Northrend mount attunement will not be expensive
by Eliah Hecht 
Jul 7th 2008 at 3:00PM
What we haven't known is precisely when the mounts will be usable (though Ulduar's Halls of Stone, a level 77-79 dungeon, was said to require flying mounts), and whether the "mount mittens" (or whatever they actually implement) will be a tremendous gold sink. Today Bornakk puts as all at ease, by saying that flying mounts are currently set to be usable in Northrend at level 77, you will use the same mounts currently used in Outland, and it is not expected that "a large sum of gold" will be required (for another tier of mount skill or something). As always, this could change before the expansion goes live, but for now, it seems that we can look forward to not spending several thousand gold on griffin defrosting equipment.
Filed under: Mounts, Wrath of the Lich King
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Brawndo Jul 7th 2008 3:19PM
This is, obviously, good news if it remains true. It's always bothered me that we all worked so hard to farm money for flying and epic flying, and then are told that it will avail us nothing for the next seven levels, and the hint that it would cost us more money to be able to use the mount we already paid for bothered me even more.
Marty Jul 7th 2008 7:12PM
Personally, I'd like for Blizz to patch up all the missing zones in Azeroth, and let us take our flying mounts there too. Once all those "missing zones" are filled in, there's no reason not to allow it.
Super Guest Man 9000 Jul 8th 2008 12:21AM
The problem isnt so much with "missing" areas as how old world Azeroth loads. Outlands pretty much loads all at once for a fluid changing between zones. Azeroth actually loads parts of the zone at a time. Also the graphics in some places arn't viable for free flying, Stormwind is a good example. The Cathedral of Light that you can see from the trade district or the entry way is actually not the same cathedral in the cath district, its a partial model up there in the air to give the cath a more prominent appearance in the skyline.
jrb Jul 8th 2008 7:12AM
i kind of agree with you both. although i've been playing on and off since the original beta, i've still never gotten to 70, and still never had a flying mount,
but i like the idea of azeroth getting a make over to allow them..
blizz has stated many times that they don't see the time involved to make over azeroth worth while, but perhaps they are approaching it the wrong way. Doing so wouldn't purely be about aesthetics, but rather adding in additional 70+ quests to the currently inaccessible areas, or generally tidying up the continuity to the land (most zones don't transition other than at the place where you're supposed to cross).
another area where having a flying mount wouldn't work is black wing lair
Brawndo Jul 7th 2008 3:20PM
This is, obviously, good news if it remains true. It's always
bothered me that we all worked so hard to farm money for flying and
epic flying, and then are told that it will avail us nothing for the
next seven levels, and the hint that it would cost us more money to
be able to use the mount we already paid for bothered me even more.
Feras Jul 7th 2008 4:35PM
Brawndo, lawl. Idiocracy ftw! Love that movie.
Dotixi Jul 7th 2008 3:23PM
Two paragraphs seems like too much for this bit of informatiom.
Argent Jul 7th 2008 3:25PM
well...
5000g @ the start of TBC: a large sum of gold.
5000g right now: chump change.
so the concept of 'a large sum of gold' may be somewhat malleable. i'm kinda guessing it'll be in the 1000-2000g range.
Kolo Jul 7th 2008 3:31PM
This is old news mate; when Blizz invited a few websites/magazines to see the game a month or 2 back, they stated this. Although I read just about every article so easy to miss this one.
BillDoor Jul 7th 2008 3:55PM
Yeah, but I can't understand what the real draw of passenger mounts is though. I mean, my friends and I all have epic flying, so when we need to go somewhere, it's no problem.
wowinsider Jul 7th 2008 4:55PM
Alts? Or is that just way too obvious?
Marty Jul 7th 2008 7:13PM
They could also be useful if the other player is supposed to do something, like drop bombs, while you concentrate on flying.
Dan Jul 7th 2008 7:23PM
A third use is if you got the 5000g mount, but your friend, who only has the slow flying mount, wants to group. Instead of crawling along with your slow mount, you could (hopefully) get a fast mount that seats both you and your friend comfortably.
Juliah Jul 7th 2008 3:35PM
I still think Blizzard should reconsider. If users want to fly over content, that should be their decision. If they want to spend their monthly fee missing out on the new stuff, I think that's their right. Flying mounts were hard-won in BC, especially the epic ones -- players should not have to wait until 77 to use them in Northrend.
Memzer Jul 7th 2008 5:34PM
I'm really not that worried about it. If I have to wait until level 77 to buy that can of spray-on-antifreeze so be it :)
What I want to know is will I be able to buy that item for my alts!
Falcom Jul 7th 2008 3:46PM
if course it'll be cheap.
Passenger mounts on the otherhand....that'll be the gold sink.
Milktub Jul 7th 2008 3:55PM
I'm just glad that I'll still be able to use my same set of flying mounts. I spent a good chunk of time to get my Ray, Drake and Hippo, and didn't want to have to give them up.
Chamual Jul 7th 2008 5:58PM
Ah, you set is not complete tho, what about your Gyro-copter?
Milktub Jul 8th 2008 10:29AM
I'm debating it, actually.
I also don't have myself an Ashes of A'lar, but doubt that I'll get that one.
MabusRex Jul 7th 2008 3:56PM
Two things.
1.) How will this affect the druid lvl 68 SPELL for flight? Are we going to be effectively blocked out of a spell for 7 levels?
2.) How much will this be for people without epic riding skill level? Will they need to purchase that first before getting the "mount mittens"? If not, will the "mount mittens" skill level automatically give them epic riding skill? Kinda confused by how they're going to work that...