Breakfast Topic: Has flight ruined the adventure?
by Alex Ziebart 
Dec 18th 2010 at 8:00AM
My latest pet topic is flying mounts in World of Warcraft. Personally, I think flying mounts removed most of the feeling of adventure, danger, and discovery in WoW. Once you're able to jump on your first flying mount, the dangers of the world are no longer an issue. You no don't have to stop for a moment to figure out how to scale rough terrain. The world doesn't hold secrets from you anymore, unless they're hidden indoors or underground -- you can merely mount up and fly to anything in the world. If you wanted to, you could fly from one end of Twilight Highlands to the other and see everything the landscape has to offer with no effort whatsoever.
It doesn't matter how intimidating and oppressive Blizzard's artists and designers make the terrain of a zone. It's a distant, fleeting threat. You can essentially remove yourself from the world with the click of a button. Fly high enough into the sky, and you can close yourself off from all of Azeroth. I don't hate flying mounts; I actually quite enjoy riding a bone dragon. I just think that there was a lot lost in the process of integrating flight.
I would like to take this topic to you, dear readers. Do you think flying mounts have taken the adventure and discovery out of Warcraft? If so, how do you think it could be fixed? Do you like things just as they are?
| Yes | |
|---|---|
| No | |
| It hasn't ruined it, but it could be handled better |
Filed under: Breakfast Topics
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 8)
razion Dec 18th 2010 8:09AM
I think it could have been handled better... on FOOT.
Rufio Dec 18th 2010 8:22AM
icwatudidthar.
Tim Dec 18th 2010 8:57AM
Actually, I was thinking the same thing.
Why not lock a zone down from flying until you've received the zone exploration achievement? Once you've seen it, you might as well fly over it. But it keeps things new and interesting in zones where things should be new and interesting.
Sicadastra Dec 18th 2010 9:40AM
Rather than actually lock the zones down, I would suggest flying mobs as a "power barrier". If you're too weak (read low level or under-geared), you don't fly there because you die. Same idea as mobs on the ground now. I prefer this kind of approach since it feels less "artificial" and maintains the sense of adventure.
That said, in complete honesty I only feel that way the first time through. Leveling an alt through the same zones makes me LOVE being able to fly past all the danger...
Jorges Dec 18th 2010 12:00PM
@:Sicadastra: I was thinking something on those lines too. Like using some kind of "fuel" to be able to fly. Or fly for a certain amount of time until your mount has to "rest" because of fatigue. Maybe that would introduce some kind of interesting danger into the flying system. Right now, if you're flying, you're essentially untouchable.
Sometimes I find myself walking around or using ground mounts, forgetting that I can fly. I think flying is cool and interesting, but eventually it just become a way to get from point A to B without knowing what's happening down on the ground.
But like you said, its great when you can just fly past all the unnecesary danger when leveling alts.
Mayhew Dec 18th 2010 2:49PM
I don't think it's this way so much now, but in the Cata beta, there were parts of Twilight Highlands that it was very risky to fly through. There were drakes flying through those areas that *would* attack you, and they were pretty formidable at the time. I would fly around those parts of the zone, after having been killed a few times when I carelessly flew through their airspace.
Eisengel Dec 18th 2010 6:51PM
I can understand what you're saying, however I really appreciate the ability to fly when scoping out areas, like Deepholm, finding objectives and determining the best place to set down.
The thing is, there is relatively little you can do in the air other than look for things or move from point to point. Pretty much anything significant happens on the ground. For instance in the Twilight Highlands quest where, as Horde, you assault a fort and prison, it was very useful to fly above it, scout out the locations of objects, see where mobs were clustered, and pick a spot to drop down rather than just pull the nearest mob and slog on in. If anything, flying enhanced the adventure in that case. If anything, I think flying can help a lot, since Blizz will be more free to develop areas that don't have to be easily accessible from a given direction.
Also - do you really, really want flying mobs? Vashj'ir is essentially flying with mobs in 3 dimensions, and one thing you notice very quickly is that the interface is designed to allow you to see very far in one direction, but keeping an eye out in all directions around you is rather difficult.
Ogri'la has air restrictions. The dragons and Legion flak cannons all require you to pay attention when flying. When I was at level in that area, I recall flying usually took place near ground level... essentially you skimmed the ground to get the extra speed, but kept low to avoid the dragons and flak. So, essentially, flying was so hazardous it degraded to faster ground riding. If that's the case, there isn't a huge reason to have flying to begin with.
It's definitely a tough thing to design well. I can't blame Blizz for holding off on that (especially when so many other things are borked).
Noyou Dec 18th 2010 7:07PM
I guess you haven't been knocked from the sky too often. I have. Even in outlands long after I was lvl 80. There is an Elite dragon in Blades Edge that loves to gobble flying mounts. I think i was on my rogue who got shot of his mount. After my spirit rez the f8cker camped me and killed me (Well ok maybe not camped but he was waiting for me to take flight again)
Here's the best part about this argument. NO ONE tells you that you have to use your flying mount :) So no. I don't think the fact that we CAN fly has ruined anything. In fact I think it lets us see things (especially in cities) that we normally didn't get to see before. So for me it opened up a whole area of adventure. I still haven't had the time to fully explore the old areas and see the changes. I plan on doing that this weekend after I get my main to 85.
CyberNigma Dec 19th 2010 12:11AM
These comments are why Blizz should keep player influences to a minimum. Nobody here is thinking about how they could personally avoid the problem by self-discipline (read: don't fly until you're ready). Instead they're mentioning ways to force other players to play the game their way.
Ever thought maybe a lot of people just don't care, and it is completely fine it they just want to fly over new areas?
I mean, yeah I like adventuring through places the first time without just flying over then. I didn't fly around and map Twilight Highlands. I did it one sub-zone at a time as I adventured. I don't want to be an asshole, though, and tell other people you have to do it this way because I did. Let them play the game the way they want. If you flew over everything and miss the old days of adventuring, you have absolutely nobody to blame but yourself. It's about self-discipline. Don't try to force your play style upon others.
Some of you are really going to be in a shocker when you learn here are players that skip all the quest text and lore just to play the mechanics of the game - and they enjoy it. timer on quest text before the accept button works anyone? Leave other people alone. You sound like big government.
rhorle Dec 18th 2010 8:12AM
I don't think it has, as long as zones are designed with it in mind. Both wotlk and BC were still a "ground oriented" adventure for the most part. Parts of cataclysm are but zones like deepholm have it integral to the adventure.
Now here is to hoping eventual flying combat in a zone or two happens. Think of an entire zone based in the elemental plane of air where we stay on a specific mount to fight and quest, or pick one of our to do it from. That would be cool
ElrithCC Dec 18th 2010 8:17AM
I haven't seen the zones past Hyjal yet, I look forward to seeing them from the sky if what you say is true. I agree, a zone that took place in the air only would be amazing. I loved jousting in Hyjal, if they polished that more it could be a lot of fun.
SR Dec 18th 2010 8:19AM
My point exactly. And where Blizz wants you to feel the true danger, they usually place ungodly amounts of mobs in a quest area, or place insanely strong mobs that swats flyers out of the sky.
I'm overall very satisfied with the option to explore new heights (no pun intended) with our Azeroth flying. It's very nostalgic to stop by places that I leveled as a fresh, eager noob and look at it all from the air, looking much smaller than what I remembered, or doing the exact opposite when I scout the zone and start questing there.
Sure, you can fly around and skip a lot of the crap in Deepholm. However, the parts that you have to be on land is very well-designed, and made sure that we don't get bored of it.
unexpectedeof Dec 18th 2010 8:43AM
Really? TBC and Wrath were ground oriented? Did you quest in Blade's Edge or Storm Peaks at all?
DarkWalker Dec 18th 2010 8:57AM
@unexpectedeof: Yep, those two expansions were ground oriented, for all BC content previous to lv70 and all WotLK content previous to 78.
Most of Blade's Edge can be perfectly navigated on foot, it's just a few quests and grinds the player is expected to attempt only after 70 that require a flying mount. The same with all BC zones.
Storm Peaks, as well as Icecrown, are made for players that have already regained flight capability, but all other Nortrend zones are meant to be experienced from the ground.
roseclown Dec 18th 2010 12:53PM
I honestly don't get the idea that flying REMOVES any epic feeling! It's completely the opposite of how I see it.
When I fly around a questing zone, I feel more immersed in ever. I feel the danger of time. Like, I need to get to point a to point b quickly as time is of the essence kinda deal. I see the world stretch out underneath me, I see the ravages that Deathwing and the cult has brought and I feel like I am experiencing it! Especially since I get that thrill of excitement of knowing that I will be heading there soon. That I will have to fight those beings I am only getting a glimpse at.
From the sky, you still see all the dangers. You still get that thrill of battle. In fact, on the ground I am more mumbling about the inconvenience and it feels like 'you can't see the forest through the trees' type deal for me.
Flight IS epic. And it's not like we don't have the option- for a good bit of Hyjal I hoofed it because I keep on forgetting flight is available outside of outlands and northrend. I still had a more epic feel when I was flying. /shrug
vocenoctum Dec 18th 2010 5:00PM
I think with Phasing, that a lot of zones can be a "discover through adventure" without being unable to fly. So planning it around flight is quite possible.
ElrithCC Dec 18th 2010 8:13AM
I whole heartedly agree with this. Flying has made it to where you merely fly from one destination to the next. The world essentially turns into a world of relay points. You have no connection to the land and you don't have the aesthetic feel for the zone like you did before flying. For people in a hurry who could care less, they don't understand why you would not go as fast as you possibly can to your destination. I personally always explore a new zone on foot now, after I discovered in WOTLK how flying turns the zones into huge gaps of space you're just trying to get through.
I can tell you, walking from Winterspring into Frostwhisper Gorge and making my way up Hyjal to the peak was so much more epic than the way they have you porting from Stormwind. The Deathwing event was amazing and epic, but as soon as I saw it, I ported back to Darnassus and made my way to Hyjal and Nordrassil the way I'd always dreamed of doing it in 2004 when it was only a fantasy I could dream about.
Szass Dec 18th 2010 11:45AM
I agree with you a little bit.
BUT,
Some of us have walked every inch of Azeroth aver the past 6 years. I know I have.
Long before level 20 mounts, I for one grew quite sick of old Azeroth and walking everywhere.
That part of the game has been played and you can't go back in time.
I feel that there is a missing element to flight though. It is too safe.
I don't want to get mobbed and shot down by a swarm of angry elites every time I mount my drakes, but there should be something more than there is now, especially in the newer higher level zones.
Szass Dec 18th 2010 12:00PM
Just to add;
With an expansion full of angry dragons and elementals, I didn't really expect Azeroth's skies to be as calm, safe and sedate as they are.
Deathwing is content to leave the skies clear? The Cataclysm only affected the ground level?
It doesn't make sense.
The more I read these comments and think about this, the more I think Blizzard really dropped the ball on this one.
ElrithCC Dec 18th 2010 12:13PM
@Szass
I agree with you actually. I love flying when I feel like it in the old world. I may have not been clear with the way I jumped about in subjects, but I meant to say I enjoy flying after I have gotten a feel for a new place. But when it comes to the first moment I enter new territory, flying just seems rushed and it makes the zone feel sort of, overwhelming and disjointed.
Most of all, flying makes new zones feel really small. That's the biggest problem of all I think with what flying did to Northrend. The new zones felt like miniature approximations more than they ever did before. I could let my imagination take over in zones without flying, a mountain in the distance, a forest on the horizon. But with flying, everything is moments away from you.