Mounts: Helping or hurting?

No, this isn't a rant post... this is a 'hehehe' post...

So, are mounts helping players, or hurting them? As in, do you think having a mount/mounts are helping you to get done the things you want to do, or are they hindering your efforts?

Take for example the following situation:

I'm in the middle of Wayfarer Foothills on my newest toon, leveling up still. I'm doing all the hearts and trying to clear the map before moving on. I get done with all but one heart and one POI, I open the map and see where it's at... and notice it's all the way down South where I started, but I'm again... in the middle of the map. Rather than WP to the nearest, lol, I WP to the one closest to the highest & easiest hill to climb. Why? So I can get on my griffon and attempt to fly there. In the process, I try to power dive and get some speed up, and end up spending the next 30 minutes going up... going down... going up... going down... dive bombing random mobs... and doing it all over again. My fingers got tired of flying up and down like this, and that's the only reason I finished the map when I did, those some odd 30 minutes later. Yeah... not helping lol.

Another example:

I'm in Caledon Forest, same toon, same deal with trying to clear the map and level up. I see the next place I want to go, so I get on my Raptor and start running like a B.o.o.H.... EEEERRTT breaks.... I see a vista I haven't gotten yet. So I stop, dismount, and then mount my Springer.... even though I could have easily ran around to the other side of the hill and gone up the ramp and been done with it in 10 seconds, I spend the next 5 minutes trying my hand at jumping/scaling up the side of this baby-hill, and failing miserably.

Again, not helping! :)

Anyone finding themselves doing this much? Laughing at yourself when you get done because you realized you not only probably look like an idiot trying to climb the hill on a mount, but also laughing because you know you just spent 15 minutes doing something that takes 15 seconds, because you "HAD" to do it on a mount!? :)

One thing is for sure, I wouldn't be doing it if it weren't fun! I played WoW for who knows how long, and mounts in WoW became...boring. It's one thing when you can just mount up, hold down the space bar and gain altitude straight up without any challenge... it's another when you have to actually work for that altitude and speed. I rather enjoy trying to fly across the maps, especially when I'm in a zone where I know I can easily WP to a hill top to get a good high start and get some super speed going... and then fly near the ground and going around corners, under obstacles, and face-planting into the tree I didn't notice!

:) What do you all think? How have you been spending your time with mounts?

I have a similar problem with using the springer to climb places in order to get enough jumping room to dive with my griffon.But those times when you go from one end of the map to the other in less than 30 seconds because you found the right spot make it all worth it. Plus, the griffon is fun.

I can't imagine life without mounts now. I love them!

I see the problem here right away. You have ADHD. : P

Joking aside, I don't get as distracted as you seem to. I have actually found I am more efficient now that I have mounts. I am able to get around to places much faster, and accomplish my goals that much quicker than without mounts. I love mounts. They did an amazing job of integrating them into the game.

I am not really into a PvE farm ( events, bounty, meta, etc... though sometimes i do HoT meta in order to charge Ley-Energy Matter Converter ), instead i like to explore and complete the map.I also like the story and related achievements.

At first i was really upset not about mounts, but about the low number of WP.

Using a mount allows you to move faster, indeed, but somehow using the right WP would have been easier and faster.

This was my first concern about, though i could have liked em ( this was what i thought ), spending so much time due to the low numbers of WP it will be a huge time sink.

But you know what? Because they did great lowering the experience needed for the maps and removing all the different currencies per map ( which was i presume the original plan ) i did really enjoy PoF.

And the mounts was a great surprise ( though i am still a little concerned about the griffon, cause it can avoid dangerous zones in terms of debuffs and mobs, but is freaking fun as hell ). My favourite is the Raptor, then Jackal, then griffon, then springler and at last Skrimmer ( but skrimmer is not meant to be "fun" but to have it's own unique role so it's ok ).

Lvling with mounts in old maps could be more a rush, but i do enjoy to optimize time to it would be worth it ( also you are not forced to use em ).They did great in order to mix core HoT and PoF.

Btw, i did complete the whole core with 7 charas before hot, so it's ok to use mounts if i need to go somewhere else.

Thanks ANET <3

No. I'll still climb to a Vista if I know the way up. I don't jump on one for every little thing. I don't purposely go up high to use the griffon unless I intended on practicing. In fact, I tend to just use the griffon on everyone to go from one place to the next. I'm not concerned with speed and I enjoy the short bursts of flight from jumping. I never seem to tire of watching it run.

Depends how you approach. Me I love it. Some don't.

Map completion is much faster and I love it since Im gonna complete it in diff character too.

I think mount can ruin the enjoyment of looking at the maps graphics and land etc. But that is the only thing I think is bad because when you speed through, you aren't looking at the scenery. Your just speeding to get things done.

I do think mounts are great for players who already beat story multiple times. Because the slow pace can make map completion boring. But adding mounts makes it fun. That is the only con. But it's only for those who love to look at the maps all the time. If you aren't them people you are good.

The good things about mounts.Events in tyria maps. During the dailies the events go by so fast waypointing is to slow to get there. Now added mounts you can run fast to the event without worrying about if you will make it in time.Repeating hps in POF and hot are much quicker. Getting Vista points that are high are much easier. Specially if your a beginner at jumping puzzles and finding vistas because of learning the jumping mechanics, so you will love the Springer.

So I think if you want to gravitate to taking time at the scenery just get off the mount and complete it that way because The mounts are very fast. However mounts trying to get to events in time are a must since they go by fast even without them.

If you don't care like most, you will love mounts. So I don't think they are bad. Some people hate them. Me I love them. Even if I started playing gw2 when mounts were created I would still love the exploration.

So did it ruin? No. I think it added another element in which people needed a mount. Does it have a con? Yes. But only to players who really want to just gravitate to look at exploration. Other then that I think mounts are a great thing they added to the game.

Not only were they added. The mounts were added with its own specific movement which is a fantastic thing that you don't have to select a mount. You have to have all of them. Well besides the griffon you have to have all. But maybe arenanet will implement the griffon in the game that you HAVE to have.

I find mounts useful because I reach events faster and that means I get more exp and loot. Before mounts, I saw an event nearby but it ended by the time I finally reached it... I still climb up to most Vistas, btw. I got the Griffon but haven't touched it in weeks, I don't really care about it.

As someone who found mounts to be nothing special in other MMO's, I have to say that mounts as implemented in GW2 have been a welcome surprise.

Helping. I map completed 9 times. On my 10th go and omg it's so much easier.

Speeding up completion: helping.Immersive exploring: hurting.

I tend to use or not my mounts depending on my mood and goal. If I want to get things done NOW, I use mounts for the speed boost or where their skills are needed and don't make any hassle about it. If I want to just explore, watch the art and get fun on the map, I tend to keep the mounts seated (UNLESS I'm on the desert maps. There I HAVE to use mounts or I get bored to hell in a few minutes).

I still use WP's for large map movement. As for the mounts they are useful, without them it would take painful amounts of time to get some tasks done.

Depends on the player. I'm a veteran so they help me do things I've already done a million times before but with less hassle and more efficiency. So they help me a lot.

@Anela.3867 said:I can't imagine life without mounts now. I love them!

Fractals

My spoopy raptor with icing eyes and shadow abyss everything else is adorable af and makes my bad days better. So they are definitely helping.

I love my mounts. However, I think they need to put at least 1 into the game for new players who haven't reached level 80 yet. I mean..., 80 levels is a long time to wait for a mount.

I love mounts. I think they did a wonderful job with them. Great job on the mounts ANET!

Helping.

That is all.

I hate jumping puzzles with a passion... now its just a spring and glide and its done.

It helps me, but the guy who doesnt have expansions is furious.

I was indifferent about them when they were introduced, but really enjoy traveling around on them. They save a ton of time, and I managed to clear about 65 central Tyria in a couple days (along with WPs and nearby POIs).

Helping. In every way. As I've said elsewhere, I didn't find it very immersive to run everywhere on foot. Riding is more immersive for me. I find myself not waypointing just so I can ride across the countryside.

I'm glad to hear that the majority of respondents enjoy the mounts or are indifferent to them! I was being facetious about my thinking that mounts aren't helping btw, in case anyone took my comments negatively when I said "yeah... not helping!". :) Like Kreejaffa.3682 stated, I actually do have ADHD, and moderate ADHD at that! :)

In reality though I'm not actually mounting up for every little thing, because I do get distracted easily enough as it is! I'll see something "waaaay up there that I've never seen before" and am instantly like: "~SQUIRREL!!!~" But the two examples of my having to get across the map to get my last POI or whatever, and going backwards just to use my griffon... yeah.... I admit, shamefully, those were true stories! lol

Otherwise, I tend to use the Jackal the most, I like it's animations around corners, and I like being able to instantly change direction! Of course... the Raptor's 'slide-stop' is priceless! I also find myself making a conscious effort to NOT mount if I'm doing something with newer players.... don't want to inadvertently make someone feel like there's some level of unfair competition going on. So far in the ~2 yrs I've been playing, I've not once been made to feel like a jerk, nor have I been made to feel 'left out', everyone's always been quite helpful and friendly (for the most part, otherwise others tend to just keep to themselves). (EDIT here): I'd much prefer to keep the community as friendly & helpful as possible. (lol, the way I had it worded made it sound horrible).

Helping except the fact that I don't play PoF since aggro zones are too big x)

I think the real question is, are mounts fun?

If the answer is yes, then that's all that matters. Perhaps they're not always ideal to use in all situations. Perhaps sometimes we hinder ourselves by mounting up rather than using more precise, unmounted control options. But all that is rendered moot when you consider the fact that for many people, using a mount to do stuff is simply more fun, even if sometimes a bit harder. And ultimately, games are all about having fun.

Besides, I think it's healthy when you're able to laugh at yourself from time-to-time. ;)

Honestly? Before mounts I would waypoint 2% of the time.And 1% of that is if I die in a battle that the waypoint is close, or I know no one would revive me at all.

I always considered waypointing too much (yes, I'm that cheap, because I'm that poor).So honestly, mounts makes it 10x faster for me as I would've done the same thing on foot.