Reins of the Black Dragon Turtle

Reins of the Black Dragon Turtle is a ground mount shaped like a massive black dragon turtle with a heavy shell, introduced in the Mists of Pandaria expansion. Like all dragon turtles, it doesn't drown: underwater the mount keeps its speed and calmly crosses bodies of water, which is handy in old zones.

The turtle has two nearly identical item versions. This guide covers the item with ID 91008 — the version for non-Pandaren Alliance players who have earned Exalted with the Tushui Pandaren faction. The Pandaren race gets the same turtle as a racial mount through a separate item — Reins of the Black Dragon Turtle — with no reputation requirement at all. Visually both versions look identical and grant the same collection entry.

• Swimming without slowing down. The dragon turtle doesn't drown and keeps its speed underwater, helping you quickly cross the watery stretches of the old world and Pandaria.
• Account-wide access. Once you use the item, the mount unlocks for every character on your account, including the Horde side.
• A mark of the road traveled. For a non-Pandaren, the 91008 version underscores that you ground your reputation with the Tushui all the way to Exalted rather than getting the turtle "by birthright."
• A matching collection. As you build reputation, the same vendor opens up a whole line of dragon turtles in different colors that you can buy all at once for a token price.
• A cheap purchase. The mount itself costs literally a few coins — the entire "price" is reputation, not gold.

The 91008 version is sold to non-Pandaren Alliance players for Exalted reputation with the Tushui Pandaren faction. The vendor is Old Whitenose in Stormwind, next to the pandaren camp by the Eastern Earthshrine.

Check That It's the Right Version

• Playing a non-Pandaren on Alliance — you need item 91008 and Exalted with the Tushui, which is exactly what's covered below.
• Playing a Pandaren on Alliance — grab the racial Reins of the Black Dragon Turtle with no reputation required.
• Playing on the Horde — a similar turtle is sold by Turtlemaster Odai in Orgrimmar for Exalted with the Huojin Pandaren.

Step-by-Step Plan

1. Buy the Tushui Tabard from the vendor Adept Hanyun next to Old Whitenose. While the tabard is worn, all reputation from dungeons counts toward the Tushui.
2. Earn your starting reputation through story quests: the pandaren intro chain and regular quests across the Pandaria zones give a noticeable head start without any dungeons.
3. Farm the bulk of your reputation in dungeons: with the tabard equipped, Tushui reputation drops from enemies in Heroic dungeons of The Burning Crusade and Wrath of the Lich King. Short dungeons like The Botanica and Magisters' Terrace are especially convenient.
4. Push the reputation to Exalted. Keep checking that your character is actually wearing the Tushui tabard — without it, no points are awarded.
5. Return to Old Whitenose: at Exalted, the Reins of the Black Dragon Turtle will appear in his list. Buy the item and use it to add the turtle to your collection.

• Tabard plus old dungeons is the main source. Tushui reputation racks up from the trash of Heroic dungeons in The Burning Crusade and Wrath of the Lich King while the Tushui Tabard is worn. Short dungeons with dense packs of enemies are more efficient than long ones.
• Fastest at max level. At the current max level, old dungeons are cleared in mere minutes, so run after run your reputation climbs very quickly.
• Don't switch tabards. Reputation only goes to the faction whose tabard you're wearing. If you put on the Huojin tabard, your Tushui progress stalls — keep one tabard on all the way to Exalted.
• Catch bonus reputation weekends. Blizzard periodically enables reputation-gain bonuses; save your final push for such an event to save time.
• Buy the rest of the turtles at once. Old Whitenose sells a whole line of dragon turtles. At Exalted you can grab them all in one go — they cost next to nothing.