Albino Drake

Albino Drake is an epic-quality flying mount, the reward for the Leading the Cavalry achievement. It was the first mount in WoW history that players earned for collecting a certain number of mounts. The drake appeared in patch 3.0.2 alongside the achievement system and the Wrath of the Lich King expansion.

The mount stands out with its completely snow-white coloring based on the classic drake model. The mount journal description reads: "Even the dragon control association's tests could not determine whether this albino drake belongs to any of the known dragonflights." The mount is sent by Mei Francis, the mount vendor in Dalaran.

• The first collection mount in the game — an iconic reward for fans of WoW history.
• A unique snow-white drake coloring that stands out among other color variants.
• A flying mount — its speed scales with your riding skill (up to 310% with Master Riding).
• The Leading the Cavalry achievement is completed on 96% of Wowhead profiles, which means collecting 50 mounts really isn't that hard.
• It counts toward your overall mount tally and brings you closer to the next collection rewards: 75 mounts (Stable Keeper), 100, 150 and beyond.
• It is available to every character on the account immediately after you obtain it.

• A character level 10 or higher
• Riding skill: at least Apprentice (for ground travel), Journeyman or higher (for flying)
• Collect 50 different mounts available to a single character
• Temporary mounts (buffs, timed quest items) do not count

There are no faction restrictions — the achievement is available to both the Alliance and the Horde.

The process of obtaining it is extremely simple:

1. Collect a stable of 50 unique mounts on a single character.
2. You will automatically earn the Leading the Cavalry achievement.
3. Check your in-game mailbox — Mei Francis (the mount vendor in Dalaran) will send you a letter with the Reins of the Albino Drake attached.
4. Use the item — the mount will appear in your mount journal permanently.

Reaching the 50-mount mark is far easier than it seems. Here are the main sources that will help you gather the required number with minimal time and gold investment.

Faction Racial Mounts (up to 44)

The largest source. Each race of your faction sells 3 slow and 3 fast ground mounts at a vendor in the capital. To buy the mounts of another race you need Exalted reputation with the corresponding faction — but with the capital's tabard equipped in dungeons this takes only a few hours. Including the pandaren mounts from racial vendors, you can obtain up to 44 mounts.

Vendor Flying Mounts (6–7)

In Shadowmoon Valley, Hellfire Peninsula, the Borean Tundra and Dalaran, gryphons (Alliance) or wyverns (Horde) are sold — 4 variants each for gold. Wind rider mounts are also available in Dalaran from Mei Francis.

Dungeon Mounts (guaranteed)

• Bronze Drake — heroic Culling of Stratholme, a guaranteed drop for beating the timer
• Black Drake — Obsidian Sanctum 10 (with no additional drakes up)
• Twilight Drake — Obsidian Sanctum 25 (with no additional drakes up)

All three can be obtained in a single evening.

Mei Francis's Mounts in Dalaran (4)

The vendor in Dalaran sells 4 mounts for gold: a Traveler's Tundra Mammoth, a Grand Caravan Mammoth and two elekks. The Grand Caravan Mammoth is expensive (around 20,000 gold), but the others are quite affordable.

Class Mounts

Death knights receive 2 mounts automatically (Acherus Deathcharger), warlocks get 2 (Felsteed and Dreadsteed), and paladins up to 3 mounts. If your main character belongs to one of these classes, you have a head start.

Reputation Mounts

• Netherwing (Shattrath) — 6 drakes for Exalted reputation
• Wyrmrest Accord — a red drake for 1,600 gold at Exalted reputation
• Argent Tournament — many mounts for champion's seals

Profession Mounts

Engineering grants access to choppers and flying machines, and tailoring to flying carpets. Even if you change professions, the mounts you have already learned will remain in your collection.

A Fast Plan to 50 Mounts

1. Buy all the racial mounts of your own race — about 6
2. Build reputation with the other faction capitals (tabards + dungeons) and buy their mounts — another 30–38
3. Buy flying mounts from vendors — another 4–7
4. That is already enough for 50, but if you fall short — add the guaranteed dungeon drops or Mei Francis's mounts

• Mount didn't arrive? Check your mailbox — the letter from Mei Francis may arrive with a slight delay. If there is no letter, log out and back in.
• Do mounts from other characters count? No — all 50 mounts must be available to a single character. However, thanks to the account-wide mount system, mounts obtained on any character are automatically available to all the others (except for faction-specific ones).
• Alliance or Horde — who has it easier? Historically the Alliance had slightly more available racial mounts, but with the current number of sources the difference is negligible.
• The Albino Drake uses the classic drake model and shares it with the azure, black, bronze, red and twilight drakes, but its snow-white coloring is unique.