It may surprise some players to know that many years ago there were no mounts in MMOs. You could not whip out your trusty steed and go plowing across the world at breakneck speeds. You simply had to run it. Frequently, you’d find a class that could give you a speed buff to shorten the trip but the key there is that you were always on your feet. When EverQuest finally received mounts, it was an amazing feature that changed MMOs forever. Lately, however, I have been curious as to if this change was for the better? Did we really get more value out of our titles by switching from running to riding?
Requests for SoW are flying out like endless rain into a paper cup. Players were always looking for SoW (Spirit of the Wolf for the uninitiated). It was the most basic of speed buff in EQ and was held tightly by only a few classes. Most would give it for free or a small donation but some would not. Finding someone to do it could mean taking a detour and not finding it at all meant a significantly longer trip. The up side to it, however, was that it lasted a set duration and did not require constant mounting and dismounting. It was also relatively cheap. You did not have to save up for 40 levels to buy it. If you played a class that could cast the spell, you could simply slip away across the mmoverse without delay.
Images of broken line of sight which dance before me like a million eyes. I’ve started to have a distaste for being on my mount. They’re usually quite large and can block line of sight in tight quarters. I’m also tired of the ever increasing cast timers associated with them. It seems as if developers suddenly decided that it should be a slow affair. In EQ1 most run speed buffs didn’t take numerous seconds to apply. While all minor, it only seems like a hastle.
Due to the availability of mounts, basic run speed has been neglected heavily. For those of us who prefer to be foot knights we’re out of luck in most MMOs and I think that is a sad thing. By all means keep the mounts but please just let me run if I like! It would be a boon if you could turn off your mount’s graphic like a helm or cloak. Then everyone could have it their own way.
Then:
Run speed was limited to a few classes but generally available.
No line of sight issues.
Short casting times and not constant dismounting and remounting.
Low to zero cost to players.
Less development and art assests required.
Now:
Beautiful and impressive mounts.
Run speed available to all classes.
Constant mounting and dismounting with unnecessarily long timers.
Expensive money sink.
Utilizes inventory space.
Requires extensive art time and some development time.
Allows for options like mounted combat.
I suppose this is one of those issues that is more of a personal preference nature. I’m all for mounts, though, I just wish I could run effectively!
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Don’t forget teleporting!!
I remember having to pay people to teleport me from Gfay off to various locations because I either did that, or spent an hour or so running (half that with SoW).
Now games have most of the fast travel built in. I think in doing so, it takes a tiny bit of the social aspect out of it. /sadface
Ultima Online had mounts, before EQ even existed
Absolutely correct. I forgot you could tame and ride horses way back when. Probably because I never had one -_-
One of the problems I see with the basic MMO structure is that the beginning high end will eventually become the middle of the road (if the title is successful). As an example, mounts start out as an elite reward for players who have played a very long time (extremely expensive or a raid drop). However, as the game progresses, more people are able to achieve this option. What results is WoW, where you run into a city and everyone is on a super glowy flying mount of insanity.
I don’t necessarily see a way around this problem as it is at the very heart of MMO nature. Just think about particle effects, which were extremely rare in early MMOs. Now, to use WoW as an example again, everyone has particle effects all over their toon. I guess I am leading this point into a completely different article subject but you get the idea.
Mounts….an interesting issue. Indeed, many of your complaints are valid. But, sometimes I wonder if the mounts themselves are the source of the issue? I still wonder what in the hell happened that for some reason it’s such a big deal to get on a horse, unless for some reason your horse hates you, it shouldn’t be a big deal to mount…well, a mount.
Again, the money sink. Why is it a money sink? Well apparently it’s just because. The real issue is the design that seem insistent on it being a high-level privilege and intended to make low levels feel fantastically annoyed as mounted individuals run circles around them. Inventory space…well. I’m still trying to figure out how I got my horse into my backpack. As for development speed… A standard horse doesn’t require too much design unless this thing is massive.
In the end, it’s no problem to me since there are no mounts in Aion or Champions… Go figure.
Interesting post, Ferrel. I never played EQ much, but some friends did so I knew all about trying to find SoW to cut down travel time significantly. But, SoW was also important because it let you actually run away from monsters if a fight went poorly. Without SoW, a monster would hound you to the zone line and probably kill you if you started running too late.
Mounts do irritate me. One of the things I liked most about my Druid in WoW was that my flight form transformation was instant. People whined about this, but it was a benefit for getting around quick. It’s irritating to get 90% through summoning your mount just to get jumped by something and get interrupted.
LotRO took this a step further and had it so that you couldn’t start running until your mount animation completed. With the recent patch they’ve fixed this so it’s more like WoW: once your casting bar is full you can go. A minor annoyance, but still an annoyance.
There are a lot of other issues with mounts. The idea of them fitting into your backpack, for example; witness people talking about how mounts in Fallen Earth can be damaged, etc. Or a bunch of other issues.
At any rate, interesting topic.
No mounts, but it was always possible to ride on the backs of other players.
Ohhh, this person is low on HP and has some decent gear.
k person
Your attack EVISCERATES Person!
You dodge Person’s attack.
Your attack ***DEMOLISHES*** Person!
Person is DEAD!!
You see Person die, eyes wide open.
loot corpse
You loot the corpse of Person.
Person tells you, (in common): ‘can i have my gear back plz?’
You tell Person, (in common): ‘Your ransom is FIFTY THOUSAND GOLD. Pay up, Mr. Bond, or the loot gets it!’
—
Ah, good times in the days of MUDs.
Really though, the lack of mounts is an interesting point to bring up since many people consider them to be a big incentive for leveling up. One person actually told me being able to ride a new mount was the only reason they got to 40 in WoW. These youngsters.
*goes back to his porch*
Personally, I would rather my character be able to run fast instead of relying on a mount, or be able to hide it as you suggest. One reason games don’t do this, though, is that run animations usually look silly when sped up to the speeds mounts can travel. It’s kind of immersion breaking to see characters zipping around all over the place.
I’ll always remember how excited I was to get J-boots in EQ, long before mounts came along. It wasn’t as fast as SoW, but so convenient and 1337!