I’ve never been much for nerd points. The only real achievements I’ve done were for things with prizes. On 3.2.09 I started on my first longterm WoW achievement.
I had just started collecting but had most of the pvp mounts so that knocked out some of the more time consuming mounts to get.
Yea, my early photoshop pictures are kind of weird. When I was working on those I also had Marisse pushing for rep in AQ so I went to help and picked up all those mounts as well. They drop A LOT so you can easily pick them up in 1 or 2 runs.
Between what I had, pvp mounts, and the addition of the AQ bugs it put me at a paltry 23. Almost a quarter of the way there but it would certainly be awhile before I finished it off.
The next update came on 4.11.09, when I started farming gold to pickup the rest of the nether rays (one of my most favorite mounts). I also nab’d a twilight drake from sarth 3d (back when it was difficult). That put me at 30.
I was definitely taking my time building up mounts for the achievement. The next batch of them came 6.17.09. I added the slow speed gryphons to the collection and farmed up the rep for the red drake from Wyrmrest rep, bringing my total to 35. I hate how drakes are so big so I don’t often fly on them but I do think they are some of the prettiest things out there. My stupid argent tourney farming started shortly before this as well.
Still hate that patch.
I kicked it into a higher gear and less than a month later, 7.10.09, and was up to 44 mounts. Farming for Kurenai rep sucked. The mobs were too low level to proc some of the shadow talents that return mana so I was constantly having to wand or drink h2o. Talbuks are pretty but freakishly tall. Even being a dwarf I felt like I was soaring through the air. It made getting in doors difficult so they quickly became forgotten mounts.
Less than a week later, 7.17.09, would see a huge jump in my total number of mounts. I hadn’t picked up all the mounts from the foreign cities (horses, ostriches, elekks, etc) because I hate questing. Luckily the Argent Crusade quests gave rep with the main cities. Once I got exalted, whooo boy. I jumped from 44 to 65 mounts.
That post is heavy on pictures so not gonna link them all here, just a couple of the ones I really enjoy having and still riding.
…and of course the white drake you get from dinging 50 mounts…
Can you tell I’ve never really settled on a way to display pictures? My mind changes like the wind.
It was rough making gains after I got all the main city mounts so the next update wasn’t until 8.15.09. I had to put in much more effort after I gained all those which brought me to the netherdrakes. HATE THEM. Farming their stupid dailies was back breaking and then I had to do those dumb racing quests. Never did get the last one. I’m just not coordinated enough for it.
I did however pickup the mount I still fly on today during this time though. The white hippo.
The white hippo is everything I’m looking for in a mount. It’s small enough to manuever and fit through things and it doesn’t block my line of sight as much as a drake would. It’s also still pretty rare (at least in terms of people who ride mounts). That post has a lot of pics as well that I’m not gonna link over.
Nothing too special about my update on 8.31.09, just a beautiful red protodrake… the size of a school bus.
I’m kind of partial to just the solid black border on that pic. /shrug
The brewfest came up in October (10.7.09, 92/100) and gave me a chance to put some real effort into those mounts. The ram and kodo were both available now (instead of one or the other or neither). I have to thank Marisse for these. I doubt I would have obtained them if it wasn’t for her sheer determination.
She had a fleet of people that would cycle through all their alts to get as many people as many chances as possible at getting the mounts. It would take an hour or two but we’d end up killing the stupid mob a few dozen times. Big thanks Marisse on letting me join you all to get these two mounts. I really love the way the ram looks.
Speaking Marisse’s undying need for nerd points it also helped me to obtain my Ulduar 10 drake. This would lead to a dozen or so more full clears with random people that still needed the mounts. I hate Ulduar soooooo much now. Srsly Mimiron… could you have enough random shit and one shot attacks?
My journey for these mounts also spawned the person you might have seen a few times on the blog, Rargarita Maiding. A dwarven female who makes guest appearences on her journey through Azeroth. Her first big discovery is the lies based in the random number generator.
She was also there on my 136th attempt at Baron Rivendare, the attempt that finally net’d me the mount I ride on the ground all the time.
He is by far the most work I’ve put into getting any mount and I’m very glad to call him my own now. I just wish he had wings though or the ability to run in the air cuz I’d totally use him for flying if I could.
When I quit back in March I was up to 99/100. I’m not sure what got me that high but I remember talking to Betsy when I quit about how I wouldn’t get to finish the achievement. Now I’m back though!
Hope you enjoyed that trip down memory lane… tomorrow… 100/100!
Posted by Xeonio 
Finished off the Kurenai last night. This rep was stupid easy to get. I think it took me 16hrs to go from honored to exalted but thats because I was watching the tele while I did it.
