In this short developer’s diary, Lord of the Rings Online: Riders of Rohan, the upcoming expansion for the Tolkein-based game based entirely around mounted combat, is demonstrated and detailed.
The video describes how players will not just have a mount on which to gallop around, but unique skills, strategies and approaches to playing. The Riders of Rohan expansion is meant to truly change the feel of the conventional MMO combat, mixing in constant mounted movement as part of the gameplay dynamics and changing players’ approaches to things like tanking or maximizing DPS.
While the combat is still operating off of the same core systems, the large, hulking and movement-oriented mounts definitely aim to change how the dynamics of that combat manifests for each player.
LOTRO: Riders of Rohan is set for release September 5. That being said, the actual in-game land of Rohan and many of the quests are accessible and free for all players.