Pandaren mount speculation

Will female pandaren have a male pandaren as mount?

Since a hint in October from the developers of the new World of Warcraft expansion that they leaned towards a turtle mount for the Pandaren, Blizzard has been suspiciously quiet about the subject. But that has never hindered the fanbase to speculate wildly about the way of transport we may expect for the sturdy new race.

Guesses range from floating clouds to the panda just rolling himself up in a ball. This last option seems less feasible, ever since the debacle with the Worgen way of fast transport by running on all fours. While this was completely acceptable lore wise (worgen are wolfs after all), a lot of players thought it looked ridiculous and Blizzard got a lot of grief from the Alliance side, that felt left out of some extra mounts while their Goblin counterparts had cool trikes to show off with. The hastily recycled horses that were thrown in to answer the complaints didn´t make anybody really happy. One could argue that since the Pandaren are a both-faction race there would be fewer complaints, but Blizzard is known for listening to their players and I don´t think they want to burn their fingers again.

It needs to be said though, that whichever mount eventually gets chosen, there will be complaints from some people. Already hardcore fishers feel cheated by the idea of a turtle mount accessible to anybody, while they had to spend long and lonely hours fishing for theirs. And yes, they have a point. In the lull of time before Cataclysm hit the stores, I went through the mind-numbingly boring grind for the Winterspring Frostsaber and used it as my standard mount afterwards, proudly showing I have no life at all. Now that the grind has become much shorter and more entertaining, the sabers are not a rare sight anymore and I put mine back in the stable. Likewise, I have always regretted that the Horde counterpart – the Ravasaur – doesn´t have a more distinct look from the normal troll mounts to reward for the amount of time put in obtaining it.

Having said that, turtles do fit the atmosphere and the lore of Pandaria, the starting world being a giant turtle swimming through space and all (not to be confused with Discworld´s A´Tuin, the big turtle swimming through space carrying four elephant on her back who in their turn carry the discworld). And it might help that I never fished up the turtle mount on any of my toons, not for lack of trying.

However, lately the rumors about the mount being a yak are getting more persisting, for instance through mmo-champion, where they have discovered the yak-model is already available in five different colors. On the starting world, transport to and fro different quest hubs is offered in the form of a little carts, towed by…. indeed yaks.  Keeping in line with the character of the race and the emphasis Blizzard has put on their love for good food and drink, wouldn´t it be a nice touch if the yak offered milk and cheese to its owner?

All speculations aside, we will only be sure the moment the developers decide in all their wisdom to end the suffering of the suspense and reveal what they have come up with. And then brace themselves for the storm of critics and complaints. I hereby promise I will be happy with whatever choice they make, be it a spinning fishbowl or a beer keg on wheels as long as it doesn´t make a horribly intrusive noise. So there. You may keep me to that.