Emerald Hippogryph

Emerald Hippogryph is an epic flying and ground mount added in patch 5.4.1 of the Mists of Pandaria expansion. It is a majestic hippogryph with shimmering emerald plumage and orange accents on its wings. The mount was distributed through the revamped Recruit a Friend program, which ran from October 2013 to June 2019.

According to the description in the mount journal: "These majestic creatures come in a wide variety of colors, but the emerald variety can only be tamed by the magic of friendship." The mount's speed depends on your riding skill and the zone you are in.

The Emerald Hippogryph can no longer be obtained. The mount was removed from the Recruit a Friend reward list in patch 8.2.5, when Blizzard completely reworked the system. If you did not manage to obtain the mount before that date, there is no standard way to add it to your collection.

The mount still appears as uncollected in the mount journal and on the official armory, reminding collectors of its existence. This is one of the reasons the Emerald Hippogryph remains a coveted trophy among mount collectors.

The Recruit a Friend program worked as follows:

1. You sent an invitation to a friend through a dedicated system on the Blizzard website
2. Your friend created a new World of Warcraft account using your link
3. Your friend paid for a subscription for the second month of play
4. Once the payment was credited, you earned the right to choose one of the rewards, among which was the Emerald Hippogryph
5. The item arrived in your character's mailbox. When used, the mount was bound to the entire account

Obtaining the mount also granted the "True Friendship" achievement — an account-wide achievement.

• Collector's value — the Emerald Hippogryph is among the unobtainable mounts that cannot be acquired in the current version of the game. Having it in your collection proves that you have been playing for a long time and actively used the Recruit a Friend program
• Unique coloration — among all the game's hippogryphs, the emerald coloration is available only on this mount. The bright green plumage with orange details stands out from other flying mounts
• Compact model — unlike large dragons and gryphons, hippogryphs are neatly sized. This is convenient when moving around cities, dungeons, and crowded areas
• Achievement — along with the mount you receive the "True Friendship" achievement, which is displayed on your character's profile

If the Emerald Hippogryph is unavailable, you may want to look at other hippogryphs that can still be obtained in the game:

• Silver Covenant Hippogryph — purchased for 150 Silver Covenant tokens in Northrend
• Flameward Hippogryph — a rare drop from WoW TCG collectible card booster packs. Sold at auction for a very high price
• Reins of the Arcane-Charged Hippogryph — for the "Glory of the Legion Hero" achievement