I hope you didn't misunderstand me, Robert. I was not having a go at your brother or anything theres no need to justify what you said :), I was just clarifying how long I've been playing. The problem is that is based on the server you're on and the community attached to that server. On my server (Silvermoon EU) I've never once heard players crying out for something like this.

Regardless, the mount does look cool but something I mentioned in other comments here is that Blizzard do not offer an equal alternative via the virtual economy. When a P2P game starts doing this then I fear for the future of the industry with many others likely to follow. I am not saying you should be able to buy it for a cheap price, you should have to work for it - long and difficult quest chains and the added cost of virtual currency.

Anyway, my server is Silvermoon EU and I play on the Alliance. My character name is 'Arden' if you ever log on my server. :)

I see your point definitely. Each player has their own methods of traversing the world and whatnot. I just wanted to point out all the cool things that the mount does. The key here is that Blizzard isn't shoving this down anyone's throat. People have been honestly really banding together to make their voice heard, and they wanted something like the Celestial Mount. The only reason why I brought up my brother's length of playing is to explain that he is very involved in the WoW community at large and so he isn't basing his opinion on the mount on only his personal feelings, but of those in his Guild, other people he plays with, and other veterans.

I definitely agree about price. I personally would not pay a dime for any digital product. For me, if it's not physical then it's not worth my money (with few exceptions here and there), but I just wanted to highlight that this mount isn't just a new skin on an old system, but actually has a few cool touches that make it unique. And we all know how crazy WoW players can get about having that unique item/weapon/armor/mount.

In any case, I'll be playing soon. What server do you play on? Alliance or Horde? For me, Horde all the way. I can't wait to make my Troll Shammy and get back into the game.

Hi Robert,

Thanks for your comment. To answer your question - I am basing this article from my POV (Raider, 3 times a week), I haven't played since BETA but I have played from the day the game was actually launched. I do consider myself to be a serious player though admittedly - I am losing interest which is common after 5/6 years.

Everyone is different after all and if you really enjoy the game and you want then animation then I can't tell you or your brother that you're wrong because it is based on opinion. For me though, I wouldn't pay £17 for one animation as I am a druid (so I have bird form) and secondly due to warlock portals I hardly ever have to use my flying mount anyway.

Hey Daniel, I have a comment on the Celestial Steed. My little brother has been playing the game since beta stage (since Stormscale was still a beta actually) and he's sitting here with me. We both just read the article and my brother told me that within 3 hours after Celestial Steed was released he went in queue in the Pet Store and had to wait SEVEN hours to be able to get his mount. My brother rocks Full Wrathful Gladiator Gear and T10.5 Prot Gear too, just for reference of how good he is (and no, none of it was bought, all earned in game).

Sure, if you are a casual player then of course two month's worth of subscription isn't worth this mount, but if you consider yourself anything serious, then this is something you'll want.

In his own words, my brother said, "The Celestial Steed is one of the sexiest mounts in the game." He also made comment that even though the Celestial Steed is similar to any basic horse mount, its riding cap goes up with your level, and even when you get your flying mount, it BECOMES a flying mount. The Celestial Steed pretty much levels up and grows with you, and it is a gorgeous looking mount.

While I see your point of the price for a digital product, any self-respecting person wouldn't buy it unless they really wanted it.

And my brother just brought his laptop down to show me the Celestial Steed Flying and dude, "It's a f***ing constellation!"

This is really a truly awesome mount, and I can't help but wonder whether you are basing your opinion from a casual WoW player POV or not. This mount is clearly meant for serious players.

Hi Todd,

Thank you for your addition to the discussion. I just want to help you understand my view in this article and I will answer your points as best as I can.

1. Why complain about it: I think they have designed the horse as a cash cow. My personal complaint for implementing this is that it you get benefits for paying more money out on top of this P2P model. The mount is not equal in terms of design to ones that can be collected through time-spent - It looks far nicer. So, I do not think it is fair for them to create a mount that does not stand on par with others and simply offers people an alternative - Its design is far superior to those collected in game.

2. Congratulations on your child, I am sure you'll make a wonderful parent! There is indeed a demand and it is the same on my server too - you can find people with the mount anywhere. My issue is described as in point 1, it is not offered as an equal alternative - it offers players a mount that scales across each character and with every riding skill, to make this 'equal ops' they need to have a virtual economy alternative such as pay 10k gold for the same thing.

3. I agree with you on perceived value and I am not suggesting that Vanilla (Original for those that don't know) World of Warcraft had a perfect system, they did actually hit the nail on the head with the Burning Crusade balancing accessibility and the grind (IMO). You did state that people spent a lot of time grinding their red proto drakes and that is true, it is also my point.

If you are going to offer micro-transactions in a pay to play game there should ALWAYS be a suitable in-game alternative that has equal value. It has a negative effect on the MMORPG Industry when you are offered items that will enhance your character over those who don't wish to use the item shop.

Hey Daniel, I have a few comments on the article you posted.

1. You don't have to buy the mount if you don't want to. It's not like blizz is forcing any of the people who commented here to spend money on a stupid shiny flying horsey. NOR EVER WILL. So why complain about it?

2. I've just recently started playing again after a few month break since my wife and I had a child. I've noticed that despite all that was said here, the mount is extremely popular. I can't run through Dal without seeing it in some way shape or form. So the desire for it is in fact there and in a massive way.

3. Virtual economy vs Real economy. Every thing is based on perceived value. How much time did it take for people to get their red Proto-Drake when wrath first came out? How much time did it take to farm up the gold for epic flying in Burning Crusade? What about my Black Ahn'Qiraj Battle Tank and title 'Scarab Lord'? Now I make $11 an hour at a full time job (a good chunk of change for where I live!). It took me quite a bit more than the equivalent of a full work week to get my gear up and running to make it 'back in the day' to even GET to Ahn'Qiraj, (Remember those 8 hour one single instance runs on Molten Core?) much less farm stinkin Silithus to be the first to open the gets so I could get that one stinkin mount. But I did run those Molten Core raids and those BWL raid, and those ZG raids and boy did I TRY for that title! I guess in total that ONE single mount cost me much more than just the weeks worth of pay, (about $440 before taxes). That doesn't include the months of farming mind you, just one weeks worth! Heck I just finished the rep grind finally for my War Tabuk! That ALONE took FOREVER.

Personally, on 'perceived value' $25 bucks is cheap. How many hours worth of your time do you put into farming or rep grinding for a single stinkin mount that doesn't even look near as cool.

That said, my wife wants it. What she wants... she gets. More added bonus to that $25 value.

As much as I can understand the criticism I am a player that does not have hours and hours to farm an area for drops, raids or reputation. I welcome the odd addition of something differant that us working people can get without playing 4-5+ hours a night on wow. As long as they don't treat us like a cash cow and bring out must haves every month.

This mount is a waste of money! $25 for a vanity item. I can understand paying for the ones that COME WITH A REAL stuffed animal, might actually get one for the GF. But cmon blizz this isnt Gpotatoe here. And yes, on emerald dream we mock you for buying this....

it is only good in that it is a unique graphic. If you really like the graphic/animation, and are wiling to part with 18 dollars for it... its great. I bought it becuase it looked cool... no other reason. People know exactly what it is when they buy it... a vanity item and nothing more. I personally think the company is full of geniuses and they have a good thing going. I wish I could make over 3.5 million dollars for paying someone to design a single animated graphic. ;)

Logan, Becca and Adam - Thank you for your comments.

I worked out the mount is only £1.70 per character but that statistic requires you to have all 10 characters which very few people I know actually reach high level on all 10. I can see how some people might see that as value but for me personally what gets under the skin is the fact this is P2P with such high priced micro-transactions.

Logan, not sure why I made that mistake as I know it should have been addition but I do appreciate you pointing that out for me!

Comments highly appreciated, please continue the discussion. :)

Whilst these mounts are very shiny and all, there appears to already be a culture of "Celestial mount = more money than sense" in the chat (at least on Emerald Dream Realm). Having one seems to almost guarantee that you will be mocked in - game for your lack of fiscal ability, or be accused of being a spoilt child.

So all in all, I don't think I will bother getting one...

Good article. I personally think the Celestial Steed is most useful to people levelling alts, who may not always want to waste the amount of money that mounts at higher levels cost. This one £17 mount could save thousands of in-game gold for some people (like myself). Also, one small nitpick, you write "latest edition" (first line, fifth and sixth words) when you want "latest ADDITION" :)

Great article Daniel, I couldn't agree more. This entire affair bodes ill for us, the gamers, and the MMO genre as a whole.