Patch 5.4 patch notes
Virtual Realms feature revealed
The Proving Grounds are coming
The latest patch 5.4 newsNorthrend-flying quest removed in favor of cash payout
by Michael Gray 
Oct 9th 2008 at 10:30AM
Drkshadow posted in the official forums with what he considers a slap in the face for folks looking to use their flying mounts in Northrend. (It's always a slap in the face, isn't it?) The quest to "attune" your mount to Northrend has been removed, and replaced with a simple 1000 gold payout. If you don't pay, you don't fly.
Bornakk confirms the change only a few posts later. He says turning the attunement into a cash payment makes it easier for more players to get. It might suck to pay the 1000G for each hungry alt. But, really, if you consider it -- how hard is it to farm up 1000G on your main? I think Bornakk makes a fair point -- it's probably easier to just grab cash on your main than take a relatively undergeared alt through a quest over and over.
Of course, we already knew that flying wasn't going to be very expensive. I guess someone might argue that 1000 gold can be a lot of cash, but that's really only a few days of dailies, or maybe a quick trip to sell loot at the auction house. At level 80, I'm just not going to get intimidated by a single grand.
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Events, News items, Expansions, Mounts, Wrath of the Lich King
Reader Comments (Page 9 of 9)
SaintStryfe Oct 9th 2008 4:58PM
I completed the 100 gold from bodies (you know, the 20s a piece from humanoids) by the time I hit 73. Gold is rediciously easy to come across. If you gather or Engineer (gas clouds using your Mote Extractor are everywhere), you will never have a problem earning cash.
Chamual Oct 9th 2008 5:32PM
Grinding > interesting questline
goodgame blizzard!
Radiophonic Oct 9th 2008 6:30PM
Is it just me or has this game been gutted down? Will wrath = boring, easy-mode?
Ærynn Lómëhtar Oct 9th 2008 6:56PM
I don't mind paying the 1k gold, but can't it be creatively done so that we get to keep the quest too? Paladins and Warlocks, for instance, do not have to "pay" for epic ground mount skill... but basically the same "cost" is spread through an engaging quest line.
Why can't it have been done the same way here? Bring back the quest in time for when we reach lvl 77!
Whyisretgimped Oct 9th 2008 7:34PM
The very fact that we lose our flyers was bad enough and is frankly, just lazy game design. Imagine how original and interesting Northrend would have been if you needed a flyer to get around. Sigh...
Now it's worse... now instead of doing a quest, which could have been fun and interesting, we just have to sink yet more gold into our mounts... I'll be doing a lot of riding on the ground I think...
Elunalim Oct 9th 2008 8:57PM
Good lord... 1k to fly when we've already paid almost 1k for the regular flyer and 5k for the epic. That's crap, it's not a new mount, we're paying for something we already paid for. We're paying for "cold" weather flying... so do I have to flip the pitot switch before I mount it? Boy I hope that the money flows even more in WotLK then TBC. Cold weather flying is no different then what we currently do, do we get increased speed for the 1k of gold we have to "sink" into this "ability"? I can understand not wanting the ability to fly right away but to pay to use my flyer again after paying for it once just doesn't sound kosher. Well that's my .02 and may not mean a thing but I vented so I'm good.
Take care...
Cow Oct 9th 2008 9:53PM
So new users have to pay:
40g for normal mount
600g for epic mount
1000g for flying mount
5200g for epic flying mount
1000g to use it in northrend
In a game that is become increasingly unlikely to attract new players with each expansion, it feels as though blizzard have shot themselves in the foot over this decision. If newbies have to level not only from 1-80 but pony up such an enormous amount of cash for something so basic yet so necessary, the grind begins to feel slightly ridiculous.
Now I'm not one who thinks that people should be given things on a plate: and that's exactly why I would rather see something akin to the druid questline, wherein one has to perform some small feat of PvE, showing a modicum of skill in order to unlock it.
No doubt the rogues QQed about not being able to PVP their way into flying.
Ice Oct 20th 2008 6:04AM
Dont forget that when wrath comes outland dailies are nerfed TO THE ROUND. GG blizzard. How is new players going to get that 5k? or even 1k? Doing quests and saving all the money from level 1? Keeping that level 30 caster dagger till you are 58 because old world things are either hard to get or you are hardly getting any? Oh wow. I can imagine the pain to level to 1-80 with shitty gear, low money all the time due the mount prices. Well ok. I had 2k gold for doing quests but I hardly wanted to use it to 60% speed flyer with no use at outland in wrath time and even there its pointless. AND LET ME QUESS. Is 60% of quests are going to need flyer just that you are gonna grind your life out? blah
Lythrdskynrd Oct 10th 2008 4:46AM
I don't know why though can't just leave *both* in
Do the quest (free) or pay 1000g
Heck - pay the thousand now then get a 1000g from the quest!
Harlequinne Oct 12th 2008 7:43PM
This is insane.
I paid 100 gold for my land mount and Í have to pay 600 gold to be able to go 100%?
What the hell is Blizzard thinking? Do they think I have the time to grind in WPL to save up enough money for my epic land mount? I've got a job you know!
I just hope patch 1.10 is good enough to keep me interested in this game, otherwise I'm quitting.
Lotus Nov 3rd 2008 9:00PM
The whole point of making such abilites cost so much is to stabalize the economy. With the amount of gold one makes from quests, they need some way to talk money out of the game. Same goes for repair bills, reagents, AH cuts and deposits, Postage, Ect. Since they added the exp-gold conversion right before TBC, they needed larger costs to take money out of the economy.