Dark Iron Core Hound

Dark Iron Core Hound is an Alliance ground mount, the racial steed of the Dark Iron Dwarf allied race. The mount was added in the Battle for Azeroth expansion, patch 8.0, but the process of obtaining it became noticeably simpler after patch 10.1.5 in Dragonflight. Right now the mount remains one of the most convenient ways to add to your collection in a single evening run.

Visually, it is a slender single-headed core hound with a flaming mane of fire and lava — the only single-headed hound model in the game. The other core hounds, including the mounts from the Firelands raid, are two-headed. Once obtained, the mount becomes available to all Alliance characters on your account, even those who are not Dark Iron Dwarves themselves.

• Unique model — the only single-headed core hound in the game, standing out from the rest of the fiery dogs
• Quick to obtain — the entire quest chain and scenario can realistically be completed in one or two evenings, without long reputation grinds or raids
• Account-wide — after a single run the mount appears in your collection on all Alliance characters
• Full set of rewards — along with the mount you receive the Dark Iron Expedition Tent and unlock a new playable race with its own racial abilities
• Achievement — Allied Races: Dark Iron Dwarf counts toward the meta-achievements for allied races
• Prerequisite for heritage armor — by unlocking the race, you gain the ability to create a Dark Iron Dwarf character and level it to 50 for the heritage armor set

1. Log in on an Alliance character of level 40 or higher
2. Fly to Stormwind and head to the Alliance Embassy — it is located in the Old Town, next to the park
3. In the embassy, find Moira Thaurissan, the queen-regent of the Dark Iron clan. There will be an available quest icon above her
4. Take the introductory quest from her — it starts the recruitment chain
5. Follow the quest markers and dialogues — most of the tasks are completed without combat

The chain consists of several stages. Each quest automatically hands you the next one, so you cannot skip anything.

1. Talking to Moira — the queen tells the clan's story and offers to let you help with an important matter
2. Journey into Blackrock Depths — you are teleported into an instanced solo scenario
3. Defending the Black Anvil — you need to repel an attack by the Venture Company cartel. The enemies are armed with flamethrowers and rocket boots, but they go down easily at your character's current level
4. Help from the Dark Iron golems — in the scenario you can activate friendly golems, gunners, and demolishers to help you in the fight
5. The Slag Pit — previously you had to clear this dungeon for a component for the anvil. Now it is enough to choose the option "I trust you to handle this" in the dialogue with Moira, and she takes care of everything herself
6. Returning to the Anvil — a final trip into Blackrock Depths, where all you have to do is click on the anvil. No combat
7. The closing conversation at the embassy — the final quest Dark Iron Dwarves grants the reward

• Skip the Slag Pit dungeon — the dialogue with Moira now lets you avoid this step. If you accidentally picked up the dungeon quest, you can turn it in through the dialogue
• The Horde cannot obtain this mount — even if you have a Dark Iron Dwarf on your account, there is no Horde equivalent. The Mag'har are the orcish counterpart allied race
• The scenario is solo — no group is required, you can complete it at your own pace
• Enemy level scales to you — the content scales, so you will not run into immortal enemies even at level 90 in Midnight