Swift Green Mechanostrider

Swift Green Mechanostrider is the fast version of the classic gnome racial ground mount, added in the original World of Warcraft in patch 1.4. It is an emerald-green walking machine with a polished chassis, spinning pistons, and distinctive exhaust pipes.

The mount is still sold by the vendor Milli Featherwhistle in Dun Morogh. The price is just 10 gold. Gnomes and mechagnomes buy it without any additional conditions; the rest of the Alliance races can buy it after reaching Exalted with the Gnomeregan faction. After patch 9.0.1, the level and riding requirements were significantly reduced: now level 10 and the starting Apprentice Riding skill are enough.

• +100% speed — unlike the regular colored mechanostriders, the "swift" variants grant the maximum bonus to ground movement speed regardless of riding skill. It is a full-fledged fast ground mount
• Mount collector points — the mount counts toward all collection achievements. Each new mount brings you closer to rewards in the form of unique ride animals and titles
• Historical value — swift mechanostriders are the very same "epic" gnome mounts that in Classic WoW cost 1000 gold and required level 40. Now they are available for just 10 gold, but remain part of the original game's legacy
• Gnome racial flavor — for a gnome or mechagnome, this is the classic Gnomeregan transport, an element of the race's cultural identity
• One of three swift colors — together with the Swift White Mechanostrider and the Swift Yellow Mechanostrider, it forms the complete set of fast variants, which can be wrapped up in a single visit to the vendor
• Account-wide access — after purchase the mount automatically appears in the collection of all your Alliance characters, including alts of other races

Milli Featherwhistle stands out in the open in the small settlement of Steelgrill's Depot, north of the village of Kharanos in Dun Morogh. This is the starting zone for gnomes and dwarves, so you can get there by several routes.

How to get there

1. Open the adventure table in any capital and take a portal to Ironforge. If there is no portal, use a hearthstone set to Ironforge or fly there on a flying mount from Dalaran, Stormwind, or Stormwind Harbor
2. In Ironforge, find the exit to the Gates of Ironforge — the main western passage out of the city. Above it on the map the Dun Morogh zone is labeled
3. Leave the city and turn southwest along the road. The road passes by the village of Kharanos — go straight through it and keep moving west
4. After a short while a fenced area with mechanostriders and buildings will appear on the left side of the road. This is Steelgrill's Depot
5. Milli Featherwhistle stands next to a cluster of mechanostriders near the repair hangar. On the map her icon appears as soon as you click the vendor icon

Gnome characters start in exactly this area and reach the vendor within a couple of minutes during the introductory tutorial. If you play a gnome, the easiest thing is to buy a yellow mechanostrider at a low level — it gives you the needed speed even before heading out into the wider world.

Milli Featherwhistle has two rules by which she agrees to sell the epic mechanostriders.

Gnomes only need to run up to the vendor and pay 10 gold. Dwarves, humans, night elves, draenei, worgen, and the rest of the Alliance races must first earn Honored with the gnomes. The mount is unavailable to the Horde under any conditions — it is an Alliance racial mount.

After obtaining it, the Swift Green Mechanostrider is unlocked across the entire account collection, and any of your Alliance characters can summon it, even if they did not personally grind the reputation.

If you are not playing a gnome, prepare for reputation farming in advance. In modern WoW this is faster and easier than in the original Classic.

Path 1: Tabard and old dungeons

The fastest method for max-level characters.

1. Fly to Ironforge and enter the Great Forge — the city's central techno-chamber
2. Find the NPC Senior Mechanic Trini. She sells the Gnomeregan Tabard for 8 silver
3. Put on the tabard
4. Head into any Burning Crusade or Wrath of the Lich King dungeon on Heroic mode via the dungeon finder. Botanica or the Magisters' Terrace will work, for example
5. By killing mobs in the instance with the tabard on, you gain Gnomeregan reputation for each opponent. One or two dungeon runs per hour are usually enough to close a large stretch of reputation

Path 2: Quests in Dun Morogh

If you do not feel like running dungeons, part of the reputation can be earned with direct quests:

• Dun Morogh and Ironforge quests — simple tasks for low-level characters, each giving 75–250 reputation with Gnomeregan
• The Operation: Gnomeregan chain — a large story line about the gnomes returning to their home city, giving a noticeable reputation boost
• Daily and seasonal Alliance tasks that sometimes refresh in story locations — always check the "Reputation" tab in the interface

1. Make sure you are Honored with Gnomeregan if your character is not a gnome. You can check this in the reputation interface (the R key by default)
2. Save up 10 gold. At max level this is pocket change, but at low levels you can sell a couple of unneeded items on the auction house
3. Learn any available riding skill — the most basic Apprentice Riding will do, taught by any instructor for a couple of silver at level 10
4. Teleport or fly to Dun Morogh and head to Steelgrill's Depot at coordinates /way #27 56.2 46.2
5. Find Milli Featherwhistle next to the mechanostriders
6. Right-click her — the vendor window opens
7. In the goods list find the Swift Green Mechanostrider and click "Buy"
8. The mount is automatically added to your collection and becomes available on all Alliance characters