Are all the other mounts useless once you get flying mount?

[Kiki.9450]

Not even a little! I typically use:

-the jackal for ground travel, the beetle for long stretches

-the Skyscale for uneven terrain (New Kaineng comes to mind) or passing through areas with a lot of enemies safely

-the griffin for long stretches in the air

-the skimmer for short distances over water or hazards

-the skiff for long stretches over water or if I need a platform to mount another mount to climb a cliff for example

Raptor and springer are mostly for initiating combat for me. I haven't used the siege turtle outside of relevant events in Cantha. Hope to see more use for it in the future!

I love the mounts so much in GW2. They really let you explore how you want to get around. 

[knives.6345]

While I primarily use Skyscale, I still use Roller Beetle and Raptor if I can go from point A to point B on a flat surface.

I use Ninetails, I mean Jackal because good skin.

Ofcourse Skimmer in water aka Leviathan.

Warclaw on WvW, as if I have other choices.

Then Turtle on... hmm.. no, no Turtle.

[Lucius.2140]

I think the best question is how conditional they become once you have flying mounts?

 

[Qys.5937]

Th loaner skyscale for SoTO is such a PITA to use for me I'll likely never bother unlocking one and just stick to my trusty ground mounts. I'm sure it's better and stuff once you unlock traits but heck if I really want to spend the time and resources on something that just didn't grab me. Oh yay, I can jump flap a few times glide down and crash into a wall what fun. 

[Justine.6351]

Huge raptor fan.

[Marikus.1875]

11 hours ago, TheQuickFox.3826 said:

• Turtle is tanky
• Turtle is offensive
• Turtle can take two players
• Turtle can quickly destroy CC bars

5. Turtle smash!

[kharmin.7683]

13 hours ago, Qys.5937 said:

Th loaner skyscale for SoTO is such a PITA to use for me I'll likely never bother unlocking one and just stick to my trusty ground mounts. I'm sure it's better and stuff once you unlock traits but heck if I really want to spend the time and resources on something that just didn't grab me. Oh yay, I can jump flap a few times glide down and crash into a wall what fun. 

I thought the same thing back during the initial skyscale release.  I finally took the time/effort to slowly work towards it -- I fortunately had stacks of most of the required materials. Still, tit took me months of casual playing to obtain mine.  It definitely has a learning curve to it and when tricked out with full masteries is much better than the loaner.  I would recommend still going for it, just don't make it your priority if the journey isn't entertaining for you.

[Pomdepin.7068]

Skyscale made all the other mounts kind of obsolete, but not completely useless excepted for the springer.

- Raptor is faster on flat terrain.

- Springer is totally useless now.

- Skimmer is the only submarine mount and faster on water.

- Jackal has always been kind of useless.

- Griffin is faster when up high.

- Rollerbeatle is faster on proper terrain.

- Turtle is for the lol and multiplayer.

- Warclaw is for WvW.

As you see, most other mounts only bring a speed bonus under specific conditions, but no added functionality. Skyscale is by far the most versatile.

[kharmin.7683]

All those saying that the jackal is useless haven't really given it a chance, IMO.  For me, it is easier to control and works better over varied terrains whereas the raptor doesn't seem to manage inclines as well.  I find the jackal easier to turn mid-dash than the raptor which makes it more maneuverable for me.  That's just my experience. 

[Teknomancer.4895]

3 minutes ago, kharmin.7683 said:

All those saying that the jackal is useless haven't really given it a chance, IMO.  For me, it is easier to control and works better over varied terrains whereas the raptor doesn't seem to manage inclines as well.  I find the jackal easier to turn mid-dash than the raptor which makes it more maneuverable for me.  That's just my experience. 

The raptor is good for bursty speed that doesn't need a lot of tight maneuvering, where the jackal is better for more restricted areas and of course the portal-jumping. I still tend to favor the raptor for land use just because the jackal seems to run out of gas faster than the raptor does. They're both at full-mastery so it might just be a perception, but it feels like I have access to the raptor's movement skill more frequently and it goes farther than the jackal's. I've never actually measured time/distance to compare them, though.

[Tukaram.8256]

14 hours ago, Qys.5937 said:

Th loaner skyscale for SoTO is such a PITA to use for me I'll likely never bother unlocking one and just stick to my trusty ground mounts. I'm sure it's better and stuff once you unlock traits but heck if I really want to spend the time and resources on something that just didn't grab me. Oh yay, I can jump flap a few times glide down and crash into a wall what fun. 

The loaner skyscale is the first one I used. I found it quite easy to control and extremely useful, after a very short learning curve. I unlocked the full use skyscale, and it is exactly the same... but now I can dye it. 😎

[ShadowKatt.6740]

Wow, the amount of cope in this threat is....dangerously high. I feel like I need HAZMAT just to read through this.

So I voted yes, and I've been vocal about this in the past. My position is that skyscales have basically ruined the game. Mounts have kinda done that as a whole but skyscales are the worst. And I've heard it all before but I read it all anew here. Yes, Raptors are more maneuverable and a little faster. Bunnies can jump higher. Skimmers can cross water. Jackals can teleport. Griffons can glide fast. Roller beetles are faster. And turtles have cannons and stompers. I've heard it all before. Now let me counter. Raptors are fast, get you through hostile mobs, and jump chasms. Skyscales fly. Springers can leap super high. Skyscales fly. Skimmers can cross water. Skyscales fly across water. Jackals can use portals. LITERALLY THE ONLY THING SKYSCALES CANNOT DO. Griffons glide fast. Skyscales can fly AND can hover in place. Turtles have cannons, well, now so do Skyscales.

Look, here's the big secret: There's nothing stopping you from using your favorite mount. Mine happens to be the Raptor because I have the Lightbearer skin and he is ADORABLE. That being said, I spend most of my time on a skyscale and why? Because the skyscale literally does everything. It goes forward. It goes backwards. Left, right, up, down AND it's the only mount that you can mount up on in combat (Combat Mounting doesn't work with any other mount.Oversight? Probably not). If we wanted to make some analogies, the Raptor is your Honda Accord. Good for most things. Springer....is an elevator. That one's hard, best I got. The skimmer is a boat, or a submarine if you got that mastery. The Jackal, despite the special teleport, isn't much different than the raptor. Roller beetle is a Formula 1 racecar, and the griffon is a glider. The skyscale is a helicopter. It goes everywhere. Doesn't need a landing strip. It can be used for assault or rescue, for transportation or just sightseeing. And if you had a helicopter (and could afford to use it) why would you use anything else? That's the position the skyscale is at right now. We can go back and forth over what people like to use but if you ask anyone the reason why you use it 90% of the time is going to be is "Because I want to". And there's nothing wrong with you. You do you. But that's not an arguement. In fact if it was an arguement it would be an arguement FOR skyscales because you're acknowledging that there's no actual benefit to you using another mount and in fact you're accepting the limitations of it for your own personal preference. There is NO REASON to use any other mount once you have a skyscale and I think that's a bad thing. The other mounts should have more of a reason to be used other than personal reference. Each one was added to do a job and that job should have stayed with them.

Oh, and I forgot the warclaw. There's a reason for that.

[Eekasqueak.7850]

39 minutes ago, ShadowKatt.6740 said:

Wow, the amount of cope in this threat is....dangerously high. I feel like I need HAZMAT just to read through this.

So I voted yes, and I've been vocal about this in the past. My position is that skyscales have basically ruined the game. Mounts have kinda done that as a whole but skyscales are the worst. And I've heard it all before but I read it all anew here. Yes, Raptors are more maneuverable and a little faster. Bunnies can jump higher. Skimmers can cross water. Jackals can teleport. Griffons can glide fast. Roller beetles are faster. And turtles have cannons and stompers. I've heard it all before. Now let me counter. Raptors are fast, get you through hostile mobs, and jump chasms. Skyscales fly. Springers can leap super high. Skyscales fly. Skimmers can cross water. Skyscales fly across water. Jackals can use portals. LITERALLY THE ONLY THING SKYSCALES CANNOT DO. Griffons glide fast. Skyscales can fly AND can hover in place. Turtles have cannons, well, now so do Skyscales.

Look, here's the big secret: There's nothing stopping you from using your favorite mount. Mine happens to be the Raptor because I have the Lightbearer skin and he is ADORABLE. That being said, I spend most of my time on a skyscale and why? Because the skyscale literally does everything. It goes forward. It goes backwards. Left, right, up, down AND it's the only mount that you can mount up on in combat (Combat Mounting doesn't work with any other mount.Oversight? Probably not). If we wanted to make some analogies, the Raptor is your Honda Accord. Good for most things. Springer....is an elevator. That one's hard, best I got. The skimmer is a boat, or a submarine if you got that mastery. The Jackal, despite the special teleport, isn't much different than the raptor. Roller beetle is a Formula 1 racecar, and the griffon is a glider. The skyscale is a helicopter. It goes everywhere. Doesn't need a landing strip. It can be used for assault or rescue, for transportation or just sightseeing. And if you had a helicopter (and could afford to use it) why would you use anything else? That's the position the skyscale is at right now. We can go back and forth over what people like to use but if you ask anyone the reason why you use it 90% of the time is going to be is "Because I want to". And there's nothing wrong with you. You do you. But that's not an arguement. In fact if it was an arguement it would be an arguement FOR skyscales because you're acknowledging that there's no actual benefit to you using another mount and in fact you're accepting the limitations of it for your own personal preference. There is NO REASON to use any other mount once you have a skyscale and I think that's a bad thing. The other mounts should have more of a reason to be used other than personal reference. Each one was added to do a job and that job should have stayed with them.

Oh, and I forgot the warclaw. There's a reason for that.

Skyscale is still slower for most stuff. Sure it's versatile but on flatter maps it usually isn't worth using over other options.  

[ShadowKatt.6740]

3 hours ago, Eekasqueak.7850 said:

Sure it's versatile but on flatter maps it usually isn't worth using over other options.  

So, core maps then. I know, I know there are some other maps that are flatter than others and other mounts have their uses there but that's what I'm talking about. You're literally specifying an instance where it might be better to use a different mount than a skyscale. But the skyscale does it just as well, that is, gets you from point A to point B largely unmolested, and it's still capable of doing the rest. Maybe the raptor is faster, until you get to the river it can't leap. Maybe the jackal is faster, until you come across a chest-high wall it can't jump. Even the flattest maps, and that does include the core maps, have roadblocks that will stop the other mounts and force you into choosing something else. And I'm actually here saying that's a GOOD thing! I wish you were forced into switching your mounts based on the terrain instead of having a skyscale that literally just DOES everything. But it is here and it does do everything and so even though, from a technical standpoint, you are right when you take it from a broader, more rounded and practical standpoint I'm sorry your arguement just does not hold water.

3 hours ago, Eekasqueak.7850 said:

Skyscale is still slower for most stuff.

So it's an SUV to the other mounts various coupes, sedans, motorcycles and whatnot. That's why SUVs are usually the most popular option in vehicles. Might not go as fast, might not be as sexy, might be a little more expensive, but if you need one car to do it all, there you go.

[Stx.4857]

No.  
 

The other mounts still have uses that the flying mounts can’t do.  Jackals have sand portals in a lot of zones that teleport you to secret areas or let you take shortcuts, and jackals also give you a big barrier when dismounting which is nice for initiating a dangerous pull.  Roller beetle is much faster than the Skyscale, but requires fairly flat terrain to utilize so it’s all about the location.  Springers aren’t all that necessary after getting the Skyscale, but they can still jump faster than a Skyscale can climb.  Raptors are kind of useless, but they are also the starter mount so that is what it is.  
Oh and let’s not forget about the skimmer, which not only traverses water areas faster than a Skyscale but also can be used underwater!
 

But keep in mind there are some events in many areas where you need a certain mount to do them, even the raptor.   

Edited October 25, 2023 by Stx.4857

[Teknomancer.4895]

1 hour ago, ShadowKatt.6740 said:

Maybe the jackal is faster, until you come across a chest-high wall it can't jump.

This is possibly the one thing that keeps me from using it more, because I like its skin options better than the Raptor. But the dog can't jump. 😡

1 hour ago, ShadowKatt.6740 said:

Even the flattest maps, and that does include the core maps, have roadblocks that will stop the other mounts and force you into choosing something else. And I'm actually here saying that's a GOOD thing! I wish you were forced into switching your mounts based on the terrain instead of having a skyscale that literally just DOES everything.

But that's often a personal preference thing, too. From a purely functional standpoint, no you do not need any other mount if you have the Skyscale. From an "optimization" standpoint, I find myself swapping out of it about half the time. The only one I think it truly renders obsolete is the Springer, which is sad because I really enjoyed bouncing around on the silly thing. I do have four mounts hotkeyed and flip through them pretty regularly though: Skyscale as the default for all the reasons cited in this thread, Skimmer for underwater, Griffon for A-to-B speed when I want to cross a map fast (I need lots more practice with the beetle to not wipe out lol), and the Skiff for water surface travel (it's faster and more controllable than the Skimmer plus lets you launch other mounts from the deck).

And yes I know the Skiff isn't technically a mount, but whatever.

[Inssengrimm.7924]

Is not that they are useless, but some mounts could use a few tweaks.

• Raptor just needs another long jump.
• Jackals need more content: more warps in more maps and new puzzles. 
• Springer needs to be able to move while charging, and if not possible, give it 3 diferent height jumps: low, mid and high jump in diferent inputs leaving the space bar as the charged-regulated jump.
• Skimmer could use, and i hope at some point we get, a whole sea/water focused map where most combat happens underwater or quick movement between islands is needed (also good for the Skiff).

In fact the thing is not the mounts but in general map and over world encounter design even. The game overworld gameplay is based arround speed - gotta go as fast as the meta.
We need maps designed to slow and speed up the meta groups using more diverse mounts. And since making this for all mounts in a single map is quite the challenge.

They should each patch add a map "dedicated" to a particular mount or that favors it, and you go changing the "mount focus" of each map, each patch.
 
A huge vertical map where Springer/Griffon is far convinient in the vertical than Skyscale.
A sky/valley map full of platforms where Raptor and Jackal can abuse their jump/warping.
A sea map for Skiffs and Skimmers.
A urban map for Skyscale/Griffons.
A long map with long open distances for bettle.

Mounts are a strong suit of this game, and in general this game does open world content much, much better than their instanced part.

And speaking of which: mounts could/should have a part in instanced encounter design too. 
In fact with some masteries, and considering the existence of the Turtle, i say a whole raid based on mount combat would be amazing: give mounts more damage skills that don't invole dismounting for combat but are exclusive in particular instances. 

Edited October 25, 2023 by Alexander Dragonfang.1759

[ShadowKatt.6740]

4 hours ago, Alexander Dragonfang.1759 said:

• Skimmer could use, and i hope at some point we get, a whole sea/water focused map where most combat happens underwater or quick movement between islands is needed (also good for the Skiff).

You're not getting that until they revamp underwater combat, and they're not going to revamp underwater combat, so just stay out of the water.

Ever notice how there hasn't really been an underwater mission since...uh.....even I have to think about that one.....yeah even I can't remember. Even Anet knows that underwater sucks and they just decided not to go into the water anymore.

[Holmindeboks.3490]

Jackal is also nice to avoid getting dismounted from fall damage. just before you touch the ground press its special ability so yes you know what i mean.