Jade Panther

The Jade Panther is a flying mount added to World of Warcraft with the release of Mists of Pandaria (patch 5.5.0). The mount is a massive mechanical cat made of gleaming gold and inlaid with large gems of wild jade. It belongs to a set of five gem panthers crafted by the jewelcrafters of Pandaria and, together with the Ruby Panther, the Sapphire Panther and the Sunstone Panther, forms part of a collection that pays homage to the "Voltron" cartoon series.

The mount can both fly and travel on the ground — the mode depends on your current riding skill and location. In modern World of Warcraft the minimum level to use it has been lowered to 17, so almost any character with the "Apprentice Riding" skill can ride the panther.

• Striking flying model — a large golden mechanical cat with green gems, visually one of the most eye-catching mounts of Pandaria. On fresh Mists of Pandaria Classic realms the panthers remain a status item.
• Sellable on the auction house — the mount itself is created as an item that becomes bound only when used. It can be crafted for sale or bought from other players without having to level jewelcrafting.
• Reagent for the final mount — it is part of the recipe for the Jeweled Onyx Panther, a black-and-gold flying variant assembled from all four colored panthers.
• Account-wide — once used, the mount appears in the collection of every character on your account.
• Low entry threshold — under the current rules level 17 and basic riding are enough. The mount suits alts too, not just your main character.

The Jade Panther is crafted by a jewelcrafter at skill level 600 using the recipe Design: Jade Panther. The recipe is sold by the quartermaster of the Order of the Cloud Serpent and requires "Revered" reputation to purchase.

1. Level Pandaria jewelcrafting to a skill level of at least 75 (600 on the classic scales) — that is enough to learn the recipe and craft the mount
2. Head to the The Jade Forest in Pandaria
3. Find the NPC San Redscale at the Arboretum

4. Raise your reputation with the Order of the Cloud Serpent to "Revered."
5. Buy Design: Jade Panther from San Redscale for 200 gold.
6. Gather the materials for the craft (see the table below).
7. Craft the Jade Panther at any jewelcrafter's workbench.
8. Use the item to add the mount to your collection.

If you do not have your own jewelcrafter, you can commission the craft from another player or buy a finished panther on the auction house — when used, the mount becomes bound to the character and ends up in your account collection.

The recipe Design: Jade Panther uses the same set of reagents as the other gem panthers of Pandaria. The only difference is the colored stones: the jade version requires Wild Jade.

The total cost of the craft is made up of the price of the Orb of Mystery (20,000 gold), four bars of Living Steel, 20 gems and two Serpent's Eyes. On fresh Mists of Pandaria Classic realms the combined cost is usually 150,000–250,000 gold, which makes the panther one of the most expensive crafted mounts in the game.

To buy Design: Jade Panther you must reach "Revered" with the Order of the Cloud Serpent. The faction's quartermaster — San Redscale — is located at the Arboretum, in the The Jade Forest.

• Introductory quest chain — begins with Elder Anli at the Arboretum. The chain is mandatory to access the daily quests and rewards a young cloud serpent hatchling
• Daily quests — after the introductory chain, 4–6 daily quests open up at the Arboretum. Each grants about 250 reputation
• Caring for the hatchling — feeding and training your serpent daily at special NPCs in the Arboretum grants an additional 700–1,000 reputation per day
• Searching for cloud serpent eggs — rare Serpent Eggs are scattered across the The Jade Forest and grant 250 reputation each
• Time to grind — reaching "Revered" usually takes 10–14 days of steady daily questing

Progress is slow because of the daily cap on quests, so it makes sense to start in parallel with leveling jewelcrafting.

Tips for the jewelcrafter

• Plan Living Steel in advance — the transmute has a daily cooldown. To gather four bars you need at least four days of work from a single alchemist, or the help of several friends.
• Use ore prospecting — when prospecting Pandaria's Ghost Iron Ore and Trillium Ore, a jewelcrafter obtains rare gems. This is the main source of Wild Jade.
• Do not cut the stones — the craft requires uncut Wild Jade specifically, not their cut forms.
• The craft can be sold — the mount itself is not bound on creation, so it can be listed on the auction house or sold directly to another player.

Crafting all the panthers in parallel

If you plan to assemble the Jeweled Onyx Panther, it makes sense to stockpile materials for all four colored panthers at once:

• Jade Panther — 20 Wild Jade
• Ruby Panther — 20 Primordial Rubies
• Sapphire Panther — 20 River's Hearts
• Sunstone Panther — 20 Sun's Radiance

The entire set requires 16 bars of Living Steel and 4 Orbs of Mystery — these are the main bottlenecks in planning.

Buying a finished mount

If you do not want to level jewelcrafting, the Jade Panther can be bought on the auction house or commissioned directly from a jewelcrafter with the materials. Prices depend on the realm and the season: on fresh Mists of Pandaria Classic realms the panthers usually cost 200,000–400,000 gold, and noticeably cheaper on older realms.

After obtaining the Jade Panther, the natural next step is assembling the Jeweled Onyx Panther, the collection's final mount with the same model in a black-and-gold finish.

1. Gather all four colored panthers in your inventory as unused items
2. Raise your reputation with the Order of the Cloud Serpent to "Exalted"
3. Buy Design: Jeweled Onyx Panther from San Redscale for 200 gold
4. Craft the Jeweled Onyx Panther — during the craft all four colored panthers are consumed as reagents

If you want the Jade Panther both in your personal collection and for crafting the onyx version, you will have to commission it twice: use one yourself and save the other for the recipe.