Racial based Mounts

Just read the [sarcastic] thread about ending animal cruelty (https://en-forum.guildwars2.com/discussion/107301/end-animal-cruelty#latest) and that made me pull up a idea I had some time ago: racial mounts.

I'm not talking about new skills that other races can't access, stick with the standard methods of movement (flying, gliding, hopping, rolling ...).

I'm talking about skins that only the specific race has access to.

Wouldn't Sylvari hop on an Ent (raptor) in a second?Wouldn't you love to have your Norn ride to war on a battle-hardened polar bear (jackal)?My Asura sure could use a "hamster ball" (roller beetle)!

Just an idea.

I don't think Anet would want to limit their potential sales by making race-specific skins. I have one Asura and one Sylvari, both of which hardly see any play. I have no Charr. I would be locked out of new mount skins for these races, as would other players who might be in a similar situation.

I would think Anet would prefer to sell skins for mounts that everyone could use to maximize their potential sales.

From an aesthetic stand point, I do like your thinking. Hamster ball. Funny!

The Asura would need access to the Ent mount skin. How else can we roleplay Hobbits in Fangorn?

Harroomph...but lets not be hasty.

@"Game of Bones.8975" said:"hamster ball" (roller beetle)!Didn't know I needed this, but I do now

The charr would get one of their tanks and the asura would get something like this:

I think the problem would then be people would want to create characters with specific races for just that reason, and I feel ANET want's to avoid that. That is why GW2 has no restrictions on which race can play which profession, or have any unique impactful racial abilities like you see in WoW.

Imagine if the Charr were given something really industrial and cyberpunky looking, which would fit someone's theme for an Engineer perfectly....but that player also prefers all their PCs to be Sylvari?

And then this creates an issue for existing characters. Some people already have filled all their character accounts. What if someone wanted to create a Charr engy for the reasons above but now couldn't?

I think the best we can really expect is to have themed mount packs, like the Exo-Suit Mount pack (arguably for Asurans) or the Shiverpeaks mount pack (Norn).

This was actually something I brought up in a Rev thread of all things...

@Taril.8619 said:Hmm... Now I'm imagining what if each race had unique mount skins they could use in lieu of a number of available mounts:

Hound of Balthazar for Human.Charr Tank for Charr.Animal Forms for Norn.Power Suit for Asura.Druid Spirit for Sylvari.

That could be pretty cool xD

Some are easier to design than others, for example;

Norn:Raptor: Snow Leopard formSkipper: Frog/Bunny formSkimmer: Owl formJackal: Wolf formBeetle: Minotaur/Ox formGriffon: Griffon formSkyscale: Dragon form... Uhh, wait?

Sylvari:Skimmer: Floating flowerJackal: Fern HoundBeetle: Jungle WurmSkyscale: Something like the Shadow of Mordrem dragon

Charr:Skipper: CharrzookaSkimmer: Rocket CarBeetle: Charr TankGriffon/Skyscale: Personal Charr Copter (Reduced in size and complexity to not only fit the mechanics but also typical mount sizes)

Asura:Raptor: GolemSkipper: GolemSkimmer: GolemJackal: GolemBeetle: GolemGriffon: GolemSkyscale: Golem

I understand the reasoning for not having selective skins for the races or professions. On the dev's side it means more work for selective people; on the player's side "what if I'm playing a Human Renegade (raised by Charr) and want to use the Charr mount skin."

In order to properly role-play your character, a bit more customization should be looked into.

Why wouldn't Asura, who have a completely different history than the Sylvari, not have a different looking mount?

@Game of Bones.8975 said:Why wouldn't Asura, who have a completely different history than the Sylvari, not have a different looking mount?Because mounts don't stem from a race's history? They only appeared in PoF where they weren't race-specific? Just guessing.

@"Tails.9372" said:The charr would get one of their tanks and the asura would get something like this:

Thats just the coffee machine.

Asura:Raptor: GolemSkipper: GolemSkimmer: GolemJackal: GolemBeetle: GolemGriffon: GolemSkyscale: Golem

At this point, I'd like to see another Asuran civilisation drastically different than what we have right now living... somewhere. A bit like they did with the Olmakhan for the Charr. Right now, when we think about Asuras in general, we always think about either golems, experiments or inquest.

About the topic;I really like the idea of race thematic mounts to be added, however like some have said, for them to be race locked is pretty unlikely and I agree with that too.

I want an oversized Fern Hound for my Sylvari Jackel!!!

I like the idea of racial inspired mount skins, but actually locking them to one race would be foolish

Just request racial-themed Mount Skins that are available to every race.