On the MOP podcast back in September, we answered a question from listener Sergio about neat MMO features with a long-running history in the genre, and one of the ones that popped into my head was mounts – specifically, mounts that aren’t just speed buffs.
My first encounter with mounts came in Ultima Online, whose original classic version required you to either log out on top of your mount or stable it at an actual stable. Mounts (and other tamer pets) could skill up, get grumpy over not being fed, be healed, die, follow you around as ghosts, and be resurrected – which honestly is kind of a lot for an MMORPG in 1997 to have pulled off.
Ultima Online eventually added pocket mounts – ethereal mounts is what they’re called over there – falling in line with the likes of Star Wars Galaxies and World of Warcraft, where all such mounts are pocket mounts. And yet there are still a small number of MMOs that make mounts more realistic and haven’t given in to the trend of stashing an entire horse into your backpack.
So let’s make a list of them. Which MMOs have mounts but not pocket mounts? Which one do you prefer?
Every morning, the Massively Overpowered writers team up with mascot Mo to ask MMORPG players pointed questions about the massively multiplayer online roleplaying genre. Grab a mug of your preferred beverage and take a stab at answering the question posed in today’s Daily Grind!
