Riding Turtle

Riding Turtle is an epic ground mount and one of the most recognizable and oldest rarities in the collections of World of Warcraft players. It is a huge swamp turtle with a broad shell and a leather saddle, slowly moving its legs even while the mounts around it gallop away. The Riding Turtle originally entered the game through the Heroes of Azeroth collectible card game, and today it can be obtained in several ways, each lucky in its own right.

A quirk of the mount is that it grants no bonus to movement speed. The turtle moves at the pace of a character's normal run, but it can be used from level 1 without a riding skill and can travel across any body of water at the speed of a regular ground mount. For collectors and lovers of leisurely strolls through Azeroth, it is an absolute classic.

• Rare collectible appearance — the Riding Turtle is considered one of the most prestigious mounts in the game. It harks back to the era of the WoW TCG collectible card game, which no longer exists, and obtaining it via the card today is impossible
• Available from level 1 — one of the few mounts you can ride without a riding skill. Convenient for new characters and alts who haven't yet purchased riding lessons
• Unique behavior on water — in any body of water the turtle moves at the speed of a regular ground mount on land. Useful for exploring coastlines, fishing and completing old underwater quests
• Account-wide — once obtained, the mount appears in the collection of all your characters, regardless of faction and level
• Themed fisherman's companion — looks great alongside a fishing rod and complements the look of a player devoted to the Fishing profession

At the moment (Midnight) you have three working ways to add the Riding Turtle to your collection. They all remain open to any player but differ in cost, time investment and the element of luck.

1. Trading Post — the most reliable path. The mount periodically appears in the monthly rotation for 700 Trader's Tender. It was last available in February 2026
2. Fishing in the Draenor garrison — caught from the rare murlocs Sunken Cave Dweller (Alliance) and Ice Cave Dweller (Horde). Drop chance about 0.2–0.5%
3. Black Market — the mount is occasionally listed at the Black Market Auction House. The starting price hovers around 200,000–500,000 gold depending on the server

Next we'll go through each method in detail.

The Trading Post is a monthly-refreshed shop introduced back in Dragonflight and still running in Midnight. The Riding Turtle is part of the general reward pool, so sooner or later it returns to the lineup.

What you need to do:

1. At max level, open the Trading Post interface via the icon in the main menu (the small chest icon next to the map)
2. Check the current month's rotation. If the Riding Turtle isn't there — move on to other methods or wait for it to return
3. Top up your Traveler's Log counter every month: complete the monthly quest bar and pick up small rewards from treasure maps in your region
4. When the mount appears in the lineup — buy it from the vendor for 700 Trader's Tender
5. The mount instantly unlocks for your entire account

The upside of this method is a guaranteed result. The downside is that you have to wait for the next appearance in the rotation and stockpile tender in advance.

This is the most atmospheric way to obtain the Riding Turtle and effectively the only one entirely dependent on your time. The idea is simple: the Draenor garrison pond is home to rare reclusive murlocs that drop both the Riding Turtle and the Sea Turtle.

Step 1. Build up the garrison

1. If the garrison isn't built yet — head to Draenor and complete the Warlords of Draenor intro campaign. At max level it takes 20–30 minutes
2. Build a level 3 garrison — this is a mandatory requirement for the next step

Step 2. Earn the achievement "Draenor Angler"

To build the Fishing Shack, Level 3 you need the achievement Draenor Angler. It is made up of seven achievements for giant fish across all Draenor zones:

• Catcher of Enormous Sea Scorpions
• Catcher of Enormous Fat Sleepers
• Catcher of Enormous Blackwater Whiptails
• Catcher of Enormous Fire Ammonites
• Catcher of Enormous Jawless Skullfish
• Catcher of Enormous Blind Lake Sturgeons
• Catcher of Enormous Abyssal Gulper Eels

In each zone you need to catch 100 large fish of the corresponding type. The most efficient way is to fish in fishing schools rather than in open water. For comfortable farming a fishing skill of 700 or higher is recommended.

Step 3. Build the Fishing Shack, Level 3

1. Buy the Fishing Shack, Level 3 blueprint from Rezlak or Sparker Boltwiz for 1,000 gold
2. Build the structure in your garrison — now special fish will appear in the pond: Sea Scorpion or Blind Lake Sturgeon (Sunken Cave Carp or Icefin Gunan)

Step 4. Summon murlocs and farm

1. Fish in the garrison pond for Sunken Cave Carp or Icefin Gunan. The catch chance is about 1.6–3.8% per cast
2. Use the caught fish from your bag to summon the Sunken Cave Dweller or Ice Cave Dweller
3. Kill the murloc and check the loot. The approximate drop chance for the Riding Turtle is 0.2–0.5%
4. Repeat daily until you get the mount. There is no per-character limit — you can summon as many murlocs as you caught fish

What else can drop

From the same murloc you can get several valuables at once:

The Riding Turtle occasionally appears at the Black Market Auction House. This is a fast but the most expensive method.

1. Check the Black Market auctioneers
2. If the mount appears in the list — get ready for a bidding war. The starting price is usually 200,000–500,000 gold, the final one significantly higher
3. The auction winner receives the Riding Turtle by mail a day after the auction ends

The upside of this method is that you don't have to farm or wait for the rotation. The downside is that it's very expensive and doesn't show up every month.

The Riding Turtle was originally distributed through the World of Warcraft TCG collectible card game. The "Saltwater Snapjaw" card from the Heroes of Azeroth set contained a code that was redeemed with the goblin Landro Longshot in Booty Bay.

The card game has long been discontinued, the release of new cards has stopped, so obtaining the mount via the TCG in 2026 is impossible. If someone somewhere offers to sell you a card — it's either a used copy with an already-redeemed code or a fake. Don't waste money on such offers.

• Farm the Sea Turtle in parallel — the Sea Turtle drops from the same murlocs and the same fishing schools as the Riding Turtle. Don't stop farming if you got one mount — the second one is worthy of your collection too
• Farm on several characters — each player has their own garrison and their own pond. If you have 3–5 characters with a developed level 3 garrison and a Fishing Shack, Level 3, the daily carp output multiplies
• Keep your fishing skill maxed — with high skill you get fewer empty casts and catch rare fish more reliably
• Use lures — Draenor lure recipes speed up carp farming. They can be bought from Nat Pagle after raising his reputation
• Don't forget the Trading Post — even while actively farming murlocs, keep in mind that the next appearance of the mount in the rotation may save you from waiting on luck
• Check the Black Market every day — going around the auctioneers takes a couple of minutes and sometimes brings luck
• Don't believe in TCG card sales in 2026 — all the old cards have long been redeemed, new ones aren't being produced. The current and safe paths are only the three listed above