Reins of the Great Green Dragon Turtle

The Reins of the Great Green Dragon Turtle is a ground mount from the Mists of Pandaria expansion that is still obtainable in the current The War Within (11.1) version. It is a large battle turtle clad in emerald-green armor: visually it is noticeably more imposing than the regular Reins of the Green Dragon Turtle, and it looks more impressive in screenshots thanks to its rich color and massive shell.

Key point: item=91012 is the Alliance version for non-pandaren. The paired item item=87801 is the equivalent Horde version, sold by Turtlemaster Odai in Orgrimmar. The mounts look identical, but they are sold by different vendors and the reputation requirements differ by faction. If you play Alliance, 91012 is exactly the one you need.

• The pandaren turtle collection. The dragon turtle is one of the classic "racial" pandaren mounts. The set comes in six colors (green, red, blue, yellow, black, purple), and green is the most recognizable, "reference" shade.
• A path to achievements. Collecting all the dragon turtles counts toward mount-count achievement progress (Lord of the Reins and higher tiers), and it also helps complete the pandaren vehicle collection.
• Affordable for little money. Once you raise your reputation to Exalted, the mount itself costs a symbolic 10 gold — one of the cheapest "reputation" mounts in the game.
• Style. The green turtle pairs perfectly with armor sets featuring plant and druidic motifs, as well as with the mount fleets of paladins and monks.

To obtain the mount, you must meet one of two conditions:

1. Play a pandaren who chose the Tushui path (Alliance). In this case no reputation is needed — the mount is available immediately.
2. Play any other Alliance character and earn Exalted reputation with the Tushui Pandaren.

Additionally:

• Character level — from 10 (for the purchase itself). At level 80 in The War Within you will breeze through this entire chain in a matter of hours.
• Riding skill — "Apprentice" (learned at level 10, unlocked by default).
• The item binds when received, but works account-wide: buying it on one Alliance character unlocks the mount for all your characters.

Step 1. Get the Tushui Tabard

In Stormwind, next to the pandaren camp by the Eastern Earthshrine, find quartermaster Han Jun the Aspirant. Buy the Tushui Tabard from him for a small amount of gold. The tabard is needed so that all reputation from dungeons goes to the Tushui faction.

Step 2. Farm Reputation in Dungeons

Put on the tabard and run dungeons through the random finder or directly. In The War Within you earn significantly more reputation per run than in MoP, because your level is much higher.

• The best return on time comes from short Mists of Pandaria and Cataclysm dungeons on heroic or normal difficulty, which you clear solo or in a duo at level 80.
• After every creature killed in a dungeon you gain reputation with the Tushui while the tabard is worn.
• Bosses grant large chunks of reputation.

Step 3. Pick Up Daily Quests Alongside

In the same Tushui camp in Stormwind, a small set of daily quests is available for the faction. They are not the main source of reputation, but they provide a steady boost each day and speed up the path to Exalted.

Step 4. Raise Reputation to "Exalted"

From "Neutral" to "Exalted" you need to earn 42,000 reputation points. With solo dungeon farming at level 80 this takes roughly between one long evening and two short sessions, depending on the instances chosen and any reputation bonuses available.

Useful multipliers:

• the pandaren racial trait "Bouncy" and the goblin Fish Feast — if you are not a pandaren, take into account reputation buffs from holidays (for example, the Brewfest feast);
• the guild perk for +reputation, if it is active for you;
• the achievement Glorious! for being Exalted with many factions grants an account-wide bonus.

Step 5. Buy the Mount from Old Whitenose

As soon as the Tushui faction shows "Exalted", return to the pandaren camp by the Eastern Earthshrine in Stormwind and approach Old Whitenose. His inventory will display all six dragon turtles in two sizes — small (for level 10+) and large (for fast ground travel). Select the Reins of the Great Green Dragon Turtle and buy it for 10 gold.

After using the item, the mount will appear in your collection and be available to all Alliance characters on your account.

• Dungeon choice. Take short linear MoP and Cata dungeons: at level 80 you clear them faster than any others and get a steady stream of reputation.
• Automatic finder. Use the "Dungeon Finder" tool in solo mode (Solo/Follower) so you don't waste time waiting for a group.
• Don't forget the tabard. The most common mistake is taking off the tabard before entering an instance and wasting an hour for nothing. Check your gear before every entry.
• Combine with other tasks. In the same run you complete dungeon achievements, farm currency from past expansions, and accumulate transmog points.
• Plan the whole series at once. If you want to collect all six large Alliance dragon turtles, it makes sense to reach Exalted and buy the whole set in one go — you won't need the next batch of reputation again.