Reins of the Ironbound Proto-Drake

Reins of the Ironbound Proto-Drake is a prestigious flying mount, the reward for the Glory of the Ulduar Raider meta-achievement in the Ulduar raid, one of the most legendary dungeons of the Wrath of the Lich King era. This massive proto-drake, clad in heavy black-and-gray armor, was added to the game in patch 3.1 and was long considered one of the rarest and most difficult flying mounts to obtain.

Originally the mount was an exclusive reward for completing every achievement in the meta-chain on 25-player difficulty, while the comparable Reins of the Rusted Proto-Drake was awarded for the 10-player version. In modern WoW (Midnight), the two meta-achievements have been merged into one, and completing it grants both mounts to your collection at once.

The mount flies at the standard flying mount speed — up to +310% depending on your riding skill. Unlike many other raid mounts that drop with a chance, there is no RNG here: if you have closed out all the required achievements, the mount is guaranteed to arrive by in-game mail.

• A status reward. The Ironbound Proto-Drake is one of the classic markers that a player cleared Wrath of the Lich King content at the achievement level, not just for loot. A recognizable model that stands out among ordinary drakes
• Two mounts for one run. Completing Glory of the Ulduar Raider grants you both the Reins of the Rusted Proto-Drake and the Reins of the Ironbound Proto-Drake — two collection slots at once
• Bonus achievements and titles. Along the way you will close out individual achievements for every Ulduar boss, boost your overall achievement count, and gain a reason to return to one of the most atmospheric raids in the game's history
• Transmog and collectibles. Ulduar remains a source of Tier 8 sets and unique weapon models that you collect alongside the achievements
• Account-wide. Once awarded, the mount is available to all of your characters — faction, race, and class do not matter

The raid is located in the northern part of The Storm Peaks zone in Northrend. You can get there in several ways:

1. Open a portal to Dalaran (Northrend) from Stormwind or Orgrimmar (the portal is in the champions' hall on the Far Shore and in the major capitals)
2. If you have a Dalaran Hearthstone, use it
3. From Dalaran, fly straight north — Ulduar is directly above the city, on the heights
4. Use the flight point at Ulduar itself if it is already unlocked on your character

An alternate route runs through K3 in southern Storm Peaks. A crier there offers the quest "They Took Our Men!" and a free flying mount to deliver across the zone. This option is only relevant if you do not yet have Cold Weather Flying.

Before entering, set the difficulty to 25 Player (Normal) — this is the format in which the achievements needed for the Ironbound Proto-Drake unlock.

To earn Glory of the Ulduar Raider you must close out 13 achievements — one for each boss except Algalon. Most of them require activating the boss's "hard mode."

Note: at the Midnight level cap, some hard-mode mechanics activate automatically when you interact with objects (levers, stones, buttons) — just follow the guide steps for each achievement.

Prepare for a single run in which you will close out most of the achievements, and leave 1-2 bosses for separate weeks if something doesn't work out the first time.

1. Before entering: grab the Whole-Body Shrinka' toy or equivalents that reduce your damage. At max level you kill bosses far too quickly, which breaks the timing-based achievement mechanics (for example, "Heartbreaker" requires waiting for the heart's vulnerability)
2. Difficulty: set 25 Player (Normal). This is the version of the meta-achievement that grants the Ironbound mount
3. Flame Leviathan. Talk to all four Keepers at the entrance and activate all four towers simultaneously before boarding a vehicle. Get into a siege engine and kill the boss — "Orbit-uary" will be earned
4. Ignis. Engage and simply kill him solo — your damage at level 80 beats the 4-minute timer with a huge margin
5. Razorscale. Wait for Razorscale to land and start breathing fire, then pull the Dark Rune guardians to her. The achievement fills up in 2-3 attempts in a single phase
6. XT-002 Deconstructor. Reduce your damage with the shrink toy. Wait for 75% health, when the heart opens up, and destroy it. After that, finish off the boss
7. Assembly of Iron. Kill order: Molgeim first, then Brundir, Steelbreaker last. At high level the order is controlled with a focus target
8. Kologarn. Kill both arms in a row without touching the body, then finish off the head. At level 80 the arms drop in 2-3 hits — use the shrinker so you don't kill the body by accident
9. Auriaya. Don't touch the four guardian cats. Hit only the boss. The cats aren't sensitive to your damage and survive the whole fight
10. Hodir. Interact with the dead NPC mages to free them from their icy prison. Kill the boss at an accelerated pace — the cache must remain intact
11. Thorim. Clear the gauntlet by killing the mobs in under 3 minutes (easy without the shrinker), then activate hard mode through Sif and kill Thorim
12. Freya. Don't attack the three Elders standing by the columns. Hit only Freya and her waves of adds
13. Mimiron. After the short intro scene, press the big red button at Mimiron's console to activate hard mode. Then kill the boss across 4 phases
14. General Vezax. Don't attack the saronite crystals that appear during the fight. Let all six merge into the Saronite Animus, kill it, then finish off Vezax
15. Yogg-Saron. Before the start, do not activate the Keepers (Mimiron, Thorim, Freya, Hodir) at the rune obelisks — or activate only one. Kill the boss; at max level his damage is extremely low anyway

After you close out the last achievement, Glory of the Ulduar Raider completes automatically, and the mount arrives by in-game mail within a minute.

• The Whole-Body Shrinka' toy is essential. Most achievements break if you kill the boss too fast. The Whole-Body Shrinka' reduces your damage by 99%, which makes any timing possible. It's obtained through a quest line in Zan'vess in Pandaria
• Don't bring active pets and guardians. Hunters, warlocks, and mages should dismiss their summoned creatures — they may accidentally ruin achievements like "Knock, Knock, Knock on Wood" or "Crazy Cat Lady" by killing NPCs you aren't allowed to touch
• The optimal class is a tank. A paladin or warrior is best suited: survivability on Yogg-Saron without Keepers and on hard-mode Mimiron is decisive. Mages and warlocks may have problems with high damage that breaks mechanics
• Separate lockouts on the side. If you've ruined an achievement condition (killed an extra NPC, missed a timing), use the lockout extension function in the achievements panel — you can reset a specific boss and re-enter the following week
• Farm transmog in parallel. Ulduar bosses drop Tier 8 sets and unique weapons. While you close out achievements, you build up a visual collection
• Don't skip Algalon. He is not part of the meta-achievement and is not needed for the mount, but he grants a separate achievement, Herald of the Titans, and a rare title. Algalon unlocks only after activating certain hard modes and is available in a limited window on a timer
• The run takes one evening. With proper preparation, all 13 achievements close out in 2-3 hours solo at max level. The key is not to rush on Mimiron and Yogg-Saron
• Two mounts for one run. The merged meta-achievement system will automatically grant you both the Rusted Proto-Drake (10-player) and the Ironbound Proto-Drake (25-player) — do everything on "25 Player" difficulty, that's enough