The Lord of the Rings Online: Riders of Rohan Preview
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Combat while on horseback is interesting and unique. You're not simply trotting up and hitting enemies in Rohan's mounted combat the mounts have momentum, and can actually gain speed. The faster you go the more damage you do, but it comes at a cost: it's harder to turn and slow down a mount in full-on gallop mode, just as it is in real life, adding a more tactile feel that other MMO combat lacks. We worried mounted battles would look silly, but they look and play like... mounted battles. Riding past enemies, attacking, turning, returning to the battle, and continuing to fight it was awesome.
This new combat comes with new things to fight, too. Rohan is, geographically, 2-3x the size of Lord of the Rings Online: Mines of Moria (a previous expansion), with around 450 quests, but there's also new, dynamic content in the open world. Warbands are essentially LotRO's version of public quests, and take the form of wandering groups of enemies that can engage players at any time. They've no dynamic spawn points, and they won't really travel along a specific path, so it's random if you'll see them. If you do you can engage them, even if others are already in battle, and everyone involved is rewarded for taking down these groups of mounted foes.
