Reaching the upper levels in World of Warcraft means a lot of different things for those players who have spent the time and energy to get there. One of the most popular and quickly taken advantage of things you acquire at a certain point is a mount. There are numerous different kinds of mounts in World of Warcraft – each race is given a variety of choices to pick from. Humans are generally offered horses while Orcs can choose from their favorite wolf steed. However, by developing the riding ability and practicing, a player can gain access to numerous other mount options.

Many people see mounts as a symbol of their skill in the game. However, they also serve the purpose of moving you from point A to point B much quicker than normal. Generally, that is the only purpose of the mount as you are not allowed to attack while mounted. Likewise, monsters are not allowed to attack the mount; all damage is given to the player mounted. If you die while mounted, your mount simply unsummons and waits for you to resurrect and resummon them.

While mounted, you are given a variety of new emotes to work with as well and some mounts can be slightly altered with time. For each race, mounts differ in appearance slightly, whether its fur color or overall build. There are even special quests related to mounts, especially for Paladins. With the release of the Burning Crusade expansion, the ability to obtain a Flying Mount at level 70 was made available in Outland.

To get your mount, you must first reach level 40. Once you have, you can learn the ability “apprentice riding” and start traveling about half as fast as you would when walking. When you reach level 60 however, you can learn “journeyman riding” and bind a mount that is twice as fast as walking. To actually learn the skills to ride a mount though, you’ll be shelling out 90 to 600 gold. The mount itself is another fee. If you are level 70 and interested in a flying mount, you’re looking at 800 to 5000 gold plus the cost of the mount.

If you are interested in obtaining a mount from another race, you must first reach the exalted reputation level with the race you want to borrow a mount from. You cannot get a mount from the opposite faction however.

Once you’ve received your mount, they are bound to you much the same as epic weapons and equipment. Early in the game, some people accidentally sold their mounts and complained. Now, it’s impossible to do this at all.