Travel in Norrath

Overview
As the world of Everquest 2 has grown, so have the modes of transportation you can choose. There is travel throughout to world using of intra-zone (from one zone to another) and inter-zone travel (travel within various regions within a single zone). This guide will provide you with a basic understanding of the many travel options you have as well as, describe the types of personal transportation you can use, like mounts. Once you have a basic understanding of the various modes and types of travel in Everquest 2, it's much easier to locate and use them as your journey continues.

In essence, it can be said there are three modes of transportation you will use to travel:
 * Personal travel is any type of transportation that you must equip to use, like a mount or charm, and spells that can be cast for travel.
 * Instant travel is any mode of travel in which you see a loading screen when you leave one zone and enter a different one (often referred to as "zoning"). This is typically done by clicking on an object in the world like a bell, portal, or globe.
 * Automated travel is any mode of travel that you do not need to steer and during which you do not need to worry about enemies attacking you. In most cases, this happens after you hail an NPC in a zone and choose a location to travel to within a zone.

Mounts
Mounts are personal mode of travel. When you get a mount, it will automatically appear in the Mounts tab of your character sheet. In order to equip a mount, you must open the Character window (press C to open it) and drag the icon of the mount you want to use into the equip slot. You have the freedom to choose an appearance for your mount my dragging on of the same type into the appearance slot to the right of the equip slot.

Four Categories
While the look of mounts varies, there are four categories that serve different purposes. This is due in part to the way zones have been designed over the years; some have greater height (like a ceiling in a real house) than others.
 * Ground mounts are any mount that never leaves the ground level when you travel over the terrain. The are some situations in which you can not use them; generally this applies to areas like dungeons and you will automatically dismount on entry, but for the most part, ground mounts can be used in any larger zone within the game. All mount types will function like ground mounts in areas where their use is limited.
 * Leapers (or leaping mounts) are any type that allows you to jump extremely high in the air to cross great distances and are often used to get past chasms or leap up the ridges of mountains. These have a few limits; for example, you can not leap with a leaper mount while inside of a city like Freeport, but you can still ride the mount on the ground.
 * Gliders operate in a manner not unlike a hang glider in the real world. When you go off the edge of a cliff or ledge of any kind, they glide through the air and require special attention to steering in order to use them effectively.
 * Flying mounts do exactly what the name implies. They allow you to fly through zones which are designed for flight. While they can be used in some of the zones that were added with early game expansions, their use is typically used in newer zones.

Mount Speed
How fast fast you can travel on a mount varies by the category and how they are being used.
 * Due to the user-edited nature of this wiki, the run speeds info for many mounts may not reflect the standardization of speeds that was implemented in recent years
 * All mounts of the same category have the same speed boosts. In other words, all mounts designed for ground use now have the same speed (in the past it varied), all leapers run at the same rate/leap the same distance, and so on for all categories.
 * While all mounts can be used at the ground level, those not designed specifically for ground use reduce in speed somewhat when used on the ground. That means that a flying mount that normally provides a 150% speed boost when in flight will only increase your ground speed by 75%. This provides players with the option to use a mount with a slightly slower mount with when needed. For example, while exploring a region you're unfamiliar with, you may not want to rush by as fast as you would while flying, making the reduced speed preferable.
 * The good news is that you can have multiple mounts, so you can switch between them based on what you're doing too. You can even choose to ride one mount, while having another one for appearance; this feature is useful if you've outgrown the other stats on a mount (like those for increased defense or spell casting) but still show off the look of the that older mount. For more on how this works see the article on appearance gear.

Obtaining Mounts
When you first begin your adventure in the lands of Norrath, your only mode of travel is on foot. As you progress to level 20 you can do a quest for you first mount, a horse that matches the theme of the city you chose when you created the character. Below is a list of starting zones you were able to choose from, with the final quest from a series that must be completed to get your first mount.
 * The New Halas quest series culminates with Sometimes You Feel Like a Knut.
 * The Kelethin quest series culminates with Corruptor Thurizil (Quest)
 * The Neriak, City of Hate quest series culminates with Collecting the Spirits
 * The Gorowyn quest series culminates with Frazykyr

With in most Cities
The look of both the Globe of Swift Travel and the Mariner's Bells essentially remains the same, regardless of the zones you find them in. They are most commonly near a dock, though they do exist in some locations away from water.
 * Globe of Swift Travel
 * Mariner's Bell
 * Cities like Neriak and Kelethin use (city) Teleoptaion Pads that must be clicked. Gorowyn only had two of these and you just run over them to teleport from the bottom of the ramp to the top, near the housing, banker, and broker.


 * Teleporatation Pads

Within Most Zones

 * Globe of Swift Travel is most frequently within zones as well, because it is used to travel to and from so many locations.
 * Ulteran Spires
 * Druid Rings

Automatic travel
When using these modes of travel, you do not need to steer or be mindful of enemies. You do not need to own a mount in order to use these. Though the look of this varies in appearance from zone to zone, the manner in which they function is much the same. It's not uncommon for new twists on this type of travel to show up to suit the look and feel as new zones are added to the world.

Examples of Automatic Travel

 * If you open your regular map while in zones with this type of travel, the common icon that will show for possible locations looks like a tiny pair of wings or a tiny horse head, even if the travel itself is not specifically one of those styles.
 * In most cases there is not an unlock quest after travel updates were made. Instead, you'll hail a NPC, a map will open, and you'll choose a location.


 * Stable Masters that stand on the ground, near a horse in many zones like Greater Faydark and Loping Plains
 * Griffin Towers in numerous locations, but first introduced to players in Commonlands and Antonica.
 * Magic Carpets within the Sinking Sands and related zones.
 * Sokokar in zones that were added with the Rise of Kunark expansion in zones like Kunzar Jungle
 * Within zones like Moors of Ykesha you can use steampunk-themed, hot-air balloons to get to most areas.
 * In zones like Paineel in the Sundered Frontier, you will click on a crystal to go to and from some locations or use a flying disc to get around.
 * In Steamfont Mountains via Gnomish Hovering Devices.