You’ve been running Darkflame Cleft for three weeks straight. Your eyes are glazed over, your coffee is cold, and that final boss, The Darkness, just keeps coughing up the same mediocre gear instead of the one thing you actually want. We’ve all been there. The hunt for the Wick's Lead mount is basically a rite of passage in the latest World of Warcraft expansion, The War Within. It’s that chunky, adorable brown mole mount that everyone seems to have except you.
Let's talk numbers. Specifically, the Wick's Lead drop rate.
If you ask the general community, you’ll hear everything from "it's guaranteed if you wear a certain transmog" (false) to "it's basically 0%" (also false, but feels true). The reality is a bit more scientific, but no less frustrating. Based on data-mining and thousands of tracked runs from sites like Wowhead and various boosting communities, the Wick's Lead drop rate sits right around 2%.
Two percent. That’s low.
Why the Math is Probably Messing With You
Most players look at a 2% drop rate and think, "Okay, so if I run it 50 times, I’ll definitely get it."
That's not how RNG works. Each run is a vacuum. The game doesn't care that you failed 49 times before. On your 50th run, you still have a 98% chance of not getting it. It’s a cold, hard dice roll every single time you down The Darkness. Honestly, some players get it on their first Mythic run, while others are still grinding away at 100+ kills.
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The Mythic Lockout Struggle
Here is the real kicker that slows everyone down: Wick's Lead only drops on Mythic difficulty (including Mythic+).
If you’re running it on Heroic or Follower Dungeon mode thinking you’re being efficient, you’re actually just wasting your time. Stop. It won’t drop there. Because it’s tied to the Mythic lockout, you generally get one shot per character, per week, unless the dungeon is currently in the active Mythic+ season rotation.
When Darkflame Cleft is in the M+ pool, you can farm it infinitely. That is the "golden window." If it’s out of rotation, you’re stuck on that weekly drip-feed of disappointment.
How to Actually Improve Your Odds
You can't change the 2% code. You can, however, change how many times you roll the dice.
- Alt Armies: This is the old-school mount farmer's secret. If you have five level 80 characters, you have five 2% chances per week.
- The M+ Grind: If Darkflame Cleft is in the current season's Mythic+ rotation, get a group and spam those keys. Lower keys (like a +2) are just as good for the mount drop as a +20. Don't stress the difficulty; stress the speed.
- Challenger’s Cache: Remember that the mount can also appear in the chest at the end of a Mythic+ run. It's not just a direct loot drop from the boss's corpse anymore.
What People Get Wrong About "The Darkness"
There’s a common misconception that you need to do something specific during the fight to trigger the drop. I’ve seen people claim you have to keep the candles lit or kill the boss within a certain time limit.
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Total nonsense.
The loot table is determined the second the boss dies (or the chest is opened). There are no secret mechanics, no hidden "luck" stats, and no, Blizzard developers aren't personally throttling your account because you unsubscribed for a month back in 2024. It is pure, unadulterated randomness.
Actionable Next Steps for Your Farm
If you’re serious about adding this mole to your collection, here is the plan. Check the current Mythic+ map. If Darkflame Cleft is active this season, clear your schedule for a weekend and just spam +2 keys. If it isn't in the rotation, park your alts at the dungeon entrance in The Ringing Deeps. Log in every Tuesday after reset, run all your characters through on base Mythic, and then forget about it for the rest of the week.
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Consistency beats intensity when it comes to a 2% drop. Just keep pulling the lever. Eventually, the mole will be yours.