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True Flying Mounts

I read in the FAQ about true flying mounts.

Being available somehow but only to 'Kings/Queens' of castles and leaders of metropolis' Does castle mean something to do with guilds?

I'm a little against this, you can put it down to jealousy or knowing I will (probably) never be a leader of a city and therefore never have a flying mount. Or you can put it down to not wanting some guy flapping his epeen in my face.

It seems like a crazy advantage to have over the peasants in the game. I hear the mounts can age and die or something, though it would be weird that every time someone gets a dragon it happens to be a very old one about to have a heart attack!

I don't know, I'd love to see a massive (and I mean truly massive) quest chain or something, with lists of things to accomplish and get, which while monumental in task and skill means that non leaders can work towards one. Maybe put a cool down or timer or limited flight time on it or something.

I suppose that doesn't really work either, if they want it to be rare. I suppose not being the overall leader of a big guild. Or likely to become a leader of one of the 6 possible Metropolis' on the server it's just not going to happen.

What are people's thoughts about it?
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Comments

  • On the whole server there are only 5 castles and only 5 metropolis at a time. So out of the up to 10,000 concurrent players only 10 could have a flying mount.

    This is the kind of thing people dont understand, its rarity is what makes it awesome. Is flying in wow cool? No, Its faster than ground travel but other than that its not special. In fact it makes the game less interesting because you skip the landscape and dangers below.

    I can almost guarentee i will never get a dragon but i am so excited to be in my first battle and see some one flying one. Its rarity adds to its epicness..
  • Well, I will try to touch on a little bit of everything you are asking. I hope it helps.

    1) It has been said "Kings/Queens" of -specific metropolises- will have a flying mount, such as a dragon, associated with it. This is a mechanic of that metropolis. So if you are the King or Queen of a metropolis that does have one of these flying mounts, you lose access to it once you are "deposed". So that is to say the mount is specifically tied to the Node, not the player. But I imagine in the future we can see more access to flying mounts by players, possibly. But I imagine it will be quite some time and having strenuous prerequisites that anyone should be able to achieve through very specific means.

    2) In regards to mounts "dying" there are a very select few of "exclusive mounts" that will in fact have a timer associated with their life span. Other than that, there isn't much information out there on what these types of mounts would be or how they are obtained. But they did say that most mounts won't have a timer/life span, but can be killed. But they stated that these mounts could also be revived. If you ever played Ultima Online, imagine like a "bonded pet". But I believe they won't be doing the "bonding" mechanic, unless it is involved with the mentioned "animal husbandry". Either way, you should be able to get a mount that you will like that can also be resurrected if it is ever killed. Worst case scenario you may just need to find a player that has high enough "animal husbandry" to resurrect your pet if you cannot.
  • [quote quote=23332]On the whole server there are only 5 castles and only 5 metropolis at a time. So out of the up to 10,000 concurrent players only 10 could have a flying mount.

    This is the kind of thing people dont understand, its rarity is what makes it awesome. Is flying in wow cool? No, Its faster than ground travel but other than that its not special. In fact it makes the game less interesting because you skip the landscape and dangers below.

    I can almost guarentee i will never get a dragon but i am so excited to be in my first battle and see some one flying one. Its rarity adds to its epicness..

    [/quote]

    those castles are called "fortresses" ;) and also there wil be rare drops that drop flying mounts eventually but they have a timer so they die.
  • [quote quote=23332]On the whole server there are only 5 castles and only 5 metropolis at a time. So out of the up to 10,000 concurrent players only 10 could have a flying mount.

    This is the kind of thing people dont understand, its rarity is what makes it awesome. Is flying in wow cool? No, Its faster than ground travel but other than that its not special. In fact it makes the game less interesting because you skip the landscape and dangers below.

    I can almost guarentee i will never get a dragon but i am so excited to be in my first battle and see some one flying one. Its rarity adds to its epicness..

    [/quote]

    Never said I didn't understand it, just I *personally* worry about the advantage it gives and am jealous/sad i'll probably never get one.

    The trouble is with games like this you nearly always get that one fatheaded guild leader, who half the time isn't really very personally responsible for the success of thier guild getting the epic epeen items then proceeding to rub in into everyone's faces, I hate seeing that.

    Still, maybe its a flaw I have in my personality. I am just curious of people's thoughts. be it don't care or don't care as long as it's not horribly OP, hate it, love it etc.

    edit: Vertius, thanks a lot for the info! I was guessing it would be tied to a node for those with it and no one would probably keep one for life, nice to know some details though.
  • I for one am perfectly content to never get a flying mount. Flying in wow became such a trivial but nececcasry component i regret them adding it at all. I literally have nearly 300 mounts in wow but i rarely ever use or need more than 2 or 3. When they were rare they were awesome. Now they're not impressive at all.
  • I definitely agree. As much as I would like to have dragons available for everyone, having them be very rare is good. The idea of a huge battle with only a few commanders and kings on dragons flying above really appeals to me on a visceral level.
    Having your king show up to change the tide of a battle on a dragon, who wouldn't want that? It can be the goal of everyone to work their way up the political ladder to get one of those legendary mounts.
  • i don't think there will be flying mounts for everyone based on what i have heard in interviews. there is very little fast travel and they want people to interact with the world.
  • To my opinion they can leave flying mounts out. Does it really add anything to the gameplay? Played Riders of Icarus where they basically build the game around mounts. There this works like a charm. But other games forcing flying mounts to environment what is not build for it is useless.

    They stated they wanted to make travel a part of the game, so no fast travel of portal porting. Flying mounts are just like this. It avoids being part of the game and just fly over area's where your can't be bothered to participate in.

    The way I understand this is timed flying mounts is depended on a certain status in the game what is very hard to achieve. This is the only way to implement this in a MMO like this without having to go full Riders or Icarus.
  • Remember in Star Wars Galaxies, on any server there was only a handful of people who were Jedi? Remember how cool that was? Then do you remember how uncool it was when they made it so everyone could be a Jedi?

    The most powerful players on the server will have limited time special abilities. These people will undoubtedly rotate as the tides of power ever ebb and flow.

    This is a most welcome return to a feature that will help Make MMOs Great Again! I went there.
  • [quote quote=23359]Remember in Star Wars Galaxies, on any server there was only a handful of people who were Jedi? Remember how cool that was? Then do you remember how uncool it was when they made it so everyone could be a Jedi?

    The most powerful players on the server will have limited time special abilities. These people will undoubtedly rotate as the tides of power ever ebb and flow.

    This is a most welcome return to a feature that will help Make MMOs Great Again! I went there.

    [/quote]

    lol yeah, and you made me laugh. I remember SWG and it was cool. I was on the mystery holocron unlock and it was taking awhile :) I remember soloing imperial missions for 3-4 days straight to get my AT-ST then having to be careful with it because it could be totally destroyed.

    @Maerik85 I quit wow just before TBC I saw the way it was headed. I remember being in probably the top 3-5% to save enough money and get the first epic mounts in the game, I remember having fun later doing the quest for my Warlock epic mount, then grinding some crafted warlock specific cloak or robes (I forget now)

    I remember having about 9 epic mounts from reputation etc in RIFT before many people in my guild even had 1.

    I'd like to think that I've never rubbed my epeen in peoples faces, so please don't take it that way from my examples.

    My point isn't about rarity, I'm cool with that and I'm absolutely willing to work hard at questing / gathering and other things to get one after a long time if needed. The Secret World you had to demonstrate some level of skill in a 'fight trial' to do the hard mode instances, WoW had that priest quest for that staff I remember so many getting really stressed at!

    I suppose the problem I have is the *method* in which they look like is the way to become a leader. As soon as there is competition with limited space to get something it becomes a whole different scenario. For example trying to get 'Grand Marshal' rank in wow. I played as much as possible (also was pretty good at pvp) and just as I was a couple ranks off, a few people were obviously starting to use chinese pvp rank farmers / or 2 people to one account and I could not compete with 24 hours a day played.

    This might sound like a 'it's not working how I want it so I'm not happy post' and maybe to a degree it is, but then again I don't know everything about requirements to become a leader yet other than different types of nodes and vague ways to become one as mentioned in vids.

    I would just really love to see some *epic* quest chains for rewards like this also, not just whoever is at the top of the biggest alliance and gets the most votes kind of deal. (I don't even care if the chain legit takes like a year to complete)
  • [quote quote=23359]Remember in Star Wars Galaxies, on any server there was only a handful of people who were Jedi? Remember how cool that was? Then do you remember how uncool it was when they made it so everyone could be a Jedi?

    The most powerful players on the server will have limited time special abilities. These people will undoubtedly rotate as the tides of power ever ebb and flow.

    This is a most welcome return to a feature that will help Make MMOs Great Again! I went there.

    [/quote]

    lol yeah, and you made me laugh. I remember SWG and it was cool. I was on the mystery holocron unlock and it was taking awhile :) I remember soloing imperial missions for 3-4 days straight to get my AT-ST then having to be careful with it because it could be totally destroyed.

    @Maerik85 I quit wow just before TBC I saw the way it was headed. I remember being in probably the top 3-5% to save enough money and get the first epic mounts in the game, I remember having fun later doing the quest for my Warlock epic mount, then grinding some crafted warlock specific cloak or robes (I forget now)

    I remember having about 9 epic mounts from reputation etc in RIFT before many people in my guild even had 1.

    [Message 1/2: forum being crap]
  • [Message 2/2: forum being crap]

    I'd like to think that I've never rubbed my epeen in peoples faces, so please don't take it that way from my examples.

    My point isn't about rarity, I'm cool with that and I'm absolutely willing to work hard at questing / gathering and other things to get one after a long time if needed. The Secret World you had to demonstrate some level of skill in a 'fight trial' to do the hard mode instances, WoW had that priest quest for that staff I remember so many getting really stressed at!

    I suppose the problem I have is the *method* in which they look like is the way to become a leader. As soon as there is competition with limited space to get something it becomes a whole different scenario. For example trying to get 'Grand Marshal' rank in wow. I played as much as possible (also was pretty good at pvp) and just as I was a couple ranks off, a few people were obviously starting to use chinese pvp rank farmers / or 2 people to one account and I could not compete with 24 hours a day played.

    This might sound like a 'it's not working how I want it so I'm not happy post' and maybe to a degree it is, but then again I don't know everything about requirements to become a leader yet other than different types of nodes and vague ways to become one as mentioned in vids.

    I would just really love to see some *epic* quest chains for rewards like this also, not just whoever is at the top of the biggest alliance and gets the most votes kind of deal. (I don't even care if the chain legit takes like a year to complete)
  • 2/2

    I'd like to think that I've never rubbed my epeen in peoples faces, so please don't take it that way from my examples.

    My point isn't about rarity, I'm cool with that and I'm absolutely willing to work hard at questing / gathering and other things to get one after a long time if needed. The Secret World you had to demonstrate some level of skill in a 'fight trial' to do the hard mode instances, WoW had that priest quest for that staff I remember so many getting really stressed at!

    I suppose the problem I have is the *method* in which they look like is the way to become a leader. As soon as there is competition with limited space to get something it becomes a whole different scenario. For example trying to get 'Grand Marshal' rank in wow. I played as much as possible (also was pretty good at pvp) and just as I was a couple ranks off, a few people were obviously starting to use chinese pvp rank farmers / or 2 people to one account and I could not compete with 24 hours a day played.

    This might sound like a 'it's not working how I want it so I'm not happy post' and maybe to a degree it is, but then again I don't know everything about requirements to become a leader yet other than different types of nodes and vague ways to become one as mentioned in vids.

    I would just really love to see some *epic* quest chains for rewards like this also, not just whoever is at the top of the biggest alliance and gets the most votes kind of deal. (I don't even care if the chain legit takes like a year to complete)
  • [Message 2/2: forum being crap]

    I'd like to think that I've never rubbed my epeen in peoples faces, so please don't take it that way from my examples.

    My point isn't about rarity, I'm cool with that and I'm absolutely willing to work hard at questing / gathering and other things to get one after a long time if needed. The Secret World you had to demonstrate some level of skill in a 'fight trial' to do the hard mode instances, WoW had that priest quest for that staff I remember so many getting really stressed at!

    I suppose the problem I have is the *method* in which they look like is the way to become a leader. As soon as there is competition with limited space to get something it becomes a whole different scenario. For example trying to get 'Grand Marshal' rank in wow. I played as much as possible (also was pretty good at pvp) and just as I was a couple ranks off, a few people were obviously starting to use chinese pvp rank farmers / or 2 people to one account and I could not compete with 24 hours a day played.

    This might sound like a 'it's not working how I want it so I'm not happy post' and maybe to a degree it is, but then again I don't know everything about requirements to become a leader yet other than different types of nodes and vague ways to become one as mentioned in vids.

    I would just really love to see some *epic* quest chains for rewards like this also, not just whoever is at the top of the biggest alliance and gets the most votes kind of deal. (I don't even care if the chain legit takes like a year to complete)
  • [Message 2/3: forum being crap]

    I'd like to think that I've never rubbed my epeen in peoples faces, so please don't take it that way from my examples.

    My point isn't about rarity, I'm cool with that and I'm absolutely willing to work hard at questing / gathering and other things to get one after a long time if needed. The Secret World you had to demonstrate some level of skill in a 'fight trial' to do the hard mode instances, WoW had that priest quest for that staff I remember so many getting really stressed at!

    I suppose the problem I have is the *method* in which they look like is the way to become a leader. As soon as there is competition with limited space to get something it becomes a whole different scenario. For example trying to get 'Grand Marshal' rank in wow. I played as much as possible (also was pretty good at pvp) and just as I was a couple ranks off, a few people were obviously starting to use chinese pvp rank farmers / or 2 people to one account and I could not compete with 24 hours a day played.
  • I'd like to think that I've never rubbed my epeen in peoples faces, so please don't take it that way from my examples.

    My point isn't about rarity, I'm cool with that and I'm absolutely willing to work hard at questing / gathering and other things to get one after a long time if needed. The Secret World you had to demonstrate some level of skill in a 'fight trial' to do the hard mode instances, WoW had that priest quest for that staff I remember so many getting really stressed at!

    I suppose the problem I have is the *method* in which they look like is the way to become a leader. As soon as there is competition with limited space to get something it becomes a whole different scenario. For example trying to get 'Grand Marshal' rank in wow. I played as much as possible (also was pretty good at pvp) and just as I was a couple ranks off, a few people were obviously starting to use chinese pvp rank farmers / or 2 people to one account and I could not compete with 24 hours a day played.

    [Message 2/2: forum being crap]
  • well I just lost the second half of that message... these forums are the worst..
  • Flying mounts are a symbol of office....not players and are exceptionally rare.
    Who holds office in each metroplis is controlled by the players.

    Players will have flying mounts but:
    1 they wil only glide or
    2. fly just above ground at almost normal mount height.

    The idea is that they can not bypass content or players.
    And if they do it is highly limited and situational (gliding).
    You cant fall forever after all.

    I think AoC has got it as good as it could be TBH.
  • I was trying to say I really dont mind putting time and effort into getting something. But when it becomes a limited number of spaces to get something it's a totally different scenario. I tried to get Grand Marshal rank in WoW but around the time I got within a rank or so consistently top 5 on server either people sharing or chinese pvp farmers made it impossible to compete with 24 hours play time a day.

    Maybe it sounds like a 'its not the way I want it' thread and maybe it is to a degree. I dont know the full requirements of being a leader yet, other than whats been said in the vids. I just think if its that epic there should be some big requirement also, not just being voted on account of being a guy in a biggest alliance or whatever..

    well the forum deleted my second half of the post, it was quite well written and thought out I thought, instead you ended up with this rubbish I just wrote. nevermind.
  • I'm just going to stop using these forums until they fix the bug where replies just vanish and are never posted. totally ruined my train of thought. thanks for your input so far anyway all.
  • if it makes you feel better
    Religious leader will be based off sacrifice for others/gods.
    Economic leader will be based off coin/trade
    Miltiary leader wil be based off trial by combat
    Scientific leader will be based off a vote.
    These are the only people that will get speical mounts.

    Yeah... forum is supposed to be/being fixed.
    Speak to mods on discord...they can recover lost threads.
    Posts I dont know.
  • the people who get this will do it off the backs of their guilds..no one else.I dont have much use for folks like that.
  • Consider this.... If you join a guild that is bound to build and rule a Metropolis, stay with that guild, stay active when needed and stay loyal. You will rise through the ranks. Eventually you will be the logical person to take over that seat at the top and get your Dragon Saddle.

    You just need to figure out if all that is worth it. hehe
  • If the flying mounts are for special or rare occasions, I personally don't see any problem with that. However, true flying mounts from all of my experiences have taken something away from the world, they cause me to feel detached. I know some players will want the convenience of skipping past content, and i can only speak for myself and a few friends but I would hope that no unfair advantage be given to any players permanently. This thread has made me a little less nervous about pledging but just to err on the side of caution does anyone know if any of the above information has been verified by the devs?
  • flying mounts are cancer and kings can have them :)
  • I foresee flying mounts or abilities in the future. If they've unlocked undersea and underrealm why not skyrealm as well? You'll need some way to get there. The angel characters have wings. I assume they are or will eventually be functional. Everyone else will have some other method for reaching and exploring skyrealm.
  • Sounds exotic, but it is a shame that the majority of us will be firmly planted on the ground. I would rather they make it extremely difficult to obtain flying mounts. By requiring players to complete challenging content. But for'Kings/Queens' make their mounts unique and very flashy so that they stand out from all else.
  • For every weight, there needs to be a counterweight. If being monarch of a city/metropolis comes with perks like a flying mount, it has to come with other stuff that kind of sucks, kind of like being a president with responsibilities, hard choices, making enemies, etc.

    I'm really curious about how they will manage to make what they're promising to the point of alpha worthiness by the end of the year..
  • Personaly i dont care abaut rank, being or not a king , giving the psibility to let's say 10 peeps in 100 to have a flying mount it is just unfear ; you give to all the posibility or to none at all !
    Yes , put a timer on them on them like you can fly let's say 10 mins/our or 4 hours per day wathever and make a reset hour ; yes make them age and die in time (alldow life of only a week or a month will be ridikulos) ; yes make them very hard to get (huge chaine of quests at high lvl + specific items from both dongeons and raids + huge amaunt of gold or watever curency + any other ideas are welcome ) but do not give them to only a certain small number of peeps cuz trust me you will have problems ; i have seen more then a few games ruined cuz of it .
    And abaut flying maunts o WoW , the only problem with them is that they are not on flying timer.
    I think ground mounts should be on timer too.
    Only huge guilds will own nodes and only the guild master of that guild will own such a mount and if there will be a mariage sistem then his ,,wife'' or her ,, haspent'' ; that is why 10 peeps on server and if not maried there is no 10 they will only be 5.
    So yeah i think it sucks , thats why there should be all or none !
    One more thing : i do belive that ground mount should have a combination of chain quests , crafting (breeding) and items from dongeons or rides too.
    PS : i am sory for mi bad english ,i am not an english man and dont meen any ofens or isults to anyone
  • I think what people need to understand is that Steven wants things in the game that separate players. This is NOT wow, you will NOT get everything that every other player can get because that doesn't make sense. What motivates you, what drives you when everyone has it? Nothing. Not everyone in an MMORPG can be the "Hero". Steven has mentioned rare items in the game that only a couple players can get, dragon mounts that fly which will be given to a select few...earn it. If everyone has a dragon, it makes the dragon boring and pointless...it takes away the thrill and excitement.
    Even if the dragon mount gives an advantage it is well deserved. Why should someone who plays 2 hours a day be on the same level as someone who plays 12 hours a day??? I feel you shouldn't.
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