Reins of the Black Drake

Reins of the Black Drake is a flying mount in the form of a black dragon that drops with a 100% chance from Sartharion in the Obsidian Sanctum raid on 10-player Normal difficulty, as long as all three twilight drakes remain alive at the start of the fight. This is one of the easiest guaranteed mounts in the game — the entire raid takes less than 2 minutes on a solo run.

• Guaranteed drop — 100% chance when the condition is met (3 drakes alive), no need to farm for weeks
• A stylish black dragon model from Wrath of the Lich King
• Functions as both a ground and a flying mount — it adapts to your riding skill
• Tied to the achievement Twilight Zone (10 player)
• Bonus: in the 25-player Normal version of the same raid you can obtain the Reins of the Twilight Drake — another 100% mount

Important: if you kill even one of the three drakes before the Sartharion fight, the mount will not drop. Do not touch Shadron, Tenebron, and Vesperon — head straight to Sartharion.

• A character at level 27 or higher (a formal requirement; in practice any max-level character will destroy the boss in seconds)
• Starter-level riding skill
• No prerequisite quests or attunements are required — the raid is open to everyone

The Obsidian Sanctum is located beneath the Chamber of the Aspects in the center of Dragonblight, Northrend.

Step 1: Get to Northrend

• Alliance: use the portal to Dalaran (Crystalsong Forest) in the Stormwind portal room
• Horde: use the portal to Dalaran (Crystalsong Forest) in the Orgrimmar portal room
• From Dalaran, fly south to Dragonblight

Step 2: Find the Raid Entrance

1. Fly to the Chamber of the Aspects — it is the huge tower in the center of Dragonblight
2. Entrance coordinates: /way #115 59.5 50.5 Obsidian Sanctum
3. Descend to the base of the tower — there is a canyon (the Path of the Titans) beneath it
4. The entrance to the Obsidian Sanctum is located in the underground part of the temple — look for a portal in the form of a purple swirl

Step 3: Choose the Difficulty

Before entering the raid, right-click your portrait and select:

• Raid size: 10 players
• Difficulty: Normal

This is critically important — the Reins of the Black Drake mount drops only in 10-player Normal mode.

1. Enter the Raid

Go through the portal. You will find yourself in a large lava cavern with Sartharion in the center and three additional drakes on the sides.

2. DO NOT Touch the Additional Drakes

You will see three twilight drakes:

• Shadron
• Tenebron
• Vesperon

Do not attack them! Fly or run past them straight to Sartharion in the center.

3. Kill Sartharion

Attack Sartharion directly. At max level (90) he will die in a few seconds. All three drakes will join the fight — they pose no threat at the current content level either. The small trash mobs near Sartharion will also enter combat, but their damage is negligible.

4. Claim the Mount

After the victory, open the loot from Sartharion — the Reins of the Black Drake are guaranteed to be in the loot. Use the item, and the mount will be added to your collection forever.

After obtaining the black drake, you can leave the raid and switch the difficulty to 25 players (Normal). Repeat the exact same process — do not kill the additional drakes and attack Sartharion. He is guaranteed (100%) to drop the Reins of the Twilight Drake — the purple variant of the mount.

Tip: both modes (10 and 25 Normal) share a common weekly lockout. So in a single week on one character you can obtain only one of the two mounts. If you want both — use a second character or wait until next week.

• Class does not matter. The fight is trivial for any level 90 character in any specialization. The whole raid takes 1–2 minutes from entry to loot.
• Do not kill the drakes on the way. The most common beginner mistake is accidentally hitting one of Sartharion's three helpers. Stay close to the center and avoid AoE abilities until you reach the boss.
• Farming on alts. If you want both mounts (black and twilight) in one week, use two characters — one for 10-Normal, the other for 25-Normal.
• Quick route. From Dalaran (Northrend) to the Chamber of the Aspects is about a minute of flying south. If you have a hearthstone set in Dalaran — even faster.
• Achievement included. Killing Sartharion with 3 drakes alive on 10-Normal grants the achievement Twilight Zone (10 player), and on 25-Normal — Twilight Zone (25 player).