Easier Travel in WoW

The last year or so has seen a lot of changes in World of Warcraft that cater toward the more casual player - speeding up leveling, making raiding more accessible, daily quests and the like. The latest in this string of changes is once again focusing on transportation - most notably mounts. Here's the changes announced so far.

• Apprentice Riding (Skill 75)
  
  • 60% land mount speed
    
  • Requires level 20
    
  • Cost: 4 gold
    
  • Mount cost: 1 gold
    
  • Mail will be sent to players at level 20 guiding them to the riding trainer

• Journeyman Riding (Skill 150)
  
  • 100% land mount speed
    
  • Requires level 40
    
  • Cost: 50 gold
    
  • Mount cost: 10 gold
  • Mail will be sent to players at level 40 guiding them back to the riding trainer

• Expert Riding (Skill 225)
  
  • 150% flying mount speed; 60% land mount speed
    
  • Requires level 60
    
  • Cost: 600 gold (faction discounts now apply: Honor Hold [Alliance]; Thrallmar [Horde])
    
  • Mount Cost: 50 gold
    
  • Can now be learned in Honor Hold (Alliance) or Thrallmar (Horde)

• Artisan Riding (Skill 300)
  
  • 280% flying mount speed; 100% land mount speed
    
  • Requires level 70
    
  • Cost: 5,000 gold (faction discounts now apply: Honor Hold or Valiance Expedition [Alliance]; Thrallmar or Warsong Offensive [Horde])
    
  • Mount Cost: 100 gold
  
  
• Movement Speed Training By Class
  
  • Druid
    
    • Travel Form: Requires level 16
      
    • Flight Form: Requires level 60 (150% flight speed)
      
    • Swift Flight Form: Requires level 70
  • Hunter
    
    • Aspect of the Cheetah: Requires level 16
  • Shaman
    
    • Ghost Wolf: Requires level 16
  • Paladin
    
    • Warhorse: Requires level 20
      
    • Charger: Requires level 40
  • Warlock
    
    • Felsteed: Requires level 20
      
    • Dreadsteed: Requires level 40

How do I feel about all this, being of the group of players who has been playing WoW from the beginning? Whatever has happened in the past and whatever play style I've had in the past, I'm a casual player now. So, I welcome this change and all similar changes to make leveling through old Azeroth quicker and make things easier for the newer players. That being said, some achievements and/or refunds to recognize players who had their mounts, flight forms or various other transportation-related quests before these changes go into effect would be nice. After all, some of those things we worked hard on. You have no idea how much I went through (and how much I put my guild through) to get my druid epic flight form back in the day. Granted, there is a feat of strength achievement for completing that quest chain. They should really carry that on and give feats of strength achievements for those players who purchased their riding skill at the (soon to be) old levels.

In addition to the above, they're finally making it easier to get from Thunder Bluff to Orgrimmar, by adding a new zepplin between the two horde cities. Also, they're throwing in portals in both Stormwind and Orgrimmar that go directly to The Dark Portal in Blasted Lands, for easy access to and from Outland.

I give a big thumbs up to all these changes, and balk at all those people crying foul. Sure, back in our day we might have had to walk to school, in knee-deep snow, uphill both ways, but that doesn't mean we're any better than the people now who get keys to their own car handed to them for easy transportation.