As the second expansion to the World of Warcraft draws nearer, many players are looking at the various subtle changes to the game. One of the changes in Wrath of the Lich King is the use of mounts and the access to a whole new batch of different ones. Some players never think twice about a mount and use the same one forever, while others change them almost as often as their moods. Many players collect mounts just for something different to do. In the second expansion to the game Blizzard has listened to player requests and opened up many new and interesting kinds of mounts. The mounts added vary from quest use mounts, ground mounts, profession mounts and many more.

One of the interesting changes to mounts in the expansion is that there are several quests that provide mounts to you for that quest. This has been seen in the past on bombing run type quests, but very few other places. In the Wrath of the Lich King there seems to be a quest using a mount in most zones. For example while while questing in the the Borean Tundra you get a chance to mount up on a woolly mammoth! This fits the flavour of the quest chain perfectly that you are working on when you get to use it, and adds a little something extra to the game.

Later on in Dragonblight you gain access to Drakes to use on attack quests and Gryphons to use to rescue peasants. Both fit the situation perfectly and add to the game. They are also a great way for Blizzard to keep flight as part of the game for different elements even though you can not use your own flying mount until you learn cold weather flying at level 77.

For players that are simply looking for new mounts there are several new mount models available. They include Bear mounts, that come in regular and armoured versions, new skeletal mounts, including an awesome version of a flying dragon, a warpstalker, and many more. It seems like there is a mount for every preference. There are many new versions of drakes and proto-drakes as well.

There are even new mounts that multiple players can travel on such as a 3 seater wooly mammoth. You can also get single seater versions, however the three seater version can carry a vendor with you. This allows you to quickly sell off items you don't want while you are in the middle of no where. This feature alone will convince many that the price is worth it to buy this ultra-expensive mount.

Multiple seat mounts are new to the game and while they can be a bit strange at first, they can be useful for several things, and I'm sure more will become apparent as time goes on. First, they are great when you want to go someplace to quest or adventure and you are in a group with someone that either doesn't know where it is, or has to take a quick break from the game, but will be back shortly. This allows the player controlling the mount to get the other person there with little fuss, and is much better than auto-follow. The second great use of multiple seat mounts is for exploring achievements. This works especially well with a three seater mount where one person can direct the mount while the other two go AFK. The person controlling can then fully explore zones and earn everyone their exploration achievements.

In response to overwhelming player requests, even more profession based mounts have been added to the game. The engineering based helicopter was a huge hit when released and apparently since then Blizzard has been inundated with requests for two additional types of mounts to be added. Both Engineers and Tailors will be ecstatic that they can learn how to make new mounts of their very own.

Engineering now gets the ability to make hogs! No not as in pigs, as in motorcycles! Hurray! You can even get a sidecar so you can take a friend with you. It probably won't be long before Northrend needs traffic cops, as many players are planning to become engineers simply to gain access to this mount type.

Tailoring also gets mounts this time around in the form of flying carpets! Very cool. Expect many players to go looking for gear that helps them appear as a genie as they fly all over the land. I know a few players already returning to the Ruins of Ahn'Qiraj to obtain the blue turban in preparation for their flying carpet.

Another very cool addition is achievement reward mounts that can be earned by collecting other mounts. There is a great albino drake that can be received as a reward for collecting 50 different mounts, and another mount reward for collecting an insane 75 different mounts. You must really be dedicated to achieve either one of these though, as it will take some serious effort. Even though each colour of mount counts as a different mount it still requires the proper reputation to be able to buy many of them. If you are truly looking for something to stand out from the crowd with though, an achievement reward mount is a great way to do it.

When you enter the Wrath of the Lich King, there truly will be a mount for everyone.

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