Mount Donan‘s Favor is an early quest in Diablo 4 that rewards the player with their first free mount. Obtaining a mount quickly is hugely beneficial, as mounts are essential for swiftly traversing the massive open world in Diablo 4. In this comprehensive guide, I‘ll walk through how to complete the Mount Donan‘s Favor quest and acquire your first mount, along with tips to maximize your mount‘s potential.
Why Mounts Matter in Diablo 4
Before jumping into the quest itself, it‘s worth exploring why mounts are so valuable in Diablo 4. Diablo 4‘s world is over 150% larger than Diablo 3, with five fully explorable regions covering hundreds of square miles. Traveling on foot across these vast lands to complete objectives, events, and dungeons would be extremely time consuming.
This is where mounts come in. Mounts provide major boosts to your movement speed, cutting down travel time significantly. Having a mount early on makes a huge difference in how quickly you can get around the world and progress. Beyond travel efficiency, mounts also allow you to:
- Cover long distances without draining your stamina.
- Fight enemies while mounted using your full skillset.
- Increase your farming speed for loot, crafting materials, XP, etc.
- Reach high-level hunting grounds, events, and dungeons faster.
- Avoid dangerous enemies more easily while mounted.
In short, mounts supercharge your mobility and efficiency across all parts of Diablo 4. That‘s why obtaining one as soon as possible from the Mount Donan‘s Favor quest is so valuable.
Starting the Mount Donan‘s Favor Quest
To begin the Mount Donan‘s Favor quest, you first need to reach Kyovashad in the southern part of the Fractured Peaks region. Kyovashad can be found along the main road south from the mountains.
When you arrive in Kyovashad, head to the town‘s Stables located in the western part of the settlement. Here you will find Stable Master Oskar. Interact with Oskar and select the dialogue option that states:
"I‘m a friend of Donan‘s. He said you could provide a horse."
This will trigger the Mount Donan‘s Favor quest to begin. Oskar will go on to explain that Donan helped him long ago, and that he‘d be happy to provide you with a mount in return.
Choosing Your Free Mount
After starting the quest, Oskar will present you with a choice of three mounts:
Argent Courser
- An armored warhorse with high speed and stamina.
- Movement Speed: 14
- Stamina: 28
- No abilities or traits. A solid basic option.
Shadow Trotter
- A black horse with very high movement speed.
- Movement Speed: 16
- Stamina: 22
- No abilities or traits. Faster but with less stamina.
Golden Steed
- A gilded horse with balanced speed and stamina.
- Movement Speed: 15
- Stamina: 25
- No abilities or traits. The middle-ground option.
For most new players, I recommend selecting the Argent Courser. The Courser has a great blend of movement speed and stamina, meaning you can travel far and fast without having to stop and recover frequently. The extra stamina also gives more of a buffer for fighting on horseback.
However, if you really prioritize speed over all else, the Shadow Trotter may be preferable. Just be prepared to dismount more often to recover stamina. Keep in mind more exotic mounts with abilities and traits can be purchased later on.
Acquiring and Using Your Mount
Once you select your free mount, Oskar will automatically add it to your collection. You can then summon the mount at any time by pressing the default Mount hotkey (N). Simply press the key again to dismount.
The mount will be available for all characters on your account, not just the one that completed the quest. It will also appear in your Stables menu, where you can view all collected mounts.
Here are some tips for making the most of your new mount:
- Use the mount whenever traversing long distances on the overworld. Check your map regularly to plan an optimal route.
- Fight enemies while mounted to train your combat skills. Use abilities and attacks as normal.
- Press the Dismount hotkey when needing to recover stamina or enter dungeons and towns.
- Collect crafting materials and hunt rare spawns more efficiently. Cover more ground!
- Save up to buy additional rare/epic mounts with special traits and abilities.
- Utilize mounts to reach faraway objectives faster for quests and events.
Expanding Your Mount Collection
The mount from Mount Donan‘s Favor is just the beginning. There are many exotic mounts to collect across Sanctuary that offer different benefits:
- Rare Mounts – Special traits like dealing AoE damage. Around 5,000 gold.
- Epic Mounts – Unique abilities and bonuses. 15,000+ gold.
- Legendary Mounts – Extremely rare and powerful. Very expensive!
Here are some noteworthy mounts to work towards:
| Name | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Blaze Strider | Rare | 16 speed. Leaves fire behind. |
| Ivory Lion | Epic | 17 speed. Improved stamina regen. |
| Midnight Star | Legendary | 19 speed. Teleport ability. |
New mounts can be purchased from Stable Masters in major towns like Stormfall. Prices range from a few thousand gold for Rare mounts to tens of thousands for Legendary mounts.
Saving up to buy exotic mounts with superhuman speed, abilities, and traits is highly worthwhile. They can greatly empower your character and farming efficiency. The Mount Donan‘s Favor quest kicks things off by providing a very solid mount for free.
Conclusion
Completing Mount Donan‘s Favor and acquiring your first free mount is a major milestone in Diablo 4. Mounts provide a massive mobility upgrade that will forever change how you traverse and interact with the world. Make sure to obtain a mount as soon as possible to optimize your early game experience. This guide covers how to complete the quest, choose a mount, and leverage mounts to their full potential. Enjoy the ride!
