The Elden Ring Network Test back in mid-November revealed a lot about how combat works in FromSoftware's newest RPG, letting play-testers try out a sampling of the game's new weapons, skills, and spells, which quickly led to strategies for mounted combat. Many of the playtesters, veterans of Dark Souls and other FromSoftware Soulslikes, focused on mastering the more familiar ground-based combat of Elden Ring rather than the newer system for horse-mounted combat. Fighting on horseback, however, does offer interesting options to Elden Ring players who try to master its idiosyncrasies, while also giving certain Elden Ring weapons and magics their time to shine.
Elden Ring, the latest game in FromSoftware's long line of Soulslike or "Soulsborne" RPGs, adds open-world exploration mechanics to the traditional Soulslike formula along with a steed players can mount to explore the open world more efficiently. By using a Spectral Steed Whistle players can summon a horned horse called Torrent, capable of galloping quickly and double-jumping over certain obstacles. Torrent can be summoned in any Elden Ring location that's not a Legacy Dungeon or otherwise underground, granting players a useful means of escaping roaming enemies or fending off foes using traditional cavalry hit-and-run tactics.
In the current horse-mounted combat system for Elden Ring, players lose the ability to block or parry attacks, instead using their attack buttons to swing their primary weapon on the left or right side of their horse. Holding down the attack buttons charges and delays the resulting attack, while players can perform powerful plunging attacks on foes by leaping off their horse as they swing. Initially, this system for horse-mounted combat seems limited compared to the infantry-style combat formula refined by FromSoftware across its many games. There is, however, a surprising depth to Elden Ring's mounted combat for players willing to experiment with certain character builds and use the most optimal tools for fighting on horseback.
Classic Weapons Of Historic Cavalry For Elden Ring's Mounted Combat
In history, three kinds of weapons wielded by real cavalry knight characters of the Middle Ages are often seen. First, there is the classic lance, a long pole-arm braced beneath the armpit of a knight or cataphract as they charge down a foe. Then there's the short-bow or composite bow, used by well-trained horse archers to whittle down enemy armies in hit and run attacks. Finally, there are the backup weapons carried by knights, cataphracts, and horse archers alike, generally used to chop, hack, and bludgeon nearby enemies on the ground or on horses of their own. In modern pop-culture, medieval European knights usually carry long straight swords while horse archers usually carry curved sabers and scimitars; historically, maces and one-handed axes were also popular sidearms among mounted warriors.
In the gameplay of the Elden Ring Network Test, the Lance and Winged Spear are excellent cavalry weapons, just as they were in real life; their long reach lets players strike enemies on the ground and knock mounted warrior NPCs off their horses with a well-timed use of a charged attack. Contrary to actual history, the two-handed Bastard Sword and Ordovis Greatsword are also good weapons for horseback combat in Elden Ring, thanks to the long reach of their blade and the player's ability to drag their great-sword along the ground and slash any foe it slides past. The Shortbow weapon has an item description that alludes to its usefulness on horseback, though few of the Network Testers seems to have made use of this weapon during mounted combat. Still, horse-mounted players with a Shortbow can instantly unhorse mounted enemies if they have Sleepbone Arrows in their inventory.
The Glintstone Arch Weapon Skill Is Perfect For Elden Ring's Horse Combat
Many of the more magical weapon Skills in the Elden Ring Network Test let players attack foes at range using elements such as lightning or wind. Projectile-launching Skills such as "Thunderbolt" or "Storm Blade" are great for thinning out dense crowds of enemies or finishing off a dangerous individual foes that are too risky to approach. Unfortunately, every Elden Ring weapon Skill seen so far gets disabled when player mount their Spectral Steeds, with one technical exception.
The Glintsword Arch skill has excellent synergy with mounted combat in Elden Ring thanks to a unique quirk in its mechanics. By activating this Skill, players can summon four floating magical swords, projectiles that linger over their heads and shoot towards the first enemy players approach; a horse-riding Elden Ring player can simply use this skill before mounting their steed, then gallops towards a foe and unleash magical death.
Best Glintstone Sorceries & Incantations For Elden Ring's Mounted Combat
Magical spells of both sacred and scholarly natures have always been handy in FromSoftware magic-heavy Demon's Souls or Dark Souls-style RPGs, granting players the power to kill or at least seriously weaken dangerous threats from a distance without exposing themselves to a potential counterattack. The two magic systems introduced in Elden Ring's Network Test – Intelligence-based Glintstone Sorceries and Faith-based Incantations – are just as useful as their similar iterations were in previous games, and unlike weapon Skills, they can be used when on horseback.
Among the various spells in the Incantation school of magic, Beast Claw and the Flame Of Frenzy are particularly effective on horseback due to their wide area of effect. The Rejection Incantation (similar to the Force Miracle from Dark Souls) can be very useful for knocking mounted enemy off their horses, while the Dragonfire and Greyoll's Roar Incantations spell can devastate any non-Boss enemy at close range. Glintstone Sorceries, on the other hand, are great for jousting duels in Elden Ring's mounted combat, thanks to the range and tracking properties of their tracking spells. The Carian Piercer Sorcery, one of the starting spells of the Enchanted Knight, also happens to be a solid alternative to the Lance weapon for players who want to knock mounted enemies off their horse with a forward charge, allowing magic users to take part in jousting shenanigans as efficiently as their melee-based counterparts.
Casting magic in Elden Ring, a player's horse slows down to a gentle trot until the animation is finished, a delay further extended if the player tries to charge their spell up for extra damage. This particular gameplay feature seems to have been added for the sake of balance, challenging players to properly time the moment they cast a spell, then gallop away before their foes can close in and retaliate.