Captured Swampstalker

Reins of the Captured Swampstalker is an epic ground and flying Horde mount added to World of Warcraft in patch 8.0 of the Battle for Azeroth expansion, entering the reward rotation in patch 8.2. It is a swamp subspecies of the Thicket Stalker with bright green scales, dark stripes, and a massive black saddle of Zandalari craftsmanship. The item description reads: "A swamp-dwelling subspecies of pterrordax that preys on young bloodsuckers."

The mount is summoned by the spell Captured Swampstalker and sold by Provisioner Lija in Nazmir for 90,000 gold. The purchase is available only at the Exalted reputation level with the Talanji's Expedition faction. It is the most expensive item from the quartermaster and one of the faction's two mount rewards — the second, cheaper option being the Reins of the Expedition Bloodswarmer for 12,500 gold.

• Versatile pterrordax model — the mount works both on the ground and in the air, which is rare among reputation rewards in Battle for Azeroth. There is no need to keep a separate ground and flying beast for a single biome.
• Unique coloring — the bright green "swamp" coloring with dark spots belongs to this mount alone and sets it apart from other pterrordax, even within the same model family.
• Tied to a single reputation — both Talanji's Expedition mounts are sold by the very same quartermaster. By reaching Exalted for one, you close out two collection entries at once.
• Required for the Azerothian Diplomat achievement — raising reputation with Talanji's Expedition to Revered counts toward Azerothian Diplomat, and the mount serves as extra motivation to push all the way to Exalted.
• Account-wide access — once purchased, the mount unlocks for all Horde characters on the account, with no need to pay again on alts.

The main path to the mount is to grind reputation with Talanji's Expedition to Exalted and buy the Reins of the Captured Swampstalker from Provisioner Lija in Nazmir.

1. Create or choose a Horde character. The mount is unavailable to the Alliance because Talanji's Expedition is a faction of Zandalari trolls allied only with the Horde.
2. Complete the Battle for Azeroth introductory storyline — the Nazmir quest line and the introductory quests of Kul Tiras and Zandalar. As you progress, you will automatically reach Friendly reputation with Talanji's Expedition
3. Finish the Uniting Zandalar chain, which unlocks access to world quests across all three zones of Zandalar.
4. Complete daily world quests in Nazmir, weekly emissary tasks, and faction assaults. Each world quest grants 75 reputation, and the Talanji's Expedition emissary grants an additional 1,500 after turning in four quests.
5. Accumulate 42,000 reputation (total from Friendly to Exalted) and reach the Exalted level.
6. Head to quartermaster Lija at the Talanji's Expedition camp in Nazmir: coordinates /way 39.2 79.4
7. Buy the Reins of the Captured Swampstalker for 90,000 gold. The mount will immediately appear in the collection of all Horde characters on the account.

Talanji's Expedition is a faction of the Zandalari empire under the command of Princess Talanji. It is dedicated to clearing Nazmir of the Blood Trolls of G'huun and restoring the ruined temples of the loa. Reputation with the faction unlocks a range of useful items from quartermaster Lija.

Reaching Revered with the faction also counts toward the Azerothian Diplomat achievement, which used to unlock the first part of Battle for Azeroth Pathfinder, Part One. Flying in Zandalar and Kul Tiras is now possible without it, but the achievement itself remains for collectors.

The standard set of Battle for Azeroth reputation boosters applies to Talanji's Expedition. The right combination cuts the path to Exalted from several months down to a couple of weeks of active play.

Daily world quests in Nazmir

The main source of reputation. Each quest in the Nazmir zone grants 75 reputation. At the peak of the day, 3–5 quests are active in the zone, bringing roughly 300–400 reputation per hour.

• Check the world map daily — the set of world quests refreshes every few hours
• Complete the quests on all max-level Horde characters — reputation accrues to each separately, but the overall time savings are greater
• Faction assault events in Nazmir are especially valuable: they grant 150 reputation per quest and activate a daily quest grid with bonus reputation

Emissaries

Every 3 days, Talanji's Expedition becomes the active emissary. Complete four world quests in Nazmir, turn them in to the emissary, and receive an additional 1,500 reputation and a loot chest.

• Do not skip emissaries — over a leveling cycle from Friendly to Exalted, 10–12 of them accumulate, granting up to 18,000 bonus reputation
• The Talanji's Expedition emissary appears alongside the emissaries of the other Zandalari factions — sometimes it is worth waiting for an overlap to close out two at once

Contract: Talanji's Expedition

Contract: Talanji's Expedition is a consumable scribe item. While it is active, every world quest in Zandalar or Kul Tiras grants an additional 10 reputation with the faction. Ranks 2 and 3 increase the bonus to a higher value.

• The contract lasts 10 days or until replaced by another
• It is bought on the auction house. On live servers, the average price ranges from a few hundred to 2,000 gold each
• Keep one contract active at all times — over the long haul it saves dozens of hours of farming

Faction assaults in Nazmir

Once every few hours, a faction assault occurs in Nazmir. The event lasts about 2 hours and includes a story chain plus several world quests tied to that faction. Each quest during the assault grants increased reputation — up to 150 — plus a final chest with 250–500 reputation.

• Check the in-game calendar (default key Y) — assaults are marked with a clashing-armies icon
• Arrive in the zone right after the assault begins — complete all quests in the first hour and earn maximum rewards

Pirates' Day and seasonal bonuses

• The Mark of Honor and Reputation Week bonuses (if active) grant +50% to reputation gained. Stockpile quests and turn them in specifically during the bonus period.
• Some Weekend events increase the reward for faction assaults — check the weekly event schedule.

Time estimate

From Friendly to Exalted requires a total of 42,000 reputation:

Without a contract and skipping emissaries, the farm stretches to 3–4 weeks. With the full set of boosters, it fits within 10–14 days.

Multi-character approach

The mount is purchased once per account, so there is no point in grinding reputation with Talanji's Expedition on several characters for the mount. However, if you have 2–3 active Horde characters level 60+, grind reputation where the dailies are already running, and use only one character to buy the mount.