A small selection of players are currently playing around on the World of Warcraft Public Test Realm (PTR) and trying out the upcoming Dawn of the Infinites dungeon, scheduled for release in patch 10.1.5. in July. In doing so, they have collected loot that could forever change the world of mount and cosmetic farming.
Collecting rare mounts and cool looking gear has always been one of the biggest draws to World of Warcraft throughout the year, whether it’s collecting time and gold for Thunderfurry, Blessed Blade of the Windseeker in Vanilla WoW, or farming the Mists of Pandaria -World bosses repeat every week for a tiny chance of a fancy new dragon or dinosaur to ride around on.
But the rarest stuff has always been the loot you can’t get your hands on anymore! Over the years several parts have been removed from the game as content has been moved and disappeared from the live servers. In a Dawn of the Infinites run published online by British content creator MR GMthe party was able to get Quantum loot which, when used, yielded gear and mounts from previous expansions.
This opens the door to some interesting possibilities. For the average player this would just be a quirky new item with a touch of nostalgia for those who have been around for a while. However, for the dedicated collector with a mount full of different horses, dragons, etc., this could potentially open the door to the few missing steeds that would otherwise be locked away.
“That is trash” writes user Azeida on Twitter in response to MR GM’s post. “Items have a value based on 1. Rarity and 2. Acquireability. Adding old items back now makes them worthless. It has lost the value of those who had them AND those who will get them, since the value is based solely on the items removed from the game. Example: storing helmets.”
While it may be a negative perspective, it touches on the core concern of some in the community that these Quantum parts have the potential to nullify the game’s only remaining source of prestige. With raid and PvP boosts being common throughout the game, you’ll often see removed transmogs or mounts being held back as a last chance to really grow an account or character. Sure, there are titles and feats, but nothing catches the eye like a big dragon.
There was a similar wave of complaints when the Fel Drake was given out as a free Twitch drop with the release of Dragonflight. This mount, once a TCG exclusive, has had its value drastically reduced due to the cries of agony from some collectors.
However, the counter-arguments to these criticisms are simple and compelling, and are shared by the vast majority of players. Who cares! For the regular player, the opportunity to get their hands on a brand new shoulder piece that their friends don’t have is enough to get them excited about the dungeon. “Wait wait wait…maybe this way is an option to get Zulian Tiger without paying BMAH gold cap? Sign me up if that’s the case!” writes Avar the Rare Hunter on Twitterone of many salivating at the chance of a valuable payout from the reins of the Quantum Courser.
Despite all this, there are many question marks associated with this exciting new development. The main point is exactly how the loot works in conjunction with your already existing collection. Does the Quantum Courser give you? any Mount from the past even if you already collected it? If so, wouldn’t it suck to get the low % mount drop only to then drop some horse you bought eight years ago? Are there mounts from different types of content like raids or PvP or just dungeons?
Until we get official news from Blizzard, we just won’t know. Depending on how those work, Dawn of the Infinite’s Quantum loot could either be a quirky new dungeon or another weekly farm for the hardcore collectors out there. It could very well change the landscape of rare loot farming in WoW forever.
Let us know where you stand on this! Would it be cool for you if someone got away with, say, the Legion’s mythical raid moose? What about the corrupted Ashbringer?