The way (from what i saw in D4 footage from Blizzcon 2019 and game play) mounts are in the game right now feels underutilized and can be expanded into something more. I would love it if the mounts in Diablo 4 would be something more then just a means to travel faster from point A-B and a ‘small’ battle mechanic (from what i have seen, that was pretty cool…) Let’s discuss some interesting things that can be added to the game that would make mounts not only cooler, but also more useful and perhaps even diverse. I would also like to discuss the visual aspect of the horses/etc. with you guys (community and blizzard.)
So here’s some of my initial idea’s feedback for you guys to reiterate and build on:
Type of mounts
From what i have seen there appear to only be horses at this stage of development. (sure there are different skins, we will get into that later.) It would be nice if there was some way that there are different types of beings: horses, camels heck maybe even elephants. (the reason i’m not naming things like demons and or flying stuff is that it should still feel realistic in my opinion. (add to this if you like).
Skins
It appears right now that there are either several stages of horse tiers or entirely different horse skins being played around with, i even saw a flaming horse i believe?. I believe this should very much so be toned down as to where it does not break the immersion of the dark and gritty world of diablo and also should not be unrealistic (i think there was even a horse without a head?). That being said i believe that there is room for customization of appearance of the actual horse itself, however i believe this should be basic like i.e.: a black horse, a brown horse or a white horse. (Maybe a seperate modifier for the hair/scarring etc… no silly colors.) Another option would be to have different types of horses without modifiers like for example: a Fjord horse looks drasticly different then lets say a Gypsy Horse. I do believe though in order to make mounts look as diversely as possible we have to add another layer of visual representation on top of this. (See below).
Inventory and Stash Space on Mounts
I don’t know if this is already in the works, but i saw nothing about this in the demo and i really think this is interesting so I’m going to pitch some ideas for you guys to respond to:
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Visual appearance
I would be a good idea to make the way your mount looks visually also have a effect based on the items it wearing. This gives players a way to have a ‘unique’ looking mount compared to there mates. Some ideas for item slots could be: Shaffron, Crinet, Saddle, Peytral etc. (Looked up Medieval armor for horses in this case.) There would then for example be a Saddle which has a different look visually because it may have some iron detailing on it compared to a more leather based version of it. (Could even be legendaries/set pieces?). If you want to add really cool items like for example a bone inspired saddle or armor. It would not take away from the realness of the game as much as having a actual skeleton horse, but still be quite interesting to combine with other items. Some other ideas:
Gothic plate, Maybe some Demonic stuff. (Feel free to add here…) -
Itemization options on the Mount
Ok, as stated before some item types could be: Shaffron, Crinet, Saddle, Peytral etc. So following the game’s current philosophy of items there could be for example: White, Blue, Yellow, Set and Legendary items with magic or unique properties, depending on the quality, that apply to either the mount itself and/or to the player. Example a set of armor could add to your defense stats also. Perhaps a Satchel could make your inventory space larger on the horse (more on this later.) Some other ideas for horse stats on items maybe: Mount speed, Aura Mana regeneration/Health Regeneration, Pickup radius etc, Magic Find, + (Insert element) damage +Experience bonus etc. (add to this below). This would make the game more deep item wise and give players the diversity to create different builds. -
Stash Space
This could be utilized in interesting ways.
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Regular Inventory space
I really want to bring that item with me but it clogs up so much inventory space, put it on the horse. -
Courier.
Don’t you hate it when you run out of stash space in your character and you have to run back to town to the blacksmith to destroy all useless items for some material that you then have in your inventory that u have to bring to your stash? Use the horse to send it back to town and get the materials placed in your stash or something to make it so i don’t have to go back to ‘town’ to do that. -
Charms
Putting charms on the mount can give you and or horse additional stats? That way you don’t need to have a additional space for charms in characters inventories or clutter up the current one and you can still add those back into the game. -
(Im sure you guys have some ideas about this too).
Bonus: Monitization option for Diablo 4
Having customizable mounts opens up a opportunity for Blizzard to release extra content for them through some sort of cash shop, where for some small fee you can get a unique mount (the way WoW works?), perhaps even items etc.
Extra bonus:
Idea for in town, can we get some sort of stables/area for our mounts where they just stand as is?. Perhaps this could even be the place where you customize your mount.
Please let me know how you think of this idea and how we could maybe reiterate it to a viable option for Blizzard to add this maybe to Diablo 4. Looking forward to your feedback!
Some stuff said at Blizzcon 2019 about mounts for reference and inspiration:
