The way (from what i saw in D4 footage from Blizzcon 2019 and game play) mounts are in the game right now feels underutilized and can be expanded into something more. I would love it if the mounts in Diablo 4 would be something more then just a means to travel faster from point A-B and a ‘small’ battle mechanic (from what i have seen, that was pretty cool…) Let’s discuss some interesting things that can be added to the game that would make mounts not only cooler, but also more useful and perhaps even diverse. I would also like to discuss the visual aspect of the horses/etc. with you guys (community and blizzard.)
So here’s some of my initial idea’s feedback for you guys to reiterate and build on:
Type of mounts
From what i have seen there appear to only be horses at this stage of development. (sure there are different skins, we will get into that later.) It would be nice if there was some way that there are different types of beings: horses, camels heck maybe even elephants. (the reason i’m not naming things like demons and or flying stuff is that it should still feel realistic in my opinion. (add to this if you like).
Skins
It appears right now that there are either several stages of horse tiers or entirely different horse skins being played around with, i even saw a flaming horse i believe?. I believe this should very much so be toned down as to where it does not break the immersion of the dark and gritty world of diablo and also should not be unrealistic (i think there was even a horse without a head?). That being said i believe that there is room for customization of appearance of the actual horse itself, however i believe this should be basic like i.e.: a black horse, a brown horse or a white horse. (Maybe a seperate modifier for the hair/scarring etc… no silly colors.) Another option would be to have different types of horses without modifiers like for example: a Fjord horse looks drasticly different then lets say a Gypsy Horse. I do believe though in order to make mounts look as diversely as possible we have to add another layer of visual representation on top of this. (See below).
Inventory and Stash Space on Mounts
I don’t know if this is already in the works, but i saw nothing about this in the demo and i really think this is interesting so I’m going to pitch some ideas for you guys to respond to:
-
Visual appearance
I would be a good idea to make the way your mount looks visually also have a effect based on the items it wearing. This gives players a way to have a ‘unique’ looking mount compared to there mates. Some ideas for item slots could be: Shaffron, Crinet, Saddle, Peytral etc. (Looked up Medieval armor for horses in this case.) There would then for example be a Saddle which has a different look visually because it may have some iron detailing on it compared to a more leather based version of it. (Could even be legendaries/set pieces?). If you want to add really cool items like for example a bone inspired saddle or armor. It would not take away from the realness of the game as much as having a actual skeleton horse, but still be quite interesting to combine with other items. Some other ideas:
Gothic plate, Maybe some Demonic stuff. (Feel free to add here…)
-
Itemization options on the Mount
Ok, as stated before some item types could be: Shaffron, Crinet, Saddle, Peytral etc. So following the game’s current philosophy of items there could be for example: White, Blue, Yellow, Set and Legendary items with magic or unique properties, depending on the quality, that apply to either the mount itself and/or to the player. Example a set of armor could add to your defense stats also. Perhaps a Satchel could make your inventory space larger on the horse (more on this later.) Some other ideas for horse stats on items maybe: Mount speed, Aura Mana regeneration/Health Regeneration, Pickup radius etc, Magic Find, + (Insert element) damage +Experience bonus etc. (add to this below). This would make the game more deep item wise and give players the diversity to create different builds.
-
Stash Space
This could be utilized in interesting ways.
-
Regular Inventory space
I really want to bring that item with me but it clogs up so much inventory space, put it on the horse.
-
Courier.
Don’t you hate it when you run out of stash space in your character and you have to run back to town to the blacksmith to destroy all useless items for some material that you then have in your inventory that u have to bring to your stash? Use the horse to send it back to town and get the materials placed in your stash or something to make it so i don’t have to go back to ‘town’ to do that.
-
Charms
Putting charms on the mount can give you and or horse additional stats? That way you don’t need to have a additional space for charms in characters inventories or clutter up the current one and you can still add those back into the game.
-
(Im sure you guys have some ideas about this too).
Bonus: Monitization option for Diablo 4
Having customizable mounts opens up a opportunity for Blizzard to release extra content for them through some sort of cash shop, where for some small fee you can get a unique mount (the way WoW works?), perhaps even items etc.
Extra bonus:
Idea for in town, can we get some sort of stables/area for our mounts where they just stand as is?. Perhaps this could even be the place where you customize your mount.
Please let me know how you think of this idea and how we could maybe reiterate it to a viable option for Blizzard to add this maybe to Diablo 4. Looking forward to your feedback!
Some stuff said at Blizzcon 2019 about mounts for reference and inspiration:
9 Likes
Many good ideas. I think that mount giving extra bag space would be great. And allow them to use items that increase their stats and skills, could be a good thing to have too.
I had the idea of shared skills: skills that don’t belong to any class but can be used by all. One of the branches could be for mounts’ skills. The skills could add speed, armor, and also could have some attacks.
I think while mounted, the skills on the quick bar could be changed for the mount’s ones (something similar to the Wizard using the Archon skill). This could make the mount a more interesting thing even if one shouldn’t fight all the time using them.
This is a very interesting idea. It could be a great thing to have if there are long travels and the portals are a luxury instead of something one can use all the time.
I had an idea to solve the same problem, in which we could create a small camp and the followers (like in D3, the blacksmith and the rest) could show up and offer their services. But your idea is easier to implement, i think.
4 Likes
Itemization options on the mount would be neat.
But I’d rather seem that kind of development effort go to Mercenaries instead.
Stash space on the mount would make a lot of sense though. Heck, it could carry your whole personal stash, only making the shared stash city-based.
Cosmetic MTX for your horse is guaranteed… Horse armor DLC is coming back!
A moment later there will be ridable dragons or whatever…
2 Likes
Are you sure we well even have them in D4. Rhykker asked about it with no direct answer.
No. But we should. It is a good way to help with the balance between solo and groups. And just a fun gameplay feature.
Doesn’t have to be actual mercenaries D2/D3 style, but something that fights at your side, and have some gear options (and preferably even skill options) would be great imo. The horse sadly doesn’t seem like a good candidate for that 
4 Likes
Mounts in an ARPG should be pretty fun if done right. So long as they’re not permanently killed like they are in Sacred 1. They died way too easily in the higher difficulties, 1-2 hits. Having to buy a new horse each time I literally rode mine to death was a pain, hahaha.
I just ended up stacking up increased running speed so I could run faster than a horse. It was pretty hilarious flying by mounted friends while you’re on foot like a medieval Quicksilver.
3 Likes
I like your hotbar feature the most and also the shared skills, would it not just be easier to give the horse stats like a follower?
As long as my mount has a vender and possibly extra storage then that’s all I need on my mount.
A vendor in your mount just sounds silly and unrealistic, but hey it’s a game where people wave their hands and razzle-dazzle balls fly out and make sparkles so realism is already out the door. Personally I think a built in vendor is pretty silly though.
A small amount of extra space due to saddle packs would make sense, but I don’t think it should be a lot of storage. Odds are they would make this purchasable in their Diablo Store as well because it would sell real well.
1 Like
Sure, like in D2. There are things that could be done with stats, like extra speed, armor, more dismount damage and stuffs like that. And they could always add other effects as legendary affixes for the mount’s gear.
If they had skills like in D3, that would give us some extra options and the mounts could add auras and other things like charge skills. It could give more control of what we do with the mount and also limit us to don’t do it all the time.
1 Like
He would have to be really small.
Saddle bags (irl) hang one on each side, so 2 with max of, let’s say, 8 x 8. Maybe have one bag for armor/weapons, the other for gems and jewelry?
1 Like
Mounts having a small storage so players can put some items in would be neat.
2 Likes
i hope it will only be an A to B feature;
-in an ISO game, Immersion would be lost big time if it becomes more.
I think having it be a bit more than that could be fun. Perhaps, while you explore the game and do quests, you can earn different skills or items that could be useful for your mount depending on how you want to play. Would you sooner increase the armor of your horse, ideal for mounted combat, or increase the storage capacity of the saddle bags? Both will slow down the horse slightly. Perhaps you’d rather have a faster horse for quicker travel? Better be careful, the lack of protection could spell a crippling injury preventing you from using it until you see a Stablemaster to treat it.
There are quite a few things that could be done with a mount, if time is taken to develop it.
I don’t know about you folks, but I would love to create a knight style figure that I could specialize in mounted combat with a spear or lance.
1 Like
this is what i fear;
-a mounted Nephalem, that fights from his mount all or some of the time.
-my hope, keep the horses role being an A-B taxi.
That sounds dull. There’s so much more that could be done, if they put the options in. Note that word: options. You wouldn’t have to make use of them if you didn’t want to do so.
Options are rarely a bad thing. You might not want to have a character built to fight from their mount, but obviously I would like that. Why make horses just a fast taxi when you can do something with it very few other ARPG’s have done. Give players options for their mounts, don’t just make it a pack mule or a means to get from A to B quickly. If they want to do that, just make waypoints to instantly teleport.
2 Likes
mounted gamplay glued in can’t be managed with options;
-it is a crucial form of gameplay that defines the game way too much.
-take MP to see the weight of mounted to not be able to be a choice.
Was it mentioned if taking damage would dismount you? Like, say you’re hunting elite packs and don’t want to stop for trash.
1 Like
Sure it can be managed with options. You wouldn’t even have to make it crucial, if balanced correctly it would come down to play preference. You should be able to have viable builds that can make use of mounted combat or on foot.
Sacred 1 handled it fine. Hell, with the right build you could even outrun the horses if you didn’t want to deal with mounts and still have a completely viable build for endgame if you set it up correctly.
i did exactly that.
it saved the game for me.