Blizzard explains the early WotLK No-Flight-Rule
by Dan O'Halloran 
Aug 25th 2007 at 4:30PM
Many players were unhappy to hear that their hard earned flying mounts aren't usable in the early parts of the Wrath of the Lich King expansion. Every player has to beg, borrow and steal to scrape together the 5,000g for their epic flying mount. Or in this case: grind, loot and mine. Why should they have to put aside their hard earned and beloved mount?Recently, CM Bornakk explained the reasoning behind that unpopular decision. Essentially, they don't want players flying over the early content. The entire expansion is designed with a certain progression in mind from zone to zone. Flying would make that irrelevant.
There will be a point in the expansion where flight will be enabled in Northrend. Blizzard is currently considering level 78, but hasn't made a concrete decision.
What do you guys think? Should flight be enabled immediately or should you enjoy the early zones flightless?
Filed under: News items, Mounts, Wrath of the Lich King
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Mainstay Aug 25th 2007 4:37PM
They should add like huge cannons or something randomly scattered across the zone and you have to do a certain quest in each area to get access to flight space above that zone. That way you can fly short distances low to the ground or something, but not like fly all over the world with ease.
Ryan Aug 25th 2007 4:38PM
Just as long as they don't make us pay another 5000g, I'll wait till 80.
Fletch Aug 25th 2007 4:41PM
I think that decision makes sense. Flight definitely trivializes a lot of the later Outlands content.
Laukidh Aug 25th 2007 4:43PM
And at 78 will we be able to fly through all of Azeroth, or just Northrend? This is some poor planning by Bliz. They need to get cracking on opening up flying mounts throughout the entire game.
Gogey Aug 25th 2007 4:48PM
Lau, its not going to happen. Unless of course, you'd like to go back 2 years of content and fix up the maps for what was not intended.
And yes, I support blizzards decision for WotLK.
Kraf Aug 25th 2007 4:57PM
I think that is completely fine, it makes complete sense. It is so you don't just fly over everything and skip it all, and there not gonna make us pay anymore more to fly anyway
Cellea Aug 25th 2007 5:03PM
If they could hurry up and get the air/ground combat going like this games inspiration, wc3, etc, I think flight would trivialize nothing. I personally think this new zone which has destructible buildings and siege weapons is blizzard foot in the door to the kind of game I suggest, I think they wanted it all along but it would be a monster of a project to debug, so we'll continue to get trickles of functionality until we are basically playing wc3 except with individuals controlling each toon.
Zerrian Aug 25th 2007 5:04PM
@4 - Northrend will be just like Draenei and Blood Elf starting areas. Its going to be a technical "instance" and you won't be able to fly from, lets say, Undercity or Ironforge directly to the respective flight points in Northrend.
As for Blizzards move to cut off flying till at least 78 is a great idea. I for one want to know the story line of this new expansion. Roam around in the new content. And just see everything there is to see.
Having experienced just about all the outdoor quests with my main character in Outlands, I speed through it with my 2nd 70 since I know whats going on.
Alegis Aug 25th 2007 5:11PM
It's a great decision, as long as we don't have to pay for another flight unlock skill.
grady450 Aug 25th 2007 5:16PM
I'm really not seeing a whole lot of incentive to get a flying mount, they might be cool and all, but we can't use them in Azeroth, can't use them in Northrend, only in outlands?
Joshua Ochs Aug 25th 2007 5:18PM
Let me buck the trend by saying this is an incredibly STUPID decision. There's a simple way to prevent people from bypassing content - make the other zones harder - duh. If I had a flying mount in Outlands from day 1, I would have been able to look at all the pretty zones, but I wouldn't have been able to land (other than gathering flightpaths).
Arbitrarily cutting abilities like this - especially something that took so much work/time to get and is so enjoyable - stinks of piss-poor-planning.
As for the rest of Azeroth, I most certainly do want them to finish all the various "broken" bits of landscape that they left half done. My flying mount is faster than my land mount and allows me to go straight from point A to point B. At level 70, I'm not bypassing any content, I'm shaving a few minutes off a trip to Scarlet Monastery or similarly remote areas of the Plaguelands.
Fish Aug 25th 2007 5:37PM
@7 have you done the skyguard bombing quest in Ogri'la? Its pretty darn close. It takes a lot of manuverablilty to stay atop your mount through all 15 bombs.
As for the main question I understand blizzards thinking on this. I like the idea of opening up flight in each progressive zone, as you complete quests it opens up a flight quest for that zone.
kabes Aug 25th 2007 5:28PM
Hmmm, this sounds fine to me.
It'll be good for those who haven't bought epic flying mounts yet because they'll likely make enough gold going from 70-80 to buy it.
hehe Aug 25th 2007 5:31PM
Painted themselves into a bloody corner is what they did...
If they can't let us use flying mounts, why not allow the flying mount to be used on the ground until you can "unlock" the ability to fly, and increase the speed it can run on the ground (maybe like 150%)
stona Aug 25th 2007 5:37PM
i think that ppl who have 300 riding skill should ride Northern with their ground mount with 280% speed rather than 100% ...
bonemaul Aug 27th 2007 7:37AM
I'm with the first poster, I'd like flying mounts to be there but with lots of dangers at lower levels, e.g. ground based anti-air (ala Blade's Edge Plateaus), flying area defenders (ala main faction towns in Outland), random flying mobs, etc. There should be lots of ways to get people off the flying mounts, let's be more creative than just arbitrarily ban them...
Jay Aug 25th 2007 5:45PM
Is it really that hard to populate the sky with mobs that can dismount you and make the chance of dismount be based on your level relative to the sky defense mobs? We all went into the Outlands with epic land mounts and discovered ourselves being stunned and dismounted, forced to engage the content instead of racing past it, I'd think the devs at Blizzard would be smart enough to come up with a similar approach for keeping us from exploiting our flyers, yet not just completely take a hard earned ability away from us...
Lori Aug 25th 2007 5:49PM
I kind of agree with the decission. I skipped some Outland quests on my way to 70 and they were very easy when I came back to them with a flying mount. The Jumpatron in Nagrand is one example.
However, I would progress normally even if I initally had my flying mount so it seems they are punishing me to force otheres into the same progression.
This would be much easier to take if flying mounts were enabled in steps. Like a new zone is enabled for level 72, 74, 76 etc. rather then all at 78.
Dave Aug 25th 2007 6:01PM
The only way I'm happy with this decision, is if our epic flying mountts are able to run on land faster than epic land mounts.
There should be some reflection for the fact that you have a mount that cost you 5k, other than "lolz you are not ready to fly in the cold northern air".
I'm still a little disappointed you can't use just one mount for land or air. I'd have figured that a flying epic mount that's fully capable of running on land before you take off would be mountable but not flyable in azeroth.
I want to be able to ride a walking netherdrake in northrend. And maybe when I can afford 375 riding skill for 10k gold or whatever retardo amount it may end up being... then I'll fly him around, but I want it to go at least %300 ground speed in Azeroth. (or 250, or at least something significantly higher than a 1k gold normal epic mount)
brett Aug 25th 2007 6:36PM
I think a hilarious way to limit flight would be some kind of goblin DMV for flying mounts.
.. but yeah. I dunno if anyone else noticed but once you got your flying mount in BC the quests because absurdly easy. "Oh I have to kill that elite up there behind all that trash." *Fly up, dismount, drop on elite, kill, mount up, fly out.*