Look a little more closely at what these changes are all intended for. Heirloom items, mount minimization, etc. The point is to keep the game balanced NOT by level - but by play time from entry to cap.

This change is a bit unique. Note that it's an heirloom item, so the only players who can take advantage are those who already "explored Northrend", Blizzard's self-proclaimed reason for introducing the limitation to begin with. Everyone still has to reach at least L77 the first time, and have an L80 character to enable alts.

Most of the complaint comes from those players who invested so much time on something that Blizzard then hands away. There are a few things to keep in mind here, why (while it's entirely reasonable to feel frustrated) Blizzard finally decided to introduce the changes.

1) It's an MMO - where are all the people?
Let's be honest. Outside of the main capitals, the rest of the world is a wasteland. I remember when I started the game (just after the BC expansion release), there were low-levels everywhere. Need help with that group quest? Wait 5 seconds, someone will wander along. But pay close attention - because they're ALL Blood Elves and Draenei. When I re-rolled as a Horde Troll 6 months later, I found a barren wasteland. (Okay, yes, I was in the Barrens. Regardless.) The high-levels had either abandoned their experimental new toons or levelled them past 60 already.

For new players, this can be a major turn-off. If Blizzard leaves the difficulty level, especially in the 40-60 range where it was originally, people burn out. No other people means less engagement and more difficulty, and when you toss $15 a month on top of what is now (apparently) a one-player game - what's the point?

Many of the changes being introduced (mounts at 20, anyone?) are intended to help newer players survive the sheer boredom and drudgery that the abandoned continents have become. The goal is to help them get where everyone else is - Dalaran.

These are, quite honestly, the same points that I believe led Blizzard to some of the more disputed topics, such as dropping Emblems of Heroism and Valor and handing out Conquest. Yes, there are a lot of people who are angry at having these made so freely available after bleeding all over Ulduar and Naxx. But when the change happens (3.2), all of you will be moving into the Tournament, and the heroics and raids will start to empty out. Players will struggle to find groups for heroics, and hit a wall where they would need those heroics to progress to Naxx, Naxx to move to Ulduar, and Ulduar to get into the Tournament - with no way to make it happen. Even with this change, Blizzard is trying to help their non-elite player base catch up to the rest of the players.

2) What's the benefit for us?
Now, the important part. All of the players who have been in-game for a long time, sweated through Molten Core, scraped through Kara, and won that first uber-victory against Yogg-Saron... Are upset. They feel like Blizzard forced them to struggle then proceeded to hand it out like candy to children. I'm certainly going to be furious when the epic flying drops to 1,000 gold, or Mechano-Hog parts start to be craftable.

But should we be? If you're in this class, you already have these things. You probably had them a while ago, soaring around with ease while the more casual players ate themselves inside-out with envy. And with the new expansion, if you continue to play as you do, you're going to be riding Dragonhawks and smiting Onyxia with your pinky-finger, while they lose half their health in a duel with a Rabbit.

So the question you should ask yourself is this:

What's most important to me: Staying on the bleeding edge, or enjoying the simple pleasures?

Think about it carefully. Is it worth the cost to always be on top? If the answer is yes, then be prepared to always pay a higher price than those that come after. You are the forerunners. The ones who cut the trail, who battle for every inch, and who fight and die to leave a mark. After you've come and gone, what you do is used by those who follow after. Some may even fail to appreciate what you've done in making a way for them.

This is a fact of life. I certainly almost never think about the people who invented the automated counting machine, or liquid crystal display, or spent half a year writing thousands of lines of code just so a digital avatar's chest could bounce. (I'm just kidding, nameless software engineer. You're my hero. Really.) But thanks to their cumulative years of effort, I can now walk into a room, push a few buttons, and enjoy a game that still holds my attention. And let's not ignore that, for most of us, the fact that we live where we live, with air conditioning and comfy chairs, is a result of more of the same.

Older people do this all the time. We all know the phrase, "When I was your age..." Well, when I was your level...

If you've played the game for a while, you know well by now that the time will come when the level cap reaches 90, and all of Northrend becomes the frozen wasteland it should originally have been. The dragons will return to their dreaming, the Old Gods will fade into legend, and the Lich King will move to Aruba. All of your work will, at that point, be replaced by a few world drop greens and a quest reward or two. New players will neither appreciate nor understand what it means to have the Undying title, as they wander in with a few friends and have it in a couple hours.

Why are you always one of the first to beat a new instance? Why do you have 5 characters with Epic / Cold-Weather flying? Why is your Emblem of Valor total in the triple digits, with nothing left to spend it on? If you don't know, maybe it's time to try the life of a casual player. Read through the achievement list and try out a few (non-raid) challenges. Maybe take up fishing or cooking. Or go solo Deadmines; hunt for rare creatures; work on the Loremaster title. Maybe start collecting companion pets and mounts. Or just wander around offering aid to the new players who are stuck in a game that they started three years too late. There's a lot to do in the game that neither needs nor particularly cares whether you've capped your gear or mastered that skill rotation, and it can be a lot more fun.

You may find that you've been missing out on the real pleasure that the game offers, and that you should have been a casual all along.

Or you may try it, and discover that the thrill and discovery of the bleeding edge is worth always paying more than those who come after.

Or, perhaps after breaking free off the desperate press to not be left behind, you may find that the game has turned hollow for you, and move on to something else.

In the end, what you learn about yourself will be worth the time.

I'm sure there is going to be a whole lot of fuss about this but why? Majority of us veteran players got our flying and potentially epic flying in Burning Crusade. I thought it was completely ridiculous that I couldn't use my epic flier in Northrend, which I spent ridiculous amounts of time in BC earning, until I was almost done.

I spent 5000g to make my life easier. And in the end was denied. Yes, I did work my tail off for it. Then they release a new expansion and go "Well we want you to see everything."

This change fits under the whole "It really should have been this way all along." patches. If we had been allowed to fly in Northrend at 68 from the get go the majority of players and I'm going to assume posters on this forum wouldn't have said a thing.

Yes, they are also increasing basic flying to 150% (up from 60%). I am by far not a "lazy" player. I never, ever understood why a flying mount was so painfully slow. It was easier in most situations to land and grab my epic ground mount. (only exceptions being zones like Storm Peaks or Blade's Edge where terrain made it too difficult to ride on ground). This never made any sense to me at all. And I believe this is about the speed it should have been all along.

I think the majority of changes being made to the game are common sense changes. Things that had they been like this from the beginning nobody would scream "Wow its too easy lets make our 900g fliers go the speed of our very first mounts! And lets make it so we can't fly in Northrend until 77. Lets make it so clams don't stack! (yes i went there)."

It has always been Blizzards policy to even out game between more casual players and those who don’t have any other life than WOW. Some of us WoW players actually have wives, children’s, other hobbies and full time work that take big part of our life. We can’t stay here 24h/7days a week to get all benefits for us casuals this kind of chances are great.

Why?
I have 5 alts for both my main Alliance and Horde toons on 3 different servers. I made each one of them earn their own keep and all of my 80's have their Epics and cold weather. It took time and effort... now Bliz seems to be committed to just give away all of these things that many of us worked hard for ( like waiting till 40 AND have a spare 100 gold laying around for a mount). Now it's just almost a freebie at what... mid 20's now?

If Bliz REALLY wants to do something productive... how about allowing you to mail your soul-bound items to an Alt (or for that matter any toon) that can disenchant the item? Maybe allow you to mail them to your alts to DE AND allow a Trade Window just like the locked boxes for Rogues, so an Enchanter can DE your item for you? WHEN!!!!! Hell I think making some of your hard earned work in the trades is worth more than yet another mount!.

Maybe with those changes.. refund the older players that spent a small fortune on the same items.