Will the Riot MMO Have Flying Mounts? A Deep Dive Analysis
The Rune Grove · 16 Sep 2025 · 25:25 · 680 views on YouTube
This one is still on its way to RuneGrove. Watch it on YouTube.
RiotGrove Article: https://riotgrove.com/articles/riot-mmo/news/will-the-riot-mmo-have-flying-mounts-a-deep-dive-analysis
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With all the hype around the Riot MMO, one of the biggest design decisions they'll have to make is traversal. We all love the convenience of flying mounts, but have they done more harm than good to the MMORPG genre?
I put together a video essay exploring this, looking at how traditional "point-and-fly" mounts in games like World of Warcraft ended up shrinking the world, killing spontaneous social encounters (especially world PvP), and making carefully designed zones irrelevant.
The video dives into:
How flying mounts can isolate players and damage the "massively multiplayer" feel.
A case study of WoW's journey from the hated 'Pathfinder' achievement to the much-loved 'Dragonriding' system.
What Riot can learn from the incredible specialized mount system in Guild Wars 2 (the gold standard, in my opinion) and the compromise of Final Fantasy XIV's Aether Currents.
Ultimately, I argue that for a truly social, exploration-focused Riot MMO, they should ditch traditional flying mounts in favor of a more engaging, ground-focused system that makes the world feel vast and alive.
I'm really curious to hear this community's thoughts:
Do you think flying is essential for a modern MMORPG, or is it a feature that needs a major rethink?
What's your dream traversal system for the Riot MMO? Should they copy Guild Wars 2, evolve Dragonriding, or do something completely new?
What are your best/worst memories of traversal in an MMO? Let's discuss!
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