Recruit a friend for World of Warcraft, get a winged panther mount

Every so often, Blizzard enlists its still faithful World of Warcraft players to bring new blood into the game for a free item. It's that time again, and the prize this time is yet another new mount, the Obsidian Nightwing.

There is a difference in this mount, though.This time, you become the winged panther and players will get to ride on your back. With the debut of the new mount, Blizzard is retiring the X-53 Touring Rocket as a Recruit-a-Friend reward.

Also, you only get the mount when the new player pays for their second month, according to the new Recruit-a-Friend post on the World of Warcraft blog. The rest of the program stays the same: free play to level 20 for the new player and bonus experience and you and your friend group up. The mount will not be rewarded for accounts that are reactivated. Read the full FAQ for all the details.

Blizzard is obviously trying to maintain its player base in anticipation of the upcoming Mists of Pandaria expansion, which should be coming later this year.