Riftway Stones

[Lendal]

I've expressed this opinion on other forums and I'm expressing it again here. If you don't like reading it again, just move on.

I don't like the Riftway Stone travel system either. But not because I think the game doesn't need help with it's travel. I do.

Travel in Vanguard takes too long and is usually boring, tedious and downright annoying especially when you're in a hurry and have traveled the same route many times in the past.

But I just don't think clicky port systems are the best way to solve the problem. The Riftway system seems like a cheap and dirty 'patch' of a solution to the problem.

A much better solution would have been to expand and enhance the mount system instead. Faster land mounts like the unicorn and shadow hounds should have been introduced and been made more easily available (half the 10g cost and an easier quest) around level 15 or so.

Then, flying mounts should have kicked in around level 20 and ramp up over maybe 7 or 8 different styles to the super fast and cool ones at level 50. The low end ones could be just large birds of one kind or another traveling maybe +100 speed and flying relatively lower than the later flying mounts.

The griffons in beta were traveling easily at +320 mount speed with no problem and so the higher level flying mounts could probably do the same or even a little better. With several birds at the low end, several griffons in the mid range and a couple of wyverns at the high end, the game could easily support a range of mounts ramping up in speed, altitude and coolness over a level range from 20 to 50.

Such a system would be a lot more in keeping with the feel of the game and be a lot more fun than the clicky port riftway system. Plus it would help attract more players and help keep the ones already in the game. No one ever bought a game or stayed in it because it had a good port system. But flying mounts? Definetly!

I think the devs have missed a wonderful opportunity by putting in the riftway system and not exploiting flying mounts more instead.