Before you complain about warsteeds and mounted combat

[forusrname]

Might I ask you what level is your war-steed? I ask this because I was complaining about runekeeper and mounted combat A LOT in beta. Even lightning damage did about the same damage I did on foot at start, although it was still a way better than fire. But when my mount was lvl 35+ or so, I didn't even think about going on foot anymore. Mobs died MUCH faster than I could kill them on foot, and I could just keep going because I didn't have to heal myself all the time.

Now, I have only got my war-steed on live with my RK (I saved him last since I played with that class so much in beta) but unless RK has changed a lot since last rounds of beta, then I don't complain at all.

I am not sure of his exact level but I have spent at least 30 trait points. Its high enough that he has stopped leveling every time I do some minor something -- I would guess in the mid 20s or higher.

Lightning does the same damage as on foot. Except with HUGE DELAYS to build up fury or wait on cooldowns. On foot, I can do 3 or 4 hits that total more than the single full fury hit that I can do mounted in the same timeframe. If I spam mounted, the damage is much less due to lack of fury, its more than on foot for the initial burst but cooldowns prevent sustained dps for that method. And I run out of power mounted -- some annoying elite with 70k ran me out last night and that took forever, dismounting was not an option there were too many chasing me (to be fair I would not have won THAT on foot, mounted kiting is superior if slow).

Maybe it gets better. But if it takes a maxed out mount to be viable, turbine missed something--- people want to try it out right away, and having to get 15 levels to even be able to steer and another 25 levels to be able to do any damage gives folks a negative perspective of the steeds right away. I will keep trying it now and then but for now I am mostly using the steed as a faster horse and jumping off to fight anything except the bigger warbands.

Let me be clear, too. The RK is my main but I have a mounted burg and champ now. Both are far superior to the RK for damage. THe burg oneshots most mobs with his backstab, and mopping up is easy. The champ just smashes things with big hits. And the RK is higher level, has better gear, and a higher level and more tweaked mount.

[Kongas]

- Judging the power/effectiveness of your War Steed by its first 10 levels is a horrible mistake. Nobody will be effective at killing mobs in MC until they have leveled up their Steed and Bridle a bit. If you have not done this yet, then you are completely missing out on your War Steed's capabilities. Many people are also creating hybrid builds which don't seem to be as effective as focusing on one tree and Steed specs.

A little planning goes a long way.

Before you get your mount ensure you have your max number of Tasks to turn in. You get a decent amount of Riding XP from them to level up and get points to put into agility etc. If you reset tasks, even better.

Then fully level your bridle with the relics you've been saving up for months and months because you knew this expansion was coming and there would be three or four new legendaries to level. Use up your old greater empowerment and delving scrolls as well. Or use up some skirm marks.

Then craft some settins, gems and runes to enhance it further with the shards you've been saving up because you knew etc etc.

Then before you even leave Harwick you've got a great head start.

Then go back to the East Wall area and practice on relatively easy stuff until you have a feel for it and some more points to level up with.

It's a new set of skills to learn and people have to expect it will take a little planning and effort.

I went into the steed training prepared. The steed I rode out of Harwick in the first time was nothing at all like the one I trained on.

And if people did not ride into rohan equipped to instantly level up a range of new legendaries then they can't really complain that it takes much longer to master MC.

[Caenyyen]

I have a Hunter and a Guardian that use mounted combat, I love it with the Hunter. With the Guardian, it's a bit more difficult to use. With the War-steed (with the Guardian) I use auto-slow and it helps alot. I also tend to fight mounted foe and war-bands mounted and foot soldiers on foot. This seems to work well for me. I also read what others are trying that might work with me. So thank you everyone that shares what works for them, it gives the rest of us some things to try that might work for us.

[Kheld_GB]

Currently playing MC on 3 characters & having a blast with all of them.

Tips above are worth reading, the Warsteed handles poorly until you trait some AGi + Yellow Line.

Use a normal horse in towns.

I have a slow internet connection & im from the UK, but I rarely get any problems with slingshotting or rubberbanding. Id check if your ISP appies traffic shaping or oyher nasties.

MC Captain is a killing machine, the Warden is a Tanking god, but the Hunter is plink-plink for little bits, though its fun circling around a target like the Red Indians v Cavalry.

MC is new, with learning curve more steep than other game mechanics, but well worth it in the end. Its fun!

[Rrys]

I just slow down a little when I'm in town (trot or canter). Sometimes I even slow down to a walk on the war-steed.

[Bendin]

easy test the following, covers the spectrum of omg awesomeness to &&& is this?:
if you hate MC play a cappy or mini and re-evaluate

if you love MC play a burg or guard and re-evaluate

the other classes offer a fairly enjoyable playstyle whithout feeling OP or gimped

all of course imho

[LadyMarisa]

From what I've been reading (not specifically any posts in this thread) it seems like people would really loath MC instances (as far as Skirms and Raids go etc.) I only have time to play my main, who is a hunter, but I thoroughly enjoy MC. And yes, I do occasionally run into the issues that others have stated but it's not often enough to skew my opinion of the feature. I personally would love to see some MC group content. I mean, for me, it's hard to get into a group anyway because of the sheer # of hunters but I still want to see it.

I think it'd take a lot of work to get it done right but I think the getting there would be great fun. Every time I see a mass of players (including myself) go up against Bug, I think the visual chaos is hilarious. And I get that such chaos would give experienced raiders a migraine which is why I said the idea would def need a lot of work. But I keep thhinking how much fun it would be to have real group content for MC where at least part of the content requires your group on horses, needing to flank the enemy, draw them out, etc. It's just a dream but what plays out in my head is so epic. :P

I tend to just keepto myself because hunter spots in groups fill up too fast and I always get declined but I think I'd practically beg to join a few if there were MC skirms and raids etc. Just my opnion.

[Ilikepie44]

I dont care for it. Yes, i have 5 points into agility, yeah it turns. Yes it makes me dizzy and gives me a headache, and yes, i still kill stuff faster when i'm on foot.

I didnt just fall off the turnip truck and i understand the mechanics entirely. I just dont like it.

If it is true that you still kill stuff faster on foot, then I don't care what class you are, you are doing mounted combat wrong. In fact, I am not sure how it is possible. TANKING classes can one-shot mobs in MC, and you are saying you can kill stuff faster on foot?

[Gargoil]

I have a hunter and have only experienced ranged MC. Since the hunter is so immobile when attacking on foot, MC is a great change of pace for hunters. I have put it into my "TOOL BOX". In tight quarters, or where I am sure to need many of the skills not available in MC, I am on foot. Open field, moving attack preferable, MC is th way to go.

[Bendin]

If it is true that you still kill stuff faster on foot, then I don't care what class you are, you are doing mounted combat wrong. In fact, I am not sure how it is possible. TANKING classes can one-shot mobs in MC, and you are saying you can kill stuff faster on foot?

yes tanking classes can 1 shot with 3/4-full fury. However, as far as kps goes still faster to kill 8-12 mobs at once on foot than single target jousting on a non aoeing mount. You spend more time switching targets on the stupid thing than killing for MC guard, wrdn's not quite as bad however.

[Herongol]

from a lvl 79 lore-masters perspective:
fighting mounted is usually safer.
it is also more effective when fighting mounted foes.

However, when killing unmounted enemies, AoEing them down 5 at once is simply faster then killing one after the other from horse-back...


result: I tend to enter camps on foot, I tend to fight in the planes (with spread out enemies) from horse-back.

I like to believe that's exactly the way it was intended, btw.

[Yuffie67]

If it is true that you still kill stuff faster on foot, then I don't care what class you are, you are doing mounted combat wrong. In fact, I am not sure how it is possible. TANKING classes can one-shot mobs in MC, and you are saying you can kill stuff faster on foot?

Depends on class and Boss, as Fire RK. By time I build up Fury and get attacks piled on. I could simply get off my horse, lay down better amount of damage on the 100k + Mobs.

On 7-10k Mob, ya I can ride past, full fury knock off 6-8k and get a few non-fury bonus attacks in for fast kill.

Even with extending DoT's and Red Dawn, I find getting off horse for Bug much faster.

I love MC, it needs a few tweeks, and a good MC raid/instance. (for some reason people lack imagination on this and think it would be so horrid..)
Almost anyone can tank, the playing field is leveled, why not cater a instance or raid to that. I'm sick of Tank and Spank Raids anyway.

[Hunterhuntinghunter]

I find I really don't like MC much, really for one reason - If I am going at more than a walk my steed often ramps up to whatever speed I have tapped then seems to grind to a stand still with hooves pounding the dirt then slingshots across the fields into a tree or even over a cliff. The way the mount acts (very reminiscent of the old rubber banding issues) is much too erratic to be enjoyable.

The problem doesn't show up on any other steed.

My ISP does no packet shaping, etc.

My tracerts to various servers on the internet show no latency or issues. Ditto for pings.

On the plus side - if the mount was even half as responsive as a regular mount I think this would be a lot of fun. I suppose disappointed is the best word.

[Umbrael]

Mounted combat is like moria. Some people like it, other hate it, and other don't care either way. Its acceptable to lodge complaints about it.

This is not acceptable: I HATE MOUNTED COMBAT!!! TURBINE MUST REMOVE MOUNTED COMBAT FROM THE GAME!!!!!!

If you don't like it say why you don't like it and move on. Let those who enjoy mounted combat use it.

That's fine and dandy, if it's not mandatory from here on out for everyone.

I, myself (being middle-aged), hate it immensely. The steering is terribad and find all that looping around gathering more aggro from landscape mobs and the likes, gives me the headspins. I periodically have to stop playing the game because of it, which is something I don't experience when playing in other games, even during 'twitchy' pvp scenarios. I upgraded to a new comp and with this game's lag spikes and sticking (something I don't experience in other games), it makes mounted combat even harder. I was just in combat, went from a slow gallop to being stuck, then slingshotted off a cliff at superspeed without any way to steer, and lost the foe I was fighting. Not to mention, there was no way back up to the area, so it was a long slow as sludge swim in a river surrounded by cliffs to get back anywhere.

MC has turned me off to this game, more and more. While it's great for the people that do happen to enjoy it, there's plenty of us who don't, and generally hope that we're not stuck or forced to use it from hereon out.

[Iolanthea]

I'm a Champ and I love love move MC when I first attempted the practice runs I thought I'd never be able to get control of this great ungainly beast, but things really do improve with practice and I find chasing enemies around the plains of Rohan to be utterly exhilarating. I don't use auto-slowdown, although I tried it at first - slowing down with a quick tap on the 'S' key suits me better and everything clicked or me once i'd made ths change. I use the lightest, fastest steed (the Courser) and fight in a jousting or figure-of-eight style.

Of course, it probably helps that I've only just started with my WS now instead of alongside all the level-capped toons of a year ago, so I never experience lag or rubber banding. I'd recommend anyone who hates WS combat to just play around a bit more, maybe it will be more fluid and less laggy and maybe you'll find a style of play to suit you

[Macroscian]

A very interesting necro thread, if only for the tenuous reference to threads unravelling about new things in helm's deep.

[LaGere]

Put me in the I hate MC camp. There's nothing the least bit enjoyable about the experience. I have a maxed out horse(lvl/points), a maxed bridle,max agility,max turn and it drives like a tanker on an ice field. I don't think it could be designed any more poorly or implemented any worse. I play a guard and it easier to just ride up, dismount and fight on foot. I'd like to say I was just disappointed but that word doesn't begin to say what I really feel about it. To me it is so bad that I finally settled for a light warhorse/bridal and the full yellow tree and I just out ride mobs on the way to my true destinations. If there is a bright spot it's that they no longer build raids so I should never be forced to ride one there.

[Radbug]

Interesting Necro.

MC was garbage in Beta, garbage when it went live, and is still garbage today.

I wonder how many thousands of development dollars were sucked out of more enjoyable areas of the game to fund this performance killing Elephant in the room.

[Wreckloose]

For those of you that like mounted combat, more power too you. However, I dislike mounted combat. It is NOT fun. It is just a pain in the butt.

For those that like mounted combat, fine. However, I feel it should be treated like PVP or raiding. That is it should be isolated from the main game play. It should be set up so that those who enjoy it can have it. But for those who detest it, we should be allowed to play the game without having to deal with it.

[dmaker]

I found this thread because I was not enjoying mounted combat. I am posting in this thread because I now love mounted combat. There are a few simple tips I found here that have radically changed the mounted combat landscape for me.

I found that by using insert to set my pace and turning on the auto slow down made it much easier to control my war steed in combat. I use insert and set my max to gallop and take my finger off of W while I turn and it is so much easier to turn and face an enemy now.

Also, spending some time to get some mounted combat xp will not only level up your steed, but will also ( hopefully) help you get better at the mechanics and thus (hopefully) lead to you enjoying mounted combat more overall. I spent an hour just taking down mounted enemies and things just got so much easier and more fun as I leveled up. I got more points to spend and my steed and my skills improved. I just recently put 3 points into the positional combat trait and just love mowing down a mob from behind at full gallop on my heavy steed. It's so much fun to watch a full health bar drop down to less than a third in one swift pass!

So I now love mounted combat and think it adds so much to the game. Having said that, it will never replace standard combat. MC is great ( essential almost unless you have a root like a Hunter ) for taking down mounted enemies. It's fun for mowing down unmounted enemies too as long as there are only a couple of them. But if I am getting swarmed by 3 or more, or need to fight an elite (unmounted), I am still not going to do that mounted. I am still way more comfortable and effective off my horse than on it, but MC has improved dramatically for me by following some of the simple advice here and spending an hour or less just practicing and getting properly used to it.

YMMV