I completely understand the reasoning behind the use of certificates for animals, both in taming, carrying, and placing in the various farm type buildings. However, it has a real impact on immersion. Several times I have brought a horse to new players so they could ride to our base and the first comment they made when seeing the animal disappear into inventory is how they didn't like it, followed with how it was too much like Darkfall.

As it is now, most players put animals into the virtual warehouse storage space, crates, wagons and every other type of storage container. While a quick fix to allow the dev team to move on to other areas of development, I think for the MMO some additional time should be spent to make this part of the game more realistic.

In other games, players have to tame creatures and then lead them with a rope or halter back to their base of operations. This would cover all the tamable animal types except for rabbits and chickens. For these two creatures, having them appear on a players belt slot or shoulder slot could work. Then again, having them as a certificate isn't as bad as the larger animals, so perhaps that functionality could stay the same.

As for storage, small stables should serve as a storage area for trained horses only. Large barns should be used for cows and breeding horses. When a trained horse is placed into the small stable, it should appear on the ground inside the stable, but be invulnerable to attack. Anyone with the skill to ride a warhorse (or higher) should be able to remove the animal from the small stable (causing it to disappear from view inside the stable). The player would then be able to ride it or lead it. At no point would the player be able to 'store it' in inventory. When not stored in the stable the trained horse would be vulnerable to attack. Much of the other functionality around horses would remain as it currently is.

For cows, sheep, and pigs, the same functionality would exist in so far as removing the animal from the barn/stable would cause them to appear next to the player, on a rope that the player would then lead around. They could 'release' the animal if they chose, so that if the player had build pens the animals could be placed inside. Naturally anyone else could come along and take them and they, like horses, would be vulnerable to attacks.

This would also require that animals not be able to go through objects as they do now.