Ethereal Mount
Ethereal Mount
An Ethereal Mount is a statuette-form magical mount that, when activated, allows a player to ride a translucent ghostly version of one of UO's standard mount types — Horse, Llama, Ostard, Kirin, Beetle, Reptalon, Hiryu, Swamp Dragon, Boura, Polar Bear, Unicorn, Ridgeback, etc. Unlike living mounts (which require Animal Taming and feeding), Ethereal Mounts are non-combat, non-tameable, indestructible, and bonded to no one — they exist as status-symbol cosmetics with full mount mechanics. Their two principal sources are the Veteran Rewards program (gating most variants) and the Cleanup Britannia reward catalog (high-tier point redemptions). Ethereal Mounts are among UO's most prized status items and the canonical sign of a veteran or wealthy character.
Mechanics
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Form | A small statuette item; double-click to summon |
| Usable while alive | Yes — only by living characters; ghosts cannot mount |
| Mount-class behavior | Identical to a living mount: -10 Stealth, faster running speed, blocks some abilities (e.g., Bushido) on certain mounts |
| Combat usage | Yes — the rider can attack, cast spells, drink potions while mounted, just like on a living mount |
| Death | Cannot be killed; the mount unsummons if the rider dies |
| Trade | Yes — the statuette is fully tradeable on player vendors and in person trades |
| Decay | The statuette never decays in a player's pack or house |
| Lock-down | Yes — can be locked down in a house; a popular display |
Variants
The known Ethereal Mount roster (subject to per-publish additions):
| Mount | Source |
|---|---|
| Ethereal Horse | Veteran Reward (1-year), most common variant |
| Ethereal Llama | Veteran Reward (1-year alternate) |
| Ethereal Ostard | Veteran Reward (1-year) — usually Forest variant |
| Ethereal Kirin | Veteran Reward (multi-year) — Tokuno-themed |
| Ethereal Beetle | Veteran Reward — Tokuno Fire Beetle variant |
| Ethereal Hiryu | Veteran Reward — Tokuno-themed |
| Ethereal Reptalon | Veteran Reward — Mondain's Legacy era |
| Ethereal Swamp Dragon | Veteran Reward / Cleanup Britannia reward |
| Ethereal Unicorn | Veteran Reward (Ilshenar themed) |
| Ethereal Boura | Veteran Reward — High Seas / Stygian Abyss era |
| Ethereal Polar Bear | Cleanup Britannia / event reward |
| Ethereal Ridgeback | Veteran Reward — Ilshenar Savage Camp themed |
The roster expands as new mount types enter the game; Veteran Rewards systematically backports common mount types to ethereal form once the live-mount has been part of UO for several years.
Veteran Rewards integration
The Ethereal Mount catalog is central to the Veteran Rewards program:
| Account age | Ethereal Mount tier |
|---|---|
| 2-year | Ethereal Horse / Llama / Ostard (3 choices) |
| 3-year | Above + Ethereal Forest Ostard |
| 5-year | Above + Ethereal Kirin / Beetle |
| 8-year | Above + Ethereal Hiryu / Swamp Dragon |
| 11-year | Above + Ethereal Reptalon / Unicorn |
| 14-year+ | Above + newer additions (Boura, Polar Bear) |
Each Veteran Reward year, the account holder selects from a token-redeemable list that includes Ethereal Mounts; choosing one consumes the year's reward token. Many high-Veteran accounts have complete sets of Ethereal Mounts dating back to early UO.
Cleanup Britannia integration
Cleanup Britannia is the non-Veteran path to certain Ethereal Mounts — particularly:
| Variant | Cleanup Britannia points |
|---|---|
| Ethereal Polar Bear | ~600,000 points |
| Ethereal Swamp Dragon | ~400,000 points |
| Ethereal Reptalon (sometimes) | ~750,000 points |
These are eye-watering point requirements — a player must turn in literally tens of thousands of accepted items to acquire one. The Cleanup-Britannia path is genuine but rarely cost-effective compared to purchasing the statuette on a player vendor.
Trade economy
The Ethereal Mount trade economy is robust:
| Variant | Typical vendor price |
|---|---|
| Ethereal Horse / Llama / Ostard | 5m–15m gp |
| Ethereal Kirin / Beetle / Forest Ostard | 15m–40m gp |
| Ethereal Hiryu / Swamp Dragon | 40m–80m gp |
| Ethereal Reptalon / Unicorn / Ridgeback | 80m–150m gp |
| Ethereal Boura / Polar Bear | 150m–500m gp |
Prices vary by shard and by visual rarity; rare-hue ethereal mounts (the transparent / pure-translucent / blue-ghosted variants from special Cleanup-Britannia tiers) can fetch billions of gold on hot servers.
Status and roleplay
Ethereal Mounts function as status symbols in UO culture:
| Use | Why |
|---|---|
| Veteran identification | A character riding an Ethereal Hiryu is signaling "8+ year Veteran account" |
| Wealth display | The non-Veteran path requires either Cleanup-Britannia or huge gold expenditure |
| House-display piece | Many houses lock down their full Ethereal collection in a "stable" room |
| Commerce signal | A player vendor with an Ethereal Mount on display is signaling "high-end inventory" |
| PvP gear | The mount provides full mount-mechanic combat — used in Felucca PvP for mobility |
Visual identification
| Mount | Visual |
|---|---|
| Ethereal Horse | Translucent dappled-grey ghost-horse |
| Ethereal Hiryu | Translucent draconic Tokuno mount |
| Ethereal Polar Bear | Translucent white bear |
| Ethereal Reptalon | Translucent green draconic reptile |
| Common visual signature | All ethereal mounts have a slight blue or grey transparency distinguishing them from living mounts of the same class |
See also
- Veteran_Rewards — the principal source
- Cleanup_Britannia — the alternative path for some variants
- Animal_Taming — the skill that produces living mounts (Ethereals require no skill)
- Stealth — applies the same -10 penalty to mounted Stealth
- Bushido — disables some Bushido abilities on certain mounts (same as living mount)
- Tokuno_Islands · Mondain's_Legacy — sources of Tokuno-themed and ML-themed Ethereal variants