Get Highwind Darkmane mount

Highwind Darkmane is a rare flying larion mount added to World of Warcraft in the Shadowlands expansion (patch 9.0.1). Visually it is a grim counterpart of the ordinary larion from Bastion: a dark hide, coal-black wings, and glowing eyes. According to its mount journal description, larions take on this appearance when their riders stray from the path laid out by the Archon and become Forsworn. The beast is tame enough to carry a rider, yet retains an independent and headstrong temperament.

The mount can only be obtained by successfully completing the War-Captain's Woe campaign mission at your covenant's Command Table. The mission is available in the sanctum of any of the four covenants: Kyrian, Necrolords, Night Fae, and Venthyr. It is one of the toughest missions in the adventures system, requiring a team of level 60 adventurers with item level 800 to clear it.

• A full flying mount — +150%, +280%, or +310% speed depending on your riding skill, plus the standard +60% or +100% on the ground. Suitable for any zone where flying is allowed.
• A unique larion model — the dark coloring makes the Highwind Darkmane stand out against the Gilded Prowler and the Silverwind Larion, which use the same skeleton but differ in coloration.
• Rarity — by Wowhead statistics, only a small percentage of players own this mount, because it requires many weeks of leveling adventurers and working with the command table.
• Relevant in The War Within — Shadowlands content remains fully playable in 2026. The command table is not disabled and missions are still generated as before.
• Account-wide — once unlocked, the mount becomes available on every character on your account, regardless of covenant and faction.

1. Reach level 70 on any covenant-compatible character (it also works without restrictions at level 80 in The War Within).
2. Choose a covenant and complete the story campaign until you unlock the Command Table in the sanctum. Any of the four covenants grants access, so you can join the one you like most for its abilities or story.
3. Recruit and level up adventurers. The base adventurers are unlocked by covenant campaign quests (6 of them), another 10 can be hired through Torghast, and temporary helpers through covenant tasks.
4. Advance your adventures campaign progress and your adventurers' level to the final stage. These are the highest-level table tasks — if your team is weaker than the required threshold, the mount mission simply will not appear in the list.
5. Wait for the War-Captain's Woe campaign to come up in the rotation. It is a rare mission — it may not appear right away, so visit the command table daily and reset the available tasks to refresh the list.
6. Assemble a team of 5 level 60 adventurers with item level no lower than 800 and send them on the mission. Duration is 12 hours, and the base cost is 50 Reservoir Anima.
7. After 12 hours, collect the reward at the table. On a successful run, the Highwind Darkmane drops into your bag — use the item to learn the mount permanently.

The War-Captain's Woe campaign mission is one of the highest difficulty tiers on the command table. Before sending your team, it pays to study the enemy layout and pick adventurers with the right abilities.

Enemy composition

In the arena you face five enemies from the Forsworn faction. Knowing their layout is critical for choosing your adventurers.

• Forsaken-Grace Tactician — ×1, deals area damage and shifts priorities
• Forsworn Defender — ×2, a tank-type enemy with a large health pool
• Forsworn Spearthrower — ×1, a ranged fighter that hits the back rows
• Forsworn Captain — ×1, the mission boss with a powerful single-target attack

Leveling adventurers

To successfully clear the level 60 mission, you need to bring your adventurers to level 60 and equip them with gear of item level no lower than 800. This usually takes 2–4 weeks of regular work at the table.

1. Recruit at least 10–12 adventurers of different types (tank, healer, single-target damage, area damage, support) — the covenant campaign and Torghast will provide you with a base roster
2. Send adventurers on level 1–3 missions for quick experience gains. After each level, their health is restored automatically, which lets you "heal" fighters through leveling
3. Upgrade gear through mission rewards and purchases from covenant vendors for Reservoir Anima
4. Make sure your adventures campaign progress level does not grow faster than your adventurers' strength — otherwise you will hit a wall of missions you cannot clear

Picking a team for the final mission

The enemies of the War-Captain's Woe campaign mission stand in a classic layout with two tanks in front and vulnerable ranged units in the back.

• Bring at least one adventurer with strong single-target damage (the captain is the top priority)
• Add an adventurer with an area ability to take down the defenders and the spearthrower at once
• Place a tank or a high-health fighter in the front tiles to soak the defenders' blows
• Keep one healer or a shielded character in the back positions — the tactician and the spearthrower often hit there
• Use the CovenantMissionHelper or Venture Plan addon to calculate the mission outcome before sending your team and avoid wasting 50 anima on a failure

The command table is located in the sanctum of your chosen covenant in the corresponding Shadowlands zone.

• Kyrian — Hall of Ascension in Bastion. Portal from Oribos
• Necrolords — Seat of the Primus in Maldraxxus
• Night Fae — Heart of the Forest in Ardenweald
• Venthyr — Sinfall in Revendreth

For quick travel, use the portal to Oribos from any capital and the portal to your covenant's sanctum that opens within Oribos itself. Each covenant also grants its own hearthstone that teleports you straight to the sanctum. The command table is marked with a "headquarters" icon on the sanctum map.

Working the table on a schedule

1. Visit the command table every day — this is the minimum for mission rotation and earning Reservoir Anima
2. Keep 2–3 missions active at all times: one for campaign progress, one for adventurer experience, one for resources
3. Do not launch mount missions before your team is ready — a failure costs 50 anima and a day's wait until the task reappears

Farming other mounts from the same table in parallel

The command table grants four rare mounts from different rare level 60 missions. By leveling a single team of adventurers, you can close out all four in parallel.

• Warstitched Darkhound — reward for the "Corpse Lice Trouble" campaign
• Darkwarren Hardshell — reward for the "End the Maw of Souls" campaign
• Highwind Darkmane — War-Captain's Woe campaign
• Chittering Animite — The Final Puzzle

Addons for battle calculation

The table battle is fully deterministic: with the same layout you will always get the same outcome. Install the CovenantMissionHelper or Venture Plan addon — they simulate the battle and show the win percentage before you send your team.