The world of The Elder Scrolls is massive, and continues to grow in scale and detail with each progressive iteration of the series. In Elder Scrolls Online, you are finally given the option of exploring all of it.
Needless to say, you have a lot of ground to cover.
While it is certainly possible to accomplish this on foot, unlike Oblivion, where mounts were nearly an afterthought when it came to speed and maneuverability, your horse will be indispensable to you in terms of speed, carrying capacity, and jumping.
Where can I find my horse?
There are stables littering the starting areas, and these are noted on the map by a distinctive horse head.
Keep in mind that you will not be able to afford one right from the start unless you purchased the Imperial edition of the game which gives you access to a limited edition white Imperial horse in the stable, for the cost of 1 gold.
If you did not purchase the Imperial edition, you will have to start saving almost immediately – and mounts are expensive.
How many mounts are there?
There are currently (at release) five mounts available at the stable, four of which are available to standard edition players. These are their initial stats:
Common Horse
- Cost: 17,200 gold
- Speed: 15%
- Carrying: 0
- Stamina: 10
Intended to be your first horse, the Common Horse is an ideal starter horse that can be upgraded with Food (see below).
Imperial Horse
- Cost: 1 gold
- Speed: 15%
- Carrying: 0
- Stamina: 10
Note: Statistically identical to the Common Horse, the Imperial Horse is available only to Imperial edition players, and is white unlike the regular brown of the Common Horse.
Draft Horse
- Cost: 42,700 gold
- Speed: 15%
- Carrying: 10
- Stamina: 10
The Draft Horse horse is ideal for those of you (e.g. me) who enjoy looting everything in creation since it is the only mount with extra storage capacity. No sack or water skin or delicate butterfly is safe from your predations, and your mania to collect them all – and your mount can help you shoulder the weight of it all.
Gaited Horse
- Cost: 42,700 gold
- Speed: 15%
- Carrying: 0
- Stamina: 20
The Gaited Horse has increased stamina right from the get-go, so it is ideal for those of you who enjoy constantly sprinting and are actively paying attention to your movement as you travel (i.e. not auto-walking).
Light Horse
- Cost: 42,700 gold
- Speed: 25%
- Carrying: 0
- Stamina: 10
The Light Horse has increased speed and so it is an ideal mount for those who prize a faster resting speed without sprinting, particularly those who like to auto-walk to a destination.
Why/what do I need to feed my horse?
First of all, rest assured that if you don’t feed your horse, it will not wither away and die. However, it will remain the same as when you first bought it, with all its base stats.
When you feed your horse, you increase its stats, or level it up. If you have the money, return to the stables once a day (every 20 hours) and purchase one type of food for 250 gold. There are three food type choices:
- Apple: 1% Speed increase
- Hay: 1 Stamina increase
- Oats: 1 Capacity
This can be done up to a maximum of 50 times, and the stat increases you gain are permanent and cumulative. What you want to feed them will depend on your own playstyle.
Why do I even need a horse?
Since you have the ability to sprint all on your own, it certainly will have occurred to you why you would even need a mount in the first place. Since the base stats for your mount have a pretty low speed increase, the difference may seem minimal… but the simplest reason to have a horse early on is to do with your stamina bar.
Your horse has a completely separate stamina bar, so when you stumble into an enemy encounter you can instantly dismount and begin fighting with a full stamina bar. Once you upgrade, your horse will also be able to run faster, sprint longer, or carry more without expending your own skill points.
Some other things to know:
- Your horse will not be killed if you die while riding it.
- There is no option to fight while you are on a horse.
- You can own up to three horses at a time, which allows you to specialize them in different ways (e.g. for carry capacity versus speed).
- You can sell horses.
If you have any other questions, please feel to leave a comment. If you are looking for any other guides, please feel free to consult the Master List.
Published: Apr 11, 2014 11:20 am