WildStar: Crazy Customization
Learn how Carbine's upcoming MMO gives you all the tools you need to be your own unique snowflake.
I Heard You Like Lasers...
Now, because I respect all of our readers, I won't submit you all to any overly-used internet phrases regardless of how much they may or may not be related to the topic at hand. What I will say, though, is that "Mount Customization" in WildStar is another way Carbine is allowing players to tailor the experience to suit their personal style.
At level 15, you'll gain the ability to purchase your first mount. While this will most likely be a mount that the majority of the player base has, customizing your mount will allow you to add your own personal touch to it. Items such as bags, lasers, scientific props, bunny ears, noodle stands and more can be found and unlocked in your mount customization window. Every customization item that's unlocked will be something you have permanent access to. So as you gain additional vehicles and animals to ride around on, you'll be able to deck them out with cool stuff right away.
"One of the reasons that I really like mounts personally is that they have sort of dual functions. On the one hand if you're sort of into "Pokemon gotta catch em' all" there a great way to add that thing to chase and build up your collection. But on the other and there's also the status symbol that comes with it. So you can have a mount or a piece you just unlocked that might be too hard for somebody else or that takes a really long time to do. So there's that dual function that's really interesting."
Getting back to vehicles, WildStar has hoverboards. Yeah, you read that right. If you're a Back To the Future fan, then you already know how much fun you'll be able to get into with one of these bad boys. Now unlike normal mounts, you'll be able to purchase a hoverboard starting at level 25. These things come packed with some slight differences compared to what you may normally see out of other methods of player transportation.
First off, while hoverboards aren't able to jump as high as normal mounts, they do allow you to double jump – a convenient method for getting to tricky-to-reach places. On top of that, they actually hover over water; a useful function for any galactic adventurer. And while the first hoverboard you have access to won't allow you to customize its parts, as you progress through the game you'll gain access to a variety of "custom boards" and unique hoverboard parts.
So while mounting up and riding out with your buddies may seem very familiar, the option to freely change how your mount looks is definitely a way to spice things up and put more options in the hands of the player. But what about your character? Because after all, the character you play is your direct connection between you and any MMORPG out there, making that character the most important aspect of customization.