Celestial Steed

For, as I understand the thing,
'E went to sell this steed —
Which is a name they give a 'orse
Of some outlandish breed —,
And soon 'e found a customer,
A proper sportin' gent,
Who planked 'is money down at once
Without no argument.

From "The Arab Steed" by Arthur Conan Doyle

$25 for a in-game mount that you can use across all of your characters provided they have appropriate riding skills.

I don't have to search for $25 in my budget. I don't have to forgo a month's worth of lattes or rationalize it as a special present to myself. However, even though I like the mount, I cannot bring myself to purchase it.

I'm not above spending money on WoW beyond my subscription fee, but I feel as if I need to draw the line somewhere. For now my line is drawn at the Blizzard Store.

On the other hand, I don't understand why some people are upset with Blizzard about this. If you don't like the fact they are selling things like this - don't purchase them! Vote (or don't) with your pockets.

Now I do feel it will affect new players. How would you like it if you just started the game and they give you your underwhelming (in comparison) mount and you see a fellow player with a glittery glowing gelding? You'd probably ask them how to get that mount. I know I would be disappointed to find I have to pay extra after just paying to purchase the game. Hm.

Anyway, I do care about slippery slopes. I don't want them to introduce something to the game that is annoying or tedious then "coincidentally" offering a paid alternative that makes things less annoying and tedious. For example, I think I'd be upset if we only had so many bag slots and they sold extra bags slots for real money. Or if you had to purchase access to new quests.

As it is now, I have 30 or more mounts I can spend time getting in game before running out of mounts to acquire. When I reach that point maybe then I'll think about purchasing a Celestial Steed.