Reins of the Grand Ice Mammoth

The Reins of the Grand Ice Mammoth is a three-seat ground mount originally from the Wrath of the Lich King expansion. A heavy battle harness in your faction's colors is strapped to its back: the Alliance version is blue and gold, while the Horde version is red-and-black with spikes. The driver sits in the saddle in the middle, and the two seats on either side are open for any members of your party or raid.

Unlike the Reins of the Traveler's Tundra Mammoth, the ice mammoth has no built-in vendors or repair master — it is a pure transport mount. In exchange, it costs five times less and serves as one of the main rewards for reputation with the Sons of Hodir in The Storm Peaks (Northrend).

• A rare three-seat ride. There are only a handful of three-seat mounts in the game, and the Grand Ice Mammoth is one of the most accessible. It is handy for group flights through old content, when friends need a quick lift to a farming spot
• A visually imposing model. An ice-covered mammoth in battle gear looks massive and stands apart from typical hoofed mounts. The armor coloring changes depending on your faction
• Available account-wide. Once purchased, the mount unlocks for every character on your account, regardless of faction or class
• Tied to Northrend's atmospheric storyline. Grinding reputation with the Sons of Hodir tells the tale of the vrykul men captured by the ice giantesses and brings you back to one of WotLK's most memorable quest lines

Technically, all you need to use the mount is level 10 and basic riding skill, but a series of steps stands between you and the actual purchase:

1. Unlock the Sons of Hodir faction through the introductory quest chain in The Storm Peaks
2. Raise your reputation with the faction from "Hated" to "Exalted" — that is 84,000 reputation points
3. Save up 10,000 gold (or 8,000 once you reach Exalted — the discount applies automatically)

Level scaling since Shadowlands makes all of Northrend's content trivial for any character at the Midnight level cap. Enemies in The Storm Peaks die in a couple of hits, and the dailies are done in minutes.

The Sons of Hodir are locked at first — you can't simply fly into Dun Niffelem and start dailies. You have to complete an introductory quest chain that opens up access to the giants' camp and the daily quests.

1. Open a portal to Dalaran (portals are in the capital cities, or use the Dalaran Hearthstone if you have one)
2. From Dalaran, fly to the town of K3 in the northwest of The Storm Peaks
3. Pick up the starting quest They Took Our Men! from Gretchen Fizzlespark
4. Complete the quest chain about the Hyldnir — the vrykul women living east of K3
5. After the chain, the main Sons of Hodir storyline opens up
6. Finish the introductory line with How To Slay Your Dragon — after it you gain access to Dun Niffelem and the daily quests

The whole introductory block takes about 1–2 hours and already grants a significant amount of reputation. In some cases that is enough to hit "Exalted" right away while reputation bonus events are active.

Once you've unlocked the Dun Niffelem camp, there are several parallel ways to grind reputation. The most efficient approach is to combine them all.

Daily Quests in Dun Niffelem

Several quests from the giants are available each day. Each grants about 455 reputation points. They are quick to finish thanks to level scaling.

Turning In Relics of Ulduar

The Relic of Ulduar drops from most enemies in The Storm Peaks, as well as in the Halls of Stone and Halls of Lightning dungeons. 10 relics are turned in for a bundle that grants 500 reputation points.

• The easiest method is to speed-run Halls of Lightning and Halls of Stone at level 90 — the dungeons clear in 5–7 minutes
• You can also buy relics from the auction house if your time matters more than your gold

Reputation Bonuses

Reputation flows much faster while events are active:

• WoW Anniversary — +20% reputation during the game's anniversary period (November)
• Darkmoon Faire — +10% reputation thanks to the faire's buff
• Pilgrim's Bounty — +10% while you have eaten festive turkey

All bonuses stack.

As soon as your reputation reaches "Exalted," head to Dun Niffelem.

1. Open the map of The Storm Peaks and fly to the giants' camp (roughly 66, 61)
2. Find Lillehoff — he stands between two large mammoths in the center of the camp
3. In his shop, select the Reins of the Grand Ice Mammoth and buy it for 8,000 gold
4. Use the item to learn the mount and earn the Grand Ice Mammoth achievement

• Save up gold in advance. Even 8,000 gold on a fresh character won't come together in a single evening. At the Midnight level cap it is far faster to build income through professions, dailies, or the auction house first, and only then start grinding reputation
• Farm relics along the way. Kill every pack of mobs along your daily route — relics drop steadily and add up noticeably. You can collect them on all your alts and pass them through your account-wide bank
• Don't spend commendation badges on mounts. If you have Sons of Hodir Commendation Badges left over from the old days, turn them in for reputation rather than trying to buy something valuable — the quartermaster's goods are covered by ordinary gold
• Pick up dailies right as you leave K3. Don't return to Dalaran after every chain — The Storm Peaks has plenty of flight points, and you can plan a circular route
• Plan around Timewalking. If you're not in a rush, wait for a Wrath of the Lich King Timewalking week and do everything at once — it literally speeds up the grind by one and a half times
• The mount is account-wide. Buy it once on any character and you'll get the Grand Ice Mammoth in everyone's collection — including characters of the opposite faction, though the model stays the one you bought it on