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All of the latest Mists of Pandaria newsClass travel skills changing in patch 3.2
by Eliah Hecht 
Jun 11th 2009 at 4:39PM
They're reading my mind! Just an hour or two ago I was thinking to myself, "if I can get a mount at level 20 in patch 3.2, what's the point of all those level 20+ speed-increasing skills?" Zarhym has solved my conundrum: they're all going to be reduced to level 16!
This includes Druid Travel Form (was level 30), Hunter Aspect of the Cheetah (or as I like to call it, Aspect of the Cheater; was level 20), and Shaman Ghost Wolf (was also level 20). Also in this post, the skull confirmed that class-specific mounts will come at the same levels as generic mounts will: Paladin and Warlock ground mounts at 20 for normal and 40 for epic, Druid Flight Form (now enhanced to 150% speed, like the other normal-speed flying mounts) at level 60, and Swift Flight Form at level 70.
So the days when Ghost Wolf or Travel Form was all you had to go faster for 20 levels may be over, but at least it will be useful for four. There has been a lot of debate back and forth about these changes, but for my money, if they're not going to let us start alts at high levels, this is the next best thing: making leveling much less painful.
Filed under: Druid, Hunter, Shaman, Patches, Leveling, Mounts
Reader Comments (Page 4 of 6)
Jalaris.Ghostlands Jun 11th 2009 5:34PM
Posted this yesterday on the Shammy article, but here goes again.
It would be awesome if Ghost Wolf scaled with riding skill. Right now it maxes out at +40% movement. Epic ground mounts top out at 100%. Not much use for GW after the first mount. Now that riding is being lowered, there's not much use for GW at all.
Kylenne Jun 11th 2009 7:08PM
I said this before, and I will keep saying it: as long as mounts have casting bars, talented Ghost Wolf is still worth it. Two things make shammies barrels of fun: 1) Using Thunderstorm to knock Allies off the TB elevator and 2) popping insta GW to snatch up Wolvar pups while the fugly human Retadin with Varian hair is still casting for his horsie.
Hal Jun 11th 2009 5:43PM
Hm, this is really going to ensure that nobody does the epic mount quests anymore. If only because at level 40 you can't even DO them. Well, unless you have someone carry your pally through Scholomance.
Silversol Jun 11th 2009 5:52PM
Can you even enter Scholo/DM at 40?
Deadly. Off. Topic. Jun 12th 2009 11:37AM
I think the level cap to enter it was 35. But that was a long time ago, don't know if they've changed it since.
Ametrine Jun 11th 2009 5:51PM
Save the trouble and just remove them - four levels isn't even worth bothering with.
Hurgan Jun 11th 2009 6:43PM
Travel Form and Ghost Wolf when fully talented are instant-cast, and can be cast in combat. This makes them excellent "oh shit" buttons in many leveling situations. And for Tauren druids, the size of kodo mounts make them annoying in places with tight corners like the Undercity.
Kylenne Jun 11th 2009 7:21PM
@Hurgan: THIS. Thank you.
Also, Tauren on kodo aren't the only ones with that particular problem. My troll always has to dismount from her raptor when using the UC elevator, because she's too tall with her hair to pass through the archway.
Adamanthis Jun 11th 2009 5:54PM
I half agree with you. I'm actually a fan of the idea of twinking, but I think Blizzard has implemented it very badly. I quite like the idea of an alt that stays permanently at level 19 to occasionally dust off and run WSG. I even like the idea of a battleground with no speed enhancements, since positioning becomes a critical strategy.
But the 19 bracket was ruined long before they made this change. Investment in a character should improve it, but within reasonable limits. At level 19, the advantages provided by even the best gear and enchants should be slight. And that gear should be obtained as honour rewards for PvPing, not through content intended for higher levels like the fishing contest or level 60 enchants.
Adamanthis Jun 11th 2009 5:58PM
That was supposed to be a reply to profglitch, by the way.
Windpaw Jun 11th 2009 6:08PM
Eh - level 19 twinks can cry about this - but honestly - it gives druids a reason to play in the 10-19 bracket again.
It may not matter though - there are so many hunters in 19's now that you can't walk 5 feet without getting concussive shot by someone.
Stephen Jun 11th 2009 6:10PM
I'd really like some confirmation if the feats of strength for Pallies and Warlocks will still be able to be done (doing the mount quest when it's trainable). If so, then I won't worry and level my Pally at the pace I've been doing it. If not... I'll want to go ahead and level him as fast as I can, I want that achievement on him to match the one on my Druid and Lock.
toxicrwk Jun 11th 2009 6:15PM
i play 19 twink druid and i pwn. not because im imba, or im playing against noobs, but if u can play druid, u also know it is OP as a lvl 19 twink. i can easily do ironman achieve every time.
Xycho Jun 12th 2009 4:52PM
Well I for one am heartbroken by these changes. Sure, it's nice to mount up earlier, but I always thought that ghost wolf and cheetah forms were cool. Now, what's the point? Level 16 to 20?? Can we get a .1% increase in the brightness of the icon too? Wow!
I was disappointed for my druid when they dropped mounts from 40 to 30, and now that I hear they're going to 20 and the only change to travel forms is dropping them to 16, I'm sick.
I was really hoping they would improve the travel forms enough to make them at least nearly as useful as mounting. If they would increase the speed a bit (not as fast as mounts, but closer), decrease the cast time, and allow you to attack more effectively in them, we might still see some ghost wolves running around. As it stands, we're likely to see them as often as that pink flamingo in Mulgore :[
Decaying Jun 11th 2009 6:51PM
This might have been raised before, but there's a lot of pages of comments here and in the previous thread, so apologies if this is being repeated, but;
Has anything been said about the Epic Mounts that aren't tied to the Horde or Alliance Factions - the Armored Brown Bear, Talbuks, Brewfest mounts, Horseman's Reins, Mechano-Hog/Mekgineer's Chopper, Traveller's Tundra Mammoth, and various PvP mounts: Namely will they have their cost (Be it Gold or BG tokens) reduced (I know it might be unlikely, but with the changes to the prices of the Faction mounts, I figure that, at the very least, the PvP mounts will have their prices dropped), or more importantly, and likely, will the levels be dropped to 40, from 60. While I understand that certain of the aforementioned mounts require level 60+ to obtain (Talbuks in the main. The Brewfest and Horseman mounts can be obtained by a lowbie with a group of high-levels), but for the ones that can just be bought, surely they'll drop?
vazhkatsi Jun 11th 2009 7:00PM
personally i would keep the quests, but add rewards. namely, a choice of weapon, chest piece, or trinket and a tabard like the belf pally quest. all the items would be BC quality.
Phang Jun 11th 2009 7:26PM
Just more bs for those of us that have stuck around since the beginning. Blizz feels the need to pander to the newbs and slap the rest of us in the face repeatedly.
SuckItTrebek Jun 11th 2009 8:07PM
How is this a "slap in the face" to us, exactly?
Turlagh Jun 11th 2009 8:27PM
How is taking useless tedium out of the game "pandering to newbs"? It takes skilz to run back and forth from one end of Duskwood to the other? This Mount thing has brought out a lot of loonies.
Deadly. Off. Topic. Jun 12th 2009 11:59AM
I think the problem is the frustration level for those earlier players who had to pay higher costs and had longer wait times for mounts.
My fiancee is quite angry about it because the faction discounts meant he could have been saying about 1k on the epic mount flights as well. Sure gold is easier to get now, but it still requires clocking time in and stuff which is why he’s angry.
As for me, I don’t mind so much - don’t get me wrong I’d be happier with some discount gold being returned to me, but as Blizzard didn’t do it the last time, they’re not about to do it again.