How to unlock riding in the Maw in patch 9.1

One of the highly-anticipated features coming in Shadowlands patch 9.1 is the ability to mount up while in the Maw. Previously the only way to do so was to either be a Druid or acquire one of the three specific mounts with that ability — the Corridor Creeper, awarded for completing Torghast Twisting Corridors level 8; the Mawsworn Soulhunter, a low percentage drop from the biweekly Shadehounds event in the Beast Warrens; and the Bound Shadehound, a craftable mount added in patch 9.0.5. While these mount methods will continue to work in 9.1, those who have been unable to acquire any of them (or has refused to reroll Druid) will soon be able to use their own mounts to get around.

Fortunately, it doesn’t take long to acquire the right to do so. If you’ve completed the full 9.0 campaign, you will receive the quest The First Move upon logging in after patch 9.1 goes live (if you don’t get it right away, go to Oribos and it should pop up). There will be a series of expository quests — and a viewing of the 9.1 cinematic — followed by a scenario in Ardenweald. Once that sequence is completed, players need to visit our old friend Ve’nari who will assist us in reaching the new zone of Korthia. A couple of quests later and you’re granted the ability to use any mount in your collection, although, of course, you will not be able to fly in the Maw.

Even though the unlock is not account-wide, it’s easy to earn the ability to ride in the Maw on your alts. Blizzard has added a skip for alts that lets them go straight to Korthia while also removing the Eye of the Jailer — although your first character will be required to remove the Eye manually in order to unlock this skip. Fresh 60s have additional skips they can leverage starting in 9.1, however doing so will cause you to miss out on the rewards provided by the quests, so review them carefully before choosing to skip. Of course, if you’ve unlocked any of the pre-9.1 Maw mounts, your alts can simply use them — including in the Maw opening scenario at level 50.

Updated 7/7/2021.