Would flying mounts in The Elder Scrolls Online be a good thing?
The idea of flying mounts in The Elder Scrolls Online is intriguing. Imagine taking the reins and soaring through the clouds on the back of a winged beast. Sounds pretty cool, doesn’t it? You could wing your way from Glenumbra to Craglorn without breaking a sweat — no winding roads and impassable mountains to contend with. The views would be breathtaking, and flying would add a completely new, entertaining element to ESO.
MUST READ: Three Reasons Why We’ll See Bear Mounts In The Elder Scrolls Online
As awesome as the idea sounds, flying mounts in The Elder Scrolls Online probably isn’t a good thing. Yes, I realize that other MMORPGs have flying mounts (World of Warcraft for instance), but I just don’t think the idea will fly in ESO (pardon the expression).
Here are a few reasons why flying mounts are not a good thing:
- Not lore friendly. Flying mounts do not exist in this era of The Elder Scrolls mythos, and having such would break immersion.
- Goes against the game’s structure. The Elder Scrolls Online is designed around different provencial Zones. As much as we’d like to simply fly over those pesky mountain ranges for instance, those rocky peaks are there for a purpose. Flying mounts would allow us to go outside the map, and the game wasn’t designed to be played that way.
- Takes away the sense of exploration. One of the cool things about ESO is the ability to go off the beaten path and explore new areas. There are ruins to explore, dungeons to conquor, and NPCs to meet. Flying mounts in The Elder Scrolls Online would cause us to miss out on some of the best things the game has to offer.
- Would break PvP. Cyrodiil wasn’t designed for flying mounts (the mechanics of siege warfare, etc.). Besides, who wants to get one-shot at 20,000 feet?
- Would take away valuable developer resources. The inclusion of flying mounts in The Elder Scrolls Online would be a massive undertaking, stealing time and money from more valuable projects. Many facets of the game would need to be changed. As cool as a flying mount sounds, the game would benefit more from DLC releases, player housing, etc.
RELATED: Player Housing In The Elder Scrolls Online: Why We Want It
Final Thoughts
Last month, I made a bold prediction that we’ll see bear mounts in The Elder Scrolls Online (in case you missed the article, you can read it here), but as far as flying mounts go? I just don’t see it happening for all the reasons I listed above.
But what do you think? Do you feel that flying mounts in The Elder Scrolls Online would be a good thing? Share your ideas in the Speak Your Mind section below, and let your fellow Skyrim Fansite readers know what you have to say. Until next time, fellow travelers!
you guys have made very valid points and are correct on all of them. however i think flying mounts would be a cool touch in a visual aspect or a new exploration method. I imagine a new DLC with an entire map full of broken lands taking place some where in oblivion that having a flying mount would actually benefit you. Picture the floating islands in the movie avatar only almost everywhere aswell as floating cities and or castles. Now in pvp i could see it going two ways…#1 flying mounts will not be tolerated and will be shot down (somehow) kinda like how if you swim to far into the ocean slaughter fish kill you, well same effect only something else kills you. #2 fly mounts will introduce a fight in the sky, just think what it would be like if you had a team vs another team battling eachother way up in the sky…ohh also i think to avoid quick escapes from cowardly enemies flying mounts should take a little bit longer to summon in cyrodil only to eliminate that option of evasion. as far as exploration goes in tamriel i have 3 vet 14s all in different factions and have seen and done everything possible so i think it should be available for purchase or an achievement gift at a minimum vet 5 or 10. my personal opinion doesnt matter but i think flying mount will be a new and exciting way to introduce an entire new world to ESO.
agreed, that sounds fun !
flying mounts like wings etc. would be a good thing for those of us that likes to pretend we are angels, it wouldnt ruin the game for everyone, maybe someone completed the game and wants to fly around, sounds fun to me, theres some of us that likes to role play our characters, like i have a templar character pretending shes angelic, also those thatll reply to me to insult my opinion just know i will ignore and my opinions do matter here as well, flying mounts doesnt ruin the whole game, seriously i fly around in skyrim above mountains etc. as vampire lord with big wings with mods, and i decide to walk around too and still get quests done with the fun of flying
Your opinion does not matter. No ones opinion matters. Just some more text thrown into the void.
I know this article is old but I think flying mounts would be excellent for this game. It wouldn’t break emersion; griffins and dragons do exist in this era. Most people have been playing this for years at this point so adding flying mounts would be amazing. As for as exploration goes, you have a map for a reason, the compass will show you quests to pick up and if your into getting MATs, then you wouldnt be flying around much in the first place. They’ve had years on this game now, think it’s time for the flying mounts to make a show!!
It’s all a matter of opinion. It doesn’t matter and I have twenty reasons to disprove your opinions and that is I have been playing the Elder Scrolls series and other rpg games since I was little. Already in Skyrim it was possible to fly on a dragon, at least in the cutscene
Flying mounts on ESO is the worst idea imaginable and beyond a terrible idea. Fortunately, I think you laid out why that will never happen.
Agreed. Flying mounts would completely change the complexion of the game.
I hope flying mounts never come to ESO. This is the first mmo since vanilla WoW where I can have a blast just exploring and taking my time because of how immersive it feels.
ESO’s sense of immersion is far better than WoW’s ever was but nonetheless WoW was once a game where you felt invested in your character as it gradually progressed and felt attached to and immersed in the environments. Flying mounts took away from that so much. Yes, you could choose not to use them, but they contributed to the change in player (and developer) attitude where everything soon became all about convenience and efficiency.
I like that environments take time to traverse in ESO. I like that leveling takes time. I like that not everything is super streamlined and efficient. I hope it stays the way it in regards to these things.
Very well said Drayke! The journey is definitely the reward in ESO.