After further discussion, we will be reverting these changes entirely, and Water Striders? water-walking will not be restricted by location.
As noted in my earlier post in the thread, the genesis of this change was an observation that the Water Strider was being used disproportionately frequently, which led to a genuine concern on our part that the mechanical advantage of water-walking was stomping on the cosmetic choice of a player?s favorite mount. This is different from other utility mounts like the Traveler?s Mammoth or Expedition Yak, which are rarely used for any prolonged period of time or as a default mount; those are summoned specifically for the use of their vendors and then dismissed.
We don?t have any concern with water-walking as a concept, and the various player abilities and consumables that provide it are a great source of convenience. We?re not trying to make travel less convenient, or restrict player freedom. We observed what seemed like a potential problem, explored some solutions, and clearly the cure has proven worse than the disease. Thank you for your feedback.