Swift Windsteed - Now in Blizzard Store!

[Bonita]

It's pretty, but I think I'll wait until it goes on discount or something.

[Snowy]

The running animation is... bouncy, indeed. If your character was a little less all over the place I might like it more. I'm confused as to why they used it though when the running animation used when the mount is flying looks much better and could easily be used as the ground-running animation as well. It looks much smoother.

[Rawr]

Just my opinion but I'm not sure whether to scream or laugh. I guess the animator couldn't decide if they wanted a deer run cycle or horse run cycle and just went half and half on both. Oh dear lord what is with that head bobbing? Either it broke something or it's too old to be running at that pace. Nevermind I think I will just scream. http://www.wowhead.com/item=92724#modelviewer:10+0
For a better look at it before you buy.

[cowmuflage]

I like the run XD

[Silivren]

Just my opinion but I'm not sure whether to scream or laugh. I guess the animator couldn't decide if they wanted a deer run cycle or horse run cycle and just went half and half on both. Oh dear lord what is with that head bobbing? Either it broke something or it's too old to be running at that pace. Nevermind I think I will just scream. http://www.wowhead.com/item=92724#modelviewer:10+0
For a better look at it before you buy.

The run there looks fine honestly because its SLOW If they slowed it down and made it wobble less it wouldnt look as bad.

[Rawr]

I like the run XD

The weird back leg hop thing it does is killing me.

EDIT @ Vissara: Yeah if the bobbing was gone from the head and the back legs would decide what they were doing it wouldn't be bad. But I doubt they will change it seeing as the sparkle pony or anyother winged horses has never been fixed. They used the hippogryph's body, cut the idle animations, and twisted the front legs (not very well) the front left leg breaks every time it runs. They are always doing this. Windriders too, they use the normal flying animation but use the NPC cat animation for ground movement, it clips horridly (like the tauren druid cat used to be and the troll druid's cat's back right leg doubles over) so call me nit-picky but that is all easily fixed.

[Nick]

Ergh, why Blizz?
Couldn't it be a drop mount?
I don't have the money to spend on your damn store.

[Wain]

Just my opinion but I'm not sure whether to scream or laugh. I guess the animator couldn't decide if they wanted a deer run cycle or horse run cycle and just went half and half on both. Oh dear lord what is with that head bobbing? Either it broke something or it's too old to be running at that pace. Nevermind I think I will just scream. http://www.wowhead.com/item=92724#modelviewer:10+0
For a better look at it before you buy.

The run there looks fine honestly because its SLOW If they slowed it down and made it wobble less it wouldnt look as bad.

I think you're right there. If they reduced the number of cycles it would look far less crazy. It might also give the effect of it kind of floating a bit as it runs, which would fit with its nature anyway

[Wain]

Ergh, why Blizz?
Couldn't it be a drop mount?
I don't have the money to spend on your damn store.

There's a bunch of other colours. So we can hope we see them appear in other places. The blue one is especially beautiful I think

[Sophistique]

He looks interesting... might nab him soon

[Silivren]

Just my opinion but I'm not sure whether to scream or laugh. I guess the animator couldn't decide if they wanted a deer run cycle or horse run cycle and just went half and half on both. Oh dear lord what is with that head bobbing? Either it broke something or it's too old to be running at that pace. Nevermind I think I will just scream. http://www.wowhead.com/item=92724#modelviewer:10+0
For a better look at it before you buy.

The run there looks fine honestly because its SLOW If they slowed it down and made it wobble less it wouldnt look as bad.

I think you're right there. If they reduced the number of cycles it would look far less crazy. It might also give the effect of it kind of floating a bit as it runs, which would fit with its nature anyway

Exactly! I still want him to have that happy, skipping run though. Still seems as if hes a being of wind, ya know?

[Edanna]

I opened mmo-champion this morning it's the first website I always open :p and its like the swift windsteed is now available!

Man did I get out of bed fast and quickly went to the blizz store to buy it.

Anyways the run is funny but most blizz store mounts have something wrong with them in some way, to me it feels like here's your mount now get lost type of deal but that's my opinion.

Besides all of that I like this mount but i prefer the red one to be honest.

Edit: Completely forgot about the scales on its legs they made those look epic!

[Fumu]

The run is fine to me, IMO. It looks like a deer bounding, which makes more sense than a galloping horse run cycle. It could definitely stand to be slowed down a little and/or have the bounce the character in the saddle does toned down...but then again so could the cranes/hawkstriders, the raptors bouncing you in place so fast you look like a piston, the cloud serpent's seasick roller coaster ride... xD

Anyway, other good things about the mount: Really good idle animations (its ears move, whiskers aren't stiff like in the beta, looks graceful in general), smooth flying animation, the armor appears to move separately from the mount itself so it doesn't look glued on. It is freaky looking, but to be honest traditional kirins always looked like a bizarre chimeric mishmash of fur and scales so at least it's true to the source.

I bought it immediately and don't regret it one bit, even transmogged my priest alt around its color scheme. However, I really wish it weren't a store mount. Between the general lack of flashiness, other colors available, and unarmored varieties it just seems like it would have been way cooler as a rep reward. They already look like Talbuk 2.0, might as well have gone all the way.

[Nick]

Ergh, why Blizz?
Couldn't it be a drop mount?
I don't have the money to spend on your damn store.

There's a bunch of other colours. So we can hope we see them appear in other places. The blue one is especially beautiful I think :)

One can only hope when it comes to Blizz and being an avid hoarder of mounts this one especially strikes my 'want' button repeatedly and I have no money to buy Blizz store things

[Arwyn]

Its nice looking but all my characters are already attached to other mounts so I can't see getting this one just to stick it in the stable. Hopefully the other colors will be available in-game someway somehow and I'll get it that way.

[Suicune]

Pictures definitely don't do it justice, as for many things. For those saying he has an ugly face, it is definitely due to the armor hiding the gradient, which on the unarmored models, allows the muzzle to blend nicer and make more 'sense'. He kinda reminds me of Gizmo from Gremlins!

As said in previous posts, the detail and animations are amazing and original, and the ground run is the only wonky thing about it. Has the same issue the DK mounts had cropped up awhile back, where you are stiff in the saddle as he prances along. It is hilarious but I found myself avoiding moving for long periods on the ground. I do agree that if they slow it down, or smooth the character stiffness out (or both) he will be A-OK.

The armor moving independently from the mount is just beautiful. I think he and the Winged Guardian are the only two store mounts I can promise you I will use on a regular basis, be it on an alt or my main. I'm very grateful my fiance got mine for me, as I'm on hard times cash-wise currently. The Windsteed is absolutely amazing; majestic, handsome, and well done. A perfect WoW stylized depiction of the classic beast.

So Blizz- heed our comments and smooth out the only kink left with this mount- the ground run animation!

I'm also looking forward to hopefully being able to obtain the other colors, mainly (for me) the reddish rusty-green color.

[Boven]

I've been seeing some bad feedback about this, anyone got anything positive? I like how it looks, but it's just meh to me. I might wait Til it's on discount

It has an amazing mount special and its idle poses are great. It is rocky but mounts like kodos and the celestial steed were that way to until they fixed them. I like the fact it runs on a cloud and I personally find it lovely. Its my primary flyer/ground for now until I can get a cloud serpent.

It only took maybe 1 day for me to go from "Oh boy! Cloud serpent!" to "I'm going to stick with my Headless Horseman's mount" The size of the cloud serpents is just a bit much and I'm not keen on the way the rider is kinda whipped all over the place.

What're the windsteeds based upon? I thought I'd read kiryn (kiren?) but they have an odd goat/wolf/horse air to them.

As for the run animation, I don't think it'd be as odd looking with a little bulkier body and without the saddle. I suspect people are expecting a horse-lie gallop, when it's more like a rather bounding canter. Actually, I'd say it's more like the way a wolf lopes.

[Wain]

For those saying he has an ugly face, it is definitely due to the armor hiding the gradient, which on the unarmored models, allows the muzzle to blend nicer and make more 'sense'. He kinda reminds me of Gizmo from Gremlins!

Absolutely! Without armour its face works really well:

[Teigan]

I got one today and I love it! Definitely going to be a favorite mount I do hope the other colors show up somewhere, cause I would like to have a little herd of these