World of Warcraft players have less than three weeks to collect two Midnight dungeon mounts before both become temporarily unavailable.
The Lucent Hawkstrider and Spectral Hawkstrider will leave the active loot pool when Midnight Season 1 ends and Patch 12.1 moves the game into its new Mythic+ rotation.
They are expected to return eventually.
“Eventually” is doing quite a lot of work in that sentence.
The Lucent Hawkstrider Comes From Magisters’ Terrace
The Lucent Hawkstrider drops from Degentrius, the final boss of Magisters’ Terrace, on Mythic difficulty.
Players can also receive it from the dungeon’s Challenger’s Cache while Magisters’ Terrace remains part of the active Mythic+ pool.
The mount uses the familiar Hawkstrider body but gives it a brighter, magical appearance suited to Thalassian nobility.
It is not the most revolutionary mount silhouette Blizzard has ever created.
It is still a glowing elf chicken, and WoW players have crossed continents for less.
The Spectral Hawkstrider Drops in Windrunner Spire
The second mount is the Spectral Hawkstrider.
It drops from the Restless Heart at the end of Windrunner Spire on Mythic difficulty and can also appear in that dungeon’s Challenger’s Cache.
As the name suggests, this version has a ghostly appearance and is presented as a former mount of the Silvermoon cavalry.
Both Hawkstriders were introduced as dungeon rewards during Midnight Season 1.
Both are tied to dungeons that will leave the active Mythic+ rotation when Season 2 begins.
Why Are the Mounts Becoming Unavailable?
Midnight changed how expansion dungeons are handled outside the current seasonal pool.
While a dungeon is active in Mythic+, players can access its Mythic difficulty and farm the associated rewards.
Once it rotates out, its Mythic version is no longer available during the same expansion.
That means Magisters’ Terrace and Windrunner Spire will temporarily lose the difficulty required to obtain their Hawkstrider mounts.
The mounts are not being removed from the game permanently.
They are simply being locked in a cupboard until Blizzard decides the cupboard is historically appropriate again.
The Mounts Should Return in the Next Expansion
Blizzard says dungeon mounts affected by the seasonal rotation will return as Mythic 0 drops during the following expansion whenever their dungeons are not part of an active seasonal pool.
That means Lucent Hawkstrider and Spectral Hawkstrider are expected to become obtainable again after Midnight ends.
Players who miss them are therefore not losing them forever.
They may, however, be waiting through the remainder of Midnight before another reliable farming opportunity appears.
For collectors, that is a fairly substantial interruption.
You Have Until Season 2 Begins
Midnight Season 2 begins on August 18 in North America and August 19 in Europe.
That gives European players until the seasonal reset on August 19 to obtain the mounts through their current Mythic and Mythic+ sources.
Because both rewards are random drops, waiting until the final evening may not be the finest strategic decision.
Neither mount is guaranteed from a normal dungeon completion.
Players may need repeated Mythic+ runs before either one appears.
At least the relevant dungeons are currently farmable through Mythic+, avoiding the weekly lockout attached to ordinary Mythic 0 runs.
This Is a Strange Form of Seasonal FOMO
These mounts are different from traditional seasonal rewards.
They are not tied to a rating achievement, elite PvP rank or limited-time challenge.
They are ordinary dungeon drops that become inaccessible because the dungeons themselves lose their Mythic difficulty.
Blizzard has been transparent about their eventual return, which is better than permanently removing them.
Still, temporarily deleting access to current-expansion dungeon rewards is an awkward consequence of the rotating Mythic+ system.
Anyone who wants the Lucent or Spectral Hawkstrider should farm them before Season 2 begins.
Otherwise, the birds are not gone forever.
They are merely taking an expansion-length holiday.
Sources
Blizzard’s official Midnight Season 1 rewards deadline announcement.
Wowhead’s original overview of the Lucent and Spectral Hawkstrider dungeon drops.
```
Post a Comment