Branded Mount Skin

[Randulf.7614]

Anet have long since broken their own lore with skins and things. This is slightly disappointing, but not really surprising. People are dressed as White Mantle and Balthazar, wearing branded wings, flying on meteors, and copying Abaddon's fashion sense.

At the end of the day it funds the game and people will buy them which is the main thing, but I'd have preferred to have seen some integrity shown towards their own lore - sadly that ship sailed away years ago.

[Danikat.8537]

@Zaklex.6308 said:So a lot of you are saying the Halloween and Wintersday Mount skins are lore friendly? Look at it this way, it's an item your mount WEARS, a skin over it's skin in essence, like humans wearing clothing and Sylvari wearing plant based outerwear.

A common solution to justify the (extremely) lore unfriendly mounts in Elder Scrolls Online is to say it's a normal mount with an illusion spell applied to it. I mean people in real life will dress up their horses, or even dye/paint them. I have absolutely no doubt that if it was possible some people would make it look like their horse was made of ice or fire or space or crystal. In worlds where magic is not just possible but common place that actually is an option and I'd actually be surprised if no one used it. The same logic could easily work in this game too.

I have to admit I don't understand why all the other mounts have been fine but these ones are not. I don't think a branded jackal is any less believable than a lava jackal. Or one made of cursed Tormented sand purified by djinn for that matter.

But if it bothers you there's plenty of possible explanations for how it's possible. We haven't been given an official one and probably never will, but you can take your pick from the options available.

[Cragga the Eighty Third.60]

@Danikat.8537 said:But if it bothers you there's plenty of possible explanations for how it's possible. We haven't been given an official one and probably never will, but you can take your pick from the options available.

My favorite excuse is that I'm the astounding Commander, the slayer of Mordremoth and Zhaitan, and I can do a lot of things that aren't possible for normal people. ^^ Yo! Branded! Sit! Stay!

[Sylvari.2953]

Edit: They are nice but the Branded Jackal is missing animations, please fix it, Anet!

[Ashen.2907]

@"Cragga the Eighty Third.6015" said:

@Danikat.8537 said:But if it bothers you there's plenty of possible explanations for how it's possible. We haven't been given an official one and probably never will, but you can take your pick from the options available.

My favorite excuse is that I'm the astounding Commander, the slayer of Mordremoth and Zhaitan, and I can do a lot of things that aren't possible for normal people. ^^ Yo! Branded! Sit! Stay!

I like this.

[TheQuickFox.3826]

Nice, nice!Finally a fairly priced (set of) mount skins that fit my taste and do not involve loot box gambling. I can recommend them without hesitation.

<3

[StinVec.3621]

@Danikat.8537 said:Well I'm very happy with them - they're exactly the kind of thing I've been wanting from mount skins since the beginning. Specifically I wanted a set of dyable mounts that aren't obviously tied to a festival/season, aren't overly expensive and aren't obtained by RNG. And this is it....

• Skins released as a set for each mount type
• Skin set is non-festival themed
• Skins are not acquired via RNG
• Appropriate price per skin

Even if someone only had an interest in a single skin from the set, 1,600 for that one skin (and still having the option to use the other 4 if they wanted) is still cheaper than the 2,000 they sell the singular skins for.

I hope they continue to offer skins in this fashion.

[Fenom.9457]

@Hannelore.8153 said:

@"Cragga the Eighty Third.6015" said:

@chronometria.3708 said:I`m not happy with them, but not due to looks. I just don't feel its right that we are riding branded. It isn't in any way safe or sensible, or even, surely possible. There has to be some sort of line where the story should affect the in game items and I feel this crosses them pretty severely.

Remember the little girl saying she wanted to tame a pretty crystal griffon, and the ogre telling her branded can't be tamed, and the little girl saying maybe they weren't doing it right? Guess the kid was right.

This is actually very lore breaking. There's an entire Ascalon story arc (in the Vigil, I beleve?) where the Ogres try to tame the Branded and it turns out very badly, the little conversation in Crystal Oasis was a follow-up to that story arc, after they had learned their lesson.

But now we have people running around on Branded mounts.. games always become like this, $$$ over immersion.

I think the real lore reasoning, is, as usual, the BLTC made it. They used magic to transform regular mounts into branded-esque creatures, maybe they even used draconic magic - but they aren't really branded.

[Kain Francois.4328]

@"chronometria.3708" said:I`m not happy with them, but not due to looks. I just don't feel its right that we are riding branded. It isn't in any way safe or sensible, or even, surely possible.

Dragon Minions can be purified. The Alter of Glint cleansed a Risen Chicken, for example. Mawdrey was also able to be purified. The Sylvari themselves are also dragon minions. Yet now that Mordremoth is dead, it seems okay to be near many of them again. Also, don't forget about Glint and her offspring!!!

Especially for Branded, there is a precedent in lore for them being restored.

The problem with Dragon Minions isn't so much the corruption itself, but rather the mental obsession with the elder dragon. Dragon minions have been shown time and time again to be sentient, have hobbies, and even demonstrate a sense of humor in the personal story mission "Estate of Decay".

When a Dragon Minion is freed from the mental influence of a dragon, they become just like Sylvari and Glint.

Aurene is still a dragon minion. She's still technically a branded. But she doesn't serve Kralkatorrik.

[ReaverKane.7598]

@jediwolf.8724 said:Thanks for the new skins. For the first time in a while I instantly bought something on the gem store.4 Dye channels and 1600 for the set. Nice

Yeah! Finally some good options at a reasonable price!!

[Aurelius.6829]

@Danikat.8537 said:

@Kako.1930 said:This has been on my wish list since the first mount skins were introduced. It might not make sense with the lore but neither does the branded wing glider or branded minis. I don't consider them actual branded though, it's just a skin. Just like if I put the mordrem outfit on my asura, it doesn't turn her into an actual mordrem.

I think in lore all minis are basically tiny golems or animated sculptures, not actual miniatures creatures or people. So they can look like whatever their creators want them to look like.

there's a world event in Caledon Forest where it is revealed that minis is just shape shifting ooze.

[Danikat.8537]

@"Cragga the Eighty Third.6015" said:

@Danikat.8537 said:But if it bothers you there's plenty of possible explanations for how it's possible. We haven't been given an official one and probably never will, but you can take your pick from the options available.

My favorite excuse is that I'm the astounding Commander, the slayer of Mordremoth and Zhaitan, and I can do a lot of things that aren't possible for normal people. ^^ Yo! Branded! Sit! Stay!

Ah but if that worked you'd have a lifetime job with the Sentinels walking up and down the Brand saying "Stay! Staaayy....good branded! Stay!"

@StinVec.3621 said:

@Danikat.8537 said:Well I'm very happy with them - they're exactly the kind of thing I've been wanting from mount skins since the beginning. Specifically I wanted a set of dyable mounts that aren't obviously tied to a festival/season, aren't overly expensive and aren't obtained by RNG. And this is it....

• Skins released as a set for each mount type
• Skin set is non-festival themed
• Skins are not acquired via RNG
• Appropriate price per skin

Even if someone only had an interest in a single skin from the set, 1,600 for that one skin (and still having the option to use the other 4 if they wanted) is still cheaper than the 2,000 they sell the singular skins for.

I hope they continue to offer skins in this fashion.

Me too.

This is what I was expecting them to do all along. The adoption licences were an especially nasty shock for me because I'd guessed they would release new mount skins that day so I came home really excited for the first non-holiday themed pack, fully expecting to buy it and instead found an RNG box system and an announcement that made it sound like that's what we'd be getting from then on.

Fortunately if there's one thing Anet is consistent about it's changing their mind and I think we made it clear that a significant number of players were unhappy with that system. I guess it took them a while to come up with new designs that aren't too tied to a festival after putting 30 of them into the adoption licences. I feel like I saw more branded mounts yesterday evening than I ever did for the others - with the 2K mounts I had to spend a lot of time waiting around and map hopping in LA to spot one, but last night there were often 3-5 people on branded mounts together. So hopefully that will encourage Anet to stick with this model in future.

[Feanor.2358]

@chronometria.3708 said:I`m not happy with them, but not due to looks. I just don't feel its right that we are riding branded. It isn't in any way safe or sensible, or even, surely possible.

Oh, it is surely possible. Ever since Svanir embraced the gifts of Drakkar norns have been seeking the power of Jormag. What's to stop us from doing something similar with Kralkatorrik? His crystalline/lightning theme is a lot cooler. And here's a little twist to the story - we can't kill Kralkatorrik. Maybe trying to befriend him is worth a shot.

P.S. Personally I've been flying around on dark purple, lightning-infused wings for months. Should I put a tinfoil hat on?

[GrnShttrdLyte.9716]

I am okay with them offering 3 different price points for mounts. One that has all mounts, and is themed (I like the holiday skins, but Branded bring able to be used whenever was a big plus for me, like several others here), one that is RNG, and the last being the occasional single, flashy skin. Plenty of options, for different people's tastes and budgets.

[Bloodstealer.5978]

Have to agree, the new mounts pack is good.. then again I think all the mount packs I feel are better than most of the individual skins.. but it all comes down to personal preferences at the end of the day.

[Fantasy.5321]

Amazing mount skins! The way dyes work on them is simply mindblowing, it's like a beautiful dream, I can't stop staring! :D (Note: I use Reshade for extra saturation).

Thank you so much, Anet! :) Awesome skins and great price!

[Pifil.5193]

@Fantasy.5321 said:Amazing mount skins! The way dyes work on them is simply mindblowing, it's like a beautiful dream, I can't stop staring! :D (Note: I use Reshade for extra saturation).

Thank you so much, Anet! :) Awesome skins and great price!

My eyes! My beautiful, useless eyes! ;)

[Cragga the Eighty Third.60]

@Bloodstealer.5978 said:Have to agree, the new mounts pack is good.. then again I think all the mount packs I feel are better than most of the individual skins.. but it all comes down to personal preferences at the end of the day.

I bought the wildhorn springer and the lion griffon, and while I am happy with the models, there doesn't seem to have been much thought given to customizing the dye patterns, and it's kind of challenging to find a dye set that really looks good on them. (Especially when you have the red-outline syndrome going on.) With these branded skins, randomly experimenting with dyes comes up with tons of amazing looks. I have to say, awesome job, and good value.

[Brother.1504]

Seems to be consensus on the 2000, 1600 gems on sale for a set of mounts price point. Take note Anet.

[Zaxares.5419]

@"Brother.1504" said:Seems to be consensus on the 2000, 1600 gems on sale for a set of mounts price point. Take note Anet.

Indeed. I always felt that mount skins should cost about the same as glider skins (possibly a bit more, since they ARE more noticeable than gliders). 2000 gems for a single mount skin is just exorbitant, and the general infrequency of seeing any of the "prestige" skins makes me doubt how successful they are. Sure, they are rare sights so they serve their purpose as prestige items, but is the reduced amount of sales really enough to make up for the high price point?

[Biff.5312]

@"chronometria.3708" said:I`m not happy with them, but not due to looks. I just don't feel its right that we are riding branded. It isn't in any way safe or sensible, or even, surely possible. There has to be some sort of line where the story should affect the in game items and I feel this crosses them pretty severely. Just being close to a branded creature for that long should make everyone in the vicinity sick - they are like a walking mass of radioactive crystal that most folk would smash to bits as soon as they saw it.

At least we killed Balthazar before we "salvaged" his mechanical minions - same with all the other villains in the game when we start getting their armour and kit (eg scarlet)....but we now seem to be in the situation where we are looting our foe before having even overcome them and that sets a new precedent of immersion disregard that leaves me with an uncomfortable feeling I haven't had in my years of enjoying Tyria and its battles.

I was pretty surprised as well. I think they look okay, but i would never use these skins because it makes no sense to me.

[spooky.4095]

They're mount "skins", maybe they just used illusion magic to look like that permanently... maybe they were found like that off of someone who was spying on the Branded (don't hate me if that's impossible idk really but) I think for the lore fanatics then that's what you should believe.

[Fallesafe.5932]

Oh noes!!! These branded mounts conflict with the terrible story I paid no attention to. Remove them immediately Anet!!!

[sorudo.9054]

i love it, my protoss chatacter now has mounts fashioned with pylon gems and the best thing is, i don't need more pylons for them to work ^_^

[Esterie.7409]

These are the mount skins I was waiting for since mounts were added to the game. Not too flashy, minor particle effects, four dye channels so they're highly customizable, and they're not so obviously tied to a holiday like the spooky and cozy packs were. A++