Pandarian champion
Pandarian champions are special rare mobs found wandering the continent of Pandaria. Attackable by both Alliance and Horde players, champions provide a tougher challenge than most, and drop special loot. Defeating Pandarian champions is the objective of the achievements 
[A Worthy Opponent], [Could We Find More Like That?] and [Glorious!]. There are 56 Pandarian champions in total.
Although not elites, champions have far more health than normal mobs. They also have a number of special abilities, and defeating them requires players to use more strategy than is usually required with other mobs. Champions' special attacks are extremely powerful, and can often defeat adventurers with just a few blows. With their massive health pools, defeating a champion usually takes some time, if the player can survive that long.
Notes
Champions' loot is fittingly exceptional. When defeated, each champion drops one of a number of pieces of rare armor, as well as having a reasonable chance of dropping a 
[Small Bag of Goods] and/or a special item unique to that champion. These special items include epic weapons and leg armor, as well as trinkets, bags of items, and a number of unique rare items and trinkets, offering on-use effects ranging from fun (
[Panflute of Pandaria], 
[Pandaren Firework Launcher]) to powerful (
[Overgrown Lilypad], 
[Dynasty of Steel]).
The champion's zone determines both its level and the type of special item it has a chance to drop. Each zone also has a selection of rare armor from which the standard loot for all champions in that zone is chosen, with each zone's champions offering armor for a different slot.
| Zone | Level | Special item | Rare loot type (item level) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jade Forest | 85 | Epic weapons | Rare leg armor (400) |
| Valley of the Four Winds | 86 | Trinkets and items with on-use effects | Rare hand armor (410) |
| Krasarang Wilds | 87 | Epic leg armor | Rare head armor (420) |
| Kun-Lai Summit | 88 | Trinkets and items with on-use effects Exception:  [Forager's Gloves] |
Rare wrist armor (430) |
| Townlong Steppes | 89 | Bags of items | Rare neck slot items (440) |
| Dread Wastes | 90 | Trinkets and items with on-use effects | Rare chest armor (440/450) |
| Vale of Eternal Blossoms | 91 | Trinkets and items with on-use effects | Rare back armor (440) |
Originally, all champion drops were unique to champions, and could not be obtained from any other source. However, with patch 5.2.0, certain mobs related to the Isle of Thunder storyline were introduced, with a chance to drop 
[Big Bag of Zandalari Supplies]. These bags have a chance to drop the exact same items dropped from [Big Bag of Mysteries], most notably including the epic weapon drops from the Jade Forest champions, and the epic leg armor drops from the Krasarang Wilds champions. While not unique to champions, [Small Bag of Zandalari Supplies] (available from the same mobs) also drops the exact same items as [Small Bag of Goods]. Patch 5.4.0 will also allow several previously unique champion items to drop from mobs on the Timeless Isle, as part of the achievement 
[Going To Need A Bigger Bag]. Whether further expansions will make other champion drops available from other sources remains to be seen.
The level requirement of epic gear drops matches that of the champion it dropped from - either 85 or 87 - while the level requirement for trinkets and items is either 1 or 85; all rare gear drops from champions require level 85. Most champion drops are bind on pickup, except for a few epic items which are bind on equip. There are a few exceptions: the 
[Elixir of Ancient Knowledge], which is bind to account; the 
[Hozen Peace Pipe], which can be traded freely but has a level 90 requirement; and Lon the Bull, who is a level lower than the other champions in his zone. 
[Ook-Breaker Mace] is also exceptional in that it is the special item dropped by both Mister Ferocious and Ferdinand - the only one to be shared between two champions.
Every major race on Pandaria has its champions: the hozen, jinyu, mantid, mogu, pandaren, saurok and yaungol are all represented among them. Champions' health and levels vary, but their capabilities are determined by their race, with all champions of that race sharing the same set of abilities. The exception is the mogu, who have two types: warriors and sorcerers. Each zone has 8 champions - one of each type - meaning there are 7 examples of each type of champion.
Champions vary in level between 85 and 91, with health pools as large as 4 million hit points. Some are neutral to players - until attacked - while most are hostile and will attack if players stray too close. Pandarian champions are immune to a number of crowd control effects, including fear effects, horror effects, 
[Cyclone] and 
[Mind Control]. However, they can be stunned, interrupted, disoriented, silenced, rooted, snared and knocked back.
For a list of loot offered by each champion, or for information on each type of champion's abilities and behavior, see the individual champion pages.
Champions
Tips
The difficulty of overcoming champions varies depending on the type and level of both the champion and the player. Some types of champion are far harder for certain classes to defeat, and many require the use of interrupts and evasive manoeuvres throughout the fight. Learn the abilities and behaviour of each type, and how best to use your abilities against them.
Trivia
- Each champion comes with a unique say emote, prompted upon engaging the champion in combat. However, champions rarely use these emotes, and it is possible to defeat a given champion several times without seeing their signature emote. Nonetheless, these quotes serve to add some unique character to each champion.
- While each type of champion has its own strengths and weaknesses, saurok champions for some reason generally possess fewer hit points than other kinds. The difference increases by level: the level 85 saurok Sarnak's health is equal to that of the other Jade Forest champions, while the level 91 saurok Moldo One-Eye has only 85% of the health of the other champions in the Vale of Eternal Blossoms.
See also
[I'm In Your Base, Killing Your Dudes] - Faction-specific champions found in Krasarang Wilds
[Champions of Lei Shen] - Rare elites on the Isle of Thunder
Patch changes
Patch 5.4.0 (2013-09-10): Rare mobs in Pandaria are now marked with a 
on the minimap. - Patch 5.3.0 (2013-05-21): All champions now have a rare chance of dropping Blood-Soaked Invitation.
- Hotfix (2013-01-14): Various Hozen rare spawns can now be slain appropriately.
- Hotfix (2012-12-10): Various Hozen rare spawn creatures are now less likely to evade and despawn.
- Patch 5.0.4 (2012-08-28): All Pandarian champions and related achievements added.
