25,000 griffons!

[Suzaku.9537]

@"Reincarnatie.7254" said:Ymrii the asuran reaper now cannot be found without her Clouded Corvus griffon, Cioara, who enjoys playing with her food: corpse minions, risen with the power of necromancy.

"Morphologically, griffons bear a strong resemblance to the tengu species/people. Both are avianoid, with beaks, feathers, and clawed phalanges. Their pinnae are also strikingly similar in structure and are most likely homologous features, much like their forelimbs and hind-limbs are, having a common origin to one another."

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"The Clouded Corvus, Gryps corax nebulosae (shown above), is a different species of griffon than the common greater griffon (Gryps gryps gryps) which can be found in the arid and windy landscapes of Elona. They are, however, in the same genus: Gryps, of "greater griffons". Clouded Corvus griffons are predominantly found in the misty temperate rain-forests of the Woodland Cascades, but have been spotted ranging as far as the alpine forests of the Shiverpeaks--such as the Griffon Old Growth. The Corvus griffons are the only other species of griffon that are omnivorous (the other being the Sylph Griffon) and may occasionally dig up and consume tuberous vegetables--to supplement their diet of prey animals and grains like corn and wheat--much to the distress of the unfortunate farmer. The tails of the Clouded Corvus most closely resemble the tails of tengu, rather than those of other griffons and lesser griffons (Gryps-parvus spp.) whose tails more resemble those of charr--the similarities of the latter (between the tails of griffons and charr) are more likely a result of convergent evolution and are analogous in nature to one another."

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Lydaeia, the sylvari ranger, dotes on her Spotted Sylph griffon, Iulani, as she does her other pets.

"The Spotted Slyph griffon, Gryps sylphes occulatae (pictured above), on the other hand, prefers dense humid jungle and makes its home in the heart of the Maguuma Jungle. Its spotted and counter-shaded plumage helps it to camouflage seamlessly in the dense dappled canopy of foliage. Its range overlaps slightly with that of the Clouded Corvus but are not known to interbreed with them. It is thought that their tails are partially prehensile, an adaptation which serves to improve balance in the dense treetops. Anyone who has encountered a griffon will remember seeing wing-claws protruding from the wrist section of their wings and wondered what they were for. For the Spotted Sylph, these appendages assist in clambering through branches and are especially helpful when they are young and are blown out of the nest in heavy storms. Speaking of wet weather, to protect itself from the damp conditions of the jungle, the Sylph's uropygial gland produces a near-excessive amount of preen oil which assists in reducing feather pests due to its anti-parasitic, anti-microbial, and anti-fungal properties. Like the Corvus griffon, the Spotted Sylph is omnivorous: in addition to its diet of fresh saurian meat, of course, it enjoys consuming the plentiful fruits of the jungle with other frugivorous creatures of the jungle."

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Xyrra and her Highland Harrier, which she affectionately calls "B-180", often go traveling where transportation via golem is not the most efficient.

"The Highland Harrier griffon, Gryps circus collinae (displayed above), occupies the highlands of Ascalon--namely, the Blazeridge Steppes--but range into the Elonian highlands as well as the eastern hills of the Shiverpeaks and Steamspur Mountains. It has been reported that the Harrier griffon's feathers and flesh are poisonous to consume due to the batrachotoxins present in feather and skin samples taken for analysis. Observations of its depredation upon venomous krait and poisonous hylek, among other creatures like: spiders, wasps, mosquitoes, devourers, bats, wurms, sand eels, ibogas and skale may explain how the Highlands Harrier metabolises and then incorporates the various toxins into its system. Highland Harriers typically prefer to nest in craggy outcroppings and caves below the alpine snowline on mountainsides, as opposed to treetops like the Corvus and Sylph griffons, or open-ground-nests as with the lesser griffons, and more like the cliff-side nests of common griffons and Badlands griffons."

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Miaera befriended her Badlands-Stalker, Teodha, while hunting icebrood and defending griffon nests in the highland old growth forests of the western Shiverpeaks.

"Badlands Stalkers (a.k.a. Badlands griffons), Gryps volatus taciturnae (shown above), are silent fliers, soaring across canyons on thermals rising from the baked stone of the cliffs they call home. Ranging from the deserts of Elona and the Blazeridge Mountains to the canyons of Maguuma Wastes and the Steamspurs in-between, Badlands Stalkers are among the most wide-ranging (though, not most common) of griffon species. Their stockier build allows them to thrive in both hot and cold climates, ranging farther into chillier regions than all other greater griffon species (other than the common greater griffon), though they require warm columns of air to hunt effectively. Specialised down feathers, called 'pulviplumes' help to insulate the griffon from temperature extremes as well as providing a copious amount of feather dust which it uses to blind foes."

--excerpts from 'Descriptions of Griffon Subspecies: A Feathered Flurry'.

Personally, I loved the immersive goose-chase side-quest to get the griffon; a.k.a. golden goose glider. Easter eggs, anyone? :love:

[battledrone.8315]

25000 out of 12 mio = 0,21%....this is badeven if its whaling at its finest, and its making them a decent buck

[costepj.5120]

@battledrone.8315 said:25000 out of 12 mio = 0,21%....this is badeven if its whaling at its finest, and its making them a decent buck

Check the timeline of the thread. Number of griffons hit 25,000 a week after PoF launched.

[Ayakaru.6583]

I see a lot of people commenting about bugs, but my gryphon works fine.Got to wonder, whats broken about it?

[sorudo.9054]

if you just made the griffon something you can get like any other mount, that would be great.

[battledrone.8315]

@costepj.5120 said:

@battledrone.8315 said:25000 out of 12 mio = 0,21%....this is badeven if its whaling at its finest, and its making them a decent buck

Check the timeline of the thread. Number of griffons hit 25,000 a week after PoF launched.

even if its more now, they still have to design all future maps for players with griffons, players without them, and even players without gliding toohell, they even have to redesign parts of the existing mapsthats a lot of extra work and planning for a very small part of the playerbasegiven how they are handling class balance, they just wont be able to do it

[Julischka Bean.7491]

@Menadena.7482 said:

@Doggie.3184 said:I don't have mine yet cuz I built a boat. But I wonder;

Griffon Milestones.25,000: A heart-felt letter from Mike O'brien and Spoiler removed.50,000: Quest for giant Turtle mounts added.75,000: TBA100,000: TBA

75,000: cost reduced to 100 gold75,001: 74,999 players scream

100,000: griffons for everyone! (or in the gem store)100,001: 999,999 players declare war on anet

I for one would not declare war on Anet...wishful sigh.

Actually, I would love it if the method to acquire the griffon worked the same way as acquiring the first. ..I could do that.

Anet, clutzes and friendless folks in game should be able to acquire griffins too.

[Julischka Bean.7491]

Edit: I meant the same way as acquiring the first 4 mounts....something happened to that sentence and I do not know how to edit a post.

[Danikat.8537]

@battledrone.8315 said:

@costepj.5120 said:

@battledrone.8315 said:25000 out of 12 mio = 0,21%....this is badeven if its whaling at its finest, and its making them a decent buck

Check the timeline of the thread. Number of griffons hit 25,000 a week after PoF launched.

even if its more now, they still have to design all future maps for players with griffons, players without them, and even players without gliding toohell, they even have to redesign parts of the existing mapsthats a lot of extra work and planning for a very small part of the playerbasegiven how they are handling class balance, they just wont be able to do it

I don't think designing maps to allow for the griffon is that different to designing them to allow for the other mounts. The Springer can jump higher and the raptor/jackal can go at least as far jumping horizontally. I've also found the skimmer useful for crossing gaps after I found out it's hover ability works from a height (it can't go far, but it can be enough to get to places you couldn't normally reach). There's not many places I've found which can be reached on a griffon and can't be reached through a combination of the other 4 mounts and gliding (and I have been looking). The griffon just makes it quicker. (But then going slow and planning your route as you're going along may enable you to spot opportunities you'd miss speeding past on the griffon.)

Especially since the griffon is designed to be optional - which means they don't need to design content that uses it, just make sure it doesn't break anything they do build.