Swift Red Wind Rider

Swift Red Wind Rider is an epic flying Horde mount added in The Burning Crusade. It is a massive battle wind rider with bright red plumage and reinforced armor on its chest and wings. Among Horde players it is valued as one of the most accessible and fastest flying models, which can be bought for gold from an ordinary vendor without having to farm reputation or rare achievements.

The mount is sold by wind rider tamers in several cities and zones of Outland and Northrend for 100 gold. It unlocks for the entire account, so you only need to buy it once — and it becomes available to all of your Horde characters.

• Epic flight speed — once you have learned Expert Riding, the mount flies with a +280% movement speed bonus, making it a full-fledged epic flyer without overpaying for visually rarer models
• The cheapest epic wind rider model — 100 gold for the critter itself, which is orders of magnitude less than the cost of reputation or achievement mounts. The price can be reduced further through a reputation discount with Orgrimmar (from Drakma) or the Kirin Tor (from Mei Francis)
• Recognizable Horde visual — the red coloring stands out against the standard blue and green wind riders. An excellent choice for transmogging a character with an orcish, troll or tauren aesthetic
• Account-wide — after purchase the mount is unlocked in the collection for all of your Horde characters, regardless of class and race. There is no need to buy it on every alt
• Suitable for collecting mount points — it counts toward achievements for the number of mounts collected

In modern WoW the riding system is simplified: you only need to learn Expert Riding once from any trainer, and the skill applies to all characters on the account. After that the mount will fly at full epic speed.

The mount is sold by five wind rider tamers — three in Horde locations and two in neutral cities of Northrend. The price is the same for all of them, but in Orgrimmar and Dalaran you can get a reputation discount.

Drakma — Orgrimmar

The main vendor for Horde characters. Located on the upper platform of Orgrimmar by the Sky Way, next to the flight trainer.

If you have reputation with Orgrimmar, the price is reduced: at Friendly — 95 gold, at Honored — 90, at Revered — 85, at Exalted — 80 gold.

Bana Wildmane — Hellfire Peninsula

The first vendor Horde players meet when visiting Outland. Stands in Thrallmar by the wind rider stables.

Dama Wildmane — Shadowmoon Valley

A Horde tamer in Shadowmoon Village. Convenient if you are already farming the Black Temple or Shadowmoon Valley nearby.

Tohfo Skyhoof — Borean Tundra

A neutral vendor in Warsong Hold (Horde). Suitable if your character is going through Northrend and has not yet returned to Orgrimmar.

Mei Francis — Dalaran (Northrend)

A vendor of exotic mounts in old Dalaran above Crystalsong Forest. Sells wind riders to both factions. Owners of reputation with the Kirin Tor receive a discount.

You can reach old Dalaran via the portal in the Cleft of Shadow district of Orgrimmar and a further portal to Dalaran above Crystalsong Forest.

1. Level a Horde character to the point where it can learn Expert Riding. In patch 11.1 flying unlocks fairly early — the restriction is practically a formality
2. Save up 100 gold for the mount and, if necessary, 5000 gold for learning epic flying
3. Learn Expert Riding from any riding trainer
4. Head to any of the five wind rider vendors — Drakma in Orgrimmar is the fastest. The reputation discount with the city also applies there
5. Buy the Swift Red Wind Rider for 100 gold
6. Open the mount collection (default key Shift+P) and find the mount in the flying category — it will automatically appear on all of your Horde characters

• Do not buy from vendors in Outland and Northrend if you are already in Orgrimmar — Drakma's price is the same, but the city reputation discount applies. At Exalted the mount costs 80 gold instead of 100
• It is worth buying several colors at once — all vendors have wind riders of other colorings in stock. Each adds a separate mount to the collection and a point toward achievements
• Suitable for newcomers — 100 gold at level 80 is earned in a few simple quests, and epic flight speed is available on your very first Horde character
• The purchase is useful for experienced players too — even if your main collection already numbers hundreds of mounts, the red wind rider is often missing from it: many players skip it while being Alliance at the start and then forget to buy it after switching factions
• In modern WoW there is no Expert Riding skill as a separate tier — the system was reworked, but the mount will automatically pick up the current maximum flight speed available to your character
• The reputation discount stacks once — it applies only with Drakma (for Orgrimmar) or with Mei Francis (for the Kirin Tor). Bana and Dama Wildmane in Outland have a fixed price of 100 gold