Warcraft Mounts

The most recent build of Patch 3.2 on the Public Test Realms caused some controversy when it was revealed that the Headless Horseman’s Steed — the mount that some lucky characters manage to wring from the corpse of the Headless Horseman each October during Hallow’s End — is now instant cast.

(I didn’t really understand the problem at first, but apparently an instant-cast mount would be very convenient for PvP and whatnot. Plus, there only being one instant-cast mount, and a hard-to-get rare mount at that, would be rather annoying.)

But Blizzard, in the guise of Zarhym, was quick to assure us that this is not at all what’s going on. Zarhym posted:

The Headless Horseman’s Mount has a variable cast time depending upon how it is used: 1.5 seconds as a ground mount and 3.0 seconds as a flying mount. However, due to technological limitations the tooltip reads as if the spell were instant.

He further clarified:

Yes, the cast time will depend on your riding skill and the area you’re in. So, if you’re in Outland or Northrend (no-fly zones excluded), the mount will require a 3-second cast time. If you’re in Azeroth, a no-fly zone or do not have a flying skill, your cast time will be 1.5 seconds.

So basically, this is just a side-effect of the fact that the Headless Horseman’s Steed can be both a ground mount and a flying mount depending on the skill level of the rider — and the fact that the tooltips in WoW aren’t quite dynamic enough to reflect that.

I finally got a chance to run through the new Argent Tournament dailies today on the Public Test Realms for Patch 3.2.

The first new daily quests I did both took place on Hrothgar’s Landing, a new sort of mini-zone (it has it’s own map!) island north of the Argent Tournament grounds. The quest Mistcaller Yngvar was very simple: you summon and kill the eponymous Mistcaller, a non-elite level 80. This quest comes from the Argent Crusade and is presumably shared between Horde and Alliance. It rewarded me a single Champion’s Seal (plus 13g 23s at level 80). (Unfortunately none of the new dailies give Champion’s Purses for extra money and seals.)

While I was at Hrothgar’s Landing, I also completed the quest A Leg Up, which involved gathering tallstrider legs off the ground and from slain vrykul raiders. This quest came from the Sunreavers and so the Alliance version may be different. But again I received a single Champion’s Seal (plus 13g 23s).

Next I headed to the Valley of Fallen Heroes (south of Chillmaw) to complete the quest The Fate of the Fallen by freeing the spirits of Fallen Heroes. You collect Soul Crystals off the ground and then use them to bless and free the neutral spirits. Unless you get too close to a Scourge, there is very little combat in this quest. I was rewarded with a single Champion’s Seal (plus 13g 23s). This quest comes from the Argent Crusade and is presumably shared between Horde and Alliance.

Next up I headed to Deathspeaker’s Watch to rescue Sunreavers for the quest You’ve Really Done It This Time, Kul. I had some trouble finding the Watch, but it turns out that it is directly west of the Argent Pavilion, and within sight of it. This quest involves killing Cult of the Damned to get keys and free your compatriots. There was a good drop rate on the keys, and the only problem I had was finding Kul himself to rescue. (He’s on the raised platform on the south side of the encampment.) Again I received a single Champion’s Seal (plus 13g 23s).

Finally I went to the Foot Steppes to complete Breakfast of Champions for the Sunreavers. You beat a drum next to snow piles, which summons a big worm head that you kill for its egg sac. I found the entire thing is fairly disgusting, but you only need 4 sacs so it wasn’t too painful. Unfortunately sometimes you get iron dwarves instead of worms, though. The rewards was — can you guess? — a single Champion’s Seal (plus 13g 23s).

Now, in addition to new daily quests the Argent Tournament on the PTR also has a new extension of the Black Knight quest. The second segment of this extension, The Black Knight’s Fate, rewards 3 Champion Seals — but this is not a daily quest, just a normal one-time quest.

In addition, I was also able to complete all the Argent Tournament champion dailies that we’ve come to know and loathe over the past weeks: Threat From Above, Battle Before the Citadel, etc. The rewards for these quests have not changed, but there have been some changes in the objectives.

Taking the Battle to The Enemy, which used to involve killing 15 Scourge now involves killing 15 Cult of the Damned members. (That stacks nicely with You’ve Really Done It This Time, Kul, though.) Battle Before the Citadel now requires killing 3 Commanders — and only three Commanders. I had *just* gotten to the point where I could kill a Commander solo, but taking out three will just take too long — it’s back to groups for me!

Anyway, with the new and the old quests together — and barring additional changes on the PTR, which are always possible — you can now get 10 Champion Seals per day once you are a champion and Exalted with the various factions. That should speed up our mount-buying just a tad!

I’ve added the upcoming mounts for Patch 3.2 as they seem to exist on the Public Test Realms right now. Keep in mind that information from the PTR can and will change before the content moves to the live realms — but this is what we know right now!

As always, let me know if you see anything that needs correction. Thanks!