Skyriding & Steady Flight Flying Guide

The Dragonflight expansion brought a new type of flying to the game, finally updating the existing flight mechanics that were first introduced in The Burning Crusade. In The War Within, the Dragonriding system has expanded to include many other types of flying mounts, and has been given a new name to match: Skyriding. Along with this new form of dynamic flight, the original version of flying will remains available and has been given a new name of its own: Steady Flight.

This guide will tell you how each type of flying is unlocked, how they each work, and how you can swap between the two types of flying in World of Warcraft: The War Within.

Skyriding

Skyriding is the new name for Dragonriding, which is the more active form of flying that was added to the game in the Dragonflight expansion. This type of flying has also been called Dynamic Flight. Where Dragonriding was limited to specific dragon mounts, Skyriding has been expanded to include most of the flying mounts in the game.

Skyriding is unlocked at level 15 by default, but if you’ve already unlocked it on another character, you can get it as early as level 10 by heading to the Dragon Isles. You’ll be able to use it as soon as you arrive there. For Dracthyr, it will be unlocked right away. Once unlocked, Skyriding will be available anywhere that flying is possible, including the new continent of Khaz Algar. You don’t have to unlock it separately there.

Movement speed for Skyriding is 830% within the Dragon Isles and 705% everywhere else. There must be something in the air on the Dragon Isles that allows you to fly faster there.

Many old mounts have been adapted to work with Skyriding, including new animations for the skills. Skyriding-enabled mounts will be visible in the Mounts tab of the Warband Collections interface (hotkey Shift-P by default), where they will say “Skyriding” right underneath the mount’s name in the list.

Skyriding Skill Tree

In Dragonflight, Dragonriding skills were unlocked by collecting special glyphs throughout the Dragon Isles. In The War Within, Skyriding skills are unlocked automatically just like your other abilities.

New players will acquire the skills as they level. If you’ve already unlocked them on another character, they’ll be available immediately when you learn Skyriding. The skill tree has also been trimmed down and streamlined. Your alts will automatically have the same skill loadout applied without the need to fill it out every time.

There is one swappable talent, Riding Along, that can be changed on a per character basis. This talent allows you to enable or disable the ability to have another person in your group ride on your mount with you.

You can access the skill tree from the Mounts tab in your Warband Collections interface (hotkey Shift-P by default). Just click on the Skyriding button at the top, then click on Skills and Unlocks. You’ll also find all of your Skyriding abilities in this window.

Skyriding Abilities

As your Skyriding skill increases, you’ll gain the use of several abilities. These can be found in the General tab of your Spellbook. Click on Skyriding there to extend its menu and see the abilities that are available. These can be dragged to your action bars.

Skyriding Glyphs

There are still Dragonriding Glyphs that can be collected across the Dragon Isles, and new Skyriding Glyphs scattered across Khaz Algar. These glyphs are only there to be collected for achievements and are no longer required to level up your Skyriding skill.

Steady Flight

Steady Flight refers to the original style of flying that was added to the game in The Burning Crusade. This method of flying does not require as much active engagement as Skyriding. You simply point your mount in the direction you want to go, and go. It is significantly slower, but can be more convenient and easier to control.

All characters learn Steady Flight automatically at level 20 with the Expert Riding skill. Steady Flight starts at 220% speed (up from 150%) and increases to 420% (up from 310%) when Master Riding is learned automatically at level 30. This version of flying can be used for most of the mounts in the game. There are no special skills or talent tree for this mode of flying.

Steady Flight is not immediately available in Khaz Algar and must be unlocked before it can be used there. To unlock Steady Flight in Khaz Algar, you will need to complete the achievement The War Within Pathfinder, which requires the following:

• Complete the main story quests in Khaz Algar:
  • The Isle of Dorn
  • The Ringing Deeps
  • Hallowfall
  • Azj-Kahet
• Explore each of the zones in Khaz Algar:
  • Khaz Algar Explorer
    • Explore the Isle of Dorn
    • Explore The Ringing Deeps
    • Explore Hallowfall
    • Explore Azj-Kahet
• Note that unlike for previous Pathfinder achievements, there are no reputation requirements

How to Change Your Flight Style

You can change your flight style by opening the Mounts tab in the Warbands Collections interface (hotkey Shift-P by default). At the top of the window, you’ll see an icon labeled Skyriding. This will open a small dropdown menu where you can select the Switch Flight Style option.

Changing flight styles requires a 5-second cast, so you can’t do it while mounted. You’ll learn the Switch Flight Style ability at level 20 when you learn Expert Riding.

You can also drag the Switch Flight Style ability to your bars from the Spellbook or Mounts tab.

Druid and Dracthyr Flying

The Dracthyr Soar ability now functions like any other type of flying, and uses your current settings and speed for Skyriding or Steady Flight. The cooldown has also been significantly reduced to 10 seconds.

Druid Flight Form likewise functions like any flying mount and will automatically use your choice of Skyriding or Steady Flight.

Special Mounts

There are two new mounts in The War Within that bear special mention due to their unique mechanics.

Delver’s Dirigible

The Delver’s Dirigible is a fully customizable flying mount that is earned by completing Delves. Throughout your adventures, you’ll be able to unlock additional modules for the mount, allowing you to customize many aspects of its appearance similar to how dragon manuscripts worked at the Rostrum of Transformation in Dragonflight.

Algarian Stormrider

The Algarian Stormrider is a special flying mount that comes with the Heroic and Epic Editions of The War Within. This mount has a couple of one-of-a-kind Skyriding features: a unique Vigor bar in the UI and a special ability called Lightning Rush that replaces Whirling Surge. This ability allows the rider to gain a boost of speed without spending any Vigor, instead acquiring Static Charges by flying near walls and spending them to use the ability.

Mount Equipment

Mount equipment, added to the game in Battle for Azeroth, remains in the game and can be equipped in the Mounts tab of the Warband Collections interface. There have been no new equipment items added with The War Within, but the existing equipment should work just fine with Skyriding mounts. We’ve included the available equipment here for completion’s sake.