RuneScape: Dragonwilds Mounts: How to Unlock and Use Them
The two base mounts, the quests that unlock them, what riding actually changes, when a mount vanishes, and how the colour variants are obtained.
Mounts were one of the most requested features, and they arrived with the Fellhollow update. The point is simple: travel across Ashenfall faster, with stamina that lasts longer while you ride.
There are only two base mounts: the terrorbird and the magic carpet. Everything else is a colour variant of those two, with different unlock routes.
How the two base mounts differ
| Mount | Unlock | Main benefit |
|---|---|---|
| Terrorbird | Complete The Wild Hunt | +200 carry weight, the pick for gathering runs |
| Magic carpet | Complete the first section of Icthlarin’s Little Helper | No carry bonus, but easier traversal in Umbral Sands, noticeably faster in the desert, lighter, less fall damage and higher jumps |
The choice is straightforward: terrorbird when you are hauling materials, carpet when you are covering ground.
Riding has one hard limitation
A mount is not a permanent state. If you get attacked, take damage, or start building up Wither, the mount vanishes.
That is the design, not a bug. What it means in practice:
- Do not ride straight into a mob pack. Losing the mount mid-fight leaves you to deal with the fight anyway.
- In places that drain you continuously, the mount will not survive long.
- Avoid combat and the mount is close to pure upside.
Unlocking your first mount
The fastest route is The Wild Hunt. Finishing it unlocks the terrorbird automatically, which is what the official wiki states.
One warning: that questline assumes you can already hold your own around Fellhollow. So mounts are mid-game content, not something you get at the start. Early on, Lodestones and Wind Step matter more.
Colour variants: three kinds of unlock route
The official wiki sorts the variants by how you get them, and the pattern is easy to remember:
| Route | Examples | What it takes |
|---|---|---|
| Quest plus vendor | Infernal blightbeak (9999 Garou Chit from Domri the Merchant), Mossbeak hunter and Oakfeather raptor (2000 Soul Fragment from Death) | Part of a questline first, then currency |
| Quest plus drop | Crimson crybaby (red dragon, KotHaar-Kal, kalphite guardian, or Umbral Sands chests), Springdown runner and Grassfoot screecher (green dragons, zogres, soulstone sentinels, or Fellhollow chests) | Repeat content in one region |
| Quest plus map vendor | Coastal sunbeak and Astralbeak warbler (2000 Infernal Fragment from the Evil Emporium) | Part of Black Knight’s Fortress first |
Others, like the Leafwood strider, simply appear on the list once The Wild Hunt is done.
Unlocking a base mount is the beginning. Collecting variants is the long game. The variants are cosmetic differences; the wiki ties the carry weight and terrain bonuses to the terrorbird and carpet categories, not to individual skins.
Limits
- Jagex has not published exact mount speed or damage-reduction numbers. This page only covers the carry weight and terrain differences the wiki states.
- Drop sources in the table above come from the official wiki drop lists. The drop rates are not published.
- Mounts do not change your combat gear or Power Level. For that, see armour and weapons.
Sources
- Jagex, “Our 1.0 Release is live!”: https://dragonwilds.runescape.com/news/launch (15 September 2026)
- Jagex, “Dragonwilds’ Price Isn’t Changing.”: https://dragonwilds.runescape.com/news/ea-pricing (2 September 2026)
- Official 1.0 update video, “Our Early Access Journey Is Coming to an End”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuEqe0JigCM (15 September 2026)
- Steam store page (editions, price, system requirements, review counts): https://store.steampowered.com/app/1374490/RuneScape_Dragonwilds/
- Jagex, “The RuneScape Company Expands RuneScape: Dragonwilds In Asia”: https://www.jagex.com/news/jagex-the-runescape-company-expands-runescape-dragonwilds-in-asia-through-landmark-publishing-partnerships (23 June 2026)