The first major content update for World of Warcraft: Shadowlands, Patch 9.1, Chains of Domination, will finally allow characters to ride any ground mount while exploring The Maw. Since its launch back in November, fans of World of Warcraft: Shadowlands expressed frustration that only a handful of mounts worked in The Maw, the vast area ruled by the Jailer, where the worst of the worst souls go to suffer. Because The Maw is a major feature of the Chains of Domination update, getting around it more easily will be imperative. Once World of Warcraft: Shadowlands Patch 9.1 goes live in the next few months, players can unlock the ability to use ground mounts in The Maw.
To use mounts in The Maw, players will need to complete a new Chains of Domination story quest on any of the characters they wish to bring to the Shadowlands. This quest also unlocks Perdition Hold and Beastwarrens in The Maw for those players who have not yet earned enough reputation with Ve'nari. Here's how to complete the Who is the Maw Walker? quest in World of Warcraft: Shadowlands and unlock the ability to ride mounts in The Maw.
How to Complete Who is the Maw Walker in World of Warcraft: Shadowlands
Once Chains of Domination launches for World of Warcraft: Shadowlands, players will need to complete the Maw Walkers storyline. Specifically, they will need to complete the following quests:
- Opening the Maw
- Link to the Maw
- Mysteries of the Maw
- Korthia, the City of Secrets
- Who is the Maw Walker?
The quest they most require is the fifth one, Who is the Maw Walker. They will need to have reached Level 60 to access this questline.
To complete the quest, characters will need to find and speak to Tal-Galan in Korthia. Tal-Galan will examine a character's Anima to determine whether they are a Maw Walker. Should they survive this investigation, they can interact with Tal-Galan again and pick up The True Maw Walker reward, along with 2 Gold, 57 Silver, and 40 Copper. This item unlocks the ability to summon and ride all ground mounts in The Maw and in Korthia. Unlocking The True Maw Walker reward also opens the Beastwarrens and Perdition Hold automatically for those players and characters who had not yet done so.
Players should note that this ability is not account-wide, and only the characters who complete the Maw Walkers questline will have access to it. Players will need to replay the quests with any alts they want to bring along during Chains of Domination. One player estimated this process takes about 40 minutes each time.
Additionally, while the Chains of Domination update introduces flight and flying mounts in the Shadowlands, flying is not available in The Maw or Korthia. Flying mounts will stay grounded in these locations.
Riding skill levels and their associated training costs were changed to accommodate the World of Warcraft: Shadowlands level squish. Characters will need to find a Flying Trainer in the Shadowlands if they need to improve their riding skill. The breakdown appears below:
- Apprentice Riding: Level 10; 10 Silver
- Journeyman Riding: Level 20; 50 Gold
- Expert Riding: Level 30; 250 Gold
- Master Riding: Level 40; 5,000 Gold
This is more likely to apply to those characters wanting to reach top speeds while using flying mounts, but may still be important for players wanting to use the fastest ground mounts possible.
World of Warcraft: Shadowlands is available for PC and Mac.