Anu'shalla, Shadow's Guidance — How to Get the 600-Mount Achievement Reward

Anu'shalla, Shadow's Guidance is a flying mount in the form of a shadow somnowl, a purple variation of Anu'relos, Flame's Guidance. Its wings cut through the sky like shadows on a moonlit night. The mount was added in patch 12.0.0 (Midnight) and is the reward for the Insurmountable Collection achievement — collecting 600 mounts usable by a single character.

This is one of the most prestigious collection rewards in the game. It can only be obtained through persistent and methodical mount farming from a wide variety of sources — from vendor purchases to rare drops from old raids.

The sole requirement is completing the Insurmountable Collection achievement (ID 62096). You need to collect 600 mounts usable by a single character.

Note the key wording — "usable by a single character." The total number of mounts in your journal may be higher than the achievement counter because only mounts that a specific character can actually use are counted. Faction restrictions, class mounts, and other conditions affect the tally.

After completing the achievement, you will receive the Anu'shalla, Shadow's Guidance item directly in your mailbox.

The 600-mount achievement is the pinnacle of a whole series of rewards. Here is the full chain:

Each subsequent tier represents a significant jump in difficulty. While you can reach 300 mounts relatively quickly, the path from 500 to 600 requires serious effort and planning.

Collecting 600 mounts is a task measured in months, not days. Below is a proven approach that will help you reach the goal most efficiently.

Step 1. Determine Your Starting Point

Check the current achievement progress on the character you plan to make your "collector." It is the achievement counter that shows the real number, not the mount journal count — the journal may show a higher number due to faction and class restrictions.

Choose a character that can use the maximum number of mounts. Paladins and Warlocks have unique class mounts but lose access to other classes' mounts — keep this in mind.

Step 2. Collect All "Guaranteed" Mounts

Start with mounts that don't depend on luck:

Racial Mounts (~35 for Alliance, ~36 for Horde) Buy all racial mounts from your faction's vendors. Some require reputation — equip the appropriate faction's tabard and run a few dungeons.

Vendor Mounts (~50+) Numerous mounts are sold by NPCs across the world. Mei Francis in Dalaran, vendors in Pandaria, Draenor — visit all known sellers. Prices range from a few gold to hundreds of thousands.

Reputation Mounts (~60+) Most factions from older expansions have mounts as rewards at Exalted. Reputation with old factions levels up quickly: tabards, world quests, tabards in dungeons.

Quest and Campaign Mounts (~30+) Introductory campaigns from each expansion, starting with Dragonflight, award mounts through the storyline. Don't forget the Renewed Proto-Drake and Highland Drake from the Dragonflight campaign.

Profession Mounts (~15-20) Jewelcrafters can create panthers, Engineers — various machines, Tailors — flying carpets. Some can be purchased on the Auction House.

Step 3. Build a Weekly Farm Route

After collecting all guaranteed mounts, the main source becomes drops from old raids and dungeons. Set up a schedule:

• Weekly Raids: Icecrown Citadel, Firelands, Ulduar, Throne of Thunder, Siege of Orgrimmar, and other raids with rare mounts. Each raid takes 10-20 minutes at max level.
• World Bosses: Sha of Anger, Oondasta, Rukhmar, and others — check weekly.
• Rare Mobs: The open world is full of rare creatures with mount drops. Plan routes by zone.

Farm on multiple characters to multiply your weekly attempts. Five alts mean five attempts per raid instead of one.

Step 4. Don't Forget Seasonal Events

In-game holidays are an excellent source of unique mounts:

• Hallow's End: Reins of the Headless Horseman
• Winter Veil: Holiday mounts
• Love is in the Air: Big Love Rocket
• Brewfest: Great Brewfest Kodo

Mark them on your calendar — missing a holiday means waiting an entire year.

Step 5. Cover Niche Sources

When the main categories are exhausted, turn to less obvious sources:

• PvP Mounts: For honor and conquest
• Mounts from Other Blizzard Games: Hearthsteed from a few Hearthstone matches, Collector's Edition mounts
• Challenge Mounts: Mage Tower, Timed trials
• Achievement Mounts: Meta-achievements from raids (Glory of the Raider and similar)
• Black Market Mounts: Rare, expensive, but helps fill the last slots

Collecting 600 mounts blindly is a guaranteed path to burnout. Use these specialized tools:

Start with Simple Armory or DataforAzeroth — load your character and get a full list of what you can still collect. Then prioritize: guaranteed mounts first, then farming.

• Count by the achievement, not the journal. The mount journal number and the achievement counter are different things. Focus only on the achievement.
• One "main collector." Choose a character and focus your efforts on them. Switching between characters will confuse the count.
• Consistency beats intensity. An hour of farming every day yields more results than a marathon once a month. Raid lockouts reset weekly — a missed week cannot be compensated.
• Keep a list. Track which raids you've already completed this week and on which characters. The SavedInstances addon helps stay organized.
• Don't chase the rarest drops first. A mount with a 0.5% drop rate may not appear even after 200 attempts. Clear all guaranteed mounts first.
• One player went from 250 to 850 mounts in a year, spending 1-2 hours daily. It's achievable if you approach the process systematically.