How do I get the warclaw now?

Two free routes: spend one World Ability Point on Warclaw Mastery in WvW, or play the Unknown Territory chapter of Janthir Wilds for the PvE version.

Does the warclaw still cost 8 gold?

No. That was the old route through the Warclaw Reward Track and it no longer applies, though plenty of guides still say it does.

Can I use the warclaw outside WvW?

Yes, with Janthir Wilds, which grants the PvE version through the story. Using it inside WvW still needs Path of Fire and that one ability point.

Warclaw: it used to cost 8 gold, now it is free

The Warclaw is a case of the game being simplified while its reputation stayed put. Guides still circulate telling you to bank 8 gold and grind a reward track. Skip all that. It is free now, and it takes minutes.

Route one: WvW

Requires Path of Fire.

Enter any World versus World map.
Spend one World Ability Point on the Warclaw Mastery line.

Done. The mount is yours and works in WvW immediately.

World Ability Points come from WvW ranks, and the first arrives almost at once: spend a little time on the map and take part in something.

If you have never set foot in WvW: it is a running war between three teams across large maps. Any level works, since your character is scaled to 80, but your gear’s stats stay as they are (what that means in practice).

Route two: Janthir Wilds

If you own Janthir Wilds, the mount arrives through the story and works in PvE.

Play the chapter “Unknown Territory”. It includes an objective to feed the warclaw Barbed Vale’s concoction so it learns to trust you. That unlocks the mount, its mastery track and the Janthir Wilds Warclaw skin.

Using it in WvW still wants Path of Fire and that same single World Ability Point.

How it used to work

For context, since the old guides are still in the search results. You once had to:

spend a World Ability Point to open the Warclaw Companion collection
complete an entire Warclaw Reward Track
buy the mount from Elvie the Warclaw Tender for 8 gold

That was hours in WvW for players who never go there. One step of that chain survives.

What the warclaw can do

Most guides stop at how to unlock it, which is why players ride one for months without knowing it has a kit.

Battle Maul pounces on a target. Anything close by takes a second strike and gets stunned, which is how a warclaw opens a fight rather than fleeing one.

Chain Pull damages enemies and structures by dragging a chain across them. In WvW this is how a mounted player contributes to a gate instead of standing around waiting for the siege to finish.

Sniff uses the animal’s nose to locate enemies and hunt for treasure. Against a thief who thinks nobody can see them, this changes the conversation.

Lance throws a lance at your target, and Dash moves you forward quickly while evading attacks.

The mastery track

Janthir Wilds added a full track, and two entries on it matter to everyone rather than only to WvW players:

Nine Lives cuts falling damage while riding
Feline Reflexes lets you jump in midair while mounted
Wild Claws damages enemies you dash through
Feral Fury adds damage while mounted, plus stun and defiance damage on spear skills
🔴 Well Rested raises endurance regeneration for every mount you own by 20%

That last one is the quiet reason to finish the track even if you never touch WvW. It is not a warclaw upgrade; it is a global mount upgrade sitting inside a warclaw track, and plenty of players never notice it is there.

Is it worth having

In WvW, without question. Distances are long and infantry is slow.

In PvE it loses to the rest of the roster: no vertical jump like the Springer, no gliding over water like the Skimmer, no flight at all. But it is free, and spare speed never hurts.

The reason to take it now is that it costs minutes and lasts forever. There is nothing to gain by putting it off.

The other eight sit in the general table.