What's the Appeal of Mount collecting?

[LCDArcade]

This is just a general discussion based on my own curiosity.

I can totally understand that there are definitely collectors out there who have fun trying to own or do everything. I was hardcore WoW player for over 10 years (hardly touched Shadowlands though) and never once had any desire to care about mounts. They all have the same animations and provide the same purpose as all the rest of them. None of the mounts have any cool special abilities or perks to them (except for the two seaters with AH)

I think the only mount I ever really cared about was Invincible and that's really only because I was obsessed with WOTLK and DK has been my main class since Wrath beta.

So for those out there who love collecting mounts, why?

[GreenJesus]

The idea is that gear lasts for 4-5 months, but mounts last in your collection forever (or until you unsubscribe). What's the point of getting gear when it's all just numbers in sphagetti code that gets invalidated in the next patch zone by world quests? Collecting mounts also usually means you have to complete all of the content in the game. if anything, I'd say mount collectors are more hardcore than raiders considering the amount of time required to farm all that content while raiding you can just log in 2-3 times a week for a couple hours.

[|Dexter|]

I think it's the same as any kind of in-game collection, they made 1000s of mobile games where the only thing to do is collect different skins. The human mind seems to really love collecting things as long there is a clear goal that you can manage.

I however just wish that the mounts were not just skins and used for more than driving and flying... check Guild Wars 2, for example, it got some gameplay elements tied to a different types of mounts.

[Ersula]

FFXIV does this too, but unlike WoW their main appeal is people logging in & relaxing. RP, Housing & other non-advancement-based playstyles is where FFXIV really excels. They could start by say, adding a Bard Class that can busk in the streets like they do in FFXIV. That would greatly enhance the vibe of the game.

[|Dexter|]

The idea is that gear lasts for 4-5 months, but mounts last in your collection forever (or until you unsubscribe). What's the point of getting gear when it's all just numbers in sphagetti code that gets invalidated in the next patch zone by world quests? Collecting mounts also usually means you have to complete all of the content in the game. if anything, I'd say mount collectors are more hardcore than raiders considering the amount of time required to farm all that content while raiding you can just log in 2-3 times a week for a couple hours.

Now with transmute, the skin of that gear can last forever as well... and even if you unsub all your mounts will be waiting for you when you come back

FFXIV does this too, but unlike WoW their main appeal is people logging in & relaxing. RP, Housing & other non-advancement-based playstyles is where FFXIV really excels. They could start by say, adding a Bard Class that can busk in the streets like they do in FFXIV. That would greatly enhance the vibe of the game.

Why every post needs someone to compare things to FFXIV and point out how it excels...

[Tziva]

I imagine for the same reason people collect anything in-game, it adds a minigame that gives someone a bonus activity to do and goals to work towards.

I mean, stamp collecting is one of the most popular "collection" hobbies in real life, but all stamps do the exact same thing. It's not their uniqueness in what they do that makes people interested, it is the uniqueness in how they look, where they come from, and the fun of the "hunt."

I don't feel like it's an especially hard concept to grasp, even if it's not something one personally cares about.

[Karawaka]

Some of them look neat and make fun noises.

[Val the Moofia Boss]

The idea is that gear lasts for 4-5 months, but mounts last in your collection forever (or until you unsubscribe). What's the point of getting gear when it's all just numbers in sphagetti code that gets invalidated in the next patch zone by world quests? Collecting mounts also usually means you have to complete all of the content in the game. if anything, I'd say mount collectors are more hardcore than raiders considering the amount of time required to farm all that content while raiding you can just log in 2-3 times a week for a couple hours.

This. Mounts and pets are a more tangible objective than another forgettable stat stick you'll replace soon.

[MoanaLisa]

What's the appeal of any collection hobby like stamps, baseball cards, even books?

[draugril]

FFXIV does this too, but unlike WoW their main appeal is people logging in & relaxing. RP, Housing & other non-advancement-based playstyles is where FFXIV really excels. They could start by say, adding a Bard Class that can busk in the streets like they do in FFXIV. That would greatly enhance the vibe of the game.

There was a run of about six months where I didn't kill a single thing in FFXIV, but still played regularly and advanced my character. The problem is that WoW players only see player power advancement as "legitimate" content. But I see crafting as "legitimate." And playing the market board. And housing. And Gold Saucer stuff. During that time, the Firmament took up most of my time. As I'm sure you know, that was:

(a) a revisit to a previous expanion's hub "just because,"
(b) entirely centered around crafting,
(c) had ranked seasons not related to combat,
(d) gave players a dual collective goal in rebuilding a zone and adding a permanent statue based on which class contributed the most,
(e) ended by giving players a new housing zone.

Can you imagine WoW doing any of that? None of that is "legitimate" content to the developers or playerbase.

[MoanaLisa]

This is an easy topic to discuss without bringing in other games and starting up game vs. game discussions that will get people infracted and thread closed. Direct comments to me or another mod if you disagree. Keep the thread clean and on-topic.

[WowIsDead64]

This is just a general discussion based on my own curiosity.

I can totally understand that there are definitely collectors out there who have fun trying to own or do everything. I was hardcore WoW player for over 10 years (hardly touched Shadowlands though) and never once had any desire to care about mounts. They all have the same animations and provide the same purpose as all the rest of them. None of the mounts have any cool special abilities or perks to them (except for the two seaters with AH)

I think the only mount I ever really cared about was Invincible and that's really only because I was obsessed with WOTLK and DK has been my main class since Wrath beta.

So for those out there who love collecting mounts, why?

If you aren't collector, then you just can't understand us. I'm not sure, what psychological phenomenon causes it, but it's something about preferring diversity, doubting and being unable to make final decisions. So, we just can't pick one favorite thing. We like them all. And instead of struggling with this choice we solve this problem radically - we just want to have them all. Games usually exploit such behavior this way: they give you 1-2 items for "free" and try to bait you into putting effort into getting rest of them, that usually isn't that easy.

[Kralljin]

I don't think there is anything special to in comparison to other activities that involves collecting [anything].

For me personally, it used to be a pastime after i was done raiding, gearing alts, etc.., which you just did by doing different activities within the game, but ever since late MoP i was increasingly turned off because the amount of some mounts that they just flatout dumped into the game became too much.
Back in Wotlk / Cata / early MoP, the goal of collecting almost very obtainable mount was still within sight, but now it's near impossible because every new patch brings like 30 mounts, plenty of which drop of a "rare mob" (or rather, a mob you kill on a daily basis that you find by jumping through multiple shards).

I think back to camping the TLPD in Storm peaks during Wotlk / Cata, certainly not high octane gameplay, but just sitting there and chilling - reminds me of fishing.

[draugril]

This is an easy topic to discuss without bringing in other games and starting up game vs. game discussions that will get people infracted and thread closed. Direct comments to me or another mod if you disagree. Keep the thread clean and on-topic.

Fair enough. It's just rather difficult to discuss the appeal of non-combat oriented content in MMOs without bring up other games because WoW is so focused on the player power progression loop. It can get obtuse talking about horizontal power progression or non-power progression without referring to other games that are finding success with those concepts, which many WoW-exclusive players do not consider to be viable ideas or "legitimate" development philosophies.

I apologize if my tone framed it as a game vs. game discussion. My point was not that FFXIV's philosophy is inherently "better" than WoW's philosophy. Only that FFXIV's philosophy is incredibly different, yet still successful.

WoW does WoW best, in that it no game will ever top it in terms of having that finely tuned loot treadmill. My point is that the loot treadmill shouldn't be all there is to the game - even the "collections" we have now are simply content leftovers in the wake of that system. I would gladly pay a raid tier for housing or any kind of legitimate focus away from progression for just a moment.

[Kiivar86]

Number go up.

In all seriousness though, I just like collecting things, they're a visible thing to collect, and there's a lot of neat mounts. It started with the introduction of Mountain o' Mounts since that was the only way to get a Dragonhawk on Alliance at the time. And I just went from there.

I like to coordinate transmog with mounts too. Options help.

[Pakheth]

Number go up.

In all seriousness though, I just like collecting things, they're a visible thing to collect, and there's a lot of neat mounts. It started with the introduction of Mountain o' Mounts since that was the only way to get a Dragonhawk on Alliance at the time. And I just went from there.

I like to coordinate transmog with mounts too. Options help.

Pretty much this for me as well. I also tend to only collect the mounts I actually like the visuals of and if I get the others by chance then okay. I just wish I could filter out mount by type, and I mean like bird, cat, mechanical, etc, not just flying/ground/water.

[Kiivar86]

Pretty much this for me as well. I also tend to only collect the mounts I actually like the visuals of and if I get the others by chance then okay. I just wish I could filter out mount by type, and I mean like bird, cat, mechanical, etc, not just flying/ground/water.

That would certainly be useful!

At this point while I do still lack some mounts, I've gotten most of what I want that's available (only one that I really want is the Solar Spirehawk, which would totally go well with my mage's outfit right now), but 9.2's bringing a large number more I crave (SNAILS!)

Honestly, Shadowlands has been so good for me with mounts. I got my #1 mount request (moths) and now my #2 (snails). I'm a happy camper, to say the least.

[draugril]

Pretty much this for me as well. I also tend to only collect the mounts I actually like the visuals of and if I get the others by chance then okay. I just wish I could filter out mount by type, and I mean like bird, cat, mechanical, etc, not just flying/ground/water.

I used to try to collect everything, but now... there's just too much. An embarrassment of riches, as it were. There's so much to collect that I tune it out.

I liked things like the Netherwing grind. Want a Netherdrake mount? Do Netherdrake quests until you unlock all the Netherdrake mounts! Makes sense!

Now? If you like a model, the different recolors can come from half a dozen arbitrarily determined sources. It's too meta. Too much "game" not enough "world."

[Ersula]

Why every post needs someone to compare things to FFXIV and point out how it excels...

Because if someone has already found a solution to a problem you are experiencing, ignoring that would be foolish.

- - - Updated - - -

Can you imagine WoW doing any of that? None of that is "legitimate" content to the developers or playerbase.

And yet blizzard embraces Mount Collecting. Mount collecting is in this same genre of content & it's time it was expanded.

[T-34]

For me collectibles only matter if they're tied to something that is based on "skill/effort" while it was current.
That means that mounts, toys, titles etc. that can be achieved just by grinding, both while it was current and after it isn't current any-more, have no interest whatsoever for me personally.
So for me one of my most cherished "collections" is "Mistwalker"'.

But at the end of the day the most important "collectibles" for me is the content I beat together with other people - that is the memories of co-operative gameplay with other people for whom fun means doing your best with other people in order to achieve something, not matter how big or small.

That doesn't change that I perfectly well know that a lot of people like to collect stuff just to have it and that makes them happy. And WoW offers a lot of content for people who like to collect stuff. And that is very good.