Armored Azure Drake and other dragons...

[Versidue]

For what it's worth, I really liked the warp stalker and was lowkey starting to get excited for it since it seemed to be in the lead... It's very exotic and otherworldly, I feel like it definitely has the potential to tie in well with whatever the karazshan quests are. It would be fun to see.

I can't help but wonder if the overall negativity for the mounts was worsened by the loss of the Azure Drake. Would the results have been more positive if there had been a mention of an option to restore it for people who had earned it on the voting page?

I also don't think it's completely fair to dismiss all the feedback as negative. How many people voted without making a post on the forums, because they were happy with the options and didn't feel a need to say anything more? And related, how many hardcore players weren't aware there was a vote at all? Most people in Still Alive didn't seem to know about it

I also... personally really dislike the dragon turtle XD
It's very clunky and kind of ugly imo...

[Dean]

In my opinion, this entire problem has been conjured out of nothing. There's been given a lot of half thought excuses for why the dragon had to go, when it seems pretty obvious that the core issue is that certain devs just plain didn't like it.

Please don't come up with misinformation. We have decided to remove drake because it's too big for gameplay without flying mounts, they stand out too much due to their size. Seeing too many of those drakes in the world forced us to reconsider our first choice of this reward.

To be honest with you Torta, until the team can provide a mount or create a mount that will make the majority of players happy, it is best to change the mount back to the drake for now to give yourselves more time to find a solution. There are only 621 players that are Immortal right now as of 2022/09/05.

Perhaps one solution is to make it so the first 1000 players to reach immortality gain the mount, after that you can change it to a different mount for every 1000 players that achieve immortality.

This way this rewards early adopters of the server, gives time for the players who are here now to get the drake and limits the amount of potential drakes that could cause problems, especially if some of those immortal players no longer play the game.

[Allknighty]

Playing a pally, I don't find the fiery warhorse ok with the lore of my class.

At least a blue drake can "ally" any character he wants.

Or, as someone said it above, a mount that would match the race of the characte or the shop solution, the player would choose the one he prefers.

For the "flying" argument, I don't think it works since there's an hippogryph in the turtle shop. ;)


For the immersion argument... you have magic clouds as mounts! :/

To be honest, I started the HC challenge thinking I would get that mount at the end...

[Mmoo]

A number of my close friends all did Hardcore for the drake mount, on a server that has custom crafted mech mounts, has an NPC that sells a drake mount for a few thousand gold with Exalted rep from a custom dungeon, and on the donation shop sells hippogryphs, flying machine mounts, and a mount that is straight up a cloud from Whimsyshire in Diablo 3. The plethora of other exotic mounts already along with cash shop illusions that the majority of owners use because it makes them stand out from other players and NOT for RP that can “break people’s immersion” in Turtle WoW completely invalidates that argument for removing the drake in my book. I don’t even have any immortal characters, but I’ve been upset about this for my friends. The current HC mount is also supposed to be a World Boss drop, so the rarity of that mount has absolutely plummeted and butchered a number of people’s interest in getting the mount from that world boss.

I might be misinformed, but outright removing the blue drake mount from the client goes against my understanding of the precedent set by Slow & Steady mode having its rewards changed over time for new characters that level up with that challenge rather than replaced for everyone that has ever done the challenge. How many people still play that have the High Elf illusion? I can count maybe three people that got that illusion back in the day from S&S that I’ve come across that still play. Over time, the amount of old immortals that would have the drake in the server would diminish if the reward for immortals was changed to a new mount for just new immortals going forward, and would give old immortal players a reason to make another Hardcore character to collect the new mount if they wanted it. That said, please don’t do seasonal crap that most other games these days do, just adjust future rewards as needed.

I would like to see the drake restored for old hardcore players, and the reward for new immortals to be a different mount. The Talbuk mounts would be fine since the design is similar to the vanilla ram/horse mounts. Warp Stalker feels too exotic compared to the other mounts that are from Azeroth so I would not want them as an Immortal reward. Corrupted Hippogryph from the TCG would work if it’s not on the shop already. The spectral mounts except the tigers would be fine. If another horse mount is to be added, there’s the Headless Horsemen mount that could work, the DK class horse or the crimson version since it’s unlikely Turtle will ever have DKs, the Ghostly Charger, and there’s also maybe the Thalassian Warhorse/Charger if that’s not on the cash shop already or planned for Scarlet Citadel. The Ultramarine Qiraji Battle Tank would be cool if it also worked inside of AQ40. If the devs were fine with importing turtle mounts, the Arcadian War Turtle mount would be really cool and reinforce the turtle theme despite how high res it is compared to vanilla/TBC mounts, along with the Alliance Vicious War Turtle mount if whoever is handling the mount assets is willing to remove the alliance emblems on the shields since the rest of the mount doesn’t look faction specific.

Completely agree with this. Restoring the drake mount for people who have earned it fair and square and let time do its work. It will be more and more seldomly seen as time goes on.

[Fizzeek]

I'm sad I lost my drake :/

Perhaps one solution is to make it so the first 1000 players to reach immortality gain the mount, after that you can change it to a different mount for every 1000 players that achieve immortality.

I like this idea.

[Duvel]

A number of my close friends all did Hardcore for the drake mount, on a server that has custom crafted mech mounts, has an NPC that sells a drake mount for a few thousand gold with Exalted rep from a custom dungeon, and on the donation shop sells hippogryphs, flying machine mounts, and a mount that is straight up a cloud from Whimsyshire in Diablo 3. The plethora of other exotic mounts already along with cash shop illusions that the majority of owners use because it makes them stand out from other players and NOT for RP that can “break people’s immersion” in Turtle WoW completely invalidates that argument for removing the drake in my book. I don’t even have any immortal characters, but I’ve been upset about this for my friends. The current HC mount is also supposed to be a World Boss drop, so the rarity of that mount has absolutely plummeted and butchered a number of people’s interest in getting the mount from that world boss.

I might be misinformed, but outright removing the blue drake mount from the client goes against my understanding of the precedent set by Slow & Steady mode having its rewards changed over time for new characters that level up with that challenge rather than replaced for everyone that has ever done the challenge. How many people still play that have the High Elf illusion? I can count maybe three people that got that illusion back in the day from S&S that I’ve come across that still play. Over time, the amount of old immortals that would have the drake in the server would diminish if the reward for immortals was changed to a new mount for just new immortals going forward, and would give old immortal players a reason to make another Hardcore character to collect the new mount if they wanted it. That said, please don’t do seasonal crap that most other games these days do, just adjust future rewards as needed.

I would like to see the drake restored for old hardcore players, and the reward for new immortals to be a different mount. The Talbuk mounts would be fine since the design is similar to the vanilla ram/horse mounts. Warp Stalker feels too exotic compared to the other mounts that are from Azeroth so I would not want them as an Immortal reward. Corrupted Hippogryph from the TCG would work if it’s not on the shop already. The spectral mounts except the tigers would be fine. If another horse mount is to be added, there’s the Headless Horsemen mount that could work, the DK class horse or the crimson version since it’s unlikely Turtle will ever have DKs, the Ghostly Charger, and there’s also maybe the Thalassian Warhorse/Charger if that’s not on the cash shop already or planned for Scarlet Citadel. The Ultramarine Qiraji Battle Tank would be cool if it also worked inside of AQ40. If the devs were fine with importing turtle mounts, the Arcadian War Turtle mount would be really cool and reinforce the turtle theme despite how high res it is compared to vanilla/TBC mounts, along with the Alliance Vicious War Turtle mount if whoever is handling the mount assets is willing to remove the alliance emblems on the shields since the rest of the mount doesn’t look faction specific.

THIS!

Also, here are my 3 pences:

1. I HATE the new mount with a passion. I am not a f*** warlock !!! Also male night elves look absolutely dumb on a horse, and will look dumb on anything that is close to it ! Should be even worst for Taurens I guess.

2. The 3 proposals on the poll are lame and I don't even want to vote for one. I want my drake back or something that is close to it, which means a BIG beast.

3. Its unfair for HC players that did the challenge for the drake mount. You find that there are too much of them: that is not true IMO. It will be true in one year when we will be 2000 Immortals. Then the only acceptable solution is to change the mount for new HC players and let it to the first batch of us that did it for the drake mount.

Given its growing popularity, your server is there to stay for years. I find it very cool to have a distinction for the first brave immortals that did the challenge, when we were 1000 max connected and overall before the class update that make it easier for most classes.
Its also worth to say that the upcoming new immortals will not have to pay 900 gold to ride their mount while we had to do it !!! And given the fact that my HC was my very first char on the server, I was poor and unstuffed, and grinding 900gold was hell.
New immortals will have easier to complete the challenge because there are more people to group with, because their class is stronger, and at the end they will have the luxury to ride their mount as soon as they hit 60 !
And veterans immortals have the same mounts than them while they proudly rode their drakes for months?...Too much unfairness here!

Metasploit

[Duvel]

The HC mount riding requirement will most likely be removed on the next server update :) Those who couldn't add the mount to their collection due to not having enough gold will be able to place it in their spellbooks.

Will you refund those that had to buy the epic skill while not having any other mount and have their drake stolen???

[Torta]

The HC mount riding requirement will most likely be removed on the next server update :) Those who couldn't add the mount to their collection due to not having enough gold will be able to place it in their spellbooks.

Will you refund those that had to buy the epic skill while not having any other mount and have their drake stolen???

You still need Riding Skill in general on level 60 to ride faster. The mounts will scale with the Riding skill, nothing is stolen from you. Right now it's simply possible to add HC mounts to the collection without the Riding Skill requirement, but they'll be slow without the skill.

[Fruitbat]

I'm very disappointed to find out that the High Elf I created and spent a great time investment getting to 60 in hardcore now looks different with no current way to change back and even worse the drake mount that I really liked has been taken away. Lost me as a customer.

[Versidue]

I'm very disappointed to find out that the High Elf I created and spent a great time investment getting to 60 in hardcore now looks different with no current way to change back and even worse the drake mount that I really liked has been taken away. Lost me as a customer.

There is actually a fix you can do to get the old high elf models back, refer to here
viewtopic.php?p=20467#p20467

(but also, you're not a customer XD this is a private server...)

[Notawen]

I'm very disappointed to find out that the High Elf I created and spent a great time investment getting to 60 in hardcore now looks different with no current way to change back and even worse the drake mount that I really liked has been taken away. Lost me as a customer.

There is actually a fix you can do to get the old high elf models back, refer to here
viewtopic.php?p=20467#p20467

(but also, you're not a customer XD this is a private server...)

There is a microtransaction shop. Everyone who uses it is a customer, even on a private server and even if they sound a little bit Karen-ish.

[Duvel]

(but also, you're not a customer XD this is a private server...)

Sounds like a young guy that never bought something from the shop because either he doesn't care about supporting the server, or have no money, or just doesn't realize that a serious private server infrastructure has high costs.
All other people not like you are obviously "customers" and you are accountable to them because they pay for you to play for free.
The staff knows who their customers are, and it would be logical to me that their opinion weights more.

[Duvel]

You still need Riding Skill in general on level 60 to ride faster. The mounts will scale with the Riding skill, nothing is stolen from you. Right now it's simply possible to add HC mounts to the collection without the Riding Skill requirement, but they'll be slow without the skill.

ok thank you this is not what I had understood from the notes. I thought that the HC mounts would keep its 100% speed while requiring only a lvl 75 riding skill, just like the R11 BG mounts. Which honestly sounded fair to me, but now I dont care as I paid for the 150 anyway ;)

[Aniki22]

My opinion is that after reaching the maximum level, the player should receive a letter with a task by mail, after completing which he will be able to choose one of the proposed mounts as a reward.

As for the mounts themselves, a vote should be made here, but one of the mounts must be a turtle, since this is the symbol of the server.
If you are interested in my opinion on mounts, I would suggest adding-
For the Horde- https://www.wowhead.com/item=116788/warlords-deathwheel
For the Alliance-https://www.wowhead.com/item=116789/cha ... treadblade

[Fin]

(but also, you're not a customer XD this is a private server...)

Sounds like a young guy that never bought something from the shop because either he doesn't care about supporting the server, or have no money, or just doesn't realize that a serious private server infrastructure has high costs.
All other people not like you are obviously "customers" and you are accountable to them because they pay for you to play for free.
The staff knows who their customers are, and it would be logical to me that their opinion weights more.

The value of a opinion is measured in how well their argument is constructed towards the discussed topic not other factors.

Please keep the discussions towards the topic at hand.

[Ashkir]

A version of the Red Qiraji Resonating Crystal that can be used outside AQ

[Torta]

One thing is clear for now: for those who leveled their HC before the change and those who want to claim the dragon back, we'll provide such an option in 1.16.4. Once, you'll be able to pick between the dragon and the current mount.

[Gladeshadow]

Just on the subject of mounts generally, I know the warpstalker seems to have a lot of fans as the "cool" mount. I agree it is cool, but in the same sense I think an anthropogenic dog wearing sunglasses, a t-shirt and shorts, with a skateboard is cool. To me, the warpstalker screams a 90s sense of cool, like Spiderman's Venom or MC Hammer. Something about the bright ripped lightning pattern on the skin.

[Fizzeek]

The HC mount riding requirement will most likely be removed on the next server update :) Those who couldn't add the mount to their collection due to not having enough gold will be able to place it in their spellbooks.

Will you refund those that had to buy the epic skill while not having any other mount and have their drake stolen???

You still need Riding Skill in general on level 60 to ride faster. The mounts will scale with the Riding skill, nothing is stolen from you. Right now it's simply possible to add HC mounts to the collection without the Riding Skill requirement, but they'll be slow without the skill.

Pretty sure what he meant by this was that in order to even ride the drake we needed the epic riding skill, it wasn't a mount that scaled. It was also the only reason I spent the coin on fast riding with my Immortal, given the option I'd have rather not spent it on that just to ride the mount.

[Antonius]

Have the option been added back in now and how do we acess it?

[Totuga]

15

[Torta]

One thing is clear for now: for those who leveled their HC before the change and those who want to claim the dragon back, we'll provide such an option in 1.16.4. Once, you'll be able to pick between the dragon and the current mount.

What about the people who started hardcore before the change but finished after? It would be a bait and switch for them.

(Not sure if there are any, just pointing a potential edge case scenario)

It's still on a plate, but we haven't gotten a moment to restore it yet.

[Kefke]

Since there's been a little discussion here recently, I'd like to throw my hat in the ring and say that I find the current Immortal mount a little lackluster. It's easy to say, "Ok, that's Death's horse, showing you beat him", but to me it looks just a little too plain, and...well, three things;

• Firstly, a death horse feels pretty Fel, and might not vibe with all characters.
• Second, I feel like the "death horse" aesthetic steps on the toes of Undead mounts a little.
• Lastly, it just doesn't feel that visually impactful. The magical aspects of the mount are subtle, and don't stand out as something that proclaims "I achieved something big."

Not to open this debate back up, but I feel like something was lost going from the old mount to the new one. The advantage of getting a dragon was that the mount was something that immediately stood out, and looked mythical. The new mount is unique, but it's an armored horse that can easily be lost among other mounts that are armored horses. There's nothing wrong with an armored horse, but if it has to be one, it should be one that can be easily identified.

For me, something like the Tyrael's Charger mount would have been almost perfect. It's a flying mount, but since the wings are streamers of energy, it still looks fine just on the ground. Plus, the glowing streams of energy coming off of it make it immediately recognizable as something mystical. The only way it could be better is if the black horse texture was replaced with something like the translucent, starry one used by the Celestial Steed. A mystical spirit horse streaming with energy? Now that would be a mount that says "I overcame death."

[Jaredboy]

So what is the current mount reward for HC completion? It seems like that fel steed but that makes me sad if so because the dragon mount is soo nice looking!

[Thyx]

One thing is clear for now: for those who leveled their HC before the change and those who want to claim the dragon back, we'll provide such an option in 1.16.4. Once, you'll be able to pick between the dragon and the current mount.

What about the people who started hardcore before the change but finished after? It would be a bait and switch for them.

(Not sure if there are any, just pointing a potential edge case scenario)

It's still on a plate, but we haven't gotten a moment to restore it yet.

It's too bad that edge case happened to me. Tried getting my dragon while my friends got theirs and support told me to F off 4 times.

[Jaredboy]

One thing is clear for now: for those who leveled their HC before the change and those who want to claim the dragon back, we'll provide such an option in 1.16.4. Once, you'll be able to pick between the dragon and the current mount.

Current version is 1.16.5; are you saying we get a choice of the dragon or fel steed or this is only for those that started their HC back a while ago? IMO the dragon is WAY cooler than the felsteed and was the reason I started my toon; I didn't know it switched.

[Permaban]

TBH I quit the game when they changed the mount about a year ago.

Going from a cool ass dragon to something less epic for this accomplishment seemed entirely unnecessary and killed all my motivation for my in progress HC toons. It very much was a bait and switch.

Lorewise dragons can walk just fine, the rationale of "it no fly :[" seems really pedantic and like collective punishment for a large amount of people who prefer the dragon.
Just give people a choice if not being able to fly on something that has wings bothers them...which makes no sense because arent there still hippogryph mounts with wings in game?

Again, no idea why people cant have a choice.

Im sure im not the only one who shares this sentiment, as my friends and gf quit for the same reason (dragon enjoyers rise up) but i havent seen it really represented as serious of an issue it was for some so at the risk of sounding negative, i'm just going to vocalize how much it was and continues to be a deal breaker for some.


Came back today to check to see if this change was still in effect. It is. Not reinstalling.

(edit: just saw they seniority gated the dragon so some would still have it out in the world rubbing it in your face and damn that made me annoyed as hell. the logic of immersion isnt even consistent if people still have it in the world. like at least make it make sense. i just can never have it for no damn reason. the brain of whoever is making these decisions is alien to mine.)

[Malutor93]

Greetings!

This is a continuation of this thread: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=3472

We apologize that it took so long to initiate a voting on this matter, we've been quite busy with post-release issues of our recent patch.

Please, keep in mind, that the majority of suggested mounts are technically either impossible or very hard to port to the Vanilla client, but we've picked a few of the suggestions and now are asking you to decide which of those you'd like to keep as a Hardcore Challenge reward!

Immortal Champion's Charger (current mount)



Mysterious Warp Stalker



Brave Adventurer's Talbuk



Thank you!

Out of these 3, Warp Stalker definitely... it should be unique mount which is not even remotely similar to other mounts available in the game.

Though Dragon Turtle would be best, Immortal on Turtle WoW and not Turtle mount? Blasphemy!

[Enceebe]

I think a phoenix mount would be the best one and most fitting with the whole immortal theme. There is the fire red and the violet one.

[Enceebe]

Would be for a pheonix mount with the whole immortal theme. Either the Pandaria Model


or the BC Model

[Augustnetherius]

Any chance to change the hc immortal reward at 60 ?
to be able to choose between several mounts ?

[Lukzak]

So the opinion on dragon mounts seems to have changed with the introduction of the Bronze dragon mount.

[Phil29]

Some custom turtle mount skin and not a horse would be the best choice but that's just my opinion

[Luqj]

Maybe get one free mount from turtle shop? and player is free to choose

I think everyone choose ghost tiger

[Luqj]

Greetings!

When we first introduced Hardcore Mode, we were so excited to see our players earn the coveted title of “Immortal” that we added the most epic mount we could find — one that is pretty immersion-breaking in an Azeroth without flying mounts. A dragon with broken wings.

So, we’re considering replacing the Armored Azure Drake with an equally fantastic but more lore-friendly model.

We're discussing alternative models, but as a server who is first and foremost community-focused, we want your input!

Comment below with feedback you have on this change. Do you like it or dislike it? If you do like it, do you have any suggestions for a replacement mount? We’ll take all of your feedback into consideration and will decide the replacement, if any, depending on your input.

Hi Torta, why you cancel the clouds mounts? Do they come back in the future?