New EX Mount Completely Unrelated?

[ShirakoShinkai]

I honestly don't even know what to say. I don't like criticizing something the devs have worked hard on to provide for us, but I am so bewildered right now that I feel like I have to say something. The final mount for the EX trials in Endwalker is just... bad.

First of all, I've been working hard to get Lynxes, so why is the final mount not a Lynx or Lynx-like mount? ARR had horses so you get a horse. HW had birds so you get a bird. SB had wolves and you get a fox, which while isnt exactly the same, they're still related (and honestly that fox looks so much like a wolf that I thought it was for a long time). ShB had dragons and you get a robot dragon. Makes sense. But now... I'm getting cats and... I get another dragon? And I get it. "This is the FF4 expansion." The mount is (apparently?) from FF4. I wouldn't know cause I never played that one, and now I feel like I'm being punished for not having played it. Like would I have cared about it if I HAD played 4? Not sure. I'm just tired of them finally giving FF14 original content (with the raids), and then for them to just turn around and give us FF4 story again in the form of post-patch MSQ is so frustrating. I'm sure the people who played it are having a GREAT time cause who wouldn't wanna see old nostalgic references in their favorite video game? But I'm getting a little tired of all the pandering, and this mount is just the tipping point I guess. And the mount itself is so distracting? The colors are so tacky, like couldn't they have toned it down a bit at least...? Like WOW that is SO YELLOW. At least make it a touch less saturated and give it a glow or SOMETHING. It really doesn't look anything like something I could get from EX trials. More like something out of the Gold Saucer or Tribe quests or something.

I don't mind if they wanna add it into the game. I'm a collector so I'd go get it anyway. My issue is that it feels so disrespectful for them to make it the big EX mount. Like I really don't want to say nothing but bad things about this (cause honestly I rarely have anything bad to say about the devs' decisions) but this is too much. I LOVE the Lynxes so so much and I was so excited for the final mount. I talked with friends about how cool it could be; maybe made out of stars or an elegant rainbow or even just a basic shining gold. I even thought making it shine like the Elpis flower could be so awesome and very thematic. Now I just feel so disheartened, I don't even wanna finish getting the other Lynxes.

IDK. I guess maybe I'm just being a bit rant-y, but I can't be the only one who thinks this way right? All the other comments I've seen talk about how much they love it or maybe they don't like the mount in general, but nothing about how off-putting it feels that THIS is the final EX mount. I know the devs probably wont even read this and even if they DO and for some reason agree, it's not like they can change it at this point anyway. I just feel crazy

[Jeeqbit]

It's not strictly about being the same type. It's about being something legendary. The kirin, the firebird/phoenix, tamamo gozen/foxy lady, and this robot are meant to be legendary.

[AmpelioB]

I feel you, the Ex mount actually looks like more like a Expansion pre-order/enchanced Bonus since is related tot he amano pixel art than the Lynxes itself

It's not strictly about being the same type. It's about being something legendary. The kirin, the firebird/phoenix, tamamo gozen/foxy lady, and this robot are meant to be legendary.

I would at the very least to be a Felinae, all trials mounts at the very least similar, with the kirin being the most "unrelated" to their expansion but still close since it's a quadrupede

[Sindele]

now I feel like I'm being punished for not having played it.

[ShirakoShinkai]

Actually that's a good way to phrase it. This mount definitely doesn't feel "legendary" enough.

[Destati]

I'm excited for the mount (bummed because this is the first expansion since Heavensward that I've fallen really behind on getting the mounts), but I agree the choice feels a little out of place. If anything I would have expected something like Coeurlregina/those Elpis mobs.

[Jearbare]

I also don't like the new dragon reward that they showcased, I would rather it have been a cat or lynx themed mount which was what I was kind of expecting and hoping for. Personally, I worked hard to farm a lot of lynx mounts on content this expansion, in the hopes of getting a really cool and unique cat or lynx in 6.5, based on the precedent set by the previous extreme rewards. This dragon just feels out of place based on the past rewards and it wasn't a pleasant surprise, and I'm hoping the developers might have a chance to reconsider, even if they have to delay the reward half a patch or so to deliver a more fitting cat-themed mount. I am not against this dragon being put into the game as a whole, but I am against it being the reward for collecting all of the extreme trial lynx mounts.

[BristolRuss]

I was certain that the final mount was going to be the Couerlregina model from the big fates in the Dravanian Forelands. The dragon is cool enough though.

[Coatl]

The dragon just feels so damn random. Definitely does not inspire me to go and farm some cats.

[Ranhansha]

The mount feels out of the blue. I was expecting a cool cat mount. This should have been a collector edition mount (instead we got Arion, the ShB "recolour") or a BLU achievement reward (instead we got nothing, or a Mogstation item).