Get Sunstone Panther mount

Sunstone Panther is a flying mount added in the Mists of Pandaria expansion in patch 5.0.1. It is an elegant panther carved from sunstone (yellow sapphirine), sculpted entirely from gemstone and glowing from within with a warm golden light. It is one of four jeweled cats created by the jewelcrafters of Pandaria.

The mount is crafted by jewelcrafters from the recipe Design: Sunstone Panther, sold by San Redscale — the quartermaster of the Order of the Cloud Serpent faction at the Arboretum in The Jade Forest. To buy the recipe you need at least Honored reputation. The finished mount is not bound on pickup and can be purchased at the auction house by any player — learning jewelcrafting is not required.

According to legend, the first jeweled cat was made by an ancient pandaren emperor for his son, whose twin brother had died of illness. Since then, gem-adorned panthers have become a symbol of comfort and of the gem-cutters' art in Pandaria.

• A flying mount with top speed — it supports all movement modes: ground (+60% or +100%) and flight (+150%, +280%, or +310% depending on your riding skill)
• A unique gemstone model — the panther is made entirely of polished yellow stone and glows from within. One of the most striking crafted models in Pandaria
• A step toward the Jeweled Onyx Panther — the Sunstone Panther is used as a reagent to create the Jeweled Onyx Panther together with three other colored panthers. If you are working toward the top jewelcrafter mount, this panther is mandatory
• Available account-wide — once used, the mount unlocks for all characters on your account
• Tradable at the auction house — the finished panther is unbound; you can buy it from another jewelcrafter or list it for sale to earn gold

To craft the mount yourself, you must meet all conditions at the same time:

1. Pandaria Jewelcrafting with a skill level of at least 75. At the current max level this levels up quickly in Pandaria — ore for prismatic gems comes from Ghost Iron Ore
2. Honored reputation with the Order of the Cloud Serpent faction. Reputation is gained through daily quests in the Jade Forest and by training your own cloud serpent
3. Access to Pandaria — the continent is open from level 10 (it was previously 85), activated through a story quest in the capital
4. Enough gold and materials — especially the Orb of Mystery, which costs 20,000 gold from a vendor

If you are not a jewelcrafter, you do not need these conditions — it is enough to buy a finished panther at the auction house or order the craft from a player jewelcrafter.

Creating one panther requires gathering an impressive list of reagents. All materials are obtained in Pandaria and crafted by jewelcrafters and alchemists.

Notes on Materials

• Orb of Mystery — the most expensive ingredient. It's one per panther, bought outright with no cooldown
• Living Steel is created on a daily transmute cooldown. To speed up the gathering, use several alchemists or buy bars at the auction house
• Serpent's Eye is created only by jewelcrafters. If you are a jewelcrafter yourself, there's no problem. If you order the craft, the crafter prepares the materials
• Sun's Radiance — a yellow gemstone. It comes from prospecting ghost iron in batches of 5, yielding roughly 1 rare yellow per 30–60 ore

1. Fly to the Jade Forest in Pandaria via the portal in your capital or directly through the Honeydew Village inn
2. Head to the Arboretum — a subzone in the center of the Jade Forest where the Order of the Cloud Serpent is based

3. Complete the Order's introductory quest, raise your own cloud serpent, and do daily tasks for the faction's mentors until your reputation reaches Honored
4. Walk up to San Redscale and buy Design: Sunstone Panther for gold
5. Learn the design on any jewelcrafter — the recipe binds to the character

1. Gather all materials — 20 Sun's Radiance, 4 Living Steel, 2 Serpent's Eyes, and 1 Orb of Mystery. Buy the orb in advance: from Big Keech in the Vale of Eternal Blossoms for 20,000 gold
2. Check your Pandaria Jewelcrafting skill — you need at least 75. If it's lower, check it in the profession menu and level up on simple prismatic gem cuts
3. Sit at any workbench or none at all — the craft is available anywhere in the world; a crafting station is not required
4. Open the jewelcrafting book, find the recipe Sunstone Panther in the mounts section
5. Click "Create" — after a few seconds the Sunstone Panther mount will appear in your bag
6. Use the mount — it is instantly added to your collection and becomes available to all characters on your account

If you are crafting the panther for sale or on order, do not use it yourself — the item is unbound and trades freely. In that case, move the mount to mail or to the auction house.

The Sunstone Panther is only one of four component parts of the main crafted jewelcrafter mount of Pandaria. To obtain the flying Reins of the Astral Cloud Serpent, you need to gather all four colored panthers and use them as reagents.

If your goal is the onyx panther, do not use the finished colored panthers yourself. They are needed precisely as materials.

How to Cut Costs

• Mine and prospect ghost iron yourself — this is the cheapest source of Sun's Radiance. A miner and jewelcrafter on the same character saves huge amounts
• Keep an alchemist with the Living Steel transmute recipe — the daily transmute with a chance for a double yield pays off in a few cycles
• Watch auction house prices — sometimes a finished panther costs less than the sum of materials. In that case it's more profitable to buy than to craft
• The Orb of Mystery is bought once per panther — its price is fixed at 20,000 gold from the vendor, and it's usually no cheaper at the auction house

Cost Calculation

Approximate material cost per panther:

• Orb of Mystery: 20,000 gold (fixed at the vendor)
• 4 Living Steel: server-dependent, usually 2,000–5,000 per bar on Classic MoP
• 2 Serpent's Eyes and 20 Sun's Radiance — if you gather them yourself, practically free aside from time

The final material cost usually falls in the range of 30,000–50,000 gold plus the recipe price (170–180 gold from the vendor).

Earning from Crafting

Jewelcrafter panthers are among the most profitable crafted mounts in the game. On active servers the margin ranges from 10,000 to 50,000 gold per panther depending on auction house demand. If you have access to cheap materials and steady demand, crafting panthers for sale pays back leveling Pandaria Jewelcrafting and Order of the Cloud Serpent reputation.