Flying Mount Redesign idea

#1 - Jan. 20, 2015, 4:13 p.m.

I start this post saying that I think that flying mount removal was a good thing. Yeah it slows down travel times, but its made the game feel more open and alive in my opinion. That doesn't mean that flying mounts don't have a place in the game. I just think that they need a redesign.

I propose that instead of a floating flying mount that can just sit in the air infinitely. We make all mounts Gliders that have lets say 5 charges of thrust. Thrust is like a wing flap of the mount that lifts you up. each type of mount can have different thrusts etc etc... Like Gladiator mounts and high end raiding mounts can have extra charges. Would make those mounts more prestigious and desired.

And you can add rigid flying animations in this as well. Like gliding straight down for faster flying and fall damage if you crash into the ground. Would really love to see something like this. Please share this post with your friends. I want some feedback please.

EDIT: started my post with the dreaded, "most of us"

Bashiok

Community Manager

#14 - Jan. 20, 2015, 4:45 p.m.

Might I recommend:

XD-57 Bullseye
Aviana's Feather
Skyterror
Goblin Glider

A number of flight-specific toys and items were implemented to let you glide around the game world. There are also some zone-specific items, as well as items from past expansions that can help achieve the same thing as well--as well as potentially combined to some extreme results. I may also be forgetting a few?

Bashiok

Community Manager

#37 - Jan. 20, 2015, 4:56 p.m.

01/20/2015 08:52 AMPosted by Wazulz
Why do you guys say you're removing flying to help untrivialize combat and then put in items to help trivialize it

These don't allow you to lift up and set down wherever you like. They are generally also managed with cooldowns or charges. They do allow you to travel quickly across the game world, but they're generally not as precise or consistent as to change the moment to moment gameplay like full flight does.

Bashiok

Community Manager

#67 - Jan. 20, 2015, 5:06 p.m.

01/20/2015 08:48 AMPosted by Dezmir
I've always wished that when you aim your mount down it accelerated though. Like a dive bomb of sorts. Screen shaking, all that jazz.

Me too, actually! Or that the flaps/gliding animations would match my in-game trajectory. I think it's probably a fair amount of art and engineering work to do, though, and to be frank flight just isn't a system we've ever really looked at building out. Actually... that's sort of not true, early on in BC we tried some things to try to make flight a part of the gameplay, and even put a lot of effort into new flight mechanics in Wrath (which then got scrapped), but it really just doesn't work for what this game is and how the engine and content are created. WoW just isn't a flight sim, and creating those kinds of mechanics is very difficult, and even potentially radically different than the core gameplay that defines it.