flying-mount
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Grimoire of the Four Winds offers BoA Pandaria flying for alts
There may not be any flying on Draenor, but if you have alts that you haven't boosted to 90 and still need to take through Pandaria, you might be wondering how they can learn flying early. Bind-on-account flying manuals have been in place since Wrath of the Lich King, and although it appeared at first that there were no manuals present for Mists of Pandaria -- or at least the flight vendor out at each faction's respective shrines didn't seem to be selling anything along those lines. However, there is in fact a Grimoire of the Four Winds available -- it just requires a little hike and a possible bidding war to acquire. The Grimoire of the Four Winds is only sold at the Black Market Auction House, which has been relocated from its old home in the Veiled Stair to the Ring of Blood in Nagrand. The approach to the Ring of Blood, located at roughly 53,14 if you have coordinates available in your game, is crawling with level 100 mobs. However, once you get to the Ring of Blood itself, all guards are neutral. Madame Goya is in a small building at the back of the Ring, and offers much the same items as usual -- raiding gear, transmog gear, and of course, the Grimoire of the Four Winds. While bidding starts at 1,000 gold, be aware that this is of course an auction house, and you might find yourself outbid. Reports on Wowhead suggest that either the tooltip or the manual itself is bugged for the moment -- players that have successfully bought the tome and tried to use it receive a message that the item cannot be used until level 90. It's likely we'll see this hotfixed or addressed in the future -- after all, if you're level 90, you're going to be on Draenor and not really caring about flight at all anyway! But if you've been looking for the Grimoire, just head to Nagrand and see if you can pick one up.
The Daily Grind: How do you feel about flying mounts in MMOs?
When World of Warcraft introduced flying mounts with The Burning Crusade, I immediately saw it as a mistake, a viewpoint that I maintain until this day. For those that disagree, you have to address why the studio itself kept coming up with reasons to "ground" pilots in subsequent expansions. I think that even the devs know that it was a mistake but Pandora's Box was opened and there was no shutting it. For the record, I'm not against flying mounts in general, just in games not designed from the ground-up to have them. They tend to trivialize and shrink the game world, since you can just fly over any obstacles and spend your time looking at featureless sky instead of hand-designed landscape. As in real life, I'm OK keeping my feet on the ground in games most of the time. What's your position on flying mounts? Bonus points if you include examples of both bad and good flight implementation. Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Breakfast Topic: Why can't we fly?
If you're the right level -- and have the appropriate riding training -- you can fly in most parts of World of Warcraft. For those who are accustomed to flying, venturing into one of the areas you can't fly feels a lot like having weights attached to your feet, as even the grandest flying mount will can't quite manage to get airbound. And, really, it's an embarrassment when, believing you can fly, you leap off a ledge to find you can't. It's even more embarrassing when you die of fall damage because of it. The places you can't fly are few and far between -- at this point the only no-fly zones are mostly forgotten bits and pieces of Burning Crusade content, like The Exodar, Silvermoon City, and the daily hub Isle of Quel'Danas. These aren't exactly well-traversed areas -- probably one reason they haven't been updated -- but traveling through them they stand out like sore thumbs from the rest of the game world and you've got to wonder why they haven't been. So for today's discussion topic, readers, tell us: do you think we should be able to fly throughout the game? Or do you like these hidden, ground-based areas?
Is it time to kill flying mounts?
My first true WoW leveling experience was in Burning Crusade. I remember skulking through the zones on my night elf druid, riding my nightsaber from one quest hub to the next. I remember thanking Cenarius that druids could stealth, an ability that helped me avoid Horde players. Even with this gift, though, I would still get caught up in PvP every once in a while. It didn't help that during those tense moments I froze up and panicked simultaneously, randomly flailing about while the other player steadily ended my life. Eventually I heard about flying mounts, and that once you hit level 70 and paid 5,000 gold you could grace the skies with your presence. Of course, if you're still leveling and nowhere near the requisite amount of gold, you become less concerned with getting your own mount than defending yourself against enemies that may appear out of thin air. After a while, I was able to hit 70 and somehow managed to scrounge up the coin for my flight training. I suddenly felt safe; I could quest, I could explore without having to look over my shoulder, and if anyone tried to attack me I could just pop into bird form and put all of my weight onto my space bar. I felt a greater sense of control, one that I actually got so accustomed to having that when the Isle of Quel'Danas opened up, an area that only allowed ground-based travel, I felt refreshed.
The OverAchiever: How to find the new cloud serpent mounts in Mists of Pandaria
Every Thursday, The Overachiever shows you how to work toward those sweet achievement points. Today, we experience the horrors of exploration. One of the joys of getting into a new expansion is seeing a huge, lovely, empty map in front of you, containing a wealth of new experiences and items. One of the annoyances of getting into a new expansion is seeing a huge, horrible, empty map in front of you, containing a wealth of new experiences and items that you have absolutely no idea how to find. If you're me, you will eventually find yourself on a ledge somewhere in the Jade Forest, looking in silence over a cliff with a 2,000-foot drop with the knowledge that you can't fly off of it and that your hearthstone is down. This is bad. I put this article together for that reason, because when I got into the Mists of Pandaria beta, I was desperate to find the new cloud serpent mounts but didn't actually know how to find them. (I did, however, "find" the bottom of the cliff. Good for me.) Hopefully, this will help you speed up the process a bit on your end, although we're still not 100% sure where all of these mounts will eventually be found.
Alganon delays expansion, plans double-XP weekend
Citing "unforseen circumstances," the team at QOL has announced that Alganon's Rise of the Ourobani expansion will be delayed until the fourth quarter of this year. "After evaluation of the project, it was decided that more time was needed in order to do some critical bug fixes as well as to spend more time on certain areas and features of the expansion in order to do the best work possible," the devs wrote in the April newsletter. Rise of the Ourobani will feature the playable titular race, a brand-new continent to explore, a Warden combat companion, PvP, and flying mounts. To soften the blow of the expansion's delay, QOL has released several sneak peek pictures and videos. Even though the expansion is a ways away, players have a reason to log in now, as Alganon is preparing a double-XP weekend from April 20 through the 23rd. You can watch Rise of the Ourobani flying mounts in action after the break.
The Daily Grind: Are flying mounts bad for gameplay?
EverQuest II recently announced that flying mounts (or more accurately, gliding and leaping mounts) are coming to a sub-90 character near you. Predictably, the community reaction was one part "awesome" and two parts "zomg nooooo," both of which were also heard en masse when endgame flying mounts were announced in 2010. The naysaying consensus seems to be that flying mounts cheapen progression-based gameplay by providing an easy way around troublesome mob spawns. That said, there's no denying the lure of unrestricted flight in our MMOs, particularly in a world as large and as topographically diverse as Norrath (and players are of course free to ignore what is essentially a new form of fast travel). For today's Daily Grind, we'd like to know your thoughts on flying mounts. Specifically, do you like them or do you feel they add more negative than positive to the MMO experience? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
The Tattered Notebook: Week one in Velious
It's been a very busy week since EverQuest II's Destiny of Velious launched! Despite a few server issues, the launch seemed to go smoothly, and there were plenty of players running around in otter illusion form by the end of the first day. I happily welcomed the return of the Kael Giants, the Coldain Dwarves, and even the Tizmak! After battling the void for so long, I found them to be a refreshing change. In this first week, I set out to raise and train my flying griffon mount and began to tackle the new content. Read on for highlights of my past week, including public quests, my stubborn baby griffon, and a mysterious guide quest involving Kael Drakkel.
The Tattered Notebook: Velious itemization and flying Gnomes
With the launch of Destiny of Velious rapidly approaching, EverQuest II fans are starting to hear a lot more about what this expansion will bring. This past week was filled with new lore, new screenshots, and another live Webcast with Senior Producer Dave Georgeson, Lead Designer Rich Waters, and Itemization Developer Salim Grant. As in previous webcasts, the hosts talked about flying mounts, launch day events, and othmir, but the main topic they discussed was itemization and gear progression. There is no level cap increase with Destiny of Velious, and because of that, many players wondered what items would look like, especially since a lot of Sentinel's Fate gear was already loaded with procs, wards, and effects. In this week's Tattered Notebook, we'll look at how the developers tackled this difficult area and what changes players should expect to see with the arrival of Destiny of Velious.
Cataclysm Beta: Old weather flying will cost 250g
In a stunning (not really) move, Blizzard has announced that players will have to purchase a Flight Master's License for 250g. This skills allows players to fly on Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdom continents, including the new level 80-85 zones, and is trainable at level 60. Zarhym -- New Flight Skill We've added a new flying skill called Flight Master's License. When World of Warcraft: Cataclysm is released, players who purchase the expansion will see this skill available from flight trainers for 250 gold once they reach level 60. This new skill is required for flying around all Kalimdor and Eastern Kingdoms zones, including the new level 80-85 zones. source Zarhym -- New Flight Skill The cost for this is 250 gold. The name has also changed. I've updated my original post with the new information. :) source Previously, during the Twitter Dev Chat in April, the developers responded that more than likely, players would be able to fly from the beginning without purchasing the tongue-in-cheek "Old Weather Flying." As for why Blizzard is now adding such a skill, I have no idea. I don't mind ponying up the gold, considering the rate at which gold is earned in Cataclysm feels much faster than in the original game. My best guess is that Blizzard still wants flying in the old world to feel special and be a goal players will strive to reach for rather than stumble across. Also, it appears that if you do not have the Cataclysm expansion, you will not see this ability as trainable -- if you want to fly in the old world, you'll need the new expansion. What do you think about the Flight Master's License?
The OverAchiever: Pimp thy ride
As you've probably already read, players will be able to purchase 310 percent flying speed from trainers in Cataclysm. While this is good news for people who hate raiding, think arena was shat into existence by the most sociopathic among the development team, or spent School of Hard Knocks trying to drown themselves in the nearest body of water, the bad news is that buying your way to super-fast flying will run you a cool 5,000 gold. Outrageous, says this dyed-in-the-wool cheapskate. For anyone else who'd rather die than part with a centavo of hard-earned gold, the good news is that having even a single 310 percent flyer in your stable is enough to get you the skill free. Fortunately, there's plenty of time to snag yourself one of these coveted mounts before Cataclysm hits, and just as fortunately, each mount is the reward (or subject) of an achievement. Strategy guides for obtaining each of the remaining 310 percent mounts is definitely beyond the scope of this article (although I'll probably devote an edition of OverAchiever to nabbing the Rusted Proto-Drake, above) but we can take a visual tour of the fast flyers that any hard-working player can still get in Wrath of the Lich King.
Breakfast Topic: I believe I can fly
This article has been brought to you by Seed, the Aol guest writer program that brings your words to WoW.com. Many things are eagerly anticipated with the release of Cataclysm: guild achievements, level 85, Deathwing. Little has been discussed about flying mounts in all of Azeroth. It is just a snippet in the trailer, but I do remember its getting a huge cheer. Gone will be the days of flying into Southshore and then riding (I mean, really -- once we can fly, who is going to ride?) north to battle the Abominable Greench. You'll fly -- and yes, I know, Alliance won't be using Southshore, but that's a different topic. We will be flying up and out of Stormwind, heading south into Searing Gorge to Blackrock Mountain and a new instance with Nefarian, and we will be using our own mounts. Can't get that one piece of ore on the side of a hill? Fly up and get it. Need to help a low-level guild member outside Jintha'Alor? Fly there from Aerie Peak or Revantusk Village. You'll be able to scout where those nasty Devilsaurs are in Un'Goro without getting stomped on (not that it matters to a level 85). So once you can fly anywhere in Azeroth, where are you going first? If you are Alliance, I would wager 85% of you are going to the airport above Ironforge. There is a gryphon master at the north end of that area. He always waves when you fly over on your way to Menethil. I'm thinking that will become an active flight point, but I suspect most of you will fly up there on your own, simply because now you can. A few of you will probably go to the fishing hut above Stormwind. Me? That's not the first place I'm going. I have long wanted to get to one particular spot on the map. I've tried getting there a few times, particularly during the Lunar Festival because there's an elder near this spot. The gryphon flies over it and I so desperately want to get off, right there. No, I'm not telling. Where are you going to go first? Anyplace in particular, or do you think you will just hop on your flying mount and savor the wind in your face as you fly anywhere? Have you ever wanted to write for WoW.com? Your chance may be right around the corner. Watch for our next call for submissions for articles via Seed, the Aol guest writer program that brings your words to WoW.com. The next byline you see here may be yours!
Breakfast Topic: Reining in the ease of collecting mounts
This article has been brought to you by Seed, the Aol guest writer program that brings your words to WoW.com. 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? Have you ever wanted to write for WoW.com? Your chance may be right around the corner. Watch for our next call for submissions for articles via Seed, the Aol guest writer program that brings your words to WoW.com. The next byline you see here may be yours!
The OverAchiever: Pure win
Every so often I get tired of the self-seriousness that infests some of (OK, most of) the other work I do here, and get the urge to write something purely for fun. After our series on evil achievements and the relentless misery of School of Hard Knocks, I'd like to spend some time on achievements that are nothing but an absolute joy from beginning to end. The following is an entirely arbitrary set of five achievements that I personally believe are a hoot. Eventually, I'd like to expand this in the same fashion as the evil achievements series, and I'd welcome any comments or suggestions on your own favorites. Namely, what makes certain achievements fun? Is there any achievement you've made a point of getting on each of your characters?
Refer-A-Friend rocket available starting tomorrow, Tuesday April 27
Zarhym has just posted to let us all know that the previously announced X-53 Touring Rocket, the only 2-seated flying mount currently available in game, will be claimable by qualifying Refer-A-Friend accounts starting tomorrow, Tuesday April 27. With this, the Zhevra mount will be retired, so if you want it, be sure to grab it tonight. The full announcement text is behind the cut.
Cataclysm mount changes
During the Twitter Dev Chat, we learned that in Cataclysm, 310% speed flying mounts will be handled differently. Bashiok - #BlizzChat Developer Chat on Twitter 4/16 Q: Do you intend to have all 280% flying mounts scale to 310% when a 310% mount is earned, or will only purchased mounts do so? A: Our current plan, is that in Cataclysm, you can learn a new rank of flying that lets all flying mounts move at 310% (even current 280% mounts). That will probably be as fast as mounts will ever get. We don't like it that when you get a 310% mount that you stop using your old ones. Q: If 310% speed is becoming trainable, does that mean we'll be able to fly in Azeroth from the get-go? A: We have considered the concept of "Old Weather Flying." Just kidding. More than likely, you'll just be able to fly from the beginning. source No word yet on if players with current 310% speed mounts will still have to learn this new rank of flying skill or not. Previously, 310% speed mounts were seen as status symbols and prizes to be gained via achievements, PvP, rare drops or so on. Personally, I'm hoping people with 310% speed mounts are at least grandfathered in as it would be annoying otherwise to not even be able to ride your mount once the change went live. On the up side, at least we'll be able to fly in Azeroth right away instead of having to train yet another rank of flying. World of Warcraft: Cataclysm will destroy Azeroth as we know it. Nothing will be the same. In WoW.com's Guide to Cataclysm you can find out everything you need to know about WoW's third expansion. From Goblins and Worgens to Mastery and Guild changes, it's all there for your cataclysmic enjoyment.
The Daily Grind: Have you ever had microtransactioner's remorse?
Yesterday the MMO world reeled in shock -- and by "reeled in shock" I mean "lined up in queues of over 130,000" -- as Blizzard unveiled the latest high-cost microtransaction: a $25 flying mount in World of Warcraft. This is certainly not the first time that RMT has caused a stir among players, nor will it be the last, but it's certainly a facet of the industry that's here to stay. So as RMT becomes more widespread, it stands to reason that many Massively readers have experimented, engaged and engorged with microtransactions and item shops. If you have, has there ever been a time when you've ponied up dough for a virtual service or item and come to regret it? Perhaps the item wasn't as, erm, awesometacular as you were led to believe, perhaps you only used it once or twice before growing bored with it, or perhaps you left the game shortly thereafter. Have you ever had microtransactioner's remorse?
Patch 3.3 PTR: Armored Frost Wyrm mounts are rewards from Icecrown
Ancilorn over at the European forums has confirmed that the armored Frost Wrym mounts mined from early builds of the Patch 3.3 PTR will be rewards for achievements in the Icecrown Citadel raid. Much like past raid dungeons have awarded mounts for completing meta-achievements, such as the Ironbound Proto-Drake for Ulduar, the Frost Wyrms will be "up for grabs," for dedicated raiders. MMO-Champion previously unearthed this armored Frost Wyrm model along with spells named Frostbrood Vanquisher and Frostbrood Vanquisher Flight, which could give some insight into some Icecrown Citadel encounters. Despite the confirmation of new reward mounts (expected to grant 310% flying speed, as well), there is currently no word on the removal of the Ulduar reward mounts, which Blizzard has said to stay for "the foreseeable future". Patch 3.3 is the last major patch of Wrath of the Lich King. With the new Icecrown Citadel 5-man dungeons and 10/25-man raid arriving soon, patch 3.3 will deal the final blow to Arthas. WoW.com's Guide to Patch 3.3 will keep you updated with all the latest patch news.
Patch 3.3 PTR: Invincible
You know how like Michael Bay wanted Transformers to be a story about a boy and his car? Or how John Carpenter made a film about one teen's dangerous obsession with a murderous car? Well, the World of Warcraft version is about to come to life -- or unlife -- when patch 3.3 finally goes up. MMO Champion has uncovered model files for Invincible, the Lich King's personal steed. As the datamining suggests -- "Invincible - Summons and dismisses the flying undead horse Invincible. This mount changes depending on your Riding skill and location." -- players might actually have a shot at obtaining what is, in my humble opinion, the most badass pixel-by-pixel mount in the game. Ever. The horse has some serious lore to it, too. As many players have already discovered, Invincible has an unearthed grave in the game located near the Balnir Farmstead in Tirisfal Glades. The tombstone reads:
Mabinogi adds first flying mounts with latest patch
If flying mounts are the new cool thing to put in your MMO, then Mabinogi is riding the cool train with the rest of the MMO developers. The new mounts, the eagle and the pelican, are two of the new additions in the game's latest patch.With the addition of the eagle and the pelican also comes the new African themed zone called Courcle. This new area is filled with wildlife, like elephants and hyenas, and even comes equipped with two new boss monsters for players to face. An enormous alligator protects the swamps while the king of the jungle, the regal lion, protects the savannas of the brand new zone.With all of these dangers in Courcle, players will be glad to hear that the mounts also serve as ground combat support in addition to being your flying friends. Did you ever see a mount fight? No? Well then, you might want to continue reading this article, as we have the preview trailer for the eagle and pelican after the break.
