Sapphire Qiraji Resonating Crystal

The Sapphire Qiraji Resonating Crystal is a special Alliance item that summons the temporary silithid ground mount, the Blue Qiraji War Tank. It can only be obtained during the Call of the Scarab micro-holiday in Silithus. The holiday takes place every year from January 21 to 23 and commemorates a historic event — the opening of the Gates of Ahn'Qiraj back in Classic.

An important point that players often forget: the crystal and the mount it summons are not added to your permanent mount collection. The item stays in your bag and disappears 7 days after you receive it. For this reason it is considered more of a collectible souvenir and a nod to the War Effort than a "real" mount for achievements.

The Horde equivalent is the Ruby Qiraji Resonating Crystal, bought from your own commander for the same currency.

• A rare commemorative model — the unique blue color scheme of the silithid war tank that is unavailable in normal gameplay. It is a direct reference to the events of patch 1.9 and the opening of Ahn'Qiraj, an item that looks great in any rarity collector's stable
• Available only once a year — the holiday lasts only three days. Miss the window and you have to wait a whole year until the next run
• Cheap in price — all you need is a single Abyssal Crest, which can be farmed at level 80 in a couple of minutes
• A nod to the War Effort — back in the Classic era, crystals were handed out to those who took part in the grand resource gathering before the opening of the Gates of Ahn'Qiraj. Today it is the only way to feel the spirit of that event
• Pairs well with holiday quests — during the Call of the Scarab you actively earn experience and gold for turning in meat and killing elite templars while you farm the Abyssal Crest

• An Alliance character of any class and level (technically a minimum of 10, but in practice any level-90 will do for fast farming)
• An active subscription and access to Silithus
• Free bag space for the crystal and the cultist garb pieces that drop
• A raid group is recommended to summon and quickly kill the Abyssal Templars. A solo level-80 character can manage, but farming goes much faster in a group

Silithus is a zone in southern Kalimdor, bordering Tanaris. You can get there in several ways:

1. Via the Road to Silithus from the Zaralek Cavern or from Stormwind — patch 8.0 added direct portals
2. A portal from Orgrimmar/Stormwind to Kalimdor, then by gryphon to Cenarion Hold
3. Via the teleport of the Call of the Scarab herald — during the holiday an NPC crier may be standing in the capital cities

Coordinates of the main points of interest:

The whole process during the active holiday takes 10–20 minutes at max level.

Step 1. Check Whether the Holiday Is On

The Call of the Scarab is active only on January 21–23. Crystals cannot be bought either before or after these dates. The event calendar (default key — the calendar button in the interface) should show a "Call of the Scarab" marker.

Step 2. Head to Silithus

Fly to Cenarion Hold or directly to the Scarab Dais at the Gates of Ahn'Qiraj. First of all, drop by Field Marshal Snowfall to make sure he is offering the crystal — he also gives out the holiday quests.

Step 3. Gather the Twilight Cultist Garb

To summon an Abyssal Templar you need three pieces of garb:

• Twilight Cultist Mantle
• Twilight Cultist Spaulders
• Twilight Cultist Cowl

All the pieces drop from ordinary Twilight cultists in the three camps of Silithus: the Twilight Outpost, the Twilight Base Camp and the Twilight Post. At level 90 the mobs die in 1–2 hits, and the pieces drop often — usually you have a full set after killing 5–10 cultists.

Step 4. Summon the Abyssal Templar

1. Put on all three pieces of garb through the character window
2. Find a Lesser Wind Stone — they are located near each of the three Twilight camps
3. Activate the stone. If you are dressed correctly, an Abyssal Templar will appear — a non-elite elemental boss. The templar's color (crimson, azure, or frost) depends on the specific stone
4. Kill the templar — solo at level 90 this takes a couple of seconds

Step 5. Take the Abyssal Crest and Trade It for the Mount

The templar's corpse will drop an Abyssal Crest. Return to Field Marshal Snowfall at the Scarab Dais and trade the crest for the Sapphire Qiraji Resonating Crystal. The crystal goes straight into your bag.

Step 6. Use the Crystal

Right-click the crystal in your bag — a blue silithid war tank appears. The mount lasts for seven days, after which the item disappears from your inventory. During that time you can ride it anywhere, not just in Ahn'Qiraj.

What to Do Once a Year

• Set a calendar reminder for January 21 — the window is very narrow and easy to miss
• On every Alliance alt collect one crystal each — technically it binds on pickup, but you will get a mount on each character
• Save any leftover crests — if you have more than one, the next crest can be spent on seasonal rewards or experience through a group summon of elites

Group Approach

If you put together a raid group of 5–40 people, you will be able to simultaneously:

• Kill templars faster
• Pool your crests and summon the Duke of the Abyss (for 10 crests) or the Lord of the Abyss (for 25 crests) for extra rewards and a lot of experience
• Share garb pieces if someone is short

• The crystal does not count toward your mount collection — it will not credit the "hundredth mount" achievement. It is precisely a souvenir item, not a full-fledged mount from the journal
• The 7-day timer — the countdown runs from the moment you receive it, not from the start of the holiday. If you pick up the crystal on January 23, it will work until roughly January 30
• Alliance only — on the Horde the equivalent is called the Ruby Qiraji Resonating Crystal and is sold by Warlord Gorchuk. You cannot switch to the opposite faction just for the crystal, except through a full faction change
• Do not confuse it with the permanent Qiraji War Tanks — those crystals drop from trash in the Temple of Ahn'Qiraj raid and really do go into your mount collection. The Sapphire crystal is a separate temporary item
• The cultist garb is not consumed permanently — the three pieces do not disappear after use; you can keep them for future summons