Reins of the Blue Dragon Turtle

Reins of the Blue Dragon Turtle is a ground mount added to World of Warcraft in the Mists of Pandaria expansion (patch 5.0.4). It is a stocky reptile with a shell of a rich sea-blue color, a dragon-like crest running down its back, and distinctive Pandaren trappings: a bamboo saddle and patterned harness. The model stands out with its calm, unhurried animation — the classic "homebred" turtle of the Pandaren.

Unlike the Reins of the Great Blue Dragon Turtle, which is larger and pricier, this is the standard version of the mount: accessible, cheap, and sold by the same Pandaren vendors in the capitals. The purchase price is just 1 gold, but to gain access to the counter, non-Pandaren must grind reputation with the corresponding faction up to Exalted.

• One of six basic dragon turtles — together with the green, red, purple, brown, and black ones, it makes up the full lineup of common turtles. A collection of six models from a single trip to the vendor is a convenient way to quickly boost your mount counter
• Cheap purchase — 1 gold per copy. The actual cost is only the time spent grinding reputation, which you need anyway for the "Ambassador of the Alliance" or "Ambassador of the Horde" achievement
• Counts toward overall meta-achievements — the mount adds a point toward the rewards for 200, 300, 400, and 500 collected mounts, and also brings you closer to the Pandaren faction achievements
• Unique Pandaren style — the rich blue shell and the calm "slow" animation set the mount apart from the dragons, wolves, and cats that fill most collections
• Account-wide mount — once purchased on one character, it unlocks for all characters on your account, who will be able to ride it (provided they have the riding skill)

For Pandaren characters the vendor hands over the mount without a reputation check — it is a "racial" perk. Members of other races have to wear a tabard and farm dungeons (see below).

Alliance — Old Whitenose in Stormwind

The vendor Old Whitenose stands in the Pandaren camp by the Eastern Earthshrine in Stormwind. A landmark is the pen with live dragon turtles next to the Park.

Horde — Turtlemaster Odai in Orgrimmar

The vendor Turtlemaster Odai is located in the Valley of Honor in Orgrimmar, in the Huojin Pandaren camp next to the training dummies and the turtle pen.

Besides the blue turtle, both vendors also sell the other five colors of common dragon turtles and the six "great" models. If you have already come for the reputation mount, it is sensible to buy the whole lineup in one go.

If the character is not a Pandaren, you need to grind reputation up to Exalted with "your" Pandaren faction. The scheme is the same for the Alliance and the Horde — through a tabard and old dungeons.

1. Get to the capital and find the Pandaren quartermaster: in Stormwind — next to Old Whitenose at the Eastern Earthshrine, in Orgrimmar — next to Turtlemaster Odai in the Valley of Honor
2. Buy the tabard of the required faction: Tushui Tabard for the Alliance or Huojin Tabard for the Horde. The price is symbolic
3. Put on the tabard and head out to farm dungeons. For Tushui and Huojin, reputation is granted by classic dungeons of levels 1–60 — instances of later expansions do not count
4. Kill elite enemies (about 15 reputation each) and bosses (around 250 each). The best options are dungeons with a large number of mobs in a single run: Blackrock Depths, Halls of Lightning, Dire Maul
5. At level 90 (Midnight) any classic dungeon is cleared solo in a few minutes in "Dungeon Finder → for me only" mode
6. Repeat the runs until you reach Exalted. The reputation counter is visible in the "Achievements → Reputation → Classic" interface

Useful Boosters

• You can only wear one Pandaren tabard at a time. If you have two characters on different sides — grind each one its own faction separately
• While wearing the tabard, you simultaneously close out reputation for the Ambassador of the Alliance and Ambassador of the Horde achievements
• Reputation bonuses (the "Pilgrim's Bounty" holiday, guild banners, rings and cloaks with a similar property, if active in the current patch) reduce the overall grind time

1. Confirm that the character is a Pandaren or has reached Exalted with the required Pandaren faction
2. Make sure you have reached level 10 and learned the Apprentice Riding skill
3. Put at least 1 gold in your purse (in practice — a reserve, so you can grab the other models right away)
4. Fly to your faction's capital
5. Approach the vendor (Old Whitenose or Turtlemaster Odai) and open the purchase window
6. From the list of goods, select Reins of the Blue Dragon Turtle and confirm the purchase
7. Use the item from your bag — the mount will immediately appear in the collection of all characters of your faction on the account

At the vendor, the blue turtle is sold together with five other colors. Each is a separate mount in the collection, all for 1 gold and with the same reputation requirements.