WoW! Horses and Tigers! Oh my!

[chrisvenus]

This is going to be a gratuitously geeky bouncy World of Warcraft related post. I will start it off with a picture that is the main thing:





For explanation for those not WoW minded: Each of the races has a specific type of mount that you can buy and ride when you reach the appropriate level (40). You can get access to some of the other races mounts but it requires you to be Exalted in the eyes of that faction. That translates roughly to spending months working towards getting them to like you, something known as a Rep-grind. A rather dull and long-winded process, I am led to believe.

Recently though some changes in the mount system made it so that you could take advantage of the transition to get access to mounts of the other factions. And so after borrowing some money off of a friend (hopefully I can pay him back before he comes back from his month offline) I got myself a tiger. Today after the patch I confirmed that I can ride it. :)

So how did this work? Well, previously there were two things that stopped you from riding other races mounts. 1) you couldn't buy them without the reputation 2) you couldn't learn the skill needed to ride them. The first of these could be worked around though since somebody else could buy it and give it to you - it only bound to a character when they used it.

The future system is that the mounts would bind to a character the moment they got them but that there was only one riding skill that would apply to all mounts (slightly more complicatedly there are different levels of the skill but that isn't important here). There are prices changes too but they are not important to the story.

Those quick among you may be able to see the way this worked but for those too lazy to think what it meant was that if I got somebody to give me the tiger before the patch I would still have it after the patch and it would become bound to my character. Before the patch I would have horse riding skill but not tiger riding. After the patch I would have the new generic "riding" skill. This would give me the ability to ride tigers and I now owned one... :) The screenshot finishes the story there nicely. Yay! I have a tiger! And then in 15 levels I get a superhorse. But no supertiger without the reputation...

The faintly surprising thing is that I didn't hear people discussing this anywhere so I'm hoping that I can be a rarity rather than every bugger on the server having done it. :)

Comments

[evath.livejournal.com]

It seems from the comments I'm reading people where tying to get mounts early rather than avoid rep-grind. Lets wait and see.

[chrisvenus]

Yeah, that made no sense to me though. I'll spend X on a mount now so that I don't have to spend X on the riding skill after the patch. When the X are in the same ballpark so the amount you save is negligible. I am laughing at all those going on about how they now have the mount and not the skill so they are going to have to spend X again (where, for those not aware X is a really quite scary amount of money).

[cultureofdoubt.livejournal.com]

I have a little more sympathy for those that bought mounts well in advance without planning to umm... game things. But on the other hand, why use up a bank slot on an unusable item? Made no sense to me.

[secondhand-rick.livejournal.com]

I've never liked the NE mount. Looking like that, it ought to tear the heads off things for you, but it doesn't, it just bleats like a ram (another mount I don't especially like).

[chrisvenus]

That is true. However, it looks so much cooler. And I'm sure I should be able to do my he-man impressions soon. :)

[ao-lai.livejournal.com]

Heh, I'm just disappointed that my NE will never get to ride a mechanostrider... :)

[kissifa.livejournal.com]

I have so far to go before my weeny level 13 Undead gets her flaming hell horse. *sniff* :(

[chrisvenus]

Do you play on a server with others? If not I may try to persuade you to come play on Aggramar as an Alliance character. That way we could go kill things together. :)

[kissifa.livejournal.com]

I can't remember the server I use - maybe Earthen Ring or something? Either way - will find out and we shall schedule a meet up!

[chrisvenus]

Well, I've got a fair few friends on Aggramar so we've got a nice little range of stuff (a couple of L60s, friend at 51, me at 45, couple more around 32 and then some of us have alts around the 15 mark and a few more alts around the 10 mark. It makes it quite fun cos whoever I play there are people a bit above me to help out, the same level to co-operate with and people lower level to go and help out at times. Come join the throng, we're all great, really. :)

Of course, if you didn't want to start up alliance alt on our server permanently I can make an alt on yours and mess around a bit. I've never played horde and would be vaguely interested in seeing how the other half live (and getting more of an idea of background by playing through their early levels).

[chrisvenus]

And what class out of interest? I'm sure you can tell something about the class and race of somebody's first character... :)

[kissifa.livejournal.com]

Well my first character was a Night Elf rogue (so twat and twink combined). My second character was a Druid Tauren, and my third character (having abandoned the Warrior version) is an Undead Warlock, though she is currently my favourite and main character.

I have one Alliance character - I want my next one to be a dwarf or a gnome I think. :)

[bateleur.livejournal.com]

So - does your tiger have a tongue piercing or is he eating a baby ankylosaurus ?

[chrisvenus]

You stop being mean about my tiger!

[(Anonymous)]

Saying that a rep grind is a rather dull and long-winded process is similar to saying that a phaal is rather spicy. It doesn't take into account the utter boredom that stems from watching the little green bar move one pixel at a time across the bottom of your screen.

I've finished the rep grind for both the Waterlords and the Argent Dawn now. I should have Nozdormu finished in due course. Then it'll be on to whatever is released in TBC and and and... :(

[chrisvenus]

I like understatements. :)

I've never actually had to do a rep grind yet so I've no idea how bad it can get. the closest I came was four hours killing the same mobs looking for giant eggs to get to cooking 300. And though I thought it dull at least I got about half a level out of it (or maybe more). Rep grinding? I just hope I never *really* feel the urge to go out of my way and do it...

[cultureofdoubt.livejournal.com]

I plan on using it as a way of passing the time whilst making bad jokes in guildchat until I get gkicked.

[lathany.livejournal.com]

I notice that your Tiger in in the official Bea-approved colours.

[bateleur.livejournal.com]

No, no, that's dynamic lighting. It isn't a gay tiger.

It definitely isn't a gay tiger with a tongue piercing. In no sense.

[chrisvenus]

*pout*

You realise that I have only been on that tiger literally long enough to take that screenshot and you're already making me feel embarrassed about him? :)

My tiger is no more gay than battlecat was! Oh... Wait... I'll get my coat.

[onebyone.livejournal.com]

http://www.oxfordstudent.com/tt2005wk6/news/finalist_arrested_for_calling_police_horse_'gay'