Wow, you really nuked the mount buffs getting rid of kala on servers not meant to have them. Now none of the mount buffs work on my toon. Not even the Azia buff on the store bought mounts. I'm on Cornaiv in Seeds of destruction and the wolf mount and the Dragonscale Skystrider Saddle both state "The expansion required for this mount's blessing has not unlocked." Seriously, is it worth this much trouble for you to remove a buff from a 20 year old game when people are willing to pay you $90 for a expansion? Who really cares if people get an extra buff?
Please check if your Mount Keyring has a mount in the Stat Mount slot with a Kala buff. If so, empty the Stat Mount slot and try again, otherwise casting any mount will try to cast the Stat Mount buff rather than the buff from the mount you're clicking.
Balance is important, regardless of your interests. And what do expansion costs have to do with exploits? You buying a premium version just to have a buff is what is silly. Keeping balance is key to keeping people interested in the game. If there is an easily attainable "Godmode" or "Extraordinarilystrongmode", people would quickly grow bored, leave, and likely never return. EQ has very little instant gratification and should continue to. I want to feel like I earned and was rewarded for my efforts rather than handed them from a store item.
I agree 100%, balance is important concern. However, if no one is around to play the perfectly balanced content, how important is it really? There is barely a soul below 105 on the live servers who isn't being actively power leveled to 115. And a majority of the TLPs have aged beyond the childish guild races. The surviving guilds are just riding out their last couple of encounters until enough members leave from natural attrition. Once the they reach a point that they can no longer progress - take a wild guess what the remaining members will do. I'll give you a hint, it's not going for a swim in the toxicity of live servers. I would really love to see some of the content I missed the first time around. Seriously you are cutting off a 1/3 of your market-base just to appease what? BTW, the stat buff slot on the key ring was the problem. Thanks for the help Rondor. Ironically I still get the message "the expansion required for this mount's blessing has not unlocked."
Do you still get the Azia (of Baza of your server has progressed enough) buff despite the message? Which specific mount are you using and which is in the buff slot?
How do the mount blessings work, are they subsequent upgrades as expansions unlock, ie: will a Mount Blessing Azia mount on early TLP eventually become Beza or do you need to buy a different mount to get that once its available?
