by JameElden Ring is one of the most popular open-world games at the moment and how to get a horse is one of the first questions players seek answers to since it makes exploring much easier.
This is the first FromSoftware to feature an open world with a big map included, which means that players should make the most of their traversal options.
Exploring the world of Elden Ring without a horse is like entering The TwinSpires Edge Kentucky Derby without a horse.
Getting a horse will not only save you time, but also make your job much easier running away from enemies, and since we are talking about one of the hardest games where enemies could kill you with one hit, getting one is very important.
Fortunately, the developers included a horse called Torrent, and it is almost available from the beginning. Let’s see how to unlock Torrent in Elder Ring and prepare yourself for your travels.
How to Unlock Torrent in Elden Ring
Since developers wanted to make this game hard, they decided not to include a horse or any kind of fast traveling option from the beginning. In order to unlock the horse in Elden Ring, you must rest at the Site of Grace near the Gatefront Ruins.
Gatefront Ruins is located northwest from where you start the game, at the base of an enormous gate leading to Stormveil Castle.
Once you get there you should rest, and you’ll be greeted by Melina in a cutscene.
For some players, this doesn’t happen on the first run but don’t worry there is a solution for this problem. If Melina doesn’t appear after you rested, you might need to have rested at different Graces first. Try visiting Standard Graveyard, Church of Elleh, The First Step, or Groveside Cave first.
Once you are done, Melina will pay you a visit, and as she is one of the main NPCs in the game, she will follow you on your travels providing you with lore snippets of the world and allowing you to spend your runes to gain levels and stats.
On the first visit, she will grant you are ring called Spectral Steed Whistle. When it comes to whistles in games, they usually suggest summoning a mount, and in this case, a spirit horse called Torrent.
That’s it, now you have a horse that can be used for traveling and even in combat.
How the Horse Works in Elden Ring
Once you obtain the horse, it will become your travel partner and make the job of traveling between places much easier. However, fast traveling isn’t the only benefit of getting a horse.
From the get-go, the horse will not only increase your overall speed but also improve mobility by having a double jump. This allows you to reach more vertical places on your exploration, and in some places, on the map, you can also use the spiritsprings super jump feature to get a lot of air time and access higher places (or drop down safely to lower places, these spiritsprings work both ways).
Since the world of Elden Ring is filled with fierce enemies, it is good to know that you can use the horse in combat. However, mounted combat in Elden Ring feels very different from similar games.
First of all, there are limitations. You can only use your right-hand weapon while mounted, and some spells. However, you can still swing right (R1/R2/RB/RT) or left (L1/L2/LB/LT). With that said, getting involved in combat while riding a horse is a difficult task and you might need to practice on smaller enemies before you turn up to take down bosses like the Flying Dragon Agheel or Night’s Cavalry.
Torrent may be very useful in combat, but you have to know that it can take damage, and might die. The good thing is that you can always bring him back by Resting at a Site of Grace or using one of your Crimson Flasks which will bring the horseback immediately.
Now since you know how to get a horse and how to use it in different scenarios in Elden Ring, it is time to make your job easier.
Advanced tips and tricks with the horse in Elden Ring
The first thing you should know, is that while you’re mounting or dismounting Torrent in Elden Ring, you get “iframes” (short for “Invincibility Frames”), which means that during the animation, you can’t get hit by anything, you’re invincible. So there’s a giant troll with a big windup attack about to hit you and you just want to get out of here? Summon Torrent and if your timing is right, the Troll might just swing through you without leaving a scratch. Neat trick huh?!
Jumping attack while dismounting your horse: if you’re galloping with your horse and press the left stick, you’ll dismount with a high jump, which you can combine with a jumping attack. This is a great way to engage enemies in the open world, charge them and do a big jump attack to start the fight with a very strong opener.
You can cast spells and shoot arrows while on horseback. You’re a mage and don’t like to be doing damage from a under a dragon’s crotch? Just get on your horse and fire away, gallop away in between two spell casts to safely deal with enemies you want no business with at close range.
Charged attacks are great on horse back, and I don’t mean only the actual swing, but also the whole windup has a continuons damage window, this is great to slice through several enemies while running through them and holding down your charged attack button (R2/RT). This is even better if you use a Lance, it does exactly what you’d expect from them if you’ve been watching movies involving knights jousting! Give it a try, it’s a really fun mechanic!
There are thousands of secrets in Elden Ring, and you’ll probably miss a large portion of them even if your first playthrough took you 100+ hours. So if you want a full completion experience, I highly suggest you check out my Elden Ring 100% Walkthrough for either your first playthrough or any NG+ playthrough or new characters, you won’t regret it and you’ll certainly learn a few new tricks along the way, even if you’re a souls game veteran.
