Armored White War Tiger – Rift Steals Another Page from the Blizzard Playbook

Mounts are where the money is at, right?

Blizzard has been selling sparkle ponies in World of Warcraft for a couple of years now.  The initial queue to buy one was 140,000 transactions deep.  Multiply that by $25.

SOE says that mounts make up the biggest chunk of their cash shop purchases in EverQuest II, which is why they offer… um… such a variety.  Lord of the Rings Online will sell you mounts of many colors for Turbine Points, and they keep cranking out new ones, so they must be moving.  In F2P, if it sells, you start making more.

So if you are looking for another revenue stream, mounts seem like a pretty safe way to go.

And so Rift is now offering up an Armored White War Tiger mount at a special opening price for subscribers. (Who else would want it?)

SPECIAL OFFER ARMORED WHITE WAR TIGER MOUNT AT A SPECIAL PRICE FOR A LIMITED TIME

We’re offering this special Armored White War Tiger to all active RIFT account holders at a special introductory price.

Cold. Unforgiving. The frozen wastelands of Telara can be a deadly place. Stride across the icy tundra atop this fearsome and powerful Armored White War Tiger. Opponents will quake in fear as your mount swiftly covers huge distances, slicing into all attackers with its deadly claws and armored blades. Strong and relentless, this fierce tiger will carry you through your adventures wherever you go in Telara!

Be the envy of your friends as you race into battle on your new mount. This is a limited time offer so act now.

Purchase of this item entitles you to one Armored White Tiger on each character on your RIFT Account.

Your Armored White War Tiger will match the speed of your fastest mount, or grant you 60% run speed if you don’t have another mount.

Trion has offered up mounts in Rift as part of collector’s editions and other special packs.  That is where I got my two headed turtle mount.   But I believe this is the first time they have offered up a mount all by itself.

No word on how limited the time is on the offer, nor what the regular price will be.  At least they are going with the same model as Blizzard where buying the mount gets you a White Tiger on every character associated with your account.

Run Tiger, Run!

I do wonder what all that stuff is hanging out over its butt.  I guess I will have to wait until I see one in-game.  I imaging there will be a few hanging out in Meridian by tonight.  You just have to head to the Trion Worlds account management page to pick one up.

I imagine that this tiger will more than pay for itself… from Trion’s perspective.

Will you be buying one?

5 thoughts on “Armored White War Tiger – Rift Steals Another Page from the Blizzard Playbook”

  1. Carson

    I have never bought a cash shop cosmetic like this in any game, and I never would. But I actually think it’s pretty cool if other people are willing to do so, and thus subsidize the running of a game.

    I doubt that we’d still be seeing the standard sub rate sitting rock-solid at $15/month, unchanging after all this time, if devs hadn’t found other ways – like cash shop mounts – to get money out of players.

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  3. Wilhelm Arcturus Post author

    @Bhagpuss – I would say that Rift, like WoW, does not engage in microtransactions nor do they have a cash shop. Those, in my point of view, require an alternate currency (e.g. Station Cash, Turbine Points) and a storefront interface within the game.

    This is more like useless downloadable content from my current point of view.

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  4. Anonymous

    I would like to use the above image titled “WhiteTigerTrot” in a sign at our school. Do you own the rights to it? Can I have permission to use it for educational purposes?

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