Get Clayscale Hornstrider mount

Clayscale Hornstrider is an epic ground mount added in patch 10.2.5 "Seeds of Renewal" of the Dragonflight expansion. It is a large hornstrider with a distinctive reddish, clay-like coloration reminiscent of baked earth. According to its in-game description, clayscale hornstriders dwell on the clay hills of the Ohn'ahran Plains and are renowned for their speed.

The mount drops from tomes and from the boss Doomshadow during the world event The Big Dig: Traitor's Rest, which is tied to the Azerothian Archives faction.

• Rare model — the clay-colored hornstrider appearance is exclusive to this mount. Among other rideable hornstriders, it has a unique reddish-brown coloring
• Not tied to raid luck — the mount is obtained through a repeatable world event available every hour. You decide how much time to spend farming in a single session.
• Available to any character — the event does not require a high item level, reputation grinding, or completing prerequisite quest chains.
• Collector's value — hornstriders are one of the symbols of the Dragon Isles and are a great addition to any Dragonflight expansion mount collection.

1. Make sure your character is at least level 70 and has the "Apprentice" riding skill.
2. Travel to Valdrakken (the capital of the Dragon Isles) via the portal from Stormwind, Orgrimmar, or Dornogal.
3. Find the notice on the post of the "Seared Ram" tavern in the center of Valdrakken — this is the starter quest To the Archives!, which will direct you to Chief Archivist Edward Dellingridge.
4. Complete the introductory quest chain at the Algeth'ar Academy (Thaldraszus) to unlock access to the event.
5. Head to Traitor's Rest in the Azure Span — The Big Dig event starts every hour and lasts about 12 minutes.
6. Take part in the event: complete personal tasks (digging, bone cleaning, artifact delivery) and collect pages.
7. For every 1,000 pages collected, you receive a tome of random quality.
8. After the event timer expires, the boss Doomshadow appears — kill it to receive an additional tome and a chance at a direct mount drop.
9. Open the tomes you receive — the Clayscale Hornstrider may be among the rewards.

Drop Chance from Tomes

The mount can drop from tomes of various qualities. The higher the tome's quality, the greater the chance:

Traitor's Rest is a location in the northwestern part of the Azure Span, one of the zones of the Dragon Isles.

Coordinates

Route

1. Use the portal to Valdrakken from the portal hall in Stormwind, Orgrimmar, or Dornogal.
2. From Valdrakken, fly northwest into the Azure Span.
3. The event is marked on the map with a horn icon — it is impossible to miss.
4. Arrive at the location 1–2 minutes before the event begins so you don't miss the start.

Provisioner Aristta

In the event zone you'll find the vendor Provisioner Aristta, from whom you can purchase rewards for Mysterious Fragments — a currency obtained from tomes and from participating in the event. The vendor's coordinates:

Event Schedule

The Big Dig starts every hour and lasts roughly 10 minutes. You have about 48 minutes of downtime between events — use this time for other activities in the game.

Maximizing Pages per Event

• Complete personal tasks from the NPC archaeologists: digging, cleaning dinosaur bones, delivering recovered artifacts.
• When there are no personal tasks, look for highlighted objects on the ground — they also grant pages.
• After the timer ends, be sure to attack Doomshadow — it grants an additional 1,000 pages and a chance at a direct mount drop.

Class and Level

• At level 80 in The War Within expansion, all Dragonflight content is legacy. Doomshadow dies in mere seconds.
• Class does not matter — the event does not require specific abilities. Choose a character with maximum movement speed for quickly moving between objects at the dig site.
• A Druid in Travel Form or a Shaman with Gust of Wind is handy for getting around the event zone quickly.

Farming Limitations

• No limits — the event can be completed an unlimited number of times per day. Each run grants tomes, and every tome has a chance to contain the mount
• Your reputation level with the Azerothian Archives does not affect the mount's drop chance — this has been confirmed by players
• Alternate characters offer no advantage: you can farm endlessly on a single character

Approximate Farming Time

Given the drop chance (~0.5–1.5% depending on tome quality), the average player will need anywhere from 50 to 200 opened tomes. With 3–5 tomes per event and participating in 3–4 events per day, expect anywhere from several days to several weeks of regular farming.