mists-of-pandaria-flying
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Would Blizzard's efforts in Pandaria be negated by early flight?
In response to a forum thread started this weekend, Blizzard Community Manager and pug aficionado Crithto clarified Blizzard's thoughts on a Tome of Pandaria Flying. The Tome of Cold Weather Flight was an item introduced in Wrath of the Lich King, which permitted players to avoid buying Cold Weather Flight -- the flight training required to fly in Northrend -- for their alts. Rather than re-purchasing the skill on every character at max level, you could use the tome and begin flying in Northrend a couple of levels earlier than it could ordinarily be acquired. The Tome of Cold Weather Flight was removed from the game in patch 4.0.1. Crithto's comment is as follows: Crithto We're not sure if we'll be doing this. The tome worked out well enough for Wrath of the Lich King as an experiment, but so much of the experience we spent a lot of time and effort shaping in Pandaria is negated by flying. In addition to the upcoming reputation changes for alts (when a character on the account hits Revered), we'll consider other methods of potentially speeding up the leveling process for alts, but we don't think "allow flying" is necessarily the best answer. source While it is clear to see why players feel differently, given how much easier flying makes questing, WoW Insider largely agrees with Crithtos's opinion. Certain achievements, for example, Legend of the Brewfathers, are hugely enhanced by riding rather than flying. Exploration of the world Blizzard has created in Mists of Pandaria is essentially two new experiences when undertaken first from the ground, and later from the air. Crithto's assertion that Blizzard's developers are looking into methods of speeding up alt leveling may bring considerable comfort to players for whom the leveling experience has been enjoyable but overwhelming. The adventure through Pandaria, while thrilling, may start to lose its shine with subsequent playthroughs, so changes may be needed. Would you welcome methods to level alts at greater speed? Or, like the pandaren, do you believe that players should slow down, that Pandaria is to be savored? Mists of Pandaria is here! The level cap has been raised to 90, many players have returned to Azeroth, and pet battles are taking the world by storm. Keep an eye out for all of the latest news, and check out our comprehensive guide to Mists of Pandaria for everything you'll ever need to know.
