mounts
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Grounded in Northrend
The subject of flying mounts and their use in Northrend comes up fairly often on the official Wrath of the Lich King forums, as a result of Blizzard mentioning we may not be able to use them right away in Northrend.Why can't we use them in Northrend? Well, the reasoning seems understandable. They want the progression through the Northrend content to feel natural, they want you to experience the setting they've put there. You have to admit, Outland became far less dangerous to you the moment you gained the ability to fly over every single threat there is in the world.The most common theory on the forums is that you'll need to purchase wing defrosters or wing mittens at level 80 to regain your ability to use a flying mount. A silly, cynical concept, and I don't think that's their only option. Yesterday we discussed weather, so perhaps a blizzard in the Howling Fjord could force you to the ground, or a thunderstorm in the Borean Tundra. Alternatively, a swarm of gargoyles(and frost wyrms?) could be conveniently placed to throw you off of your mount and to your doom should you fly too high in these starting zones.There are many different things that could be done, and I'm very interested to see which route Blizzard will go with it. You know, as long as I don't need to put mittens on my Nether Ray. Where would I even put them!?
Ready Check: Zul'Aman -- Getting your first bear
Ready Check is a weekly column focusing on successful raiding for the serious raider. Hardcore or casual, Kara or BT, everyone can get in on the action and down them some bosses. This week, a bear talks about... bears.Since the introduction of Zul'Aman many raiding guilds have been fascinated by the time trial; defeat all four animal bosses within 45 minutes and the last prisoner will gift you with a scary-looking bear mount, plus the adoration of your entire server. This article will take you through preparing for, and succeeding at, the Zul'Aman timed run.Okay, so you want to get a bear. Perhaps there are ten people in your guild who, bored with farming or wiping, want a slightly different challenge to take up an evening or two a week. The end goal of getting a bear mount (or ten) is an incredibly fun one to aim for, but it's also a lot of hard work (provided you don't just want to pay 20,000 gold). The first stage in collecting your very own bear cavalry is to assemble a good team. While you can put together a run with whichever guildies feel like going from week to week, we recommend at least starting with a fixed group that's optimised for success. As you become experienced at running the gauntlet, it won't matter quite as much if the team isn't static.
Factual errors abound in ExtremeTech commentary
Several of you have passed word to us concerning an opinion article by Jim Lynch, a "journalist and community manager" from ExtremeTech. He recently wrote a piece concerning the "Ten Reasons World of Warcraft Sucks". If you would like to laugh a bit, I'd go over and check it out.I don't want to rip into him for his opinions. He's entitled to them. Opinions are things like "they need new battleground maps," or "Paladins are not good tanks." While we might vehemently disagree with them, they are opinions nonetheless, and they are not facts. Facts are things like "Blizzard can put in new battleground maps," or "Paladins can tank."What I can do is correct some of his facts. First, he says that a player must spend 5000g to get a flying mount. It only costs 1000g. He suggests a price of 1200g as an appropriate amount to charge for a flying mount, looks like he's 200g too high.
Size matters: Tauren shrinkage
For those of you who do not frequent the forums, you might not know that since patch 2.4, there has been a Tauren outcry. It seems that cows everywhere are logging in to find that their weapons are roughly 50% smaller than they were previously. Should you take your weapon out to get a better look at it, you'll get to watch it grow back to pre-patch size. Unfortunately, this is not a bug. Hortus has confirmed that it was an intentional change because certain weapons would clip the ground while sheathed. While the Tauren have been getting some support on the forums, some players seem unsure of why this is such a big issue. Let's take a deeper look into why players are upset, including the fact that cows will seemingly be the brunt of even more jokes. Not innocent jokes either; not like "steak! It's what's for dinner!"
Exclusive screens of LoN loot items in EQ & EQ2
SOE's Legends of Norrath trading card game just introduced it's 3rd set, dubbed Inquisitor. You've probably heard about all the new gameplay features it adds to the game, but let's face it, many players are just interested in the loot cards. These are special cards randomly mixed into packs that can be redeemed for in-game items in either EverQuest or EverQuest II. Items like unique mounts, non-combat pets, housing decorations and more.Just in time for this weekend's tournament, SOE provided us with exclusive screenshots of what many of these items look like. We've put them all in the gallery below. So get to clicking and see what in-game bling awaits the lucky. %Gallery-17086%
LoN: Inquisitor launches today
The third set in the Legends of Norrath digital trading card game, Inquisitor launches today. Since we wrote up our first look last month, we've discovered a few new things. Mostly our unhealthy obsession with loot cards. You see, in every pack of cards you buy, there is a chance to get one card that can be redeemed for an item within EverQuest or EverQuest II. And I don't mean just a souvenir loincloth or a +2 Ring of Useless Stat. I mean shiny things like unique mounts, snazzy cloaks, new titles, new pets and new weapon graphics. Did we mention the shiny?? Loot cards that can be redeemed for EQ and loot cards that can be redeemed for EQ2 are profiled on the official LoN site. If you are looking to get your hands on your own shiny, a weekend LoN: Inquisitor tournament starts today. %Gallery-17086%
New PvP mounts: Swift Warstrider and Black War Elekk
As previously reported, the latest push from the notoriously progressive Patch 2.4 revealed that a Black War Elekk has been added to the game, but some more digging has also unveiled the Swift Warstrider, a PvP version of the oversized chickens that Blood Elves ride. The models for both mounts have been in the game files since The Burning Crusade was launched but were never introduced into the game, despite slavering anticipation from many players. It looks like there'll be a use for those extra Marks of Honor, after all, as the mounts are finally available on the PTR from each faction's respective Mount vendors -- Raider Bork in the Hall of Legends for the Horde and Lieutenant Karter in the Champion's Hall for the Alliance -- for 30 Marks of Honor from Alterac Valley, Arathi Basin, and Warsong Gulch. Strangely enough, the current model for the actual Warstrider on the PTR seems to be the Swift White Hawkstrider which drops of Kael'thas in the Magister's Terrace, rather than the customary black mount in the game files. This can possibly change when Patch 2.4 finally goes live, or it could stay the way it is... Patch 2.3 on the PTR had one color for the Cenarion War Hippogryph while there were several models found in the game files, including a lilac one that my wife fell in love with and was prepared to pony up 2,000 gold for. The Black War Elekk also currently shows the Hawkstrider icon, rather than the normal Elekk icon. It looks like the patch isn't quite ready to go live just yet. Enjoy the mounts!
A brief Fallen Earth update
So what's new with Fallen Earth? Well not a whole lot of new information is discussed in this article covering some information from this year's GDC. However, what little info there is packs a pretty good punch in the satisfaction gland for the post-apocalyptic Fallen Earth fan. For starters, it sounds like mounts -- in the form of ATVs -- are in for the early levels. The reason behind this choice seems to stem from the large expanses players will have to traverse -- so we're not entirely certain that low-level mounts are really all that different from no mounts with less distance to travel in-world. Unfortunately, we still can't be sure until the game comes out -- which could still be a little while even with 75% of the content already in the game. Having three to four thousand missions doesn't really tell us much, but since the lead designer of Fallen Earth Lee Hammock says the polish isn't there yet, we can assume it'll be some time before we see launch. We're still very interested in this title, simply because we're suckers for the dirty, gritty, post-apocalyptic future-scape massively games.
Exclusive look at LoN: Inquisitor's loot cards
Tomorrow, SOE is releasing the details on 20 new loot cards in their upcoming Legends of Norrath: Inquisitor expansion set. But today, they gave us an exclusive look at five of them. Two for EverQuest and three for EverQuest II. For those of you in the dark, Legends of Norrath is SOE's digital trading card game. It can be played within EQ and EQ2 or using a stand alone client. You collect cards to build decks to engage in head-to-head combat with other players. In every new set, SOE slips in loot cards. They have no function in the trading card game, but can be redeemed for in-game items. The two new ones we have for EQ players are a new mount and an ammo slot item whose description was a little vague, but it looks like it allows the bearer to breathe underwater. For EQ2 players, we have the pirate cloak you see above which can also increases the size of the caster by 50%, a charm slot item that transforms the caster into a Burynai (the in-house pet that came with pre-ordering the last expansion, Rise of Kunark) and a ring that increases tradeskill experience by 15%. The cloak and mount look sweet, but that ring is crazy good considering crafting in EQ2 has its own 80 levels to grind through independent of combat experience! Check out the LoN home page tomorrow for all the loot cards in the Inquisitor set that goes on sale next Friday, March 7th. %Gallery-17086%
GDC08: A preview of Age of Conan's wild and wooly mounted combat
Massively had the chance to sit with the Age of Conan developers yesterday, to take in a brand-new preview of the blood-and-guts gameplay due out later this year. One of the highlights of that demo was the chance to see mounted combat in action. We traveled to the desolate landscape of Khopshef province for a look at what the riding animals of Hyborea could do in a scuffle. Game director Gaute Godager walked us through the tusk-tossing and hoof-stomping, revealing details of when and how you'll be able to grab your mounts. He also hinted at post-launch possibilities for some of the bigger animals, and touched on the nteraction these mighty steeds will have with the game's signature 'seige PvP' gameplay. Read on for just a taste of what it might be like to rampage across the ancient world on the back of War Mammoth. Or, alternatively, check out our audio recording of this part of the presentation to get the word straight from the mammoth's mouth.%Gallery-16341%
Mania premieres Warcraft Mounts, a database for mounties
The great Mania (purveyor of Petopia) has created yet another extremely useful database, the practically-named Warcraft Mounts. Not only can you punch in your race, level, and riding skill, and get a list of all the mounts you can ride, but you can also search through the database, and browse the mounts (by category or all at once). And just like on Petopia, Mania has grabbed big photos of all the mounts and set up a nice stats page for each.Very cool. Other plans include resources for "mount hunters," the inclusions of Druid flight forms (do those count as mounts? and if so, should all travel forms be included?), and even a blog for mount news. Looks like another great resource for anyone looking for more ways to get around Azeroth.
I spent how much on my alt?
Just this weekend I did something I never expected I would do: Spent 5,000 gold on epic flight. On my main? Oh no, I've had that for months now. I spent 5,000 gold on my alt. My alt! Good gravy!Honestly, I don't really regret it, it's mostly the shock of spending that much gold on an alt that gets me. I'll definitely be putting the epic gryphon to good use, I play my alt quite a bit. Like I mentioned in another recent post, my alt is almost my second main. Pretty much full epics, has seen the insides of Zul'Aman, Tempest Keep and Serpentshrine, capped Blacksmithing, all of that. The fact remains, though, it is an alt. 5,000 gold on an alt!I can't be the only one crazy enough to do this, am I? Surely there are others with alts that have epic flight? Most of my friends poked fun at me about it, but besides waiting for Wrath of the Lich King, what am I going to use that money for anyway? I suppose I could feast on Stormwind Brie instead but I have a feeling an epic gryphon is a little more useful, no?
Swift White Hawkstrider debuts in Patch 2.4
The good news just keeps on coming as Patch 2.4 is shaping up to be one incredibly sweet patch. Following the news of what might just be the coolest non-combat pet -- aside from the Pet Bombling, imho -- the Phoenix Hatchling, it appears that Kael'thas drops even more amazing stuff like the new Swift White Chocobo Hawkstrider. The model for the Swift White Hawkstrider has been in the files for quite some time now, and former speculation was that it was the PvP reward mount similar to Red Skeletal Warhorses or Black War Kodos. However, according to MMO Champion -- which has been on a massive roll uncovering the sweet loot hidden in Patch 2.4 -- the mount drops off Kael'thas in Heroic Magister's Terrace.The new patch is shaping up to be very casual-friendly, as the vanity items such as the phoenix pet and this bragging-rights mount both drop from the 5-man instance (albeit in different modes), something that all players can reasonably aspire towards. Mount aficionados can now add this to their wish list along with (if they don't already have it) Zul'Aman's Amani War Bear or the Druid epic quest boss bonus drop Reins of the Raven Lord. The bad news is that these Hawkstriders can't support the heft of Tauren or Draenei, so players dreaming of cows on chickens will have to keep on dreaming.
The Lunar Festival's greatest prize: Rep!
If you're a human after a saber, troll after a kodo, or any other combination like that, don't let this opportunity pass you by!As most of you know, during the Lunar Festival there are 50 Elders scattered across Azeroth that hand out Coins of Ancestry which you can turn in for prizes in Moonglade. There is another prize, however: Reputation! For every elder you speak to, you earn 75 reputation toward your entire faction. Yes, all five races.If you put the time in to talk to every single elder, some of which might be a pain to reach, you'll net just shy of 4,000 reputation. 3,750 to be exact. For humans, this will come out to about 4,125 rep, give or take a bit. Nerf Diplomacy!This won't drastically lessen a rep grind, especially after the reputation gain changes they put in awhile back, but its certainly more interesting than tearing apart low level quests or farming endless amounts of Runecloth.
Player posts an abundance of AoC videos from Norway press event
A lucky player by the name of Avery, from Age of Conan guild The Acolytes, won a trip to attend Funcom's press event in Norway and has uploaded a huge amount of footage. There are videos on questing, raiding, mounts, music and more from AoC. Heck, there's even a video of the real-life mounted fighting that was performed for the event attendees in the parking lot outside. A few of these videos are embedded after the break, and this post at The Acolytes forums has a list of all of them, and includes a write-up of Avery's opinion on the crafting system at the current time. Keep in mind these videos are on Stage6 and require a Divx plugin.[Thanks, Griz]
MapleStory introduces 4th Job tier, mounts, new village
Nexon's games portfolio continues to evolve, as they've announced the official release of MapleStory's much-anticipated '4th Job' tier of classes. These high-level professions offer a new level of power for the most dedicated players. The release notes that this will only affect a small portion of the userbase, which Nexon claims is currently hovering around the 5 million mark. Just as with the progression to the third job, there are specific criteria to unlocking your fourth job. You have to: be level 120 or higher speak with your 3rd job instructor, before traveling to your 4th instructor in the city of Leafre. You then have to obtain two items, the heroic star and heroic pentagon. You can do this by defeating the monsters Manon and Griffey. Alternatively, you can head to Eos Tower. On the 44th Floor you can purchase a 'Secret Letter of Spell' for 10 million mesos. Then go back to Leafre Village and speak to Chief Tatamo to get a set of Heroic Star and Heroic Pentagon. Screenshots and details after the cut.
WAR, you and another interview
Sunday got you down without much to do? Well maybe this will eat up a few of those boring minutes for you. It appears that the WarCry Network has a nice little interview with Joshua Drescher, Adam Gershowitz and James Nichols of EA Mythic. This interview happens to be about Warhammer Online (who knew?), so sit down, strap in, caffeine up and listen in because we can never get enough juicy information about WAR.Many of the subjects are nothing too special, such as the revelation that EA Mythic is going to let players re-spec their characters. To be more specific, players will have the opportunity to re-spec their Mastery, meaning any tactics or morale abilities that were selected in the system. This doesn't include core tactics or morale, as well as anything received from the Tome of Knowledge. The reason being that these are granted through automatic unlocks (such as gaining a level or killing 200 haughty High Elves).
Riding around Northrend
Bornakk plays it super safe on a question of whether there will be new mounts in Northrend (sometimes I think Bornakk is just a script that is programmed to post "There are no plans to do that at this time" periodically on the forums), but I can tell you for sure: there will, no doubt, be new mounts found in Northrend.The question, however, is what they'll be. We've also heard that Blizzard won't be allowing flying mounts at least in the early parts of Northrend-- they claim that flying allows players to skip content, and they don't want anyone skipping content. But we will be able to use them eventually, and considering the steps that Blizzard has taken (in changing the riding/mount prices), it is almost assured that we'll see a few different mount options come out of Northwind. We've already seen dragons there, and the Blue Dragonflight will be there as well, so that points toward another type of dragon (other than Netherdrakes).Of course, there's another type of vehicle we'll be riding around on in Northrend-- those siege weapons. It may be that, as Bornakk says, we don't get another riding skill rank to train, but there may be training purchases involved in letting players drive and use siege weapons as well.
WoW gifts? I has em!
WoW is a big part of the time my husband and I spend together. If we're not actually playing, we're usually talking about strategies or our in-game goals. Likewise, I spend a ton of time with my guildmates, either raiding or just joking around. These are people I consider good friends. So with one of the major gift giving holidays just around the corner, I've been working on ideas for WoW-themed presents for the lot of them. And I'm certainly not the only one. The folks over at Warcraft Chicks have been compiling a list of inexpensive to legendary items you can buy or make for your loved ones. There are also a lot of posts over on WoW Ladies about gift ideas. Likewise, Grumble N' Autumnn has compiled a list of in-game toys. At this point, though, there's less than a week before Christmas. Yikes! So in the interest of time, I'm going to put together one giant list of WoW-related holiday gift ideas and where you can get them.
Warhammer Online player-mounts displayed in concept art gallery
A recent newsletter for Warhammer Online gave us a glimpse at the concept art for some of the player mounts that the game will have, and TenTonHammer has posted these up in a handy gallery. Featured are mounts for the Greenskin, Dwarf, High Elf, Chaos, and Empire armies. For some races, we see a Light, Heavy and Medium version of the mounts, and the Greenskins have two different kinds of mount shown, boars and wolves.The newsletter that these images came from gave us a few scraps of information on some mount mechanics. There will be temporary mounts for rent, aimed at lower level characters, and riding into water will throw you off your mount. Similarly, you can be shot off your mount if you ride into battle (though no word yet on whether mounted combat will at all be possible). Missing from any of the concept art shown was a mount for the Dark Elves. The newsletter promises more details soon on mounts in general, and perhaps we will learn about their mode of transportation at that time.
