by Jeff Francis on May 12, 2009
Man, your feet are killing you.
You’ve spent the better part
of a week walking up and down that long, winding road in Stranglethorn
Vale. It seems that each quest you get requires you to travel the
breadth of Stranglethorn Vale, then walk all the way back, then only to
repeat the process again. Worse, as you travel along the road, the dust
choking you while the sun beats down harshly upon you, are the higher
level jerks who flaunt their fancy mounts in front of you. They
gleefully run a few circles around you, do a few mocking jumps, and
generally kick dirt in your face as they drive home the message:
we’re going a lot faster than you and doesn’t it
suck to be you? Well, don’t lose hope, my friend. Salvation
is closer than you think. You won’t be able to beat them, but
you will be able to join them. Soon, very soon, you will be able to
join the ranks of the mounted hero and you too will revel in the joy of
faster travel. You will become one of those jerks, prancing around
plodding lower-level characters, showing off your superiority. You too
will decide to check your mail while riding your giant mammoth, if for
no other reason than to just make it more difficult for those lower
level peons to see the mailbox.
This handy-dandy guide is here to provide an overview of mounts in
World of Warcraft. We’ll look at the different types of
mounts that you can acquire, and the different methods in which you can
acquire said mounts. Don’t let the sheer number of mounts
confuse you. All in all, mounts are pretty simple.
Basically, a mount is an animal
(or vehicle) that you summon to ride.
While you’re mounted, your speed of travel is increased.
Mounts can be broken down into four categories.
Basic
Ground Mounts: These mounts
are available at level 30 and require you to purchase the apprentice
riding skill, which gives you a riding skill of 75. These mounts can be
bought at racial vendors and have a speed increase of 60%.
Epic
Ground Mounts: These mounts
are available at level 60 and require you to have the journeyman riding
skill, which is 150. These mounts can be bought at various vendors.
These animals have a speed listed as “very fast”
which actually means a 100% increase in your movement rate. So,
you’ll move twice as fast when riding one of these bad boys.
Basic
Flying Mounts: Once you reach
the Outlands at level 70, you can get flying mounts. Doing so requires
you to get the expert riding skill of 225. Flying mounts are a
necessity as that certain areas can only be reached by flying. In
addition, being able to fly over pesky obstacles really rocks! The
basic flying mounts provide a 60% increase to speed while on the ground
or in the air. To be able to fly in Northrend, you have to purchase
Cold Weather Flying, which is only available starting at level 77.
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Epic
Flying Mounts: These mounts
are available at level 70, but require the artisan riding skill of 300.
These mounts provide a 100% increase in land speed and a 280% speed
increase in the air. You will love and worship these mounts.
Basically, there is no real difference between one mount and another,
only speed, despite the fact that there are several hundred mounts
available in WoW. The differences are cosmetic. The harder to get
mounts look way cooler than the normal mounts. A normal epic mount
might be a simple armored horse, while a rare drop epic mount might be
a spiky armored horse with glowing red eyes with flaming hooves. One
looks cooler than the other one, but the speed increase is still the
same.
Where
to get mounts?
Basic ground mounts are available at racial vendors and the basic
flying mounts can be bought from Brunn Flamebeard in the Outlands. He
can be found at the Wildhammer Stronghold in Shadowmoon Valley. Epic
mounts can be bought from various vendors. In addition, you can get
epic mounts (flying and ground) through quest rewards, PvP rewards, by
having a high enough reputation with a faction, achievements, and rare
drops.
Listed below are the various mounts that you can get in WoW, grouped by
type.
Basic
Ground Mounts
Epic Ground Mounts
Argent Tournament
Epic Ground Mounts
Various
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Basic Flying Mounts
Flying Mounts
Crafting
Epic Flying Mounts
Epic Flying Mounts
Faction Rewards
Epic
Flying Mounts
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Various
Other Mounts