Blizzard released a blue post yesterday stating that they are looking to add a new mount that all owners of Shadowlands will receive for free, regardless of the edition you own. What makes this even more interesting is they are allowing us, the players to vote on which we want most.
Unfortunately there are only 5 options and we were only provided with a description on what they have in mind. Concept art would have gone a long way in aiding people with their vote!
EU players can vote here
NA players can vote here
Voting ends on the 18th of September, so don’t think on it too long! Official Post
So I wanted to run through the 5 potential mounts and discuss how they would possibly look to help you with your voting decision!
Number 1 – Wandering Ancient
Not all ancients are interested in war or lore, some just want to travel the world! A large and leafy mount, the Wandering Ancient invites you to climb aboard and grab ahold of its branches as you embark on a lumbering expedition.
Ancients are typically the large living trees we’ve seen all across Azeroth but how would a mount version look and work? Would we ride on its back or on it’s shoulder like Treebeard in Lord of the Rings.
It would most likely be a lot smaller than the typical Ancient in WoW and I don’t see Blizzard creating a new skeleton for the mount so it’s best to assume they will use something that is already obtainable as the base for any of the potential mounts.
My guess would be they would use the Shackled Infernal mounts as a base, if that is the case though it would make the Ancient small. Possibly too small but at least it would make for a unique looking mount.
Number 2 – Soaring Spelltome
In the forgotten depths of the Dalaran library, this oversized tome was found flapping madly around the room. Open the pages of this arcane-infused book and hitch a ride to magical adventure.
I currently can only see two ways that they could approach a Spelltome mount. The first being similar to that of the carpets or Disc of the flying cloud, where the player is essentailly surfing ontop of a floating open book.
The other approach would be similar to the Grimoire pet available in the game, the player would ride on the spine of the book and the book itself would flap its pages open and closed to move. Once again making for a fairly unique looking mount but personally not one id be too interested in seeing.
Number 3 – Nerubian Swarmer
When the Helm of Domination shattered, the Nerubians under the control of the Lich King were unleashed. Some were captured by the Argent Crusade and turned by their allies in the Ebon Blade. Now their spidery claws are put to use as mounts, skittering through the frozen tundra of Icecrown in pursuit of the rampaging undead.
Just seeing the word Nerubian got me excited for this mount but after I stepped back and thought about what a Nerubian Swarmer could be, I started to worry that the opportunity for an awesome Nerubian mount would be wasted.
The reason for this is currently we have Nerubian Swarmers in the game as pets, these are similar to that of the Bloodswarmers from BFA except they can’t fly. Sure their faces are different but the general feel just doesn’t seem unique enough if thats the direction they went with for the mount.
Now if they said Nerubian Crusher or something similar to the Crypt Lords then i’d be all over it and a Nerubian Swarmer still could be something more in that direction but from the description and what we currently have in game, I have my doubts.
Number 4 – Curious Caterpillar
A curious caterpillar found its way to the Heartland in Valley of the Four Winds one night and gorged itself on the oversized vegetables. The Pandaren of Halfhill awoke the next morning to find the crops half-eaten and an enormous, slumbering caterpillar among them. Too large to become a butterfly, this friendly worm is just the right size to train as a mount.
We don’t have to think too hard on how this one would look, there are already caterpillar creatures within the game called Silkworms. We are also getting newer bug creatures in Shadowlands that could also be used as the base for this new mount.
A chunky caterpillar mount could be great but we do have a lot of mounts that aren’t too far from this already. So you’re want for a caterpillar specifically has to outweight the uniqueness of some of the other options.
Number 5 – Gooey Slimesaber
From the slime pools of Plaguefall emerged all manner of jellied creature, including this sticky kitty. A slimy saber cat that’s dripping with ooze, it’s the kind of mount that you’re going to want to wear gloves for.
Slime kittens are a new addition to Shadowlands, these gooey felines are extremely cute and give us an idea of how a mount version would look. However I doubt they would keep the cuter kitten style as typically the cat pets are kittens and the mounts are full grown felines.
It’s a solid choice to vote for but we also already have a ton of cat related mobs obtainable, is it being a slimy version enough to set it apart from what we already have?
So after hearing about what is potentially up for grabs and how they may work. Which will you be voting for?