Mounts

               ==General Information==
[[File:Character_Window_Mounts_Tab.jpg|thumb|Any mount you get will appear in the Mounts tab of the Character Window. Press C to open the Character window. ]]
Mounts are personal mode of travel. When you get a mount, it will automatically appear in the Mounts tab of your character sheet. In order to equip a mount, you must open the Character window (press C to open it) and drag the icon of the mount you want to use into the equip slot. After it's equipped you will summon the mount using the saddle icon in the character sheet (an ability you can also drag to a hotbar for easy access). 
:You have the freedom to choose an appearance for your mount by dragging one of the same category into the appearance slot to the right of the equip slot. Many mounts provide stat bonuses for adventure or tradeskills, but (like all [[Appearance|appearance-slot gear]]) you will only get the benefit of the stats when they are equipped in the normal gear slot. 

Only the tinkered mounts and certain quest rewards have a set number of charges and must be procured anew once their charges are used up. All others are yours to keep once they are purchased.

Mounts will temporarily disappear any time you ride another form of transportation that flies or runs, such as a griffin, sokokar, horse, or cloud, but will automatically reappear once you land. They also temporarily disappear any time you climb a wall. In some zones, your mount will temporarily disappear from view until you zone out again but still provide the benefit of any stats bonuses. For example, many crafting, dungeon and raid zones have this effect.

Jumping, Gliding and Flying mounts may lose their aerial movement ability and become slowed to their ground movement speed if the player is attacked in the air while mounted, even if the player does not engage the hostile attacker.  Ground mounts like horses do not seem to be slowed by being attacked.
====Four Mount Categories====
While the look of mounts varies, there are four categories that serve different purposes. This is due in part to the way zones have been designed over the years; some have greater height (like a ceiling in a real house) than others. For example, [[The City of Freeport]] and [[Qeynos]] still have a low height limit, even after major updates to them. All mount types will function like ground mounts in areas where their use is limited by zone "ceilings". All mounts have a level requirement for use.  
*'''Ground''' mounts are any mount that never leaves the ground level when you travel over the terrain. The are some situations in which you can not use them; generally this applies to areas like dungeons and you will automatically dismount on entry, but for the most part, ground mounts can be used in any larger zone within the game. You can use a ground mount beginning at level 1. 
*'''Leapers''' (or leaping mounts) are any type that allows you to jump extremely high in the air to cross great distances and are often used to get past chasms or leap up the ridges of mountains. You can use a leaper mount beginning at level 30.
*'''Gliders''' operate in a manner not unlike a hang glider in the real world. When you go off the edge of a cliff or ledge of any kind, they glide through the air and require special attention to steering in order to use them effectively. You can use a glider mount beginning at level 60. 
*'''Flying''' mounts do exactly what the name implies. They allow you to fly through zones which are designed for flight. While they can be used in some of the zones that were added with early game expansions, their use is typically used in newer zones. You can use a flying mount beginning at level 85.<br>
[[File:Nightmare_Flight_Wings_(Equipped).png|thumb|152px|An example of a Station Cash flight "mount" in the form of wings.  ]]
There are many ways to get mounts in EQ2. 
*You can buy many from a [[Horse Merchant]] (with normal plat, gold and silver) in most zones with player [[Housing|housing]]
*By completing various quests (listed in a section below)
*From numerous faction merchants (like [[Koros Splinterlimb]])
*By using the /claim command in-game to get [[Veteran's Rewards]] or from buying certain game expansions
*With special currencies like [[Loyalty Point Token]]s and during many seasonal events like [[Frostfell]]. 
*In some dungeons and raid zones.
*Or you can buy mounts from the [[Marketplace]] with Station Cash (real-world money).

====Mount Speed====
How fast you travel on a mount varies by its category and the mount is used.
*''Due to the user-edited nature of this wiki, the run speeds info for many mounts may not reflect the standardization of speeds that was implemented in recent years''
*All mounts of the same category have the same speed boosts. In other words, all mounts designed for ground use now have the same speed (in the past it varied), all leapers run at the same rate/leap the same distance, and so on for all categories. 
*While all mounts can be used at the ground level, those ''not'' designed specifically for ground use reduce in speed somewhat when used on the ground. That means that a flying mount that normally provides a 150% speed boost when in flight will only increase your ground speed by 75%. This provides players with the option to use a mount with a slightly slower mount with when needed. For example, while exploring a region you're unfamiliar with, you may not want to rush by as fast as you would while flying, making the reduced speed preferable. 
*The good news is that you can have multiple mounts, so you can switch between them based on what you're doing too. You can even choose to ride one mount, while having another one for appearance; this feature is useful if you've outgrown the other stats on a mount (like those for increased defense or spell casting) but still show off the look of the that older mount. For more on how this works see the article on [[Appearance|appearance gear]].