Gold-Toed Albatross

Gold-Toed Albatross is an uncommon flying mount added to World of Warcraft in the Dragonflight expansion (patch 10.1.5 "Fractures in Time"). It is a large seabird with outspread wings, vivid golden plumage and the distinctive golden feet that gave the mount its name. The description emphasizes its cross-temporal origin: "Soaring in from a distant timeline, this never-before-seen fowl was born in a world of order."

The mount is sold for the Paracausal Flakes currency by the dracthyr Sorotis in Thaldraszus, the Tyrhold Reservoir — the main hub of the "Time Rifts" world event

• A full flying mount — once you have the "Master Riding" skill, the albatross provides +150%, +280% or +310% speed in the air and +60% or +100% on the ground depending on your riding rank
• Account-wide — after the first purchase the mount unlocks on every character of your account regardless of faction and class
• Unique color model — the albatross belongs to the seabird family also represented by the Siltwing Albatross from the Isle of Treasures, but it has a one-of-a-kind golden coloration not found in other variants

The main method is accumulating 3000 Paracausal Flakes and buying the mount from Sorotis. The alternative path is to rely on luck when opening the final Rift containers.

1. Reach level 60 and complete the introductory Dragon Isles quest chain to gain access to the Tyrhold Reservoir in Thaldraszus
2. Take the weekly quest When Time Needs Mending from Soridormi at the Edge of Reality in Thaldraszus. Completing one Rift rewards Contained Paracausality, holding 1000 Paracausal Flakes
3. Take the daily quests from Chromie at the Edge of Reality — they grant an additional 70 Paracausal Flakes per day
4. After defeating the final boss of an alternate reality, collect an extra 150 Paracausal Flakes and check the loot — each of the seven Rift bosses has a small chance to drop the albatross directly
5. Having accumulated 3000 Paracausal Flakes, head to Sorotis in the Tyrhold Reservoir and purchase the Gold-Toed Albatross

The entire economy of the mount is built around the Paracausal Flakes currency. One Rift cycle, run perfectly, yields about 230–280 Paracausal Flakes, so reaching 3000 will take roughly 12–15 successful events or 1–2 weeks of regular play.

Rifts open once an hour by game time. The event consists of two phases: 8–10 minutes of gathering temporal essence and 5–7 minutes of battle in one of the seven alternate realities.

1. Arrive at the Tyrhold Reservoir a couple of minutes before the start of the next hour
2. At the :00 mark, activate the Tempoboosted Melee buff by killing mobs and completing mini-quests
3. Upon reaching 7500 points of temporal essence, a portal to an alternate reality opens
4. Enter the portal within a few seconds of it opening and defeat the final boss
5. Open the container you receive and check the loot for the mount

Each hour the Rift leads to a random one of the seven alternate versions of Azeroth. The final boss of each reality has an independent chance to drop the Gold-Toed Albatross, so it does not matter which universe you are sent to.

Weekly cycle

Soridormi's weekly quest is account-bound and grants 1000 Paracausal Flakes once a week. That is a third of the mount's cost, so reliably completing the quest speeds up acquisition by 3–4 times.

1. Every Wednesday, take the quest When Time Needs Mending from Soridormi
2. Complete one full Rift — that is enough to turn in the quest
3. Open the Contained Paracausality and collect 1000 Paracausal Flakes
4. Keep participating in Rifts throughout the week to accumulate the rest of the sum

Active farming

If the goal is to gather 3000 Paracausal Flakes as fast as possible, the optimal strategy is to take part in every hourly Rift.

• Use an audio timer or a WeakAura so you don't miss the event activation
• Focus on group tasks in the first phase — they give 30 Paracausal Flakes each and 750 essence points right away
• Don't leave the alternate reality before the loot opens, or the final reward won't be credited
• Before the start of a seasonal activity, check the leaderboard at the Edge of Reality — sometimes events grant temporary bonuses to Soridormi reputation