War-steed

Mounted Combat Related Information

With the release of Riders of Rohan, there are many overlapping areas of information between the War-steed and Mounted Combat. The information is split to improve readability.

New Game technologies:

The Lord of the Rings Online: Riders of Rohan -- the original Press Release
Riders of Rohan -- The Pre-Order FAQ.

"How do I get my War-steed and participate in Mounted Combat?"

Anytime after level 71, visit Dala in Langhold, Rohan. Accept the quest "The Wold". It begins the questline that culminates in Quest:Devastation in the North. Other options are explained below.

The information below applies to all players, including F2P.
The quests to obtain your War-steed are available to everyone, but keep in mind that Rohan is a level 75+ area. All creatures you will encounter, hostile or otherwise, are level 75 or above. Additionally, to get to Rohan, you must pass through Moria, Lothlórien, and the Great River -- areas where creatures are Level 50+, 60+ and 70+ respectively.
Free and Premium players do not have access to all of the War-steeds abilities (two of the three trait trees are locked) but are able to purchase access through the LOTRO store.
VIP players will have all aspects of mounted combat unlocked immediately.

Another question is: "How do I get to Rohan?" There are two approaches, presenting two different quest arcs:

Players receive a mail message from Galadriel: "A need in Rohan."
Those who then accept Volume III, Book 7 from Galadriel will start their exploration of Rohan in the East Wall at the Argonath. Note that this quest line actually begins in Lothlórien, and a conveniently "hanging rope" exists just to the left of the Gates to Caras Galadhon which will allow anyone into the city who has not yet completed the Quest:The Paths of Caras Galadhon.

Following the Epic story line, you will come across some familiar sights from the books, especially The Argonath and Amon Hen at Parth Galen. Quests include interesting "Session Play" as Frodo, Sam and Boromir, ultimately heading to Langhold in the North Wold. You can complete additional "landscape" quests available at several quest hubs in The East Wall, or skip them until later, simply completing those of the Epic line at this time. However, these quests will advance your character roughly one and one-half levels.
Players also receive a mail message from "G." -- " To the Aid of Rohan" (part of the Eastemnet quest pack and Rohan expansion purchase).
Those who accept that quest will travel south from Stangard and cross the bridge from Parth Celebrant in the Great River into the North Wold of Rohan just north of Langhold. (Note that the Bridge to Rohan is to the west of the ancient Gondorian keep, Ost Celebrant ^{[30.3S, 56.0W]}. The very visible bridge leads into the Keep and a host of undead.)

Both of these quest arcs cross at Langhold, where one begins the Langhold Quest arc, culminating in Harwick where one obtains one's War-steed.

The Langhold Quest arc consists of 12 required quests and two instances ending with the Instance: War Comes to Rohan. The quest Devastation in the North completes the Langhold Quest arc and takes one onward to Harwick, where its completion grants you the skill War-steed Riding and your Medium War-steed.

All 12 quests in this arc must be completed before one can move on to the Harwick Training Grounds (Harwick Stables) and obtain one's War-steed.

The maximum level of the War-Steed is 60 and you will have 87 trait points to expend.

What's it like to ride a War-steed?

From the Q&A... Riders of Rohan Pre-order FAQ

5. Can I fight from my existing in-game horse?

No, you will get a new steed, called a War-steed specifically built for combat. It’s larger than the current in-game mounts and better able to handle the demands of combat.

It can be hard to maneuver War-steeds in towns, so you may want to switch to your regular horse for that. It is possible to ride a War-steed in town with practice.

Not only are the War-steeds heavier than our regular riding mounts, they are physically bigger.

As for narrow bridges, the problem with the bridges is usually you have to turn to get on them, and the speed issue can make you turn wide and continue off the edge into the water. But as soon as you slow down to make that turn to cross the bridge, or if you have a straight approach to the bridge, crossing it is no problem.

So, to answer the question, "What's it like to ride a War-steed" in LOTRO, it's much more realistic than riding the normal travel mounts you have collected. There are advantages to this realism, and there are disadvantages.

Advantages

The most obvious advantage is that the player can use combat skills while mounted. These new combat skills are ONLY usable when mounted on a war-steed in Rohan and other mounted combat enabled zones, but are very potent nonetheless.
War-steeds travel significantly faster than a normal travel mount. Most normal reputation mounts travel 62% faster than running on foot. Purchased mounts and some deed-specific mounts travel 68% faster than running on foot. War-steeds, at maximum speed, travel 158% faster than running on foot, more than double the speed of a normal travel mount.
War-steeds are more durable than a normal travel mount. A player can run through a reasonably-dangerous group of mobs and be fairly certain that he/she will not be dismounted. In addition, players can heal themselves and their mounts when they sustain damage, as long as they are in a mounted combat enabled zone.

Disadvantages

The larger war-steed is heavier than the normal travel mount. As such, the turn-radius of a war-steed is significantly wider than of a normal travel mount. Players accustomed to turning on a dime with their travel mounts will need to adjust to the relatively slow response time of a war-steed. As the war-steed gains levels, various traits can be modified to reduce the turn-radius, but even the tightest turn-radius on a war-steed will be significantly larger than the hairpin turns that our normal travel mounts are capable of. Slowing down before turning also reduces the turn-radius, but not to 0.
In addition to the wider turn-radius, war-steeds require a short period of time to accelerate to maximum speed. Normal travel mounts only have one speed: Go. The player presses the "go" button, and the mount moves forward at one speed. War-steeds do not behave like this. Instead, the "go" button on a war-steed causes a gradual acceleration from 0 to a maximum of 16. This number represents the speed of the horse in meters-per-second (mps). Rather than constantly holding the "go" button as on a normal mount, the player only needs to hold the "go" button long enough to throttle up to the desired speed. As the war-steed gains levels, various traits can be modified to increase the acceleration rate.
In the same way as when accelerating, war-steeds also need time to slow down. The player slows the steed to a stop by holding the "reverse" movement key until the speedometer reads 0. For a fast stop, use the Quick Stop war-steed skill (all Fury is lost by using this skill.)
Be aware that there are only certain areas where you may engage in mounted combat with foes. This includes all zones in Rohan and Gondor, but does not include any areas released before the Riders of Rohan expansion, such as Eriador or Moria. You may still ride your war-steed in these earlier zones, but you will have to dismount to use any skills or fight.
Classes that have Class Traits options to give more morale or % buffs to morale will notice a large drop in morale while on a War Steed. This is because the Class traits are disabled while on a War Steed in favour of the traits of the Steed. This can be hazardous if your steed loses all morale and you are "dismounted" suddenly. Some steed trait lines allow you to save your horse, such as Sacrifice (Trait) to avoid this mechanic.

Options

There is a useful setting in the Combat Options panel to automatically slow the steed down if not actively moving it forward (i.e. by holding down left and right mouse buttons). You can also double tap the "reverse" movement key to bring your war-steed to a sudden, skidding stop.
You can change the maximum speed of the horse by using the Walk Mode, which is keymapped on the Options panel. The war-steed has four modes that cycle through each time you hit your Walk Mode key: Walk (about half-maximum), Trot (about two-thirds of maximum), Canter (about three-fourth maximum), and Gallop (maximum speed.)

War-steeds described

The common name for a war-steeds in the real world is a charger. A medieval breed, now extinct, chargers were akin to the larger breeds of today. It is modeled after horses like the Friesian, Andalusian or Lusitano, breeds commonly used in war in Europe.

In America, you will rarely see horses this large, two notable exceptions being the Budweiser Clydesdales and the Percherons and Belgians that Disney exhibits at their theme parks. Those horses weigh in at over 2000 pounds each, compared to the Quarter Horse at 1200 pounds, (The Quarter Horse is typified by those you see at rodeos or Western riding events) or the Tennessee Walking Horse at about 1000 pounds.

A horse's height is measured to the base of the back of its neck. The Quarter Horse, or Tennessee Walking Horse, which many consider to be an average size horse, stands between 15 and 16 hands, or 60 to 64 inches (roughly 5 feet tall), and usually weighs around 1,000 pounds. A draft horse, by comparison, stands around 17 to 18 hands, or 68 to 72 inches (roughly 6 feet), and usually weighs over 2,000 pounds. And remember, in both cases the measurement is to the Horses BACK. It's head is roughly another 2 feet above that!

The animal often called a Mustang or American Indian horse is the horse most often associated with American Western stories. This horse is around 13 and 15 hands tall, and typically weighs less than 1000 pounds. In general, it is descended from horses brought to this continent by the Spanish Conquistadors.

In Lotro, the War-steed is your personal combat mount. It gains experience and levels up. The War-steed can be trained and specialized in a variety of ways; earning specific trait points will allow you to improve its attributes, acquire new skills, and improve your own mounted combat skills.

Unlike standard travel mounts, War-steeds hail from a long lineage of majestic, highly intelligent, and kingly creatures known as the Mearas. They are faster, stronger, and thoroughly trained for battle.

Light? Medium? or Heavy?

There are three types of War-steeds, and while the mounts themselves are not specific to individual classes, their characteristics will allow you to mix and match with your class abilities and your play style.

The Courser

A fast and agile Light mount, a Courser's greater speed allows them to build Fury at a quicker pace, allowing the execution of more devastating Fury-fueled attacks. Great speed comes at the cost, however, as their Endurance and Armour is reduced.

The Rouncey

This is a moderately armoured Medium steed providing balance and stability without sacrificing or favouring survivability or manoeuvrability. Riders of the Rouncey are usually more focused on close combat, blending greater offence over defence and support tactics more evenly than its lighter and heavier brethren.

The Destrier

This Heavy mount protects more than it speeds. The Destrier's greater armour allows them to take more damage and their enhanced Power allows extensive use of special mount charges and abilities. In trade, a slower speed makes for slower Fury generation and less overall mobility.

Your first horse is the The Rouncey.

After you have unlocked the Light and/or Heavy war-steeds, you may change the type of steed you have. To do this, you must use the Refund Points button (on the Mounted Combat panel, Traits tab) to recover all the points you have spent on traits. On the horse type selection panel, click Enter under the type of horse you want to ride, allocate the available points between your traits, and press Apply. If you are mounted, you will be dismounted, and the available mount skill will change to the new type.

How to change to Light or Heavy Warsteed from the beginning: You may change your horse to the type you want during the Tutorial quest. To do so most simply, wait until you have one trait point (early in the training process), then dismount. Go to the menu and choose "Mounted Combat" (default keyboard shortcut is "Shift-M") and the Traits tab, which should show you a choice of Light Medium or Heavy. Spend the one trait point, and click "Apply". You must click "Apply" to see a change in the icon from "Medium" to "Heavy" or "Light." You must have unlocked Light and/or Heavy before they can be used.

War-steed Appearance

Barding is armour for horses. In Lotro, distinctive barding is available for your War-steed to allow you to customize its appearance.
Note however, that none of these items change any War-steed stat. War-steed stats are only modified by points applied to War-steed traits.

See: War-steed Appearance for more details.

War-steed Advancement

As you complete quests and turn in certain Tasks (look for the Warsteed Experience icon in the listed quest rewards), your War-steed gains experience. As it "levels-up" you gain points which can be applied to "Traits" which define your War-steed's capabilities.

A common tactic is to use Tasks to level the Warsteed. Punctured shields may be available for sale in the Auction House. One reason may be that they are useful for so many reputations, but another is that they can be used in Harwick and several other places to complete Tasks that give Warsteed experience. You may grind for them by finding orcs, Uruks, and Easterlings throughout Great River, the Gap of Rohan, or The Wold.

See: War-steed Traits for more details.

Controls

Note that the terms "Mounted Stances" and "Mounted Disciplines" refer to the same things.

War-steed Vitals

When you mount your War-steed, A new display shows the vitals for your War-steed.
Like other User Interface (UI) items, the War-steed Vitals can be moved using ctl-\

Green: Endurance

Blue: Power

Yellow: Speed

Red: Fury

Right-clicking on the portrait allows you to change the name of your mount. This can also be done in the Mounted Combat UI.
Clicking on the portrait will bring up the Mounted Combat UI -- also accessed by typing Shift-M.
The Yellow Speed bar fills in the bar below the Power bar as you accelerate your War-Steed.
Speed is also shown in meters per second under the portrait. As your steed accelerates to maximum, it will generate Fury and the Red Fury bar will overlay the yellow.
The Red Fury bar overlays the Speed bar and shows the ebb and flow of your Fury bonus. This ebb and flow can be modified by various Traits.
Fury will never exceed your Speed.

Movement and Speed control

You can control the movement and speed of your War-steed in several different ways, just as you control normal character movement.

WASD - keys on the keyboard
W + mouse
The arrow keys.

NOTE: For better control, consider adding more agility to your War-steed, some relics also provide a bonus to "Turn-rate."

When first learning to ride, this is a common comment:

I took my War-steed into town to actually practice polite riding skills. It is difficult!

It would be convenient if there was a "low" gear that we riders could drop into, like a canter or fast walk at a consistent speed.

This would add to the ambiance of travelling in a group, and make it easier to pass through towns.

This is easy enough to do.

There are four speeds when riding: Walk, Trot, Canter and Gallop. Each speed is visible in the Mount Display panel -- the yellow bar, and the actual number beneath the horses portrait. (Note that the number associated with each speed is different for each War-steed type - Light, Medium, and Heavy, with the Light War-steed moving faster at each speed type than the other two.

You simply "tap" (instead of press and hold) your forward movement key (default="W") and you can easily move at all four constant speeds: Walk, Trot, Canter, Gallop.

You just need to have the option turned off, which is off by default: Options/Combat Options window: - at the bottom: Mounted Combat: War-steed Auto-slowdown.

You can also "lock out" higher speeds using the Insert key. (The key bound to "Walk Mode" in your Options/Key-Mapping window.) Pressing "Insert" will display the message: "Your war-steed will only Walk" in the Chat window. Your movement rate will then be limited to 5.8 meters per second on a Medium War-steed, 6.0 on a Light, and 5.5 on a Heavy.

Even at a canter, it is pretty easy to wander through a town and turn, although a trot is probably the easiest in older towns with more narrow ways as it is closest to the "run" speed of a "conventional" mount.

There is also a skill available from the LOTRO Store called Smell the Roses that removes mounted speed buffs while active, although this effect is minimal.

War-steed

Contents

"How do I get my War-steed and participate in Mounted Combat?"