Follow the Janthir Wilds story
Progress through the first story chapter, Unknown Territory, until you reach the objective involving Barbed Vale's warclaw.
← Mount roadmap
Janthir Wilds or Path of Fire
Warclaw
WvW battle mount and fast PvE travel
The warclaw has a modern story unlock for PvE through Janthir Wilds and a separate World versus World activation requirement for its WvW use.
Collection walkthrough
Your unlock path
Earn the mount
Complete the objective that feeds Barbed Vale's concoction to the warclaw. This unlocks the mount, its PvE mastery track, and the Janthir Wilds skin.
Activate WvW use
For World versus World, enter a WvW map and spend one World Ability Point in the Warclaw Mastery section.
After the unlock
Make the most of your Warclaw
✦Use its mobility to keep up with WvW groups
✦Train the WvW mastery ranks for battle and siege skills
✦Remember PvE and WvW mastery systems are different
Field note · The historical Warclaw Companion collection is no longer the direct PvE route; use the Janthir Wilds story route for the current account unlock.
Current unlock paths
Warclaw in PvE and WvW
Janthir Wilds · PvE
Begin Unknown Territory
Own Janthir Wilds and start its first story chapter. Follow the chapter from Divinity's Reach through Moon Camp into Lowland Shore; no separate collection or WvW reward track is needed for this PvE route.
Pacify the captured Warclaw
Follow Barbed Vale during the story and reduce the hostile warclaw as directed. Use the chapter's special action skill to soothe it whenever the objective asks you to pacify the animal.
Feed the concoction
At the taming pen, feed Barbed Vale's concoction to help the warclaw trust you. This is the exact unlock moment: it awards the Warclaw, its PvE mastery track, and the Janthir Wilds Warclaw skin.
Train in open world
After the story unlock, use the PvE mastery line in Janthir and other PvE maps. It improves traversal and combat options, but these masteries do not carry into WvW.
World versus World
Enter a normal WvW borderland
For Warclaw access in World versus World, you need Path of Fire. Enter Eternal Battlegrounds or an Alpine/Desert Borderlands rather than relying on Edge of the Mists.
Spend one World Ability Point
Open the WvW ability panel and spend one World Ability Point in the Warclaw Mastery section. This activation is per character, so do it on every character you plan to bring into WvW.
Treat it as a separate toolkit
WvW uses World Ability ranks, not the PvE Janthir mastery line. The Warclaw helps groups move, supports nearby unmounted allies, and gains battle and siege-focused tools through WvW progression.
Field manual
Use the Warclaw well
PvE movement
The modern PvE Warclaw is fast and can be remounted in combat with a longer follow-up cooldown. Use it for ground travel and short traversal rather than replacing your vertical mounts.
WvW discipline
Do not race ahead of a squad alone. Stay with the commander, watch the mount's health and defiance bar, and dismount early when a fight is about to start.
Keep the modes separate
A Janthir Wilds unlock does not by itself enable WvW riding. For WvW you still need Path of Fire and the World Ability Point activation.