Grand Armored Gryphon

The Grand Armored Gryphon is a ground-and-flying Alliance mount added in Patch 5.1 "Landfall" of the Mists of Pandaria expansion. It is a war gryphon clad in heavy armor that embodies the might of King Varian Wrynn's Pandaria campaign. The mount is purchased with gold from the Operation: Shieldwall quartermaster after reaching Exalted reputation. In the current game, Pandaria content is easily soloable at level 90 and can be farmed in just a few days.

• Prestige of the Alliance campaign. The armored gryphon is the calling card of the heroes of Lion's Landing and the 7th Legion's landing in Krasarang.
• Unique model. This is the only gryphon with such massive royal armor in the gold-and-blue colors of Stormwind — it cannot be confused with any other flyer.
• Achievement progress. One more mount toward your mount count and related collection rewards.
• A purely Alliance reward. The Horde cannot obtain this mount — it underscores your character's faction allegiance.
• Lore value. Tied to the storyline of Garrosh Hellscream's downfall and the operation against the Horde on the continent of Pandaria.

Several conditions must be met to obtain the mount.

• Faction: Alliance only. Horde characters cannot obtain this mount.
• Character level: 90 (current cap).
• Riding skill: Expert Flight Master — grants the ability to ride flying mounts in the old world.
• Reputation: Operation: Shieldwall — Exalted standing.
• Gold: 2000 gold for the purchase (1600 with the active reputation discount).
• Zone access: an unlocked Lion's Landing in the Krasarang Wilds — granted after the introductory Landfall quest.

To reach Lion's Landing, pick up the Lion's Landing quest from King Varian Wrynn in Stormwind Keep in the capital of Stormwind. It will take you to the Krasarang coast and unlock the base's flight master and quartermaster.

1. Unlock the base in Krasarang. At level 80 on an Alliance character, fly to Stormwind, pick up the Lion's Landing quest from Varian Wrynn in the Keep, and board the ship. You will arrive at Lion's Landing, gain a flight master, and unlock access to all the daily hubs.
2. Complete the campaign's opening chain. Finish the introductory quests from Admiral Taylor and King Varian. This unlocks the daily quest hubs and grants the first large batch of Operation: Shieldwall reputation.
3. Farm the daily quests. Each day, pick up the introduction at the Lion's Landing notice board. It will send you to one of the rotating hubs: Lion's Landing, the Bilgewater shore, Domination Point, or the Ruins of Ogudei. A full cycle of dailies gives roughly 900 reputation.
4. Advance the story campaign. In parallel, complete the weekly and one-time quests of the "Operation: Shieldwall" chain — they give large reputation batches (500–1000 per step) and advance the global story of Garrosh's downfall.
5. Buy the Grand Commendation at Revered. At Revered standing, the Grand Commendation of Operation: Shieldwall becomes available from Agent Malley — use it to double reputation gains for your entire account.
6. Grind up to Exalted. Keep completing dailies and the story. With the commendation active, Exalted usually takes 10–14 days of full farming.
7. Buy the mount. Once you reach Exalted, go to Agent Malley at Lion's Landing and purchase the Grand Armored Gryphon for 2000 gold. The mount immediately becomes available to all Alliance characters on your account.

• Turn on War Mode. In peaceful old content it is a minor thing, but the +10–15% reputation bonus from War Mode noticeably speeds up the grind.
• Don't skip the first day of the story. The first run of the opening chain gives about 3000 reputation at once — that is almost half the way to Friendly.
• Get the Grand Commendation as soon as you hit Revered. The earlier you turn on the multiplier, the fewer dailies you have to clear. The commendation works on alts too.
• Don't forget the Bane of the Beasts quest. The daily chain of hunting rare mobs in Krasarang gives an extra batch of reputation on top of the standard dailies.
• Collect faction insignias from mobs. During the dailies, the Dominance Offensive's agents drop insignias that can be turned in to Malley for additional reputation — don't run past them.
• Do the dailies in a single sweep. Group up all the quests of the current hub, clear the Bane of the Beasts hunt separately, and only then return to the Landing — this saves 15–20 minutes a day.
• Account for the discount. At Exalted the base price of 2000 gold is automatically reduced to 1600 — don't buy the mount before reaching max reputation.