Striped Dawnsaber

Striped Dawnsaber is an Alliance ground mount added in the Wrath of the Lich King expansion alongside patch 3.2.0. It is one of the night elf racial sabers that is easy to miss while building your mount collection: it is sold by an ordinary vendor in Darnassus, but for most races it requires fully grinding reputation with the Darnassus faction up to Exalted.

Visually, it is a large, pale cat with a distinctive striped coat. According to night elf lore, encountering such a beast in the wild was considered a bad omen — and that is exactly the legend the mount journal description plays on.

• Mount achievements — every new mount brings you closer to achievements and the subsequent rewards for collecting 150, 200, 250, 300, and 400 mounts
• Minimal price — unlike the epic sabers, this mount costs only 1 gold, making it one of the cheapest in the game. The only real expense is reputation
• Account-wide — once purchased, the mount is available to all Alliance characters on your account. You do not need to buy it again on another character
• A convenient goal for a new reputation grind — if you collect Alliance racial mounts, the path to Exalted with Darnassus will incidentally unlock the entire saber lineup, as well as the tabard and clothing

The mount is sold freely, but only if one of two conditions is met:

1. You play a night elf — in this case Lelanai will sell you any saber with no reputation restrictions, right after you learn the riding skill
2. You play another Alliance race (human, dwarf, gnome, draenei, worgen, dracthyr, earthen) — you will need Exalted reputation with the Darnassus faction

The following are also mandatory:

• At least 1 gold for the purchase
• The Apprentice Riding skill
• An Alliance character — the mount is unavailable to the Horde under any circumstances

Lelanai stands in the Cenarion Enclave — the night elf district in the western part of Darnassus. It is the same round pavilion where the riding trainer and the druid and hunter trainers are located.

1. Fly to Darnassus. Any Alliance character can unlock the flight point at the gryphon master in the city even at a low level
2. From the flight point, head southwest into the Cenarion Enclave
3. Inside the pavilion, find Lelanai next to the saber pens. Her title is "Saber Handler"

If you play a night elf and have not yet purchased riding — Jartsam stands a few steps from Lelanai. Right after you learn the skill, you can buy the mount from her.

Option 1. Night Elf Character

1. Reach level 10 (this usually happens already in the starting zone)
2. Fly to Darnassus and make your way to the Cenarion Enclave
3. Buy the Apprentice Riding skill from Jartsam for 4 gold
4. Open Lelanai's vendor window and purchase the Reins of the Striped Dawnsaber for 1 gold
5. Use the item to add the mount to your collection

Total time — 10–15 minutes if you already have the flight point unlocked.

Option 2. Another Alliance Race (Reputation Required)

1. Buy the Darnassus Tabard from Moon Priestess Lasara in the same Cenarion Enclave for a few silver
2. Put on the tabard and run dungeons from old expansions. Reputation with Darnassus trickles in from killing mobs in Classic, Burning Crusade, and Wrath of the Lich King dungeons. Modern dungeons no longer grant reputation with the tabard
3. It is efficient to use random Wrath of the Lich King dungeons through the Dungeon Finder — quick runs give a steady boost
4. Once you reach Exalted, return to Lelanai and buy the Reins of the Striped Dawnsaber for 1 gold

Since Darnassus reputation is only needed once per account, and running dungeons with the tabard has long ceased to be the fastest farming method, it makes sense to plan your route in advance:

• Best dungeons — short heroic instances give more reputation per mob than normal ones
• Holidays and bonus weekends — dungeon weekends and special events can double reputation. Check the event calendar before a marathon
• Alternative reputation sources — the daily quests of the Argent Tournament (level 80 required) let you hand in the Darnassus Writ of Commendation. This is slower than dungeons, but suits those who do not want to farm dungeons
• Night elf starting zone quests — completing the zones grants base reputation almost up to Revered. If you plan to create a new character for the collection, start with these very zones

With an active grind in Wrath of the Lich King heroic dungeons, the path from Neutral to Exalted takes 6–10 hours of play time.

• Combine your visits to Darnassus — if you are flying to the city for another purpose anyway (for example, for transmog or explorer achievements), buy the mount at the same time. A separate flight for the sake of 1 gold costs more time than the item itself is worth
• Check the mounts you already have — when purchasing, Lelanai will grey out the variants you already own. Do not waste gold a second time
• Use the mount for variety — after closing the purchase, add it to your favorites through the mount journal. The random summon will occasionally pick this very saber, so your collection does not sit idle
• Mind the tabard step — if you are not a night elf, do not forget to put the Darnassus tabard back on before every dungeon run. Otherwise reputation is not awarded