...it has not yet been decided if they will be available as soon as you get there or how far into your exploration you will be soaring through the icy skies. The reason for the potential delay in free-roaming is to allow the development team a chance to design and create exciting and interesting content which people will not simply fly over and ignore.
What sort of restrictions there will be on flying mounts in Northrend is yet to be decided, however. Will it be a level restriction or perhaps require some sort of quest? As soon as we find out, we'll let you know!
As the world found out this last weekend via Blizzcon, there are some grand plans in store for World of Warcraft and Wrath of the Lich King. One of the many things that was mentioned was the creation of Engineering-based flying mounts. however earlier today we received an email from someone calling themselves "Blizguy" and claiming to have leaked information about the upcoming Engineering mounts that will be featured in Wrath of the Lich King. Since I love the idea that Engineering is going to finally get some much-needed love, we figured we'd pass along this rumor.
The claims are that the flying Gyrocopter will actually be a flying siege vehicle, much like the Dwarven Gyrocopters, Dwarvish Flying Machines and Gnomish Flying Machines from the original Warcraft RTS series. The rest of the rumor claims:
Will require the max level of Engineering.
Schematic will be obtained through a series of quests.
Is a flying siege weapon!
Will require level 78 to use. (Claims likely will be changed to 80.)
Will have durability like any other piece of gear, and will require occasional repairs.
My question is, if they're implementing the gyrocopters from the RTS series, will they be slow, heavily armored versions, or zippy but poorly armored flyers? Or perhaps will we see a combination of both with the lighter ones for scouting? In either case, while this is all only unsubstantiated rumors at this point, I have to admit, zooming in for an attack on a gyrocopter would be a pretty cool addition to PvP. (Never mind that whole "Horde didn't have gyrocopters" thing... heh) And hey, there might actually finally be a use for that airport outside Ironforge, even if only as a place for quest-givers.
No, the broom mount isn't a joke, because MMO-Champion has some nice video of it flying around in Shadowmoon Valley. And for my part, I'd much prefer it to the standard wyvern -- but we still don't know just how to acquire them. Previously, on Moviewatch....
Warlocks rejoice, or at least I am rejoicing for the possibility of a new flying mount for my Warlock. Palm over at Worldofraids sent us some additional information about what is loaded into Patch 2.2, and although armor and weapons are always interesting to me, I was totally giddy when I saw the above image.
I would love to be able to say that this means that there will be a warlock-specific flying mount, but I actually doubt it. These days the trends more towards cool mounts like these being drops from instances, available to anyone. In a way the ability to fly away a la Harry Potter would be just as cool if it were available for anyone, I just hold on to the idea of Paladin and Warlock specific flying mounts tightly. Like death-grip tightly. If druids can have flight form, I don't see why locks and pallies can't have a quested flying mount. It only makes sense since they quest for their epic mounts.
Until further evidence comes to light keeping my hope alive, I will keep my eye out for more info on the Broom Mount. Perhaps that Grynfinndor guild you've been thinking about creating will now be able to soar through the skies in Quidditch formations soon.
Reader Sylvina from Argent Dawn is clearly a trained stunt pilot -- so don't try this at home, people! Though, honestly, this is a trick you can do by messing with your camera settings in the console. If you type /console pitchlimit 900, you'll be able to turn your you camera angle completely around and upside down -- and if you happen to be on a flying mount at the time, well, you'll look something like this.
Do you have a unique shot of Azeroth or Outland that you'd like to show off to the rest of the world? Tell us about it by e-mailing aroundazeroth@gmail.com! Or perhaps you'd just like to see more of your pics from Around Azeroth.
Reader Daveyp sends in an interesting Outland shot taken on the border of Terokkar Forest and Zangarmarsh. Sure, sure, it's a perfectly ordinary Zangarmarsh mushroom shot (and if history tells you anything, it's that I love Zangarmarsh mushroom shots) until you look across the sky, and see the only-in-Outland image of the flying mount in the moon. It's probably not that unique of a shot, but it is, amazingly, the first such image to arrive in my mailbox.
Do you have a unique shot of Azeroth or Outland that you'd like to show off to the rest of the world? Tell us about it by e-mailing aroundazeroth@gmail.com! Or perhaps you'd just like to see more of your pics from Around Azeroth.
As Nethaera and Eyonix have both pointed out on the forums before, the Phoenix mount is indeed in game. But as I had the honor to learn recently, it's not in the place that many of us might think it is. At least, the first one isn't. The others -- well, nobody but Blue has the vaguest idea where those are going to drop. (Of course, most people figure on Kael'thas or Al'ar in Tempest Keep as the drop source for the Phoenix Mount, much like the tiger mount drops in ZG from the tiger boss, and the Baron drops his own mount in Stratholme.)
You see, the World First phoenix mount belongs to Ezra Chatterton, the young man who recently went to Blizzard's offices with the Make-A-Wish foundation. Ezra was given the first ever Phoenix mount in game for two reasons. First, it was probably the best gift that Blizzard could really give any gamer as far as one of the new Outland mounts. Netherdrakes are awesome, but a phoenix trumps that, if you ask me! And hey, who wouldn't want a mount that could move at 310% speed like the Swift Nether Drake arena award mount. Secondly, as Ezra's father Micah explained to me, the phoenix is an extremely important personal symbol for Ezra.
The 2.1 patch this week introduced enough new quest lines, top-end raid content, flying mounts, and L70 solo & small group content to qualify as its own game. With a three day weekend looming I didn't even know where to begin. So I scoured the web and found the where to go and what to do to get me started.
THE BLACK TEMPLE: Already planning to strut around Shattrath in your T6 Raid gear? Don't bank that T5 set too quick. The Black Temple attunement quest is ... epic. And it hasn't even been fully discovered so far. What is known is that you will have to slog through a great deal of the Burning Crusade raid content that comes before it: Karazhan, Gruul's Lair, Magtheridon's Lair, Serpentshire Cavern, The Eye and The Battle of Mount Hyjal. And many of those raids require extensive attunement quests of their own. If you are still itching to begin, you can dig in with the Tablets of Baa'ri chain out of Shadowmoon Valley to start grinding that Ashtongue Deathsworn rep. NETHERDRAKE EPIC FLYING MOUNT: First, don't confuse this with the Swift Nether Drake top Arena teams are awarded with at the end of every season. That one has a speed increase of 310% and has an armored appearance. This is the normal epic nether drake with a speed increase on par with other epic flying mounts: 280%. What's special about this epic flying mount is that it can be obtained through solo and small group quests. No raid required. What is required is a great deal of dedication.
The first steps on your journey is to dig yourself out of Hated reputation with the Netherwing clan and get all the way to Exalted. This is accomplished through solo, 5 man and 3 man daily quests. Head to the south east corner of Shadowmoon Valley and speak to Mordenai in the Netherwing Fields. A complete write up can be found here.
There's a reason you don't idle in the open on PvP servers. It's because people will kill you. And if you happen to be in a amusing spot, say, floating in the air over Area 52 when you meet your untimely end? People, like reader Goroth of Onyxia, will immortalize your corpse in screenshots.
Do you have a unique shot of Azeroth or Outland that you'd like to show off to the rest of the world? Tell us about it by e-mailing aroundazeroth@gmail.com! Or perhaps you'd just like to see more of your pics from Around Azeroth.
In this single screenshot we see a sad tale unfolding as Pruflas of Blood Reign on Blackwater Raiders takes a wrong turn on his flying mount. In all honesty, this Kraator fellow -- a rare spawn in Shadowmoon Valley -- looks extremely unfriendly. It's a sad wrong turn indeed to send you flying directly into his face...
Do you have a unique shot of Azeroth or Outland that you'd like to show off to the rest of the world? Tell us about it by e-mailing aroundazeroth@gmail.com! Or perhaps you'd just like to see more of your pics from Around Azeroth.
Reader George sends in this buggy screenshot that, perhaps, is a reasonable way to solve the problems with warlock and hunter pets when getting on flying mounts. Oh, sure -- Blizzard's made a change that will cause pets to be dismissed when you mount up, but, really, having them ride along with you, perhaps in a little basket or side-car of some sort, is much more entertaining.
Do you have a unique shot of Azeroth or Outland that you'd like to show off to the rest of the world? Tell us about it by e-mailing aroundazeroth@gmail.com! Or perhaps you'd just like to see more of your pics from Around Azeroth.
It's no secret that a lot of people are unhappy with the new LFG system. Personally, I always use it, although I haven't had much luck with it. Usually I'll flag myself as LFG for some group quest and do a solo quest while waiting. After this, if I still don't have a group (as is usually the case), I go ahead and ask about it in General. Anyway, apparently the LFG tool is going to get better, and the old global LFG channel is not making a come-back. From Neth:
While you haven't seen changes as of yet, we are working on some improvements that we would like to implement. I just can't tell you any more details about that as of this point in time however. You won't be seeing the old LFG channel reappear.
By the way, did you know you can use /lfg and /lfm to call up the respective interface panes? True story, and useful for people like me who like to hide about as much UI as possible.
The Burning Crusade site has been updated with further information on the flying mounts that may be found in the Outlands. Lore-wise these creatures are the offspring of the black dragon Deathwing, who traveled through the Dark Portal to Draenor, believing it to be a safe haven for some of his eggs. When Ner'zhul opened multiple portals on Draenor with the intent of invading foreign lands, the magical energies released tore the planet apart - and altered the eggs, causing the resulting creatures to have the ability to shift between the physical and astral planes. In use, a Nether Drake will have the speed of an epic mount and be able to run on the ground as well as fly through the air. How they may be obtained or what they might cost, however, remains a mystery!
![[the elusive Phoenix, as datamined]](http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.wowinsider.com/media/2007/05/phoenix.jpg)
The 
It's no secret that a lot of people are unhappy with the new LFG system. Personally, I always use it, although I haven't had much luck with it. Usually I'll flag myself as LFG for some group quest and do a solo quest while waiting. After this, if I still don't have a group (as is usually the case), I go ahead and ask about it in General. Anyway, apparently the LFG tool is going to get better, and the old global LFG channel is not making a come-back. From 
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