This WoW player spent 12 years on a quest to get an ultra-rare mount

Sometimes, life is good.

A gnome and a goblin near the Engineering station in Valdrakken
Image via Blizzard Entertainment

World of Warcraft players come in all shapes and sizes, and while some love to push Mythic-level content, others spend days, weeks, months, and even years trying to get mounts that are almost entirely gone from the game’s files.

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On Oct. 4, lasko_leaf_blower reported that they have finally obtained the Swift Zulian Tiger mount that had a slim chance to drop in the original version of the Zul’Gurub raid. It was reworked with the first major patch of Cataclysm, Patch 4.1. 

Although the mount can no longer drop from High Priest Thekal in the Zul’Gurub dungeon, it’s still available via the Black Market Auction House, and this is exactly how lasko got it. They logged in on eight different characters at 11:25 PST to check if this legendary mount had made an appearance, and, a couple of times, they found it, but it was gold capped in a matter of minutes. 

Then, one day, lday luck smiled on them, and there it was, a Swift Zulian Tiger at the Black Market Auction House, ready to be tamed. Lasko immediately cashed out 9,999,999 gold for it, and after years and years of waiting got their 846 mount. 

WoW character riding Swift Zulian Tiger
Swift Zulian Tiger can only come from Black Market Auction House. Image via u/lasko_leaf_blower

According to Wowhead, only three percent of the total WoW population can call themselves proud owners of the Swift Zulian Tiger. Other similar mounts that are either impossible to get any other way or that have incredibly low drop rate are Shackled Ur’zul, Reins of the Heavenly Onyx Cloud Serpent, Ashes of Al’ar, and Mimiron’s Head.

Black Market Auction House is risky business, and you really need to have the time, the gold, and the patience to play it. I lack all of that, and that’s why I’m always doing a mount world tour, and hoping RNG is on my side.

Author
Image of Izabela Tomakic
Izabela Tomakic
Staff writer and World of Warcraft lead
Staff Writer & World of Warcraft lead. Izabela has a long history with writing and games like World of Warcraft, League of Legends, Fortnite, and The Sims. Before finding her home at Dot Esports in 2021, Izabela was an English teacher and a freelancer at Hotspawn, GGRecon, and Gameranx. In her free time, you’ll find her writing novels, wandering Azeroth, or inting on Summoner’s Rift.