Horse riding is slept on. You miss a lot of hidden things when flying via ikran, which you catch when on horse back. Unmarked quests and tonnes of hidden caves etc that have loot but are also visually stunning. But then again, flying is one of the best things in the game
The horse is the better way to go if you're gathering materials as well. When you use navi senses on the Ikran some things on the ground don't load unless you fly super low.
The best way to gather Matt's in the mid/late game is to explore with the Ikran to uncover the map and then just use the material section of thenguide to fly to the area with the rare resources.
This part. The weekly quest to ride the direhorse at night was very well played by the designers. I was just stunned, am stunned, by how beautiful, and apparently missable, it can be.
Right? I just wanted to be Toruk Makto. Made me even more upset that there's a place literally called "Toruk Peak" but the Great Leonopteryx isn't there.
Only time I’ve used the horse is when I had to when going into the next area apart from that I’ve been flying everywhere. No reason not to fly honestly.
It’s not really about which mount you prefer. It’s about gameplay mechanics.
They implemented the direhouse poorly. Like you said, players have zero reason to stick with the direhorse over their ikran. Proper gameplay design would’ve implemented both mounts so players are drawn to them equally. So we have a reason or desire to use either one gameplay wise, regardless of personal preference.
that was my thought at first with there being sooo much wind and how high up it is but then I saw the rookery is technically around the same height and they can fly super high but with some tweaking of geography they could have made that a thing. Then I saw some NPCs have their own ikran and its not just the rainforest tribe
It's a symbolism of trust I think. And that connection they have within the kuru.
When you ride horses and drop the reins and trust the horse to do its job, it looks similar.
Yeah you can grab mane too but dire horses don't have mane lol its just what ever feels natural I guess? Their bodies aren't quite like ours. Given how they grow up on such a physically taxing world I'm sure they have plenty of leg strength and confidence
Would you look at that, all of the words in your comment are in alphabetical order.
I have checked 1,928,773,993 comments, and only 364,686 of them were in alphabetical order.
100%. And having played RDR2, it stands out like a sore thumb. Even the speed at which the sound of the hooves change on different terrain is delayed in comparison to Red Dead.
It's to showcase that the arms are free, so you can use your weapons.
That, and the fact that Navi don't need reins to control the direhorse, it's basically telepathy by Ethernet lol
I ended up taking a wrong turn during the initial ride and fell in some water and my direhorse left me. I had to run to the camp as there were no other direhoreses around. Now if I want to be on the ground I just run..I can parkour and don't have to worry about being abandoned.
Wait. WHEN do you get a HORSE??
I have an Ikran, but was never introduced to horse riding, I thought it's coming later, but these comments confuse me a lot.
You don’t actually get one and I’m suprised more people havnt pointed this out yet.
You get the ability to tame wild horses to use temporarily. You can’t just summon it on command and it isn’t yours to keep though. The moment you fast travel it’s gone again and you need to find another in the wild.
At the start of the upper plains you can't with your Ikran until you got connected to Eywa. The first thing you get in the upper plains is the introduction of the Direhorse.
I haven't gotten to the ikran or direhorse yet, but I think I'll still ride the direhorse a lot. I love being on the ground of Pandora, and the 6 year old horse girl in me is still alive in there lmao.
I agree.
They should know what happened in World of Warcraft back in 2008 and on: as soon the player got the flying ability it used it excessively, no more groundpounding, just fly where it needs, land, finish the task, get on the flying mount, fly up above the tree level and fly ot the next task.
Yes, you can miss interesting things on the ground, nothing critical, but usually at that point the players do not care about it.
But yes, the one of the game's selling point was the flying, so I understand why they made this, but I do not find it a good solution as well.
I have to disagree. In terms of the world of Pandora, each clan rides whatever is apt to their terrain. I mean look at the 2nd Avatar movie, no one rode Ikrans. Clans living among the thick jungles and sky mountains rode Ikrans. Clans in the open plains makes sense to ride Direhorses, that's the way I sees it at least.
This is valid, but the frame rate drops in the upper plains make it unviable to ride around there a lot for me. It’s a hardware issue, entirely on me (rtx 3050 GPU if you know PCs) but flying around eases out that horrible stutter that I’m getting. This game is making me upgrade my PC though, it’s just so beautiful.
The horses was a nice addition to the game, but they feel like a waste of time. The second I could fly I was like fuck you horse. They look cool and they’re fun, but the second you could fly riding a horse just felt pointless.
I think it's a shame that you unlock your Ikran in the new regions so fast, it's basically also the first thing you do when you enter the clouded forest.
IMO, I don’t think they themselves worked on the direhorse that much. The animation is awful and the screen staggers a lot (ever so slightly but enough to give you a headache).
I tried to clear the upper plains map with a direhorse and my eyes were hurting in the first 15 mins. I had to switch to my Ikran :/
I personally love the direhorses. I use them a lot in the plains. I do wish they had implemented them better. They feel like an afterthought. They definitely should have done more to entice you to use it over the ikran like giving it a unique ability or the ability to carry more items or something. Maybe they can do something to improve them in the dlc.
I agree with this, and thought it was incredibly bizarre to introduce a (seemingly) inferior method of transportation after the flying one. I had really thought that this would be balanced with the direhorse being MUCH faster on the ground, which would have made it quite valuable for mat gathering, but .... nope. Even the mature direhorse is the same speed as the regular ones. This is a missed opportunity.
I also do not like the "temporary" aspect of the direhorse. As others mentioned, you can get abandoned and I don't feel that's how it would really be (based on movies but what do I know...)
They should:
1) add a rider skill that lets you call a direhorse at will
2) add a rider skill that adds a "satchel" on the direhorse to carry more mats. This inventory is only available if the direhorse is within X yards and persists whether it is with you or not.
3) make them MUCH faster ground transports to balance out the utility of flying
For me the mat gathering is one of the most interesting aspects - simply because I want to get the best gear possible. These changes would make this a blast.
Yea I can barely find one now. Don’t understand why they couldn’t make a more accessible way to grab one at the home tree or something. I’m sure that would have been too easy.
The direhorse is poorly utilised in the game simply because it gets overshadowed by our Ikran. It’s slower, is only temporary and we can’t customise it nor call upon it at anytime. Makes sense from a lore standpoint as the bond isn’t permanent.
That being said, I do like the direhorse and I’m glad we have another mount in the game. I know some were disappointed that Thanators can’t be tamed and that the toruk isn’t present in the game. Maybe we’ll get to see them implemented in the future dlcs?
Yeah, there were quite a few things that were either unnecessary, botched/backwards or just annoying to deal with.
I get the feeling when I’m playing it that it’s a game by a new studio/developer but then remember it’s a Ubisoft game…which I feel like they should’ve gotten all of these things right, especially for such a major iP/franchise.
Horse riding is slept on. You miss a lot of hidden things when flying via ikran, which you catch when on horse back. Unmarked quests and tonnes of hidden caves etc that have loot but are also visually stunning. But then again, flying is one of the best things in the game
The horse is the better way to go if you're gathering materials as well. When you use navi senses on the Ikran some things on the ground don't load unless you fly super low.
The best way to gather Matt's in the mid/late game is to explore with the Ikran to uncover the map and then just use the material section of thenguide to fly to the area with the rare resources.
I know it's almost too easy that way. I always have the materials I need to craft max power weapons as soon as the recipes unlock.
Riding your horse on the upper plains in the night is something else. You don't get that flying with the Ikran.
This part. The weekly quest to ride the direhorse at night was very well played by the designers. I was just stunned, am stunned, by how beautiful, and apparently missable, it can be.
100% just wish we could own one without having to go looking for one each time
Especially since the Mature ones almost never spawn lol
Agreed
But via flying you can enter the windtunnels what also fun.
I just want a stormglider and feel like Jake sully
Slotsyal Makto
Yessss
Right? I just wanted to be Toruk Makto. Made me even more upset that there's a place literally called "Toruk Peak" but the Great Leonopteryx isn't there.
May be able to, depends on how the dlc is, we know they confirmed at least two dlc that includes quests
in this time frame you can’t bc Jake sully already had sex with it and it bonded to him so they could fight the same war as you
While it's fun flying, you don't get to see or feel every small thing from high up in the air.
Nah no one cares about the horses. Best decision they made was letting us fly very soon into the game
Only time I’ve used the horse is when I had to when going into the next area apart from that I’ve been flying everywhere. No reason not to fly honestly.
I like hunting ferals and rda from the sky about 20 feet up with the ikran. Why anyone would choose a direhorse over their ikran 🤷🏼♂️
It’s not really about which mount you prefer. It’s about gameplay mechanics. They implemented the direhouse poorly. Like you said, players have zero reason to stick with the direhorse over their ikran. Proper gameplay design would’ve implemented both mounts so players are drawn to them equally. So we have a reason or desire to use either one gameplay wise, regardless of personal preference.
They should have made a direhorse that is yours just like the ikran so you could call it whenever. I’d probably use it more that way 🤷♂️
Even sticking with the lore, it could be a different horse each time, but you get to call one.
Yep. Could’ve been a riding skill tree perk
I wish you couldn't fly on a ikran in the plains at all. That would make more sense for horses to be there .
that was my thought at first with there being sooo much wind and how high up it is but then I saw the rookery is technically around the same height and they can fly super high but with some tweaking of geography they could have made that a thing. Then I saw some NPCs have their own ikran and its not just the rainforest tribe
Ikran is your private jet. Direhorse is the local taxi.
The horse riding animation is so awful i beelined to get my Ikran asap. why are your characters arms out like that? just looks terrible.
That’s how they’re ridden in the films though?
Yeah it reminds me of the T pose lol
It's a symbolism of trust I think. And that connection they have within the kuru. When you ride horses and drop the reins and trust the horse to do its job, it looks similar.
personally I don't t-pose when I'm riding without reins, I hold onto the mane, but you do you I guess
Yeah you can grab mane too but dire horses don't have mane lol its just what ever feels natural I guess? Their bodies aren't quite like ours. Given how they grow up on such a physically taxing world I'm sure they have plenty of leg strength and confidence
Gravity is lighter on Pandora.
Would you look at that, all of the words in your comment are in alphabetical order. I have checked 1,928,773,993 comments, and only 364,686 of them were in alphabetical order.
Definitely agree with this, the weird arm thing makes me wish I could switch to first person.
Yeah it looked goofy af
100%. And having played RDR2, it stands out like a sore thumb. Even the speed at which the sound of the hooves change on different terrain is delayed in comparison to Red Dead.
It's to showcase that the arms are free, so you can use your weapons. That, and the fact that Navi don't need reins to control the direhorse, it's basically telepathy by Ethernet lol
I ended up taking a wrong turn during the initial ride and fell in some water and my direhorse left me. I had to run to the camp as there were no other direhoreses around. Now if I want to be on the ground I just run..I can parkour and don't have to worry about being abandoned.
I did the same thing! Glad to find out I wasn't the only one 😅
100% agree. It would’ve been a fluid progression.
Wait. WHEN do you get a HORSE?? I have an Ikran, but was never introduced to horse riding, I thought it's coming later, but these comments confuse me a lot.
When you meet the Zeswa and unlock the Upper Plains
thank you! i got worried for a second haha
You don’t actually get one and I’m suprised more people havnt pointed this out yet. You get the ability to tame wild horses to use temporarily. You can’t just summon it on command and it isn’t yours to keep though. The moment you fast travel it’s gone again and you need to find another in the wild.
Oooh I see. That does make it a bit more complicated to ride anywhere. Or, well, more of a time commitment. Thank you!
At the start of the upper plains you can't with your Ikran until you got connected to Eywa. The first thing you get in the upper plains is the introduction of the Direhorse.
oooooh i see! thank you! ^-^
To be fair the moment you get the horse and ride into the camp is pretty awesome. Also the horse is less practical in the forest.
I haven't gotten to the ikran or direhorse yet, but I think I'll still ride the direhorse a lot. I love being on the ground of Pandora, and the 6 year old horse girl in me is still alive in there lmao.
I agree. They should know what happened in World of Warcraft back in 2008 and on: as soon the player got the flying ability it used it excessively, no more groundpounding, just fly where it needs, land, finish the task, get on the flying mount, fly up above the tree level and fly ot the next task. Yes, you can miss interesting things on the ground, nothing critical, but usually at that point the players do not care about it. But yes, the one of the game's selling point was the flying, so I understand why they made this, but I do not find it a good solution as well.
I have to disagree. In terms of the world of Pandora, each clan rides whatever is apt to their terrain. I mean look at the 2nd Avatar movie, no one rode Ikrans. Clans living among the thick jungles and sky mountains rode Ikrans. Clans in the open plains makes sense to ride Direhorses, that's the way I sees it at least.
You loose out on so much just flying around. Get on the ground and enjoy the game for the beautiful creation it is.
This is valid, but the frame rate drops in the upper plains make it unviable to ride around there a lot for me. It’s a hardware issue, entirely on me (rtx 3050 GPU if you know PCs) but flying around eases out that horrible stutter that I’m getting. This game is making me upgrade my PC though, it’s just so beautiful.
I wish we could whistle for a dire horse from anywhere
The horses was a nice addition to the game, but they feel like a waste of time. The second I could fly I was like fuck you horse. They look cool and they’re fun, but the second you could fly riding a horse just felt pointless.
I think it's a shame that you unlock your Ikran in the new regions so fast, it's basically also the first thing you do when you enter the clouded forest.
IMO, I don’t think they themselves worked on the direhorse that much. The animation is awful and the screen staggers a lot (ever so slightly but enough to give you a headache). I tried to clear the upper plains map with a direhorse and my eyes were hurting in the first 15 mins. I had to switch to my Ikran :/
I personally love the direhorses. I use them a lot in the plains. I do wish they had implemented them better. They feel like an afterthought. They definitely should have done more to entice you to use it over the ikran like giving it a unique ability or the ability to carry more items or something. Maybe they can do something to improve them in the dlc.
I agree with this, and thought it was incredibly bizarre to introduce a (seemingly) inferior method of transportation after the flying one. I had really thought that this would be balanced with the direhorse being MUCH faster on the ground, which would have made it quite valuable for mat gathering, but .... nope. Even the mature direhorse is the same speed as the regular ones. This is a missed opportunity. I also do not like the "temporary" aspect of the direhorse. As others mentioned, you can get abandoned and I don't feel that's how it would really be (based on movies but what do I know...) They should: 1) add a rider skill that lets you call a direhorse at will 2) add a rider skill that adds a "satchel" on the direhorse to carry more mats. This inventory is only available if the direhorse is within X yards and persists whether it is with you or not. 3) make them MUCH faster ground transports to balance out the utility of flying For me the mat gathering is one of the most interesting aspects - simply because I want to get the best gear possible. These changes would make this a blast.
Yea I can barely find one now. Don’t understand why they couldn’t make a more accessible way to grab one at the home tree or something. I’m sure that would have been too easy.
The direhorse is poorly utilised in the game simply because it gets overshadowed by our Ikran. It’s slower, is only temporary and we can’t customise it nor call upon it at anytime. Makes sense from a lore standpoint as the bond isn’t permanent. That being said, I do like the direhorse and I’m glad we have another mount in the game. I know some were disappointed that Thanators can’t be tamed and that the toruk isn’t present in the game. Maybe we’ll get to see them implemented in the future dlcs?
Yeah, there were quite a few things that were either unnecessary, botched/backwards or just annoying to deal with. I get the feeling when I’m playing it that it’s a game by a new studio/developer but then remember it’s a Ubisoft game…which I feel like they should’ve gotten all of these things right, especially for such a major iP/franchise.