The new mount system in XIV feels like a massive upgrade. ..
Your feet are so heavy that you can barely move. The Chocobo seems like a strangely feathery limousine.
Eventually, you’ll be able to take to the skies, riding mechs, incredibly overweight birds, flying motorbikes and gigantic whales.
For quite a while though, you’ll be relegated to the ground.
To experience the true freedom of A Realm Reborn, you’ll need to complete the game’s main scenario quests and reach level 50. At this point, you’ll be able to fly freely around all of the game’s original zones. ..
This wasn’t always the case. Flying was only added to A Realm Reborn recently, with the Reflections in Crystal patch that streamlined the leveling experience.
There are still circumstances where you’ll need to use your mount on the ground.
In order to unlock flying for expansion zones, you’ll need to complete quests and find hidden items on a zone-by-zone basis.
This process isn’t as bad as it seems. Your ground mounts will still be very useful until you can fly everywhere.
Your ground mount speed can be increased by two times.
Your mounts can share any upgrades that you unlock on the ground, meaning that you’ll be able to take advantage of all the new features and abilities on your mounts whilst traveling.
The first speed increase is linked to the story’s progress.
After hitting certain milestones, your mount speed will be increased in this area.
You can see which areas of your mount speed you’ve improved in by viewing the mount speed menu. In that menu, you’ll see two stars next to the locations. ..
The first star will be unlocked with main story quests, and the second star can only be obtained by finding an item. ..
To get the second star and the final speed increase, you must use Riding Maps.
How Do I Get Riding Maps?
Riding Maps can be purchased from your Grand Company’s Hunt Billmaster in exchange for Allied Seals.
Earn Allied Seals by completing The Hunt activities, which are basically side activities where you chase down bounties across the world.
Allied Seals are a type of currency that can be earned by completing tasks in the game. They are used to purchase items and rewards from the store, and can also be used to upgrade your character. Higher level marks reward you with more Allied Seals.
You can get a lot of different rewards from spending those seals, Riding Maps among them.
The Allied Seals can be found in the “Others” tab of the Billmaster’s items for sale. ..
To get a Shadowbringers Riding Map, you’ll need to speak with a Shadowbringers vendor. These vendors can be found in major cities across Tyria. Once you’ve spoken with the vendor, they will give you a map that will show you where all of the Shadowbringers mounts are located. ..
You’ll need to gather Bicolor Gemstones by completing FATEs across all the zones. You can then exchange these for Riding Maps at a range of vendors.
Is There Any Point In Buying Riding Maps?
Yes, I’m sorry to say that I don’t think so either.
In the game’s early days, flying just wasn’t possible. You could only fly from Heavensward onwards, and the game still demanded regular use of the original zones extensively.
Riding maps were much more important then, as you wanted to get as much speed out of your ground mounts as possible.
In A Realm Reborn, flying is the best way to get around. All you need to do is beat the Main Scenario quests.
Riding Maps are no longer as essential as they once were.
The main point of this article is that they are still useful to have, but I would recommend getting flying unlocked first.
