Thanks all for the input on the least button mashing class thread. Got the new mage to 31 easily and loving it so far. Enough so that I decided to go ahead and buy him a mount... grrrr I've found the preferred way to hunt so far is to stand on a hillside where there are plenty of mobs below and start picking them off from a distance. I figured a little extra height would be a good thing so I went for the levitation and bought him the Anozok's Steam Escalator. Well darnit, this thing puts out so much steam effect that I have to either move the camera around a lot to look around it, to play in first person view which I prefer not to do. Not a total game ruiner but sort of disappointing to have that handicap. SO I figured why not, I'll throw him another $15 and get the dragonfly saddle. No steam on a dragonfly, right? Sure enough, no steam there and I think it may be one of the cooler looking mounts in the game for my little gnome. Only problem is, no levitation! Lemme get this straight, the dragonfly costs $5 more than the escalator, has poorer stats and also doesn't fly?? Well poop! At least he can summon a levitation ring in a few more levels but it still doesn't seem right that the d'fly don't fly. Oh well, here he is. Little guy doesn't say much, he just waggles his eyebrows an smiles a lot...
Mounts definitely come under the heading 'lessor of two evils.' Twenty more levels and you get run speed AA. The levels go faster with a mount because of fewer deaths and more meditation. I've never used a mount with gnome, but you should try squeezing though some areas with a large character type on a large mount! Literally blocked by any arches, hallways, doors, and rubble.
My main is a troll SK, usually mounted on his AA horse. I deal with that all the time! Most annoying is the entry to Guild Lobby from PoK, have to dismount or shrink to get through there. Funny thing is the gnome can fit everywhere but with the anchor in guild hall and gate to PoK he almost never goes in the guild lobby. And yes, I got the mount for: 1) meditation without sitting 2) extra height to survey the battlefield (Gnome may not have been the best choice for this reason) 3) run speed
I've found the best mount for casters is the lon magic carpet. It has no levi but that becomes less of an issue when you get lev AAs. The speed is nice but the major allure for me is the fact that it has almost nothing to obscure your standing view.
Great idea for a thread. Once it's done we should distill the info into a chart and sticky it! Ornate Flying Carpet - Does NOT levitate! I actually like that it doesn't because I can cast Perma-lev whenever I want. VERY smooth when moving or stopped with a light swishing noise when moving or turning. Domain Raptor - When stopped, the character appears to be leaned back unusually in the saddle, though this doesn't change the player's viewing angle in 1st or 3rd person. THIS MOUNT DOES NOT CAUSE YOUR OTHER MOUNTS TO INCREASE IN SPEED! I believe this is a bug. While running, your viewpoint is akin to riding a jackhammer. It's so bad, it's even slightly troublesome in 3rd person while zoomed out!
Oh, important info: the size of your mount makes no difference whatsoever as to whether you can fit under things! I got my troll a really low lizard from LoN and he visually clears the roof of the GL tunnel to PoK with 2ft of air above his head, but is prevented from moving through anyway, while my high elf can be atop a mount so high his head is completely through the roof and still pass without issue.
Thats because High Elves have so much hot air.. they just pass through stuff. As for the troll.. the amount of stink created by him topped with that of a mount.. creates a solid barrier.
Guild Lobby sucks for big races on mounts! But you forgot one of the main reasons for mounts: no pushback from melee! Instant cast mounts for knights are so nice for that.
Shouldn't let anyone into the GL with a mount IMO anyhow. Ranks right up there with the idiot BSt's who summon a warder, dont bother shrinking it and parking it at the magus and hall door, and the jerks who super size familars in GL.
I went through 55 levels of outdoor zone killing with casters before I realized being on a mount lets you get the /sit regeneration benefit while moving (which means while killing, kiting, or traveling). 55 levels of sitting in between casts like a goof outside while kiting around on necro. /sigh
Mount heights throw another gaming mechanics issue into starker contrast: Line-of-sight for spells. It doesn't matter if you're a gnome or an ogre on a braxi, line-of-sight seems to be determined by whether or not yours or your mount's feet can see your target. Five feet away, looking down on them from your majestic steed? If there's a foot-high lump between you and them, they are completely shielded from you.
I hadn't noticed it exactly like that, but it makes sense. The "You can not see your target" message sure has frustrated me from time to time when I very clearly could see the darn target! But man do I love the mage's bolt spells. Super long range and shoots right through everything. I don't even have to face the target to hit it. Leveled up some more last night and got the levitate spell (Giant outpost in Great Divide ROCKS from 35-40 by the way) and was more disappointed with the dragonfly when when I learned that the annoying quick bobbing persists through levitate. It may even be worse with lev than without it. So I'm getting used to the Steam Escalator. It's not that bad I guess after using it a while and it sure it smooth and fast. Here's a pic of the boys hanging out telling some lies at Hekk's cottage and one of Tellr looking for fish in the pond
I think I have noticed, haven't double checked so still rumor status, is some LOS issues can be handled by pet if you are [Magician, Necromancer, ...]. Guessing if the pet has LOS then they will follow your attack command which if you are using them, gets mercs involved. Thread makes me think I don't have enough characters with mounts. It sort of makes sense to not have a Halfling Druid on a horse, but SK Troll wielding a 2HS axe on a mangy horse seems like a must have.
frank frazetta ftw! I hate the stupid tunnel in the lobby. port to bind, run to PoK. whack my head on it ever time.
