Justin “Syp” Olivetti admits that once Riders of Rohan was announced with mounted combat that the expansion’s success was going to heavily depend on how good mounted combat turned out. And I can’t fault him for thinking this. It seemed that every press announcement or interview that we were seeing being posted about Riders of Rohan focused heavily on the upcoming system and how much work had gone into it. But as gamers we know that even though a company talks a feature up before its release doesn’t necessarily mean that it will meet player expectations. However, after a recent hands-on, Justin feels that we can rest assured in that Turbine has once again built an amazing product.
I think I can breathe easier now that I’ve had a chance to spend an hour fiddling with mounted combat while talking to Senior Producer Aaron Campbell. What I saw was an alpha build of the expansion (the beta is scheduled to start soon, perhaps as soon as next week), but once I got used to careening over the plains at 88 miles per hour, it felt just right.
It felt like LotRO.
So what are some of the features that Justin was able to get out of Aaron Campbell during his hands-on? Well, I don’t want to spoil the article too much, but I’ll drop a couple of teasers that will hopefully encourage you to go and read the full article over at Massively.
- A new Legendary Item type will be introduced specifically for Mounted Combat (I kid you not).
- Mounted Combat will have its own User Interface where you see your mount’s stats, extensively adjust their appearance, and manage their traits.
- Mounts have five different speeds so that players can adjust how fast their mount is going.
- You will attack using your normal weapons, but the skills you use will be specific to mounted combat.
- Warbands will be roving over the entire map, “…which means you may find one when you least expect it.”
I want to thank Justin for this amazing article, which has brought us a ton of new information that frankly has me quite a bit more interested in mounted combat and how it will play into my game once Riders of Rohan comes out. What about you? Will you be with me riding on the plains come September?
July 13, 2012 at 9:16 am
While I was already excited about the expansion this news made me extatic and I can’t wait for September!
July 13, 2012 at 9:27 am
Yes, this article was very interesting and got me quite excited. Almost convinced to pre order now.
July 13, 2012 at 9:47 am
This is the quote that caught my attention:
“You’ll need to make peace with the fact that mounted combat basically is Riders of Rohan. A great portion of quests in the region are tied to the new system, and it’s definitely something that the game will lean on going forward.”
So RoR = mounted combat = RoR, now and in the future.
This means that a LOT is riding on (no pun intended) them getting this right. That’s kinda scary, because if it turns out to be frustrating/clunky/no fun (especially for certain classes) then a huge swath of the late game will be junked, more or less.
July 13, 2012 at 9:59 am
It all sounds cool, although the one thing that I’m not sure I’m excited about is another legendary item.
July 13, 2012 at 10:07 am
Sounds cool. I hope they can really make the mounted stuff fun. I have my doubts, but it looks good from what I’ve seen
July 13, 2012 at 10:48 am
Definitely a good article. Especially knowing that you can count on Syp to report objectively. It is heartening to see Turbine open up a bit and actually show people what the expansion is going to entail. That said, I am still less than impressed with this expansion and its price-point [accordingly have not pre-ordered].
July 13, 2012 at 10:48 am
Cosmetic system for my steed…. ooooh yeah..!
July 13, 2012 at 1:42 pm
It looks pretty amazing doesn’t it?
July 13, 2012 at 10:54 am
I’m looking forward to this new system and all, but I hope the game doesn’t become TOO heavily based on it going forward. I still like my traditional on-foot questing and combat. Plus, being able to ride around at supersonic speeds will make this massive region feel smaller.
July 13, 2012 at 11:01 am
I agree with Hymne. Cosmetics for horses? Count me so in.
July 13, 2012 at 11:01 am
Something i like is the “Configuration 1″ and “Configuration 2″ buttons in Right side of mounted traits. I hope turbine also found time to add that to the usual Traits in a bard.
July 13, 2012 at 1:45 pm
I have to imagine they’re looking into this, especially since it’s something that they could potentially market in the store.
July 13, 2012 at 11:43 am
Wonder how hard he resisted using the term one trick pony when writing the article. Mounted combat does seem to be the overwhelming focus for RoR.
Not overly enthused about a new LI being added into the mix as if it’s to do with the horse than it’ll very possibly have a new set of bits and pieces to go with it, meaning more grind and the curse of the RNG gods.
It’s good that classes will vary their combat style when mounted however that makes it possible to really screw with the enjoyment factor of any given class.
July 13, 2012 at 1:32 pm
Cool! Thanks Aaron and Syp!
Going to take time to get use to. But just like our LI’s and Skirish soldiers, we got use to how they work. It’ll just be sometime and we’ll get to know mounted combat. And LOTRO has such an awesome community that I’m sure we’ll start seeing tutorials and tips from players and Dev’s.
Wonder if there’s going to be a training area/skirmish were we can practice before we start “horsing around” in the real Middle-Earth?
July 13, 2012 at 3:09 pm
Its great to see Turbine innovating with a new system for this Xpac. What makes me really nervous is how the mounted combat system is gonna be the majority of RoR. Will it be implemented the way the Skirmish system, as a part of the game. I really hope mounted combat is NOT the game for RoR. We will see.
July 13, 2012 at 3:28 pm
this could breathe new life into LoTR and bring in a ton of new people to the game, ensuring that it will continue on for years to come
July 13, 2012 at 8:17 pm
Squee!
I couldn’t be more excited!
I need to stop reading about the expansion so I can stop checking the calendar every few hours to see if it is September yet.
Yay horses!
July 14, 2012 at 1:40 pm
I like the multi speed thing, a la Mount and Blade. This will be VERY fun!
July 15, 2012 at 7:29 pm
So what are the five speeds?
I’m going to guess slow, regular, fast, ridiculous and ludicrous (the cosmetics had better go plaid!).