Breakfast Topic: Reining in the ease of collecting mounts
by Audrey Bell 
May 21st 2010 at 8:00AM
Mounts are everywhere -- rightfully so, as they're an absolute necessity. These furry, feathery, leathery or mechanical steeds practically fall from the sky. You can get them from in-game vendors, out-of-game vendors, random drops, timed heroic runs, fishing, trading cards and even just having a bunch of mounts. With so many ways to get them, it's easy to forget how hard they were to get just a few scant years ago.
My first character at level cap was my much-missed warlock. As if slinging curses, ordering around demons and sipping the tears of my enemies weren't enough, I was treated to one of the best climaxes to a quest chain in game. The sheer wildness of trying to keep everything working while simultaneously fending off droves of enemies, culminating in a fantastic boss fight, is something everyone should experience. True, the quests leading up to the final showdown were annoying and expensive, but they were worth it in the end.
However, Blizzard has gone out of their way to make mounts very easy to get. Paladins and warlocks no longer have to go on an epic adventure for their noble or demonic steeds; they simply have to talk to their trainers. The minimum level to get the first mount has been dropped from 40 to 30 to 20, while epic mounts are now under the rumps of those much lower than level 60. Even flying mounts are now available almost as soon as you step into the Outland.
So I've been pondering: Does the huge variety, abundance and awesomeness of mounts these days make up for the ease of obtaining them? Or do you think it was better when you had to walk for a much longer time and scrounge up much more gold (when gold was hard to get)? Are new players missing out on something special by not having to triumph over waves of demons to get their new demon, or are they simply bypassing an unnecessary annoyance to get to the real meat of the game?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 5)
SaintStryfe May 21st 2010 8:06AM
Well speaking as one who has Mountain o' Mounts (108 now actually), yes. The collector's bug bites hard, and generally, you can go pretty far just with faction grinding, a little PVP and a few lucky drops. I had mounts like the Red Proto Drake, Sparkle-pony and the TTM well after I had the achieve. It's not terribly hard for a dedicated grinder.
That said, someone who's maybe not quite that grindy will probably want to gouge their eyeballs out. It's a very particular achievement, and I think it speaks to the obsession/dedication to those who have it. Only in a good way, of course.
Cure4Living May 22nd 2010 6:00AM
Mounts are straight forward to get, the problem is that most are very time-expensive to get, lots of grinding and luck (1% drop rates and all).
Arkhell May 21st 2010 8:08AM
Epic warlock steed quest was epic at level 60 period... people using them at 40 are missing THE MOST BRILIANT quest ever created for warlocks. the fight was just THAT epic.
pancakes May 21st 2010 9:02AM
I'm fine with mounts at 20/40/60, having leveled several alts after the level reduction. Everything is quicker, the barrens is suddenly not so massively humongous and bleak, and flying makes outland much more bearable. I don't care that I spent more money on mounts than people have to now. I don't care that newer players don't appreciate the privilege of a mount. I don't even care that my Carrot on a Stick doesn't work anymore.
I do however, care that so many new warlocks are missing out on one of the funnest, lore filled & rewarding chains I've ever done. If I were to reroll my warlock in the current patch, I'd probably buy a normal mount and wait till 60 to do the dreadsteed quest.
Ronjoi May 21st 2010 9:09AM
I absolutely agree. I am very much in favor of class specific quest chains, with class only rewards. There is a bit too much homogenization of class ability for my taste; I see the big picture though. To counter the class ability splash, class specific quest chains and rewards could go a long way to making a warlock feel less mangy (sorry mageish idk) /shrug. I got the swift flight form and the warlock mount through the quest chains and they were among my favorite. The Warlock mount chain is magnificent and when you first summon that horny fire footed sucker you know you are a force to be reckoned with. Can I haz the cool mount with the bones and fire, please, mister trainer sir, just lame in comparison. At least the chains are still available to those that are not in so much hurry to 80. If the class specific chains disappear that would be a huge hole in the WOW experience in my book.
jealouspirate May 21st 2010 10:19AM
Yesterday I started my first warlock.
If I train the dreadsteed at 40, can I still do the quest at 60? I'd like to experience it, every Warlock I know who's completed it says how amazing it is.
Kylenne May 21st 2010 11:11AM
You guys do realize that there is absolutely nothing stopping you from doing that quest, right? Even if you get the dreadsteed at the trainer, you can still complete the quest at level 60 as intended (or even later on) and get a Feat of Strength for it. Same thing with the epic paladin chargers.
Quite frankly, it's a godsend considering unless you have guildies or friends to help you, completing any of those quest chains is damn near impossible in this post-vanilla world, especially the Alliance version of the charger quest. It might be *slightly* easier now that we have the Dungeon Finder, but finding a random group willing to go out of their way to help for something like that is like pulling teeth sometimes.
mark May 22nd 2010 8:08AM
you can do the same for the swift flight form for druids
nowhere near as epic but i did it anyway
Okya May 21st 2010 8:10AM
I think some people do really miss out on having to work for many things in the game. But to me, that only really applies to newer players. Many 80s have leveled up so many characters that the ease of getting them at 20, 40 & 60 loosened the leveling-load that they had to deal with.
Personally though, I'm going to try and resist buying mounts for my Goblins/Worgen until the appropriate "classic" level. Yes, I do indeed have a deathwish by boredom. ;)
Asswipe Johnson May 21st 2010 8:10AM
For the most part, I like that mounts are easier get. Particularly for anyone levelling any number of alts, it's so nice not to have to jump through hoops to get something so basic and essential.
That said, yes, new players are missing out on how special mounts used to be. They were something to work for. A reward. A status symbol. I remember in vanilla when I'd walk into a major city and see a level-60 atop his or her epic racial mount, how truly IMPRESSIVE it was to see.
In the end, though, that's really just a "Kids these days; they don't gotta work for nuthin" kind of rant. There's no good reason for mounts to be difficult to attain. But noobs are definitely missing how great it used to feel to attain one. :)
Shoikler May 21st 2010 8:31AM
That's pronounced oz-WEE-pay, right?
Pretty much what he said. Since so many of these leveling toons are alts, there's not so much lost by getting mounted earlier. When you were just flying through Northrend on your 310%-er, having to make your way around the Barrens on foot can seem even slower than it really is. Minimizing that can only help.
For a new player, the only one of these that might be a bit disheartening is the flying mount at 60, because one should really experience Outland at ground level (beyond the eastern edge of HFP) at least once before being able to bypass everything.
Luci May 21st 2010 9:07AM
/agree with both you guys.
I have played since vanilla (although i didn't reach 60 before TBC) and I remember how epic it felt getting my little spotted frostsaber at level 40. Then, at level 70 the first thing I did was grind for a talbuk and when I finally got it that was just so awesome - I just went riding around on it in Nagrand.
Although we are now dealing with an abundance of mounts in the game, I like having a different mount for each of my characters. I mean a special mount too - not just a different racial mount. However, I think there should still be mounts that are truly epic to obtain, and I can't say that there is a lack of that currently with the achievement drakes and such. I'm working on the Zulian tiger right now on an alt, and though that won't be as epic now as it would have been a few years ago it is still extremely rare and a difficult fight to solo.
Gamer am I May 21st 2010 8:11AM
Truth be told, I found needing to scrounge up the money for a mount to be more of an annoyance than anything, and I did it back in the day when mounts were available at level 40/60/70 (respectively for each level). Granted, saving up the money for epic flying was very satisfying, but that still costs a lot of gold, and I doubt Blizzard will significantly reduce the price of that any time soon. Mounts are a practical thing, so I don't think it's unreasonable that basic mounts be fairly easy to get. After all, if players want to show off their hard work with a mount, they can go for one of the rarer mounts like a raid-achievement proto-drake or the mechano-hog.
Manadar May 21st 2010 11:38AM
Heh, when I dinged 60 I just had the money for the training, not the mount. So I PvP'd and got the war kodo. Most hard-earned mount so far for me, and I'm at 87 mounts so far including the Ulduar and ICC ones.
Bronwyn May 21st 2010 11:40AM
This. I personally think the people who don't embrace the changes in mount level requirements probably don't remember what a stinking PAIN IN THE ASS it was (maybe because they had a guild or group of friends backing their actions? Who can really know.) to get an epic mount, or if you were a Paladin/Warlock what a pain it was to have to run all those instances and crap for the quest. Sure, you got "satisfaction" afterward but really, I ended up just angry that I had to do all that crap for something that is kind of a necessity.
Me? I remember hitting OUTLAND and still having no epic mount because I couldn't come up with the gold. Now, these days, I would easily have even enough to train the older, more expensive epic ground mount riding by time I hit level 60, but in those days I was still kind of a noob. I didn't play the auction house very well, and even though I hardly ever bought anything, I was still low on gold.
And now that I'm leveling alts, lets just say that the thought of having to run around on foot for 40 levels (incidentally the entire reason I hate dustwallow marsh and desolace) is not appealing.
I just don't think everything has to be "hard" in a game to be fun. Not everyone plays like that.
And also, re: Paladin/Warlock quests: There is NOTHING stopping you from still completing the quest at level 60. Same with all the other class-specific quests, like the Polymorph: Pig quest. You can still do them. You can wait until you are level 80 and go back and do them, or you can do them at level 60 if you want. You can still have that epic feeling of completing the quest. You just don't *have* to do it. Try to remember, guys, that what you view as an "epic, fun quest line" is probably a "Annoying, horrible, pain-in-the-ass grind" for someone else. Isn't it a good thing to have variety?
Sword May 21st 2010 1:51PM
I honestly think that those who hate a challenge are not true gamers. People who only play for gear do not generally find enjoyment in anything but the said acquisition of said gear. In today's game gear really has no other purpose but to appease those kinds of people. I think that should change and raiding, heroics etc should be for people who find them rewarding just by their experience alone.
People should only have to do something if they want to, and being forced or bribed is horrible game design in my opinion.
Sanchito May 21st 2010 3:49PM
"Sure, you got "satisfaction" afterward but really, I ended up just angry that I had to do all that crap for something that is kind of a necessity."
Last I checked, this wasn't a necessity considering nothing was keeping you from buying racial mounts. This was a status symbol and really nothing more. Only thing I could never figure out was why Locks and Pallies were the only ones to get a "special" mount >.>
fromnowear May 21st 2010 8:16AM
I agree that there is certainly many more accessible avenues to mounting up in Azeroth now than there used to be, but it is not necessarily a bad thing. It allows for character diversification, and on the whole, does not affect gameplay for most players.
My first two characters to 60 were a warlock and a paladin though, and I won't deny that I thoroughly enjoyed the epic mount questlines. No one should miss out on those, as they are really class-defining in both the feel of the quests and the mount's appearance.
On that note: Bring on the epic flying mount questlines for Cataclysm! I'm sure Dominic will agree, a fiery/shadowy flyer just oozes awesomeness- flying LotR Balrog anyone? ( http://newfoundlandfreepress.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/balrog_wallpaper.jpg ). I'm sure other classes would enjoy something similar too (although, I admit that any flavorful ideas for a warrior flying mount escape me).
KrisseyB May 21st 2010 8:19AM
I still think there are plenty of hard to get mounts. I run zg often for the raptor (I already have the tiger) and after MANY stratholme runs, no such luck. There are mounts for hardmode raids, which I'm sure to never have... and to be honest, they've made mounts so attainable right when lvling characters are least likely to leave their home city for quests.
matt May 21st 2010 8:25AM
imagine if you will, a world where MMOs don't have to be grinding games. Where the game is playing thru content with friends. Where we finally admit epics are a sign of your guilds progression, not proof that you have no job. Where having to run for 20/30/40 levels is seen as a annoying mechanic that it is rather than some perverse badge of honor.
It seems like WoW in the last 2 years has been weaning us of our dependence on grinding. I am sure we will miss the feeling of achievement when we complete some of these tasks but at the end of the day the feeling of achievement may be reserved for downing bosses
I am not saying that MMOs must move in this direction but I can conceptualize a fun MMO type game that does not involve gold/rep/XP grinds. I'll still play either way i suppose