Skyscale is a pleasure to fly!
Mahdra.2863
Member ✭
Hey devs!
I just wanted to let you know you did a great job on the mounts and the new one is no different! After getting the hang of it (and unlocking its masteries) I'm having a ball!
I just returned from another harvesting round and it's a great companion on those: While you can't necessarily fly far with it, it's easier to cover obstacles with the skyscale than it is with the raptor. The special ability speed boost helps in a bit of extra horizontal speed. I also noticed that while it can't fly FAR like the griffon, when you're at ground level, the Skyscale can stay aloft a WHOLE lot longer than the griffon. This combined with it's precision flying makes it great for 'short ranged' trips with obstacles on the way. Also, if ground based anyway, a simple touch down (or rather, 'touch and go') is all you need to extend the trip.
It's really a pleasure to fly. Thanks for making this awesome addition - and I think it really does rival the Griffin when it comes to "elite mount". It was worth all the time and effort to get it!
Keep up the good work!
Comments
If the Skyscale can regen stamina while grabbing on a ledge, sure it's better than the Griffin.
If the Skyscale can crawl up the ledge to gain more height, then sure it's better than the Grifffin.
Unfortunately, it can do neither.
Skyscale is a helicopter compared to a jet plane, the Griffin.
In the beginning...there was Tarnished Coast...
Skyscale can regen stamina by moving or idling around in the sky. It doesn't need to regen stamina on a ledge.
Skyscale can use wall launch to regain flight juice so it can gain more height.
6x warrior/5xRanger/6x Revenant/6x Mesmer/5x Guardian/6x Thief/5x Engineer/5x Necromancer/5x Elementalist
Yes Skyscale is amazing. All these little moments:
Soaring up from the ground and flying low over terrain with dust kicking off...
The feeling of her weight when huge wings push air down and raise dust and water...
The moment when she slows down with wings spread after doing evasion roll... it feels like spaceship jumping out of hyperspace
Gathering volatile magic circles while doing sideways dance...
All those little griffons down below jumping and gliding 10 meters until back on ground while you go higher and higher in full HoT HP train zerg...
Its like swimming in the air at Skimmer speed! The only problem is the Jackal Mastery doesn't work and let you evade while draining the ascension bar.
I've tested that it also doesn't work while draining endurance while wall clinging.
Regardless, I almost entirely stopped using Springer.
It became my default mount the moment i had it unlocked, and doing the casino blitz with it is a charm. I love all the mounts, they all have their own usage, but the skyscale is just awsome.
In honestly doesn't need those abilities..
Skyscale is already capable of breaking out of just about every map the way it is now which really makes me beg the question why they just don't give it free flying.
It can already do all the things it's lack of free flying was meant to avoid so yeah.. kinda pointless restrictions that don't work lol
While it may seem that way, I'd argue that you still need to interact with each map in order to gain such heights, similar to the griffon. Players fear the free flight would negate any need to interact with the maps which can lead to many players just flying by alot of content.
That being said, I personally don't think free flight would be that big of a map killer, but I do think the extra amount of thought you have to put into flying ATM makes it more fun than just pressing space bar and forward like in many other games.
I took a character round a city-map completion in the Grove on it yesterday. Oh, man, that was easy. Yes, I know that map-completing the Grove isn't exactly hard, but the speed at which the Dragocopter can do it is amazing. The only thing to watch out for is that the map layers extend downwards into the layer that's apparently below, and that can make tracking not-yet-seen PoIs in them a bit hard when you're flying.
That's it's strength. If all you want is to go from A->B in a straight line, you're better off on the Griffon, Beetle or Raptor. But if you need to explore, or land or specific spots, the Skyscale is way better equipped.
I confess, at the start I thought this mount wouldn't be worth the work to get it. While I still think the collection was kitten (a topic for different thread), I am so very glad I got it.
Been doing map completion in Verdant Brink on the Skyscale. I can go from bottom level to the canopy with just waypoints and maxed mastery Skyscale. It does take some skill knowing how far you can travel ascend/descend with the 2 little bumps of extra energy. I agree it was worth the grind to acquire.
Used it in the Silverwastes labyrinth yesterday--so satisfying to hover over the heads of the TRON-wolves and be able to look around for loot instead of just blindly running. (Still died a couple of times.)
The Skyscale also eliminates my recurrent PoF peeve, that you can't ever stop and check the map because something always jumps out to try and kill you. Now I can read the map at my leisure while the sand eels throw tantrums below.
Flying the Skybrick is like driving a car that is missing a wheel.
All the other mounts do the job better and faster.
It excels in situations where you need to move both horizontally and vertically. It’s also great for walls that you want to scale where there isn’t a ledge to start from when you glide to it.
Best mount ever!!
A word of advice: those mini raptor kitten from HoT maps WILL tear you apart if you fly low enough. How low you ask? Higher than you would think. Apparently those suckers jump up to 6 meters high.
Be careful out there. They are coming.
Yeah that's the argument I see mostly against it..
Although in all honesty you can already do that with most of the mounts anyway, skipping content you don't want to bother with is like a default function of mounts in Gw2 lol
Whether you're zoming past on a beetle or soaring past on the griffon it really doesnt matter, the result is the same.
Free flying on the Skyscale would change absolutely nothing except making the mount more convinient to use.
It'll always be the slowest way to cross a map though, but it would also be the most relaxing and enjoyable.
I dunno I find that Mounts in Gw2 take very little of my concentration to use, exception to the Beetle which is the only one I feel needs attention to use properly.
Griffon can require attention and skill if you're trying to fly it though the terrain avoiding things like a madman which is a lot of fun ^^ but usually when above it and nothing will get in the way it takes no effort to fly
I've been pretty good with the Raptor for a long time and have gotten a good sense of jump timing and distance control, often finding myself landing akward jumps onto very small platforms or tree branches and jumping again which is fun.
That translates over to the Skyscale pretty well too as many have pointed out how quickly they can blitz through the Casino Blitz event with them and i've seen a lot of people (myself included) collecting the Sulfer in Junundu rising with them.
I can get down and grab a node then get back up very quickly with the dash rolls which is significantly faster than using the Skimmer which is limited by the terrain design.
You can dash from a jump as well which can also be used to decend into the sulfer pit faster than decending while flying as you have a faster fall speed than decending speed, so that makes the Skyscale pretty nimble.
Jackal mastery works while spending endurance on the other mounts - while
Based on that, I'd expect the Skyscale to evade while
I agree! I love the skyscale.
It really isn't.
When it first came out, you could go up and down and pretty much permanently fly. Now, if you don't have volatile, you're gonna get back on the ground. I don't know if they made borrowed ones better or they changed them with patch after.
Also, you can't go up high using walls because your endurance bar gets locked by red bar and it won't recharge fully. So springer is much better and faster.
Mike O'Transactions
Congrats on unlocking yours! I'm still working on map currency (please tell me there are no more surprise collections after this lol) I can't wait!
The beatings will continue until moral improves!!
You could never permanently fly (only permanently hover up to the canopy height). It hasn’t been changed since it was added to the game.
You’ll go back to whatever the canopy height happens to be and then continue to glide downward as you move. If you glide down at an angle, you’ll recover some of the flight meter.
You can climb up further than the springer and don’t require as many ledges. You can use the bond of faith ability to give you even more of a boost.
The skyscale is best at times where you need to do both horizontal and vertical movement. It’s better than springer when the ledges are beyond the springer’s jump reach which the skyscale is able to reach.
What? Sckyscale goes where Springer does (doesn't) and beyond.
Learn to manage flight juice bar.
The title is very misleading. Everyone knows there is no real flying mount in this game. The closest to flying in this game is without a doubt, riding the Griffon. So, OP can you please change the title to :
" Skyscale is a pleasure to hover ! "
The camera angle matters. If you have it centered you won't lose much. If you look slightly up or down you lose a lot more juice.
I rather choose death.
No it’s not. It’s clunky and needs a lot of work.
I second that. While I do use it a lot under certain circumstances (like map completion), I don't experience much joy in doing so due to its clunkiness.
♀ Gallery: Guild Wars 1 Memories
No more LW episodes, only Expansions and Side Stories, please!
More like falling with style!
Someone properly renamed the mount to "Skybrick." Fits the profile.
♀ Gallery: Guild Wars 1 Memories
No more LW episodes, only Expansions and Side Stories, please!
Wouldn’t a brick descend faster? It’s more like a Skyleaf.
I agree with the OP, the skyscale is an absolute blast to ride around on, i'm really happy about it. my favourite mount hands down. The best exploration pal there is and perfect for my style of gameplay. I can basically get to anywhere I want in as straight of a line as i can make it. it's been so much fun and i've enjoyed it so much.
Whataboutism is disingenuous at best. If you join a debate and provide little to no proof when the other side provides lots of evidence, you can't then declare yourself the winner of that debate.
It certainly fits the bill. My issues with it is that we could have a wyvern instead with a unique body shape, but they choose to re-use the griffon's rig again, and also that the skyscale seems to render the raptor and the springer obsoletes. Sure they can do their things faster, but when the skyscale is so much more precise and can go further and higher, is it really enough?
Let me know when your other mounts get you to the top of mordremoth's perch in Dragon Stand.
I must be riding a different skyscale. Mine feels horrible.
Only two issues with it. The cling is extremely oversensitive. And the air rescue needs work. If you are too high, you plummet with red bar. Elsewise its a joy to use.
Firstly, I would have to look really really hard to see the griffon 'rig'. Flying the Skyscale looks and feels different than the Griffon, so why does it matter? The Skyscale skin is similar to a wyvern, and who is to say they won't release a wyvern skin for thousands of gems?
Secondly, the Raptor will never be obsolete, as it is both a fast mount, and one that can be used offensively to tag / pull enemies together. The Springer though...I'm still practicing the wall cling / jump, but I haven't used my Springer for a week, outside of busting the defiance bar on the Choya Pinata. I don't know if the Springer becomes obsolete here or not, but time will tell.
That's how I felt with the rented ones. Since I have my own I rarely ever stick on something and if I do I feel like I deserve it for being lazy and flying closely above the ground, sticking to some dead tree lol
I rather choose death.
Well ive mostly observed it in tangled depths, were the skyscale will cling onto fronds hanging down in a tunnel.
Thank god it isn't "better than the griffon" - I would prefer no new mounts at all if it meant ruining the previous ones. This is exactly what makes the mount system in GW2 better than in other MMOs - all of them are useful, one more than the others in a specific situation. Devs went about the Skyscale's purpose more than once already, and people still whining about how it is "slower than griffon" and "it doesn't really fly". IT WAS NOT DESIGNED FOR THAT. THANK YOU ANet for not killing my griffon! "Real flying" around all the time would become boring in no time, btw.
If there's ONE thing I would change, though, it would be the wall grabbing thing. It would give a much better sense of control if it wasn't attached to the "forward" (W) key. Sometimes I just want to be close to the wall (probably to ensure I will fall on a narrow platform below when the flying juice runs out) without grabbing it. It would be great if we had a dedicated grab key IMO.
agreed, first time using in air mounting after using a leyline during meta event in dragonfall, just to drop right back to the ground was disappointing to say the least
Getting the saddle parts is straight forward, just walk up to the vendors and buy them. They don't even go into your inventory so you can'd lose them by mistake. Then you have to hunt down Gorrik in yet a new location because he's a complete kitten. After that you get to go to 28 different locations to 'learn' to fly your skyscale. Don't worry, they are all like 10 seconds and done. I kept waiting for them to get more difficult. They don't.
Those are the two issues that truly need an overhaul, and soon. Everything else (ascending/descending speed and range) would just be a nice bonus.
♀ Gallery: Guild Wars 1 Memories
No more LW episodes, only Expansions and Side Stories, please!
I hate skyscale and think its the worst mount released so far. Super clunky and horrible compared to other mounts.
Just curiousm..have you unlocked all masteries for it?
I've already said that it doesn't evade while wall clinging and consuming endurance to refill the meter.
I mostly enjoy using it. However, there is one nagging little thing: The boo-BEEP sound when you take off. It makes me think I've run through an Engineer medipack. It has no discernible relation to the skyscale, no reason for it to happen, so why the heck is it there? The high pitch just sets my teeth on edge.
@Stephane Lo Presti.7258 Do you know if that's an intentional sound effect? Any chance it could be removed? It just doesn't fit.
I have no idea what sound effect you're talking about, as i've never heard of it. I've heard A sound which sounds like the dragon just making a noise but it isn't high pitched or any sort of "boo beep" sound. Have you tried to reinstall?
Skyscale is a helicopter.
Griffon is a rocket powered hang glider, not a true get with true flight.
Both are good, both have their own purposes and their own restrictions.
Best Dressed Memser NA.
The Skyscale is a helicopter in the same sense that a child's tricycle is a 1969 Dodge Charger.
The skyscale is hilariously game breaking.
For starters with bond of vigor and walls you can literally break maps entirely. No other mount is going to let you do ridiculous nonsense like get on top of the durmand priory or Mordremoth's Tree or on top of Tangled Depths where you aren't supposed to be.
In terms of its sheer ability to overcome terrain its hands down the best mount. Its not even close.
Aside from hard mechanical barriers such as Jackle sand portals and Roller Beetle walls it can go anywhere any other mount can. Heck it can go to places any other combination of mount skills can't.
Other mounts still have niches. Jackle and Raptor will go faster if you have no concern about terrain obstacles like getting over walls or even past cliffs too wide for them to leap. Roller Beetle's speed is unmatched on long rided with lots of flat terrain. When you reach a spot on the map thats significantly higher than anywhere else the griffons speed is unmatched. Thats fine. I dont want any mount to just make all the other mounts irrelevant.
But when it comes to just moving through the world and not letting the terrain like chasms, mountains, walls, water, slow you down skyscale just dunks on everything.
But the way tons of people us griffon all the time when they arent going to get a high point to use its speed dive just because of how handy its ability to get a wingflap over terrain is just super convenient, the skyscale is a better and faster version of that. And it breaks map geometry in never before seen ways to boot.
Best Dressed Memser NA.
The biggest problem I have always had with the griffon is when you hit those invisible walls that are around the map. You'll bump against it and then start to plummet to the ground. With the Skyscale, you'll hit the wall and start hovering...
When doing the casino coin event the skyscale is perfect for it. Also for HoT maps the skyscale shines compared to anything else.