Cartels of Undermine: Choosing a Cartel and Its Rewards
How the Cartels of Undermine renown worked: signing weekly cartel contracts with Kaydee Racketring and the mounts, pets, and toys each one paid out.
By:
John Langan
Key Takeaways
- The Cartels of Undermine renown system arrived with Patch 11.1 "Undermine(d)" in The War Within and is now legacy content under Midnight.
- You allied with one of four cartels each week by signing a contract with Kaydee Racketring at the Incontinental Hotel; the choice was Warband-wide and reset every week.
- The four cartels were Bilgewater (red), Steamwheedle (green), Blackwater (blue), and Venture Company (yellow), each fronted by a goblin trade prince.
- Your chosen cartel decided which World Quests spawned for you in Undermine; Side Gigs at Slam Central Station let you earn reputation with the other three.
- Every reward was cosmetic. There was no player power, so the pick came down to which colour of G-99 Breakneck paint, mount, battle pet, and toy you wanted.
- Rewards were bought with Resonance Crystals from each cartel's quartermaster, with mounts gated behind Exalted standing.
When goblins finally got their home city in the spotlight, the Cartels of Undermine renown system gave players a fun weekly decision: pledge to one of four feuding goblin cartels and grind out its colour-coded loot. The system shipped with Patch 11.1 "Undermine(d)" during The War Within in early 2025. With Midnight now the live expansion, the cartels are legacy content, but the rewards are still chase-worthy and the system is simple once you know the rules. Here is how choosing a cartel worked and what each one handed out.
Choosing Your Cartel in Undermine
After finishing the introductory Undermine quests, you reported to Kaydee Racketring at the Incontinental Hotel and signed a contract with the cartel of your choice. That contract was Warband-wide, so it applied to every character on your account, and it locked in for the week. You could re-sign with a different cartel at the weekly reset, so no choice was ever permanent, but you could only feed one cartel's reputation at a time.
How the weekly choice worked
The flow was short and goblin-simple:
- Complete the intro questline, including "Welcome to Undermine," to unlock the cartel contracts.
- Speak with Kaydee Racketring at the Incontinental Hotel to review the four cartels.
- Sign with your preferred cartel. World Quests across Undermine then granted reputation toward that cartel for the rest of the week.
Your active cartel only steered which World Quests fed your renown bar. It granted no combat advantage, so you were free to chase whichever cartel's cosmetics you liked best.
Earning reputation with the other cartels
Committing to one cartel did not freeze the others out. Each week, Side Gigs appeared at Slam Central Station, a hub of one-off jobs handed out by the rival cartels. Completing a Side Gig awarded 100 reputation with that specific cartel plus 50 reputation toward the overarching Cartels of Undermine track, which let dedicated collectors keep all four bars ticking up over time.
📌 The common mistake was treating the weekly cartel pick as a power decision. It never was. Sign with whichever cartel owns the mount or pet you want next, and use Side Gigs to nudge the other three forward on the side.
Reputation Rewards by Cartel
Every cartel sold its rewards for Resonance Crystals through its own quartermaster, and standing gated the good stuff: mounts sat behind Exalted (Renown 19), while many battle pets and toys unlocked at Revered. The centrepiece was the G-99 Breakneck, the customizable goblin hot rod awarded during the Undermine(d) campaign. Each cartel's quartermaster stocked its own paint job for the Breakneck, plus a signature flying mount and a matching battle pet:
| Cartel (colour, trade prince) | Signature rewards |
|---|---|
| Bilgewater Cartel (red, Gazlowe) | Red G-99 Breakneck paint, Crimson Armored Growler mount, Bilgewater Junkhauler battle pet |
| Steamwheedle Cartel (green, Marin Noggenfogger) | Green G-99 Breakneck paint, Mean Green Flying Machine mount, Eepy battle pet |
| Blackwater Cartel (blue, Revilgaz) | Blue G-99 Breakneck paint, Blackwater Shredder Deluxe Mk 2 mount, Wavebreaker Mechasaur battle pet |
| Venture Company (yellow, Grimla Fizzlecrank) | Yellow G-99 Breakneck paint, Ocher Delivery Rocket mount, Rocketfist battle pet |
Beyond the headline mounts and pets, the cartel quartermasters also stocked a run of goblin toys, including the Storefront-in-a-Box, the Everlasting Noggenfogger Elixir, the Personal Fishing Barge, and the Throwin' Sawblade, all bought with Resonance Crystals at Revered standing. If you would rather collect the cartel mounts without grinding every reputation bar to Exalted, you can browse our WoW mount carries and have a team farm them for you.
Where Resonance Crystals came from
Resonance Crystals were the shared currency behind every cartel reward. The fastest source was the hourly Shipping & Handling event, a ten-minute delivery dash at the top of each hour where you drove your G-99 Breakneck around Undermine dropping off cargo. Between that event, World Quests, and Side Gigs, a focused player could bank enough crystals for a mount in a couple of weeks of casual play.
⚠️ Mounts cost roughly 11,375 Resonance Crystals each and required Exalted with the selling cartel, so plan your weekly cartel pick around the mount you are saving for rather than swapping every reset.
Frequently Asked Questions
What patch added the Cartels of Undermine?
The cartel renown system launched with Patch 11.1 "Undermine(d)" during The War Within, with content going live on February 25, 2025. It is now legacy content, since Midnight is the current expansion, but the rewards remain collectable.
Does my cartel choice affect player power?
No. The four cartels offer only cosmetic rewards: G-99 Breakneck paints, mounts, battle pets, toys, and transmog. There is no gear or combat bonus tied to any cartel, so you can pick purely on looks.
Can I change my cartel after I pick one?
Yes. The contract you sign with Kaydee Racketring lasts until the weekly reset, after which you can re-sign with any cartel. You can only earn World Quest reputation for one cartel per week, though.
How do I earn reputation with the cartels I did not choose?
Run the weekly Side Gigs at Slam Central Station. Each one grants 100 reputation with a specific rival cartel plus 50 reputation toward the overall Cartels of Undermine track, so you can chip away at all four over time.
How much do the cartel mounts cost?
Each signature mount runs about 11,375 Resonance Crystals and requires Exalted standing with the cartel that sells it. Battle pets and most toys are cheaper and unlock at Revered.
What is the G-99 Breakneck used for?
The G-99 Breakneck is the customizable goblin hot rod from the Undermine(d) campaign. Beyond being a mount with per-cartel paint jobs, it is the vehicle you drive in the hourly Shipping & Handling event to bank Resonance Crystals.
Final thoughts
The Cartels of Undermine system turned a reputation grind into a goblin loyalty game, and the only stakes were which colour of loot you walked away with. Pick the cartel whose mount you want most, sign with Kaydee Racketring, top up the others through Side Gigs, and let Shipping & Handling fund your Resonance Crystals. The whole cartel feud paid off in the raid that capped the storyline, so if you want to see how it ended you can book a Liberation of Undermine clear and watch Gallywix get his due.
Last reviewed 2026-06-24 against Patch 11.1, Undermine(d), The War Within. Maintained by WowCarry's WoW team.