Most reputation grinds cost you time and pay you a tabard. Netherwing is different: the Shadowmoon Valley daily hub pays real gold every single day, and the finish line is one of the most recognizable drakes in the game.
The structure
The Netherwing chain unlocks a daily circuit (eggs, races, mine work) that walks you from Neutral to Exalted across roughly two to three weeks of consistent play. At Exalted, the drake vendor is the reward: a full stable of Netherwing drakes for a token price.
The gold layer
- Daily payouts: the circuit pays a healthy sum per day at 70, competitive with other daily hubs, so the grind funds itself and then some.
- Egg RNG: world-spawn Netherwing eggs shortcut days off the grind. The mine egg route is the classic before-bed sweep; each egg is both rep and progress compression.
- Epic flying gate: the whole chain REQUIRES riding skill 300 - the 5,000g elephant. Factor it into your epic-flying decision: the drake is effectively the prestige reward for that purchase.
Efficiency notes
Batch the dailies into one flight loop instead of ping-ponging per quest; the circuit is geographically tight if you route it. Race dailies get faster with practice - the first day of fumbling is normal. And egg spawns reward off-peak hours: early mornings beat prime time for uncontested sweeps.
The verdict
As TBC long-term goals go, Netherwing is the rare one that is simultaneously prestige, gold-positive and fun. If epic flying is already in your hangar, there is no reason not to start the chain this week - and if it is not, the drake is one more argument for closing that 5,000g gap sooner rather than later.