WoW: Don't buy that flying mount for your Pally alt just yet...

via Ta-Nehisi

Word from Zarhym on teh Forums is that there is going to be a HUGE decrease in the level requirements and cost of mounts in the next content patch.

Apprentice Riding (Skill 75)

• 60% land mount speed 
  
• Requires level 20 
  
• Cost: 4 gold 
  
• Mount cost: 1 gold 
  
• Mail will be sent to players at level 20 guiding them to the riding trainer
  

Journeyman Riding (Skill 150)

• 100% land mount speed 
  
• Requires level 40 
  
• Cost: 50 gold 
  
• Mount cost: 10 gold 
  
• Mail will be sent to players at level 40 guiding them back to the riding trainer
  

Expert Riding (Skill 225)

• 150% flying mount speed; 60% land mount speed 
  
• Requires level 60 
  
• Cost: 600 gold (faction discounts now apply) 
  
• Mount Cost: 50 gold 
  
• Can now be learned in Honor Hold (Alliance) or Thrallmar (Horde)
  

Artisan Riding (Skill 300)

• 280% flying mount speed; 100% land mount speed 
  
• Requires level 70 
  
• Cost: 5,000 gold (faction discounts now apply) 
  
• Mount Cost: 100 gold
  

Good news for the stables of my stable of alts! They continue to increase the speed of leveling 1-70... obviously trying to get people more quickly into Northrend... I guess maybe they were getting a little embarrassed for me, since my highest level character is level 51, heh. I probably I should take the hint, but for whatever reason I like leveling up characters like they are in their own little crafting guild. It's slow, but I like being able to craft gear for everybody. I'm weird like that.

One question I have though, is with everybody getting mounts at level 20, what's the point of travel forms for Druids and Shamans anymore? Are they going to get buffed in some way?

ADDENDUM: Also, I guess they're going to eliminate the quest chains for the epic Warlock and Paladin mounts and make them trainable at 40, similar to what they did with the normal quest mounts when they reduced mount level requirements for Burning Crusade?

ADDENDUM II: Zarhym updates

Druid
Travel Form: Requires level 16
Flight Form: Requires level 60 (150% flight speed)
Swift Flight Form: Requires level 70

Hunter
Aspect of the Cheetah: Requires level 16

Shaman
Ghost Wolf: Requires level 16

Paladin
Warhorse: Requires level 20
Charger: Requires level 40

Warlock
Felsteed: Requires level 20
Dreadsteed: Requires level 40

So you get your movement buff 4 levels before mounts... druid flight form to match flying mounts... and expected changes to Warlock/Paladin mounts. Those are 4 pretty quick levels for the early stuff, so I don't imagine anyone is going to really notice. Still, getting cheetah form 10 levels after your mount would've been silly, so this is better than nothing. They clearly don't want to really do much to the Old World other than allow you to get through it faster.