How do I save gold on the jackal?

Buy it the same day you complete Drojkor's renown heart. It costs 200 Trade Contracts and 20 gold that day, and 30 gold 40 silver afterwards.

Where do I buy the springer and skimmer?

The springer from Stablemaster Unja at Highjump Ranch in Desert Highlands, the skimmer from Skimmer Trainer Ardra at Skimmer Ranch in Elon Riverlands.

Where do Trade Contracts come from?

Renown hearts on Crystal Desert maps. They are repeatable daily, and 300 contracts covering all four mounts accumulate while you play through the expansion.

In what order should I unlock them?

Raptor from the story, then Canyon Jumping mastery, then springer, then skimmer, then High Vault or Ride the Wind, and only then the jackal.

The four Path of Fire mounts: trainers and prices

Path of Fire hands out four mounts and only one of them is free. The rest are sold by specific NPCs on specific maps, for gold and for Trade Contracts, the currency that Crystal Desert hearts pay out.

The order is fixed: each one is needed to reach the next.

Raptor: free

Arrives on its own in the first chapter of the expansion story, “Sparking the Flame”. Nothing to buy.

Train its Canyon Jumping mastery straight away. Without it you cannot physically reach the next two vendors.

Springer: 50 Trade Contracts + 1 gold

Vendor: Stablemaster Unja. Where: Highjump Ranch, Desert Highlands.

Getting there: head into Stampede Uplands in the north of Desert Highlands, then follow the cliffs north-west to the Highjump Gap point of interest, west of Auburn Hills. The gap is crossed on a raptor with Canyon Jumping.

Before he sells, finish the repeatable heart “Help out around Highjump Ranch” (level 80).

One gold for a vertical jump is the best value in the game. Half of every map that looked closed opens up the moment you own it.

Skimmer: 50 Trade Contracts + 4 gold

Vendor: Skimmer Trainer Ardra. Where: Skimmer Ranch, centre-west of the Elon Riverlands.

Needs the raptor’s Canyon Jumping again, plus the repeatable heart “Use a skimmer to help with training around the ranch” (level 80).

The skimmer glides over water and, on later maps, over lava. On expansion terrain that is not a luxury, it is how you avoid walking round half the map.

Jackal: 200 Trade Contracts + 20 gold

Vendor: Drojkor, Spirit Squall. Where: the Djinn Enclave in Sand Jackal Run, south-west of The Desolation.

Needs the Springer’s High Vault mastery or the Skimmer’s Ride the Wind, plus the repeatable heart “Help Drojkor, Spirit Squall, control jackals” (level 80).

The trick that saves 10 gold 40 silver

One detail makes the price tag negotiable.

Buy on the same day you complete the heart. Then the jackal costs 200 Trade Contracts and 20 gold. Come back later and it rises to 200 Trade Contracts and 30 gold 40 silver.

That is 10 gold 40 silver for not sleeping on it. So the plan runs backwards from the purchase: collect 200 contracts and 20 gold first, and only then go and finish Drojkor’s heart.

What each of the four does in a fight

Every mount has an engage skill, and almost nobody presses them.

Raptor has Tail Spin, which with the Round Up mastery drags enemies together into one pile. Springer has Cannonball, and with Forceful Impact it knocks everything down where it lands. Jackal has Pounce, which with Bolster Allies leaves barrier on the people around you.

And then the skimmer.

Barrel Roll is the skimmer’s engage, and with the Rejuvenating Revival mastery it revives downed allies. The mount that looks like a decorative floating manta is the only one in the game that can pick a stranger up off the floor without you dismounting.

Think about what that means in an open-world meta when six people go down at once and everyone else is busy. Somebody drifts in on a skimmer, rolls once, and three of them stand up. It is the single kindest button in Guild Wars 2 and the game never tells you it exists.

The rules that apply to all mounts

Three shared mechanics that change how you play, none of them explained anywhere in the interface.

🔴 The endurance bar is shared between mounts. Not with your own dodge bar, but between every mount you own. Burn the raptor’s bar sprinting across a map and your springer will not jump when you swap to it. This catches people for years.

The mount takes the damage, not you. While mounted, hits land on the mount’s health bar. When that empties you are thrown off and knocked down for a moment, and the mount is still fine afterwards. It is a free layer of hit points on every trip through hostile ground.

You can dismount in midair and start gliding. Springer up, step off, open the glider. Half the shortcuts veterans take across expansion maps are that one trick repeated.

The sequence, short

First story chapter → Raptor
Train Canyon Jumping
Highjump Ranch heart → Springer for 1 gold
Skimmer Ranch heart → Skimmer for 4 gold
Train High Vault or Ride the Wind
Bank 200 contracts and 20 gold
Only now finish Drojkor’s heart and buy the Jackal the same day

Where Trade Contracts come from

From Crystal Desert hearts. They are repeatable, so the same heart pays again the next day. Farming them on purpose is rarely needed: the 300 contracts these four mounts want accumulate while you play through the expansion.

Next on the list is the Griffon at 250 gold, and the rest of the roster sits in one table.