70, but it also serves as a key to the content that awaits players beyond the maximum level.

Origin of the Nether Drakes

Near the end of the Second War, the black dragon Deathwing traveled through the Dark Portal to Draenor. Believing the world to be a relatively safe haven for his offspring, he secreted away a cache of black dragon eggs. Following the war, Ner'zhul recklessly opened multiple portals on Draenor, and the magical stress tore the planet apart. The energies released in this catastrophe altered Deathwing's eggs, resulting in the nether drakes: partially corporeal and partially ethereal dragons who possess the ability to shift between the astral and physical planes. Without Deathwing's guidance, these otherworldly nether drakes are just now finding their own way among the blasted ruins of Outland.

Flying mounts

Flying Mounts

ess than twenty years ago, the orcs' former homeworld, Draenor, was ripped apart by the violent energies of several dimensional portals that tore the very fabric of the planet to pieces. This catastrophic event left Draenor a broken, shattered world that the survivors came to call Outland. To this day, some parts of Outland are still unreachable by foot or boat, floating eerily on the horizon as silent reminders of the terrible fate that befell Draenor. Yet the denizens of Outland have adapted and learned to harness some of the indigenous species as flying mounts, allowing adventurers to reach even the most remote and dangerous regions of this wild, untamed world.

Purchase Location:

Riding Skill Cost: 800g (Expert) / 5000g (Artisan)

Normal Flying Mounts

Requirements:	Level 70, Expert Riding Skill (225)
Speed Increase:	60% flight speed increase
Cost:	100g

HORDE

Tawny Windrider

Blue Windrider

Green Windrider

ALLIANCE

Ebon Gryphon

Golden Gryphon

Snowy Gryphon

Epic Flying Mounts

Requirements:	Level 70, Artisan Riding Skill (300)
Speed Increase:	280% flight speed increase
Cost:	200g

HORDE

Swift Red Windrider

Swift Green Windrider

Swift Yellow Windrider

Swift Purple Windrider

ALLIANCE

Swift Blue Gryphon

Swift Green Gryphon

Swift Purple Gryphon

Swift Red Gryphon

Additional Information

• Hit the space bar (jump) to climb vertically in the air, much like a Harrier jet. Once in the air, you can control your flying mount exactly the same way as a land mount, with the additional element of going up and down.
  
• The normal flying mounts increase your speed in land and air by 60%. This is slower than the ground speed of an epic land mount, which increases speed by 100%. While the normal flying mount may seem a worse option than the epic land mount, keep in mind that you can simply fly over most enemies, as well as over impassable or rough terrain such as in Blade's Edge Mountains. This can save considerable travel time over an epic land mount.
  
• Any item, effect, or enchantment that would affect land mount speed also applies to flying mounts. These include Carrot on a Stick, Mithril Spurs, Riding Crop, Crusader Aura, and the glove enchant for mount speed.
  
• The Riding Crop provides a 10% speed boost to ground and air mounts. It does not stack with any other enchant or speed boosting object so once you have it, that's all you need. (Carrot on a Stick, you've served me well!)
  
• The Paladin can travel faster than anyone else while using the Crusader Aura speed buff. This is a 20% boost to land and flying mount speed.
  
• When using the riding crop, the epic flying mount is only 10% slower than the flying mount taxis! The epic flying mount travel time can be significantly shorter than a taxi because you can take direct routes - as opposed to the scenic routes that the taxi normally takes.
  
• You cannot remount if you get off your flying mount while in the air, because you are moving. You will have to land (hopefully at a non-fatal speed) before you can get on your mount again.
  
• Splat! Along those lines, if you get off your mount while too high, hopefully you have a device or spell that will slow you down, such as Slow Fall, Levitate, or an engineering device.
  
• For aerial daredevils, you can try to dismount and attack other players in-air - again, hopefully you have some way of slowing your fall after your combat maneuver.
  
• Most forms of crowd control abilities, such as Polymorph, Fear, and even the Discombobulator Ray (awww) do not work against players on flying mounts.
  
• Be careful flying your mount around enemy towns - they usually have an elite aerial guard patrol, which can literally kill you before you hit the ground.
  
• If you log out while on a flying mount, you'll still be on it when you come back.
  
• There are certain areas you cannot go while flying. You may run up into an invisible wall and a message will indicate that you can travel no further.
  
• If you happen to die in too remote of an area while flying, you may have to use a Spirit Healer to recover your body. Ouch!
  
• Some "secret" places in Outland are only reachable by flying mount.
  
• There are all sorts of interesting things to discover with your flying mount. For example, many floating objects including tiny islands are scattered around Outland. Have fun exploring!