WoW Forever Riding & Mounts Guide (2026): Levels, Costs, Speeds

Riding in World of Warcraft: Forever is Classic's two-step ladder with one Burning Crusade idea bolted on: your first mount now comes with the training. Apprentice riding at level 40 and Journeyman riding at 60 are the only ranks, there's one universal Riding skill, and there is no flying anywhere — Blizzard's design pillars rule it out. This guide covers what each rank costs and includes, where every race trains, the Skyborne Galestriders, the class mount quests, special mounts from Legacy and reputation, and how to save for the big one at 60.

Riding ranks, levels and costs

All gold figures below come from Warcraft Tavern's riding guide and Method's mount guide of 21 October; Blizzard confirmed the principle (mount included in training) but hasn't published the numbers. The discounted column is our arithmetic on the 10% Honored discount both sites list for riding training and mounts.

At level 40 the 100 g gets you the skill and one basic mount of your race in one colour — Method and Blizzard agree the first mount is included. Warcraft Tavern's table lists a separate "Mount 20g", but Method explains the 20 g as the price of extra colours. At 60, the 1,000 g Journeyman skill doesn't include the epic mount: budget 1,200 g, or 1,080 g at Honored. The Bartering Legacy perk takes up to 10% off mounts (5% per rank, two ranks) but not the riding skill itself, according to Method. Our gold guide shows how the riding bill fits into the full budget to 60.

Where to learn: your race's trainer

Forever has one universal Riding skill. You learn it from your own race's riding trainer, and you buy your race's mounts there. To ride another race's mounts you need Exalted reputation with that race (Warcraft Tavern). Here's where each race goes:

Humans have two vendors: Eastvale in Elwynn Forest and Unger Statforth in Menethil Harbor, handy if you're levelling in the Wetlands. Mounts you learn go into the collections window, not your bags, and collections are account-wide — so a mount bought on one character shows up for your alts too (they still need the riding skill to use it).

Skyborne: Galestriders and moving without flight

The new Skyborne race rides Galestriders. Genn Fairweather at the Fairweather Stables on Zephras Isle (53.8, 81.2) sells both the riding skill and the mounts to both factions, in Umber, Stormy and Empyrean colours plus Swift versions for Journeyman riders (Warcraft Tavern, Method). Zephras Isle is reached by airship from Dalaran for the Alliance and from Skywatcher Plateau in Mulgore for the Horde — any race can visit.

Class mounts: Paladin and Warlock

Two classes earn their mounts through quests instead of buying them, as in Classic. Both have a level-40 quest and a much harder epic quest at 60 that Method describes as costing "hundreds of gold in reagents".

1. Warlock · level 40 · both factionsStrahad Farsan in Ratchet starts the Warlock mount quest for Alliance and Horde alike (Method).
2. Paladin · level 40 · Alliance"The Tome of Nobility", picked up in Ironforge or Stormwind (Method).
3. Paladin · level 40 · UndeadForsaken Paladins have their own quest line. Warcraft Tavern names an Undead Warhorse at 40 and a Charger at 60; Method couldn't test the Horde chain, so treat the details as single-source.
4. Both classes · level 60Epic class mount quests — long, group-heavy and expensive in reagents.

Class quests are covered class by class in our Paladin and Warlock guides. Whether a Paladin or Warlock still pays for the riding skill isn't spelled out by any source we checked — expect the skill to come from your trainer as for everyone else.

Special mounts: Legacy, reputation and the shop

The Spectral Bear needs Legacy Points across your whole account — see the Legacy guide. The Pack Kodo is the long-term goal of the supply factions; our reputations guide shows how Merchant's Favor is earned.

Why there's no flying

Blizzard's What's Next panel recap is explicit: Forever has no flying, and its design pillars rule out flying mounts. The world was rebuilt to be crossed on the ground — new zones like the Riverglades and Mount Hyjal, new routes by boat and airship, and flight paths for long trips. The Frequent Flier Legacy perk halves flight path costs and makes the flight mount 20% faster, and gamepad players can end a flight early with Back/Cancel (2 Nov notes). For the leveling route itself, see our leveling guide.

Travel without flying: boats, airships and portals

With no flying mounts, Forever leans on ground routes and transport. Method's travel guide (14 October) and Warcraft Wiki list the new connections added for the new zones:

There's no dungeon finder and no summoning stones either — the only summon is the Warlock's Ritual of Summoning — so a fast mount matters more in Forever than in modern WoW. The 60% mount at 40 is the moment most players notice the difference.

Tauren Plainsrunning: a short change log

One racial changed three times in the last month, and it's the kind of thing that ends up quoted wrong on forums:

1. 16 Oct · dev notesPlainsrunning adds +3% mounted speed.
2. 2 Nov · dev notesRebuilt as 2% speed per stack up to 60% — and it no longer increases mounted speed.
3. 5 Nov · hotfixStacking is disabled while carrying a battleground flag.

So a Tauren rides at the same speed as everyone else at launch. Blizzard keeps tuning racials — check the current notes before you pick a race for speed.

A riding plan from 30 to 60

1. From 30, set 100 g aside.

   Training and gear can wait a few levels; walking from 40 to 45 costs more time than any upgrade saves.

2. Push faction reputation toward Honored.

   Ten percent off both riding ranks and every mount you buy from your faction.

3. Ding 40, go straight to your trainer.

   Your race's trainer — or Genn Fairweather for Skyborne. Paladins and Warlocks: pick up the class quest too.

4. 40–60: bank toward 1,200 g.

   Journeyman riding plus the epic mount. A gathering profession pays most of it while you quest.

5. At 60: ride, then raid.

   The raids open on 9 December — 100% speed saves hours of attunement travel.