The Xinlao is a magnificent stone quilen imbued with the ancient magic of the Mogu empire. Its solid, jade‑veined body and glowing eyes make it a striking companion, and its in‑game flavour text hints at a surprisingly affectionate nature — “the only thing stronger than a quilen’s loyalty is its fierce devotion to making sure it covers its owner in kisses.” This mount is a rare drop from Anh‑De the Loyal, a rare spawn that only appears during the Mogu Assault in the Vale of Eternal Blossoms.
Since its introduction in patch 8.3.0 “Visions of N’Zoth”, Xinlao has become a favourite among mount collectors who appreciate both its unique model and the challenge of farming a time‑gated, rotation‑dependent rare. The drop rate is estimated at 2–3%, which makes it a moderately rare trophy, but the real difficulty lies in the prerequisites: you need to unlock the corrupted Vale of Eternal Blossoms, understand the assault system, and then camp or hop between realms for a chance at Anh‑De.
The Xinlao mount drops from Anh‑De the Loyal, a rare quilen that spawns exclusively during the Mogu Assault in the Vale of Eternal Blossoms. The rare has a respawn timer of roughly 1–2 hours after being killed, and the drop rate is estimated at 2.75% based on millions of kills logged on Wowhead. Unlike many other rare mounts, Xinlao is not a guaranteed drop; you may need many kills across several characters before it finally drops.
Because Anh‑De only appears when the Mogu Assault is active, you cannot farm him every day. Assaults rotate every few days between two types: Mogu Assault and Mantid Assault. When the Mantid Assault is active, Anh‑De will not be present. Therefore, the first step is to understand how to unlock the corrupted Vale and how to track which assault is currently running.
Before you can even see Anh‑De, you must unlock the corrupted version of the Vale of Eternal Blossoms. This requires progressing through the Battle for Azeroth endgame campaign and completing the initial Nazjatar and Black Empire questlines. Below is a step‑by‑step breakdown for both factions.
Step 1 – Unlock World Quests
You need to reach level 50 and become Friendly with the three main zone factions of your faction:
Once you have World Quests unlocked, head to your faction’s ship in Dazar'alor (Horde) or Boralus (Alliance) and look for the quest to start the Nazjatar campaign. The starting NPCs are:
Complete the Nazjatar introductory questline until you unlock your own Heart of Azeroth essence slot. After that, Magni Bronzebeard will appear and offer Essential Empowerment. Follow his questline until you are sent back to the Chamber of Heart and upgrade your legendary cloak.
Finally, you will receive the quest that leads you to the corrupted Vale of Eternal Blossoms:
Completing this unlocks the Visions of N’Zoth assault system in Uldum and the Vale of Eternal Blossoms. You will now see assault progress bars on your world map, and the Vale will be permanently covered in a dark, corrupted sky.
Once the corrupted Vale is unlocked, you will notice two types of assaults rotating:
The assaults change every 3.5 days (typically on Tuesday and Friday reset times, but exact schedule may vary by region). You can check the current active assault by opening your world map and looking at the Vale of Eternal Blossoms – a large icon will show whether it is Mogu or Mantid. Alternatively, the Adventure Guide (Shift+J) often displays the current assaults under the “Battle for Azeroth” section.
Important: Even during the Mogu Assault, Anh‑De does not have a 100% spawn chance. He is a rare spawn that appears on a 1‑2 hour timer after being killed. If you arrive at his location and he is not there, either he was recently killed on your shard, or you need to wait for his respawn window.
When the Mogu Assault is active, travel to Mistfall Village in the central‑eastern part of the Vale. Anh‑De stands near the centre of the village, surrounded by Mogu mobs. Use the following coordinates:
/way 34.1, 68.0 – Anh‑De the Loyal
Combat notes: Anh‑De is a level 50 rare with approximately 150k health, very easy to solo at level 60+ (or even level 50 with decent gear). He has no deadly mechanics – simply burst him down. However, be aware that the area is filled with hostile Mogu trash, so clear a small safe zone or kill him quickly before adds become an issue. After death, he drops Xinlao directly into your inventory (bind‑on‑pickup).
Respawn timer: Confirmed by community reports to be between 1 and 2 hours. The timer starts counting after the previous kill on your specific shard/realm. Unlike some other rares, Anh‑De is not shared across all layers – you can hop to different realms (using Group Finder or War Mode toggling) to find a fresh copy.
Because the drop rate is low 2.75%, the most efficient way to farm Xinlao is to increase your attempts per hour using multiple characters and cross‑realm groups.
Pro tip: The Mogu Assault lasts 3.5 days, so you have a large window to farm. Use the first day to check the available shards and create a farming route. Avoid peak hours (evenings) when competition for the rare is highest – early mornings often have fewer players camping.
Farming a rare that only spawns during a specific assault and on a long timer is much easier with the right tools. Below are the most useful addons for tracking and killing Anh‑De the Loyal.
Pro tip: Combine RareScanner with a weakaura that plays a loud horn sound – you can even alt‑tab while waiting and still be notified when Anh‑De spawns.
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