WoW Forever Mount Cost and Riding Skill Guide

Your first mount in WoW Forever arrives at level 40 and costs 100 gold. Forever borrows the Burning Crusade model: the gold goes into Apprentice Riding at your race's riding trainer, and the trainer hands you a basic mount of your race for free. At level 60, Journeyman Riding costs 1,000 gold and raises your speed bonus from 60% to 100%.

WoW Forever launches on November 4, and the beta stopped at level 30, so nobody has bought riding yet. These prices come from the game client data, and the last builds before launch left them unchanged. Below you will find a cost table, every race's trainer with coordinates, the discounts that actually work, free mounts for Paladins and Warlocks, and a plan to have 100 gold ready the day you hit 40.

WoW Forever Mount Cost at a Glance

Riding in Forever has two ranks, and each one is a separate purchase from your riding trainer. The training is where the real cost sits: the mount that comes with it is free, and extra colors are cheap by comparison.

At level 40 you pay exactly what Classic players paid in 2019, just in one sum instead of training plus a mount. At 60 Forever is pricier: Classic charged 900 gold for training plus about 100 for the epic mount, while Forever asks 1,000 for training alone. Whether that training also grants a swift mount is not confirmed yet, so plan for 1,200 gold if you want a swift mount of your choice.

Honored reputation with your home faction takes 10% off training and mounts, as explained in the discounts section below. There is no flying in Forever, so 100% ground speed is the top tier for the whole game.

What Level Do You Get a Mount in WoW Forever

You can ride from level 40. That is when your riding trainer offers Apprentice Riding, and every basic mount in the game, from the Stormy Galestrider to the Black Stallion Bridle, requires level 40 on its tooltip. Swift mounts unlock at level 60 together with Journeyman Riding.

Two classes move faster long before 40. Shamans learn Ghost Wolf at level 20 and Druids learn Travel Form at level 30, and both give 40% movement speed outdoors. Neither replaces riding: at 40 a Shaman or Druid still needs the same 100 gold to go faster.

Paladins and Warlocks reach 40 with a different deal. Their first mount is a class spell from a class quest, so they do not have to buy one at the stable. The class mounts section below explains where those quests start.

How Riding Training Works in WoW Forever

Blizzard confirmed at the Forever deep dive panel that the game uses the Burning Crusade approach to mount costs. The up-front cost moves into training, and you get a mount the moment you learn the riding skill. In original Classic it was the other way around: training was cheap and the mount itself carried most of the price.

The table compares the two models side by side, using the beta data for Forever.

One Riding Skill for Every Race

Forever has a single riding skill. Every racial trainer teaches Apprentice Riding and Journeyman Riding, and learning it also gives you the riding type of your race, such as Horse Riding for Humans or Galestrider Riding for the Skyborne.

That riding type still matters. A Stormy Galestrider requires Galestrider Riding on its tooltip, so you cannot ride another race's mounts until you reach Exalted with that race's faction. The same rule decides where you train: other races' instructors will not sell to you, so you go back to your homeland at 40.

Riding Is Per Character, Mounts Are Account-Wide

Mounts in Forever are account-wide and live in your Collections. Riding training is not: every character pays for it separately. An alt that already owns your Cerulean Prideclaw or Reins of the Spectral Bear still has to reach 60 and buy Journeyman Riding before summoning it.

Riding Trainer and Mount Vendor Locations

Every race trains at its own riding instructor, and the mount vendor usually stands a few steps away. Plan the trip before you ding 40: if you level far from home, the hearthstone or a flight to your home city is the fastest way back.

The table lists each race's trainer and vendor with Wowhead coordinates.

Humans have one extra stop if they want a specific color. The Black Stallion Bridle is sold only by Unger Statforth in Menethil Harbor, Wetlands (8.4, 54.4). There is no riding trainer in Menethil, so you still train in Elwynn Forest first.

The Skyborne are the only race with one trainer for both factions. Genn Fairweather teaches riding and sells the Galestriders himself: the Umber Galestrider, Stormy Galestrider and Empyrean Galestrider for 20 gold, and the Swift Umber Galestrider, Swift Stormy Galestrider and Swift Empyrean Galestrider for 200 gold.

Our WoW Forever Skyborne classes and racials guide explains how the Skyborne join each faction and what their racials do.

Riding and Mount Discounts in WoW Forever

Only one discount lowers the price of riding training itself: Honored reputation with your home faction. It takes 10% off at your race's trainer and vendor, so Apprentice Riding drops to 90 gold and Journeyman Riding to 900 gold. Blizzard has not listed this discount in its own posts, so treat it as beta data until launch.

The second discount is Bartering, a Legacy talent that cuts the gold price of items from all vendors by 10%. Riding training is not a vendor item, so Bartering does nothing for the 100 or 1,000 gold. It does work on extra mounts, and together with Honored it takes up to 20% off a 200 gold swift mount.

The home factions are Stormwind, Ironforge, Gnomeregan Exiles and Darnassus for the Alliance, and Orgrimmar, Darkspear Trolls, Thunder Bluff and Undercity for the Horde. Quests in your race's home zones raise that reputation as you level, so check your standing before 40 and finish a few city quests if you are close. Which faction gives the Skyborne this discount is not confirmed yet.

Classic veterans may remember the 10% discount at PvP rank 3. Forever's PvP rewards were rebuilt, and that discount is not on the new rank list. To learn what the ranks unlock instead, explore our WoW Forever PvP ranks guide.

Free Class Mounts for Paladins and Warlocks

Paladins and Warlocks get their first mount from a level 40 class quest instead of the stable. The reward is a mount spell, so there is nothing to buy from a vendor.

Warlock. Both factions pick up Summon Felsteed from Strahad Farsan in Ratchet, The Barrens (62.4, 35.4). The quest teaches Summon Felsteed. At 60, the Dreadsteed of Xoroth chain leads to Summon Dreadsteed.

Human and Dwarf Paladin. The Tome of Nobility starts at the Cathedral of Light in Stormwind or the Mystic Ward in Ironforge and teaches Summon Warhorse. The level 60 chain ends with Summon Charger.

Forsaken Paladin. The new Horde Paladins get their own skeletal horses in gold barding: Summon Warhorse at 40 and Summon Forsaken Charger at 60. The quests could not be tested in the beta, so their names and starting points are not known yet.

The level 60 chains are not free. They ask for rare reagents and dungeon runs, and buying those reagents can cost hundreds of gold, though it can still come out cheaper than a 200 gold swift mount on top of training.

Some guides report that learning the class mount at 40 also teaches Apprentice Riding, which would save a Paladin or Warlock the 100 gold entirely. This is not confirmed yet, so keep the 100 gold ready in case the trainer still asks for it.

We cover both Forsaken Paladin mounts and the rest of the collection in our WoW Forever mounts guide.

Store and Legacy Mounts Still Need Riding

A mount from a paid pack or from the Legacy track does not skip training. Blizzard said so directly for the Cerulean Prideclaw: you still buy the riding skill in game before you can use it. A store mount saves you the 20 gold color, not the 100 or 1,000 gold for training.

Each of these mounts has a fixed level and riding rank on its tooltip.

The Loyal Companion is the only one of the four you can ride at 40, and only after paying for Apprentice Riding. The Prideclaw comes with every pack, but it stays in your Collections until you reach 60 and pay 1,000 gold for Journeyman Riding.

The Spectral Bear is the slowest of them to earn: 55 Legacy Points come from challenges across many characters. Our WoW Forever Legacy Points guide explains where those points come from. For the Pack Kodo grind, read our Azeroth Commerce Authority reputation guide.

How to Save 100 Gold by Level 40

Forever starts with a fresh economy: every character begins with almost no money, and no gold carries over from the beta. Players who walk at 41 rarely earned too little. They spent it on things they outgrew within a few levels.

These habits come from the experienced levelers who tested the economy in the beta.

1. Treat 100 gold as your only big purchase before 40. Upgrades, potions and recipes can wait; the mount saves more time than any of them.
2. Buy only the spell ranks you actually press. Ranks close to 40 cost a gold or more each, and many of them sit unused on a bar. Skip them until you are mounted.
3. Do not buy gear on the Auction House. Quest rewards replace a green within a few levels, and they pay you gold and experience instead of costing it.
4. Pick up a gathering profession on day one. Skinning costs no extra time because you kill those mobs anyway, while Herbalism and Mining pay off along every quest route.
5. Sell low-level materials in the first days. Linen Cloth, Light Leather and Copper Ore sell best while everyone is leveling professions; a week later prices drop.
6. Cook and bandage for yourself. Cooking and First Aid cost almost nothing to level and remove two steady vendor expenses.
7. Use cheap 6-slot bags. They are the best gold per slot while leveling; save larger bags for after the mount.
8. Compare vendor and Auction House prices before you sell. Some white items and reagents sell for far more to players than to a vendor.
9. Park your riding fund on a bank alt. Gold you cannot see on your main is gold you do not spend by accident.

For a full plan with farming spots and Auction House flips, read our WoW Forever gold making guide. A dedicated storage character is easy to set up with our WoW Forever bank alt guide.

If you would rather not farm the gold, our WoW Forever Mounts Unlock covers riding training for either speed tier.

Saving for Journeyman Riding at Level 60

Most characters reach 60 without 1,000 gold, and that is normal. Journeyman Riding takes your speed bonus from 60% to 100%, which makes travel about a quarter faster, but you can raid, run dungeons and farm on a basic mount while you save.

After 40, spend first on what you postponed: the spell ranks you skipped and a few bag upgrades. Then start a separate fund for 1,000 gold, or 900 with Honored. Paladins and Warlocks can compare it with the cost of reagents for their level 60 class mount chain.

Mount Speed Items

A few items add a little speed on top of your riding skill. The first three help most while you are still on a 60% mount, and the fourth opens at level 60.

The Carrot is the cheapest of the first three and the only one you can simply buy. Wear it while traveling and swap it for a combat trinket before a pull.

The Gift of Galloping is a different deal. Its 15 days run out even while you are offline, so 150 gold buys speed only for the days you actually play. Read about the goblin who sells it in our WoW Forever Black Market Auction House guide.

Forever also adds a zone bonus. Two pieces of the new Rider of the Plaguelands set, made of a ring, a one-handed sword and a cloak, give 5% mount speed in Eastern Plaguelands and Western Plaguelands. Where the set drops is not confirmed yet.

Tauren players should not count on Plainsrunning. A racial update on October 26 raised its bonus on foot to 60%, but it no longer works while mounted.

More WoW Forever Guides

These guides help you get to 40 faster, with the gold ready, and show what to ride once you can.

WoW Forever Mount Cost FAQ

These are the questions players asked most often under beta videos and guides about riding in Forever.