Greed Steeds for the Whole Family!

Saturday afternoon we were done with soccer, showered up, fed, and happily running around in WoW when I got a whisper from my mother in game.

“I got the horse” she said.

One more greed steed in the virtual world of Azeroth.

My mind immediately went to my own problem… the problem of a daughter who already wants the shiny pony and now will know somebody who has one.

Fortunately my mom was way ahead of me, as her next whisper was asking if she could get one as a gift for my daughter.  I said yes, with an audible sigh of relief.  I had already said no to the pony.  But grandparents are the escape clause, allowed to be indulge the grand-kids as long as it doesn’t get too out of hand.

Then it was a matter of how to make this a surprise.

I called my daughter over and told her that she needed to get out her main character so we could all group up and do something.  She fretted a little, being off on some expedition to figure out how to climb on top of some other building in Azeroth, but consented after a I applied some parental pressure.

Then came the delicate bit.

There was going to be a period of time when my daughter would see that my mom had the Celestial Steed but would not yet know she was getting one herself.

Sure enough, I could hear from the other room when that first part hit.  My daughter came sulking into my office in a full-body pout, saying that Grandma had the new mount and obviously ready to renew her assault on me to get her one as well.

I cut her off and told her that she needed to be good, that she should go back and tell grandma congratulations on her new toy, and, in general, behave herself as good things rarely come to those who whine.  I sent her back to her computer and listened.

I could tell when my mom told my daughter that she was getting a steed as well.  My daughter came bouncing into my office, mood changed from sulking to jubilant.

In the mean time, the code had arrived in my inbox, so I went over to her machine to redeem the code.  She has an authenticator for her account as well, so I have to go to it or it has to come to me.

And then she had her new pony and was riding all over leaving a trail of sparkles where ever she went.

In this happy mood, I caved in as well and bought a Celestial Steed for my own account.  Then we all went to Shattrath to fly around together.

Three Steeds in Flight

The steed shows up in the usual way, via an in-game email from Mei Francis, the exotic mounts dealer and apparent front person for the Blizzard store in Azeroth.

As for the mount itself.

Running along as a ground mount, the steed looks a bit awkward to me.  The wings folded but still prominent do not not enhance the lines of the mount.  I have a few mounts that I prefer for ground transport, including my chopper.

Flying is clearly its element and it looks much more graceful with wings unfurled and flapping.

And the steed really needs to be in motion.  Those sparkles keep popping up when you are standing still, and if you stay stationary long enough, you end up in this popcorn ball like sphere of little dots.  But in motion, you leave a trail.

Finally, worth $25?  Hrmm…  I’d feel a lot better about my purchase if it had been $10, or even $15.  But my mom at least saved me from my fear of having to pay $50 for two horses… by her paying $50 for two horses.

Ah well.  At least I didn’t have to make a deal with my brother or anything.

But it flies!  And is sparkly!

Go Speed Racer!

My main character, Vikund, now has 61 mounts.  OCD tool that I am, it still isn’t enough.