Flying has been an essential mode of transport in World of Warcraft since The Burning Crusade expansion. Since then, hundreds of mounts have been made available to players, some of which are harder to obtain than others.
In World of Warcraft: Dragonflight, however, all the flying mounts in a character's inventory have been rendered useless when it comes to soaring through the skies. Instead, they are given their very own Proto-Drake, which will be trained through the Dragonriding skill. This new companion will stay with the character throughout their adventure on the Dragon Isles and can be customized in just about any way, including the appearance of their horns, body armor, jaw, stout, and the style of its crest.
9 Unlocking The Proto-Drakes
Players will unlock four different types of Dragonriding drakes during their time on the Dragon Isles. The first one is provided very early in the main campaign of World of Warcraft: Dragonflight, which is the Renewed Proto-Drake. This ferocious-looking dragon will help the player get to grips with Dragonriding while questing through The Waking Shores.
The Windborne Velocidrake will be awarded to players in the Ohn'ahran Plains at the end of the campaign questline. The Highland Drake will be unlocked during the main questline of The Azure Span, with the Cliffside Wylderdrake becoming available in Thaldraszus after completing the main campaign storyline.
8 Unlocking Scale Colors
One of the many customization options that can be applied to Drakes is the color of their scales. Blue Scales can be unlocked by reaching Rank 19 with the Skaara Tuskarr. Similarly, the Bronze Scales are unlocked when the player reaches Renown rank 21 with the Valdrakken Accord, while the Green scales can be purchased after reaching Renown rank 21 with the Maruuk Centaur. Each of these colors will cost 400 Dragon Isles Supplies per dragon, as well as one Awakened Frost, Awakened Order, or Awakened Air, depending on the faction.
After hitting level 70, those who raise their reputation to 'True Friend' with Wrathion and Sabellian will be able to unlock the Black Scale customization. This can be purchased from Lorena Belle and Samia Inkling for 400 Dragon Isles Supplies and an Awakened Earth.
7 Adding More Fins
The 'Finned' option for the Renewed Proto-Drake, paired with the Finned crest, jaw, and throat options, will bring the drake back to its primitive roots. The Finned tail appearance is a world drop, which means it has a chance of dropping from mobs and rare spawns scattered around the Dragon Isles. The Finned throat and jaw are quest rewards, so those questing through Dragonflight will eventually get them.
Players can unlock the Vertical Finned tail appearance for the Highland Drake when they have reached the High Renown rank with the Cobalt Assembly, while the Horizontal Fin is a quest reward. The Highland Drake can also sport the Triple Fin customization if the player has reached the Medium Renown rank with the Cobalt Assembly.
The Large Fin and Small Fin crest options for the Windborne Velocidrake, as well as the Finned Ears, can be looted from mobs and rare spawns anywhere in the Dragon Isles. The throat Fin is a quest reward, and the back Fin can be purchased from Meiz and Steiz early into helping the Cobalt Assembly.
When it comes to unlocking the Fin options for the Cliffside Wylderdrake, the crest Fin will drop from dungeons, the jaw Fin is a world drop, and the tail fin can be purchased when the player has a High Renown rank with the Colbalt Assembly.
6 Stag Horns
While most of the horn customizations can be expected, with some curling around the side of the drake's head or extruding upward, the Stag horn option is the most unique. This appearance is similar to the Night Elf Moonkin antlers and is reminiscent of Malfurion Stormrage.
Only the Windborne Velocidrake and the Highland Drake can unlock the Stag appearance, with both Drakewatcher Manuscripts dropping from the mobs and rare spawns found around the Dragon Isles. Once the player reaches Renown rank 19 with the Maruuk Centaur faction, they can change the color of their Highland Drake to make it appear like a Druid of the Green Dragon Flight.
5 Windborne Velocidrake - Bird Appearance
The Windborne Velocidrake already looks very birdlike, but there are some customizations that can make it appear more like an ancient bird rather than a drake. This can be achieved by unlocking the Feather tail, which is dropped by Balakar Khan in the Nokhud Offensive dungeon on any difficulty level.
The back Feathers and throat Feathers will be awarded through questing, while the crest Feathers option is a world drop. The final detail to make this appearance complete is the Beaked snout, which can be purchased from the Cobalt Assembly when the player reaches the Medium reputation rank with the faction.
4 Animal Snouts
The Renewed Proto-Drake and the Windborne Velocidrake are the only two drakes that can have their snouts customized. Most of the options available will add animal-like features to the drakes, such as the Wolf snout, exclusive to the Windborne Velocidrake, and the Shark and Beaked options for the Renewed Proto-Drake.
The Wolf snout, which adds a canine-like nose to the drake, is a main campaign quest reward, while the Shark option is a world drop. The Beaked option for the Renewed Proto-Drake drops from the dungeon bosses Kyrakka and Erkhart found in the Ruby Life Pools.
3 Unique Tail Customizations
The Highland drake has a very unique tail option in World of Warcraft: Dragonflight, which makes it look like a true predator of the skies. The Blade tail customization can be unlocked after reaching Renown rank 13 with the Iskaara Tuskarr faction and will cost 100 Dragon Isles Supplies.
The Cliffside Wylderdrake also has its own unique customization, which adds an intimidating barb to the end of the dragon's long tail, adding to its Grand Wyvern aesthetic. The great thing about this option is that it won't take luck for it to drop, as it is a quest reward.
2 Storm Eater Transformation
Players will get the chance to make their Renewed Proto-Drake look like Raszageth, one of the leaders of the Primalsts. This appearance is a full transformation and cannot be customized further, but it does have the electrified and windswept effects added to it.
The Storm Eater transformation will likely drop from the final boss, Raszageth, in the Vault of the Incarnates raid. Each wing of this raid has a staggered release, which means players will have to wait until January 16th to face the primal proto-drake and hopefully loot this fantastic customization.
1 PVP Reward - Crimson Gladiator Transformation
The Crimson Gladiator transformation for the Highland Drake can only be unlocked by earning the Gladiator rank in season one. This appearance will add plenty of armor and studs to the drake, as well as flame tips to its spine and horns.
Earning the Gladiator rank is no easy feat, as the player will need to win 50 3v3 games while having a skill rating of 2400 or above. Those who do achieve the Gladiator title will also unlock the Custom Gladiator mount. The Crimson Gladiator appearance will no doubt be one of the rarest drake transformations in World of Warcraft: Dragonflight due to the difficulty in obtaining it.
World of Warcraft: Dragonflight is available on PC.