Ask a Beta Tester: Multi-passenger mounts and Enchanting
by Alex Ziebart 
Sep 27th 2008 at 6:00PM
What does the tooltip mean for the Traveler's Tundra Mammoth where it says it carries vendors?
It means just that! It comes with two vendors. One sells reagents (including poisons) and the other sell trade supplies, like thread and parchment. The trade supplies vendor also sells some statless fashion clothing.
If you're not using the vendors and want to let your buddies hop on, there will be an Eject button to throw the vendors off and make room for your friends. And yes, only people in your party or raid can get on your vehicles. No random strangers will be jumping on your mammoth or motorcycle.
Sniss asked...
Can you suggest the best enchants for a Death Knight fresh from the starting zone?
Other readers were exactly right. Death Knights will be using Warrior stats for the most part. Strength, Stamina, maybe Agility if you have a lack of better options for a DPS set. Again, as other readers stated, don't worry about weapon enchants too much. Death Knights have Runesmithing (engraving runes into their weapons for various effects) that takes the slot of a weapon enchant.
Kessian asked...
When an enchanter puts the enchant on parchment and then on the Auction House, will they have to have the mats to create the enchanted parchment, or will the person purchasing the enchant have to provide the mats?
The Enchanter uses the raw enchanting materials to put the enchantment on the parchment/vellum. The person who purchases it on the Auction House just uses the enchanted vellum on their gear. So the enchantments would be on the auction house for the materials cost + crafter's fee, depending on your server.
Tap asked...
About Druid's flight form: can they fly in Northrend without cold weather flying? I'm guessing no, but...
They need Cold Weather Flying just like everyone else.
Do they get it like everyone else (buying/training) or is there a specific druid quest for it?
They need to train it the same way everyone does, yep.
Dendail asked...
With the passenger mounts how will aggro radius be affected? Will your lower level passengers still aggro like normal?
Everyone on the vehicle has their own aggro radius. While the vehicle itself takes falling damage and not the people riding it, everyone riding it can be targeted by mobs and other players. If you take a level one character through Icecrown, they are totally screwed. This also has some hilarious consequences. If you take your passenger into an area you have progressed via phasing to have no mobs for you, your passenger may not have done those quests yet. You would be completely safe partying with dancing leprechauns that are throwing streamers while your friend is being assaulted by horrible twisting flesh giants with gaping maws and thrashing tentacles.
And yes, if you leap off of a cliff with them in your vehicle and dismount, you will all fall to your doom. Daze doesn't seem to do anything to anybody, however.
Moonshot asked...
Will the passengers of the multipassenger mounts be able to get off whenever they want or will they be stuck on the mount tell the driver dismounts?
You can get out whenever you want.
Chamual asked...
My question for the beta testers - What are the passanger mounts acutally for? Why would anyone want to spend 20k on them? Apart from bussing around pre-lvl30 characters, whats the benifit of them? Everyone at least now has an epic ground mount, so why would you want to be a passanger on a motorbike or Mammoth?
What is it that makes it worth 20,000 gold?
This is largely going to be an opinion answer, one that varies from person to person. Not everyone will have one of these, but some will. It might be worth it to one person but not the next. The fact that it comes with vendors is pretty amazing. No matter where you are in the world, you can step outside and restock reagents, or poisons, or pick up some basic crafting materials. That's pretty cool. You can also use it as a better version of auto-follow. If your friend is going AFK, he can just hop on your mammoth and you can get going to your destination, or vice versa. In PvP, your entire party (most of it) can roll up on a huge Mammoth and descend on your opponent all at once. That's pretty neat, and intimidating! If you're a roleplayer, you can have your friend jump on your mount and you can take them for a spin. Cruise for chicks on your fly ride! Or make out in the back seat. You know, if you're into that kinda thing.
Awww yeah.
The Wrath of the Lich King beta is in full swing, and the WoW Insider crew is here to sate your curiosity with Ask a Beta Tester! Leave your beta questions in the comments and we'll do our best to answer 'em! And if you can't get enough Wrath, don't forget to check WoW Insider's Wrath Roundup page for anything we haven't answered here!Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Death Knight, Wrath of the Lich King
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
Rugus Sep 27th 2008 6:09PM
The answer to the last question "What are the passanger mounts acutally for?" makes me think those 20.000G are a complete waste of money. I like the idea but I do not see any "real" use in Wow, at least now.
skreeran Sep 27th 2008 6:22PM
That's why my Eng DK is going to make himself a bike. Only really need to take one passenger at a time. :P
It look really great to me for driving my friends alts around, you know, twinks that need gear, etc. Rather than having to run her 17 Draenei from Bloodmyst to WC, I can just drive. And I'm making the bike anyway, so it works out great. I don't think the Mammoth is worth the 20k price tag yet though, I think I'd rather spend that money on four alts' epic flying mount training rather than one mammoth.
Michelle Sep 27th 2008 6:26PM
I don't agree.
My husband and I play this game together. We don't level or quest or pvp while the other isn't on. So having a vehicle that carries both of us as well as a vendor or two is a completely awesome idea and we plan on getting one as soon as possible. He can do the driving and I can read the map I think it add a whole new very cool element to the game and very worth the 20k (will be less actually due to the exalted discount)
Rugus Sep 27th 2008 6:34PM
@ skreeran
Driving friends alts around is nice and fun, yes. The first time. Maybe the second. Then you get bored. And your friends will start pretending you give them a raid all the time... ;-)
I guess the price is high because Mammoths are just more guild oriented... but even so, I see no use at all. In the end, your guild will spend 20.000 to move around 3 guild members. And unless it's *NOT* BoE, you cannot even give the mount to other members of your guild. Naah... I see it like a money sink only, right now.
We will maybe see some "taxi" service in Azeroth in lowbie areas, but again: how much will you charge a raid, considering that lowbies will be broke AND saving for a personal mount?
Flying mounts + passengers in Azeroth. THAT would be cool.
Amaxe Sep 27th 2008 7:08PM
Another Blizzard money sink of course.
Never mind that if you can raise that kind of cash, you'd be better off buying epic flight for when you hit 77
Molly Sep 28th 2008 3:22PM
I imagine that this will mostly be a guild purchase.. if the guild owns a Repair Bot that can carry a couple afk guildies and sell reagents and ammo for the whole raid; well, in the long run I think it'd be a huge money-saver.
onetrueping Sep 27th 2008 7:40PM
First, not every passenger mount is 20k gold, only the most expensive ones. Second, having a passenger mount means you can reduce the number of people getting lost if you are going long distances. One person with a two-man mammoth and one with a three-man mammoth can carry an entire party wherever they need to go, allowing those three other people to work on other things if they need to do so.
I'll personally get myself a motorcycle, because I know that if my fiance is in the sidecar, she isn't getting lost and subsequently ganked by nasties, heh.
haiduk Sep 27th 2008 6:17PM
My understanding of the passenger mounts was that the passengers /may/ be able to fight from them...since they behave like siege vehicles. I haven't confirmed this in beta, but it would be pretty cool
Asteh Sep 27th 2008 6:18PM
About that "If your friend is going AFK, he can just hop on your mammoth and you can get going to your destination, or vice versa", what if you dismount while your friend is still afk? To kill a mob or gnome or w/e, will there be auto-mounting or something?
Iceman Sep 27th 2008 6:20PM
Are the flying passenger mounts? Ground mounts are lovely and all, but once everyone takes to the skies will they become useless to everyone with cold weather flying?
Michelle Sep 27th 2008 6:21PM
Can you view everyone while they are on the mount? Like what does it look like with everyone/vendors aboard. I read somewhere that one of the vendors sold food/water. Is this the case or was that just wishful thinking?
Dightkuz Sep 27th 2008 6:21PM
"And yes, if you leap off of a cliff with them in your vehicle and dismount, you will all fall to your doom."
Mwahahaha, looking forward to wotlk even more now.
Zuldim Sep 27th 2008 6:31PM
Parachute cloak FTW.
ionesco Sep 28th 2008 10:22AM
What makes it worth 20,000g?
Driving yourself and a fistful of buddies off a glacier, but only you has druid flight form, bahaha.
I wasn't really looking forward to Wrath, honestly, but now i am. I'm not even joking.
placebo Sep 28th 2008 9:00AM
Oh god. Slowfall and Levitate will be OP. Hilarity ensues.
Tajhz Sep 27th 2008 6:34PM
Do these vendors have the ability to repair, or did I miss that somewhere?
G Sep 27th 2008 7:17PM
That's exactly what I was wondering (repairs). And after you boot them to make room for a passenger, can you get them back or is that a permanent decision?
And if the "vehicle itself takes falling damage," what does that mean exactly? Will it eventually break and be unusable? Can it be vendor repaired like armor and weapons?
Sherp Sep 27th 2008 8:18PM
I'm guessing you can heal the mount. Putting a Band-Aid on a motorcycle will look kind of silly, but if it works...
Rugus Sep 27th 2008 6:39PM
@Michelle
To ride with your husband you just need a bike (BOE, will be sold in AH too). No real need to spend 20.000G come on :). Repairs? You will get a vendor with NO faction, so you will spend more than facion-vendor repairs. Also, considering flying mounts, that's something you will use for a short amount of time, I guess. Fun? Yes. Useful? I don't think so (yet).
NoTomorrow Sep 27th 2008 11:04PM
do you really think engineers will put bikes on the ah for that much less? They will put them up for a lot of money (my guess is around 15,000) because they know people would rather pay that than 20,000 for a mammoth. But those motorcycles aren't going on the ah for 200g, that's for sure.