Mounted combat is a new feature that FromSoftware is dropping within Elden Ring when it launches late February next year. While this feature will have enemies that might be easier fought on horseback, studio head Hidetaka Miyazaki assured fans that at no point you are forced to fight in that manner, according to an interview with EDGE Magazine (via ResetEra).

At no point do we want to enforce horse riding or mounted combat on the player. Rather, we want to build situations that may ask for mounted traversal or may suggest that mounted combat is a viable strategy, and it’s up to the player whether they want to pursue those strategies. They should never feel as though something is being forced upon them. In terms of map design and encounter design itself, due to the scale and structure of the world, it’s something that should encourage traversal using Torrent.

Miyazaki also hopes adding mounted combat to Elden Ring will give players extra choices that may better blend with their individual play style and how they would handle certain situations.

And also the mounted combat will hopefully play into the players’ variety of choices and how they approach these various situations, with that level of freedom, as well. So in that sense, yes, we’ve designed the world with that in mind.

This game has been hotly anticipated ever since it was leaked back in mid-2019. Much of 2020 was devoid of much if any news about the title and it wasn’t until earlier this year that stuff was getting serious and a release was confirmed. We can all expect this FromSoftware title to hit stores on February 25, 2022.