Pricy mounts support goldsellers
by Mike Schramm 
Oct 9th 2007 at 5:30PM
We talked about this a little bit on the podcast the other day while speaking about the mail delay now built into the game. I asked what goldsellers were even selling gold for anymore (because there's so much of it to be found in Azeroth, and both Turpster and Robin answered me with: "epic mount."Yes, there is no bigger drain on the funds than the epic mount price of a whopping 5,000g, and Bornakk says that isn't changing any time soon. I completely agree that having an epic flying mount is definitely an epic achievement, and if Blizzard doesn't want to lower the price, that's their business. But as Captnclaw notes, the refusal to change the way epic flying mounts are obtained is almost singlehandedly keeping goldsellers alive.
There are lots of ways to give out epic mounts and keep them epic-- one we mentioned on the show was daily quests (which is what you're doing anyway, if you're trying to raise 5k gold legally), but anything in that vein would work-- a reputation grind, an item turn-in, an epic questline, or a combination of all of these. Making one of the best, most wanted items in the game simply cost a chunk of gold is more or less creating a market for goldsellers. And refusing to lower the price (or, better yet, take the whole process out of the gold market entirely) is leaving the door wide open for gold sellers to continue hawking their wares.
Filed under: Items, Analysis / Opinion, Blizzard, Economy, Making money, Mounts
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Acariquara Oct 9th 2007 5:43PM
What I think is most ironic is the way they are patting each others in the back for daily repetitive quests that "are taking gold sellers off business". But that market exists because THEY CREATED IT in the first place.
Make an Epic quest. Make it difficult. Make it require multiple turn-ins of Shadowcloth (for example), or whatever cooldown thingies your profession has. Make it a rep grind. Buy take that frigging 5k out of the picture.
Duncan Oct 9th 2007 5:45PM
Agree 100% make an epic mount an EPIC achievement. By making EVERYONE earn it as opposed to just buying gold to get it.
Mainstay Oct 9th 2007 5:49PM
If people are lazy enough to buy gold to get their epic mount, then they're going to buy gold for stuff off the AH anyway.
If you spend like 3, maybe 4 minutes searching for tips, you'll find it's not that difficult to get your epic mount. It took me a week to get mine and I didn't maybe at best, 3 total hours of farming.
I've said it before, I'll say it again. Get your lazy rumps out to the areas you missed leveling to 70 and do all the quests you missed and stay away from the AH.
Breor Oct 9th 2007 5:55PM
One thing that puts a huge drain in PvE raiders is the durability repair. I spend more than 100g every week in repairs and another 50g respeccing for weekend PvP. If Blizzard is serious in balancing PvP and PvE they should not penalize the players trying to learn new dungeons. One year of PvE progression = cost of an epic mount, while PvP players dont have to worry about that while grinding BG or Arena.
Anyways my 2c.
lori Oct 9th 2007 5:56PM
I also agree 100%. Dailies seem to be the main way to get gold for my epic flyer but they have come to be like a job I have to do each day and I hate them.
Liel Oct 9th 2007 5:57PM
@3 I used the AH to make my gold and did not get my epic mount because I am trying to figure out which 70 to give it to.
With that I hate farming not because I am lazy it is because I think I would rather let the gold farmers and people who pay 15 dollars a month to kill the same mobs over and over again calling it "work" make the items for me to resell at the AH.
Liel Oct 9th 2007 5:59PM
Epic mounts are bling and are not needed, they reduce the price and it becomes "expected" so other players become accustomed to epic mount speeds, I know its hell when I go to an alt and riding my level 40 mount lol.
Toddler Oct 9th 2007 9:26PM
How about tickets.... works for festivals.
Dave Oct 9th 2007 6:19PM
This is why solo dungeons should be added to the game. Have an epic quest line that you must complete on your own to get the 300 skill. No having your friends power level you through it. Tough it out and do it yourself. And don't even go there with the CE rep mount selling for 2K. That's just asinine... and countproductive.
Perrins Oct 9th 2007 8:14PM
My main did not receive his epic riding mount till 70 and then did not receive his regular flying mount till I was almost exalted with everything that didn’t need it. My other 70 just recently received her epic riding and regular flying mount. The goal of 5kg is achievable, but why do it. Your going to get there anyways using a regular flying mount, it’ll just take longer. Plus doing dailies and all the heroic runs just barely gets me by on repair money.
evan Oct 9th 2007 6:20PM
I think Blizzard needs to implement an epic quest line for riding skill or perhaps simply up the gold reward amounts on some "epic" quests. It seems ridiculous to me that some people have cleared hyjal or even Black Temple and still fly economy class. When I killed Mag for my Eye attunement I should've gotten 500-2000g easily but no.. ~24g. I'm not saying only raiders should get more gold for the quests they do though. I think the amount of money being given out for certain things is like a slap in the face. Kind of reminds me of a webcomic someone created (forgive me for not remembering the name) where it showed a team taking down Gahz'illa in what appeared to be an epic battle just to get a carrot on a stick.
Dailies are great for things like repairs and consumables and long term you can make a lot of money but it's still a stupid chore that you do over and over and over.
TonyMotorola Oct 9th 2007 6:21PM
"This is why solo dungeons should be added to the game"
The whole outdoor world of the game is a solo dungeon. If you want your own private universe where nobody is around and everything is super easy and just handed to you, perhaps MMOs aren't the right game for you.
WTFmate? Oct 9th 2007 6:33PM
Well, I agree and disagree. Getting the epic flying mount for someone who doesn't buy gold is an epic achievement. It took me a lot of dailies to finally get the money to buy one....sigh, so much epic hunter loot I could've bought instead. Still, gold farming kinda ruins it, but it was the same with the original epic land mount.
But I will say, it isn't impossible to get even if you are casual. I made all my money playing about half an hour during the week and maybe two hours on the weekends, with sometimes a KZ run on the weekends. It requires patience much more than anything else. It is a bonus, not something that everyone is gonna have, I know I am never gonna try to earn one on any of my alts.
Also just so you all know, this is coming from a man who didn't own a land epic mount before BC and didn't get one until level 62.....talk about slow.
Orestes Oct 9th 2007 6:37PM
So say that they actually change the way we get the epic mounts to something akin to the druid/paladin/warlock quests... goldsellers may die (I'll believe that when I see it) but what do we gain? People shifting from whining about the cost to being drama queens about the quest difficulty? where's the improvement there?
Orangecoke Oct 9th 2007 6:52PM
"It took me a week to get mine and I didn't maybe at best, 3 total hours of farming."
You got your 5k epic mount in 1 week and 3 hours of farming? I read tips too and it's taking me WAY longer than that.
Arquilla Oct 9th 2007 6:43PM
To say the epic riding skill is almost single-handedly keeping the gold sellers in business is ridiculous. There are plenty of things people want with nice price tags that they are too lazy to farm for. Lowering the cost of the training wouldn't stop gold selling and you'd be pretty naive to think it would. It plays a part but so does everything that costs gold. Gold is so easy to come by legitimately that this game needs a time sink. It's fine, quit being lazy.
Arquilla Oct 9th 2007 6:44PM
Said time sink meant gold sink. Please forgive.
Falrinn Oct 20th 2007 5:54PM
Well the epic mount price is going to be reduced by relative value in the next expansion.
But above all, you guys really need to stop using google ads...
Kryptonls Oct 9th 2007 6:52PM
I know how hard it must be for healing classes and those which are not damage-orientated to earn moeny, that is why Blizzard have given you daily quests. Also, most healing classes can get damage gear... even if it's greens, you can still do enough to farm primals or whatever it is that you do.
And especially if you're a dps class and moan about money - go and cry in the corner because you obviously don't know what you're doing.
Kryptonls Oct 9th 2007 6:53PM
^ Just saw that comment too.
Being a rogue, I farmed for 5 hours a day, for one full week and had enough to buy mine. Because of the sheer volume of primals I was turning over, I got lucky and found a Blinkstrike too, so that was the easiest 1.8k gold ever, also. :)