I recently became exalted with Emperor Shaohao and earned my Heavenly Golden Cloud Serpent. I wanted this mount because, while it is attainable by everyone, it's still pretty rare. I have only ever seen another player with one once.It's understandable because it required a lot of patience and repetition, but it was actually one of the most fun things I did this expansion. I highly enjoyed the fact that this mount could become mine with just time and effort.
I didn't have to get lucky on a drop (I actually have had the Thundering Onyx Cloud Serpent drop twice - I still have the other one in my priest's bags), I didn't have to win a roll over my guildmates, and I didn't have to pay 25 dollars. I just had to keep killing Ordon - for seemingly ever. And so that's what I did.
While the stronger, elite mobs in The Blazing Way gave more reputation per kill, it was actually just entertaining enough to aoe farm mobs in the Firewalker Ruins that I could keep up with it without really feeling burnt out. I enjoyed dotting up as many mobs as possible and then kiting them around, popping instant starsurges on them until there were just a few left, then picking up more mobs before those even died. I would be in combat for the entire duration that it took for me to kill every Ordon within range, only taking breaks to loot periodically. I also farmed at the Firewalker Ruins because I was after Jakur of Ordon's unique drop - [Warning Sign], which I have still have yet to obtain.
I'm on a high pop server, so it was rare that there wouldn't be five or more other players farming both the Firewalker Ruins and The Blazing Way. If the area was overrun with other people, I would get cross realm invites to lower pop servers, which were often PvP servers. I play on a PvE server - though I'm not afraid of some spur of the moment combat, I just prefer to be left alone.
One of the most common excuses I hear that people don't want to farm for this mount is that they're on a PvP server, which is funny when you consider that I purposefully phased to those realms in order to farm easier. Of course, I did end up encountering players who would engage me while I was farming. If it was a larger group of people I would usually be forced to phase back to my own realm as it would be too much of an interruption to farming, though the lone, brave, and highly mistaken assailant would usually learn to leave me alone quickly.
There were several days where I logged on, headed to the Timeless Isle, and just farmed there until I was too tired to continue. It definitely took a lot of time - in real time it took me about two and a half weeks, but that includes two separate days off where I farmed from when I woke up to when I went to sleep, along with getting help from friends a few times.
It made it seem like I had a lot going on in game, making sure to get my valor, raiding two nights a week, and then squeezing as much reputation farming in as possible. Once I finally hit that last stretch and triumphantly went to the emperor to claim my gorgeous, glowing mount, I went to Shrine and sat outside the archway on my mount.
"...What did I do before this?"
I was excited and proud of my new mount, but killing Ordon was all I had been doing for two straight weeks. It really felt like I had just beaten a really fun game. I really enjoyed the experience, even though I know some people fall asleep at the mere thought of farming mobs for two weeks straight. For a mount that is readily available to anyone, not many people have it, or they don't choose to rock it. It's my favorite mount, though - at least for the moment.
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