I have had a few rambling incomplete thoughts about mounts lately.
Size, flying, acquisition.
I hear people saying;
Big characters on small mounts looks weird.
Super Rare mounts are frustrating.
Not being able to fly is frustrating.
Giant mounts in cites are frustrating.
On mounts being different sizes for different races: At some point, during one of the Blizzcons, or in an interview, someone from Blizzard off handily mentioned that mounts scale based on your character’s race, so that they have the same collision size. That way, a given mount will always fit through (and not fit through) a given doorway, no matter who is riding it. There was also a blog post when the Heart of the Aspects dropped. Someone reported that it was able to walk though water in a battle ground where most mounted characters would be forced to swim. Blizzard took the report very seriously. I think it’s obvious that the mounts scale so that the players game play experience on a given mount is uniform across all characters.
Super Rare Mounts Grind: Rare mounts are frustrating to grind, because you are not supposed to grind them. They are intended to be a cool thing for ‘lucky’ players, but is that really what happens? I don’t try to farm mounts like the Big Love Rocket, personally. I was never able to even get Deathcharger’s Reins. I would love those mounts, but hearing other players stories about never getting them despite hundreds of runs discourages me from trying.
Flying: Flying is goofy. It feels very unnatural to me, and it breaks my immersion in the game to be hovering above the game, immune. The way flying mounts move is so unnatural. There is no momentum, no physics to speak of. On the other size of that. Any change that could be made at this point would be adding a limitation to it. Mounts are already perfectly maneuverable, have zero acceleration time, and move a speed that pushes the game engine to it’s limit. Flying mounts need limits, but I can’t imagine what could be added at this point that the community would accept.
Giant Mounts: They are weird and inconvenient in cities. Everyone has had to deal with a mammoth in front of a mailbox. Blizzard has addressed the problem indirectly in the past, with NPC’s that you can not mount around. Putting mail boxes indoors might help, but it would address a symptom and not a cause. limiting what mounts could be ridden in cities might help, maybe sorting mounts in to size categories, but people want to show off their coolest mounts, so dropping a mount that can’t be ridden in a city lowers it’s cool factor.
Mount Game Play: A mount system would be cool. Pet battles have totally changed that aspect of the game. I think that seeing the mounts tab right next to that pet tab, makes me want an optional mini-game for mounts. I would love to see a system that let me get more engaged with these things I have collected. I love the Darkmoon Faire race system. If flying mounts required more active management, and couldn’t just hover effortlessly forever I would enjoy them more.
Mounts are fun, they are a great way to customize your characters look and express their personality. I look forward to seeing what Blizzard does with them in the future.
Mekgineer Sicco Thermaplugg 