Mounts.
Specifically, the first wave of seasonal Patch 12.1 mounts tied to Midnight Season 2 activities is already looking like prime collector bait. Mythic+, PvP, Gladiator rewards, and top-end seasonal prestige are all getting new toys, and yes, some of them already look like they were designed to make people say, “I was going to take it easy this season.”
Mythic+ Players Get Two Very Different Carrots
According to the current PTR information tracked by Icy Veins, Midnight Season 2 has two Mythic+ mount rewards lined up.
The first is Breath of Blight, listed as the Keystone Master reward for reaching 2,000 Mythic+ rating during the season. That makes it the more realistic goal for players who enjoy Mythic+ but do not necessarily want to turn every dungeon night into a hostage negotiation with timers.
Then there is Breath of Ruin, the Keystone Legend reward for reaching 3,000 Mythic+ rating. That one is for the players who look at affixes, routing drama, and pug roulette and say, “Yes, actually, I would like more of this.”
Both mounts lean into the darker, nastier tone of the season. This is not sparkly parade energy. This is “something terrible escaped from the seasonal reward vendor and now you are riding it.” Perfectly healthy behavior, obviously.
PvP Gets Boars, Because Subtlety Is Dead
On the PvP side, the seasonal Vicious Saddle mounts are currently shown as Lightbloom Boars. That is already funny before anyone even sees them in a battleground.
There is something deeply Warcraft about being rewarded for competitive PvP with a glowing battle pig. Elegant? No. Memorable? Absolutely. The best mounts in this game are rarely the ones that look like sensible fantasy transport. They are the ones that make someone stop in Dornogal and ask, “What on Azeroth is that?”
If the Lightbloom Boars keep their current look and availability, expect them to become one of those seasonal mounts people either love immediately or roast for three weeks before secretly farming anyway.
The Gladiator Mount Is Pure Green Menace
The Gladiator reward for the season is currently listed as Venomous Gladiator’s Goredrake, and the name alone is doing a lot of heavy lifting.
It sounds less like a mount and more like something you should not feed after midnight. Which, honestly, is exactly what a Gladiator mount should feel like. PvP prestige rewards need to look dangerous. They need to feel slightly unfair when someone lands next to you on one.
This one appears to be leaning hard into poison, armor, and “yes, I have suffered in arena for this” energy. Good. That is the job.
Top-End Season 1 Players Also Get Their Trophy
Patch 12.1 information also points to Umbral Ashes as a top 1% Midnight Season 1 reward. That puts it firmly in prestige territory, which means most players will admire it from a safe distance while pretending they never wanted it anyway.
These kinds of rewards matter because they give the season a visible hierarchy. Some mounts are for showing up. Some are for pushing. Some are for proving you lived inside the game for several months and only occasionally remembered sunlight existed.
Season 2 Is Already Building Its Trophy Wall
The bigger story here is not just that Patch 12.1 has more mounts. Of course it does. This game could add a mount for logging out politely and collectors would still ask whether it comes in purple.
The interesting part is how cleanly the Season 2 reward structure is already being framed. Mythic+ gets a realistic goal and a sweatier goal. PvP gets loud seasonal collectibles. Gladiators get a proper flex piece. Top-end Season 1 players get their rare badge of honor.
That is smart seasonal design. Players need goals that feel visible before the season even starts. Gear gets replaced. Ratings reset. But mounts stay in the collection tab forever, judging every alt you abandon.
Assuming these rewards survive PTR mostly intact, Patch 12.1 is already doing what Warcraft does best: pretending the season is about progression while quietly making everyone chase the weird horse, dragon, boar, or cursed flying nightmare they absolutely do not need.
And yes, that means half the player base will say they are skipping the grind.
Then the mount preview will load properly.
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