Mounts in Albion are more than just a means of transportation. Picking the right one for your adventure can even determine whether you survive an encounter or lose your hard-earned gear. In the following guide, we’ll go over some useful tips for raising, buying and riding your mounts, and show which stats and traits to look out for to make sure you aren’t easy prey out there in the wild. [previewyoutube=nvtNMQh5EeE?si=Z3d9LULEsll3xSIG;full][/previewyoutube] [h2]Useful Tips[/h2] Every mount has passive stats that can help you to determine whether it’s suitable for your next adventure. These include [b]mount health[/b], [b]armor[/b], [b]magical resistance[/b], and [b]crowd control resistance,[/b] which tell you how much damage that mount can take before it throws its rider off. [b]Move[/b] and [b]gallop speed[/b], meanwhile, indicate how fast you can travel across the world: move speed refers to the basic speed of your mount, while galloping is achieved by continuously riding without taking damage. Another important stat is [b]max load,[/b] which shows how much extra weight a mount lets you carry. Here we have to distinguish between max load, which counts as [b]active carry weight,[/b] and the ‘[b]Courier[/b]’ passive spell, which counts as [b]passive carry weight[/b]. [b]Active carry weight[/b] lets you carry more weight while riding or while you’re directly next to your mount. Being forcefully dismounted or leaving the mount radius will remove this bonus, and may leave you over-encumbered. [b]Passive carry weight,[/b] meanwhile, increases your max load as long as you have a mount equipped, even if you’re on foot or in combat. [img]//assets.albiononline.com/uploads/media/default/media/deb63f7b9452830fa2b06e8e4ca861511f66d3b2.png[/img] A number of mounts also have [b]active abilities[/b] that can be triggered while riding. Some offer abilities on the [b]shoe slot[/b] (default: F) that let you travel faster in various ways, while others have [b]weapon slot[/b] abilities (default: Q,W,E). Using an active mount ability will put that slot on [b]cooldown[/b], so if you use the shoe slot ability on your mount and then dismount, you must wait for the cooldown to end before you can use your actual shoe slot again. Every mount has the ability ‘[b]Journey Back[/b]’ (default: R). This allows you to return to your [b]last safe zone location [/b]after a channel. This ability has a Silver cost, which is determined by the [b]distance[/b] to the nearest safe zone and the [b]items[/b] you’re carrying. [img]//assets.albiononline.com/uploads/media/default/media/70fa881ed4ea480485ea2d349a191b5aa1b829b1.png[/img] When dismounted by an enemy player or creature, you become [b]immune to crowd control[/b] for a short time, while having full access to your cooldowns. You cannot remount within 30 seconds. When dismounting voluntarily, your weapon slots are available as long as no enemy players are nearby, while your armor slots are on a [b]5 second cooldown[/b]. You will also notice a [b]circle around your mount[/b], within which you can move freely and [b]click/tap on the mount[/b] to quickly mount up again. Getting into combat with another player will immediately [b]remove[/b] the mount. [img]//assets.albiononline.com/uploads/media/default/media/9ba1886f55f3ea204dc8809f87f637980be21be4.png[/img] Every mount can be traded at the Marketplace. If you decide to raise or earn a mount yourself, you will find additional information below. [h2]The Mounts of Albion[/h2] [h3]Starter Mounts[/h3] When playing the tutorial, you’ll meet your very first mount - the [b]Novice’s Mule[/b]. While it isn’t the fastest, it already has the ‘Courier’ passive, granting some additional carry weight. [b]Horses[/b] and [b]Oxen[/b] can be raised on pastures on personal islands or guild territories. Once grown, they can be saddled to become a [b]Riding Horse[/b] – an agile mount with passive carryweight – an [b]Armored Horse[/b] – a sturdy mount with additional armor for added protection – or a [b]Transport Ox[/b], which allows you to carry large quantities of goods. [img]//assets.albiononline.com/uploads/media/default/media/860f6f4d6d455dd8dea83ee6fba6ca50857baa6d.png[/img] [h3]Adventurer’s Challenge Mounts[/h3] Adventurer’s Challenge Mounts offer either [b]fast movement[/b], [b]escape abilities,[/b] or high [b]transport capacity[/b]. Each month brings a fresh challenge in which players can accumulate [b]Challenge Points[/b] to unlock daily, weekly, and monthly rewards. After completing the monthly challenge, players with active [b]Premium[/b] status can claim that month’s mount and immediately begin to use it. Adventurer’s Challenges work on an annual rotation, with each month’s mount as follows: [list] [*]January: [b]Frost Ram[/b][/*] [*]February: [b]Saddled Terrorbird[/b][/*] [*]March: [b]Grizzly Bear[/b][/*] [*]April: [b]Black Panther[/b][/*] [*]May: [b]Morgana Raven[/b][/*] [*]June: [b]Gallant Horse[/b][/*] [*]July: [b]Spectral Direboar[/b][/*] [*]August: [b]Divine Owl[/b][/*] [*]September: [b]Heretic Combat Mule[/b][/*] [*]October: [b]Spectral Bat[/b][/*] [*]November: [b]Pest Lizard[/b][/*] [*]December: [b]Snow Husky[/b][/*][/list] [video autoplay="yes" loop="yes" muted="yes"]https://assets.albiononline.com/uploads/media/default/media/video_/media/665ed6c360391_720.mp4[/video] [h3]Rare Baby Animals[/h3] Some baby animals can be acquired by [b]killing open world hide animals[/b]. These can then be raised on a pasture or in a kennel. The chances of one of these baby animals dropping [b]decreases with the tier of the mob[/b]. You have a chance of finding each type of baby animal in the following biomes: [list] [*][b]Steppe:[/b] Stag (T4) / Swiftclaw (T5) / Mammoth (T8)[/*] [*][b]Forest: [/b]Direwolf (T6) / Moose (T6) / Direboar (T7) / Direbear (T8)[/*] [*][b]Swamp:[/b] Swamp Salamander (T6) / Direboar (T7) / Direbear (T8)[/*][/list] There is also a small chance that [b]Conqueror’s Chests[/b] contain one of these. [b]Swiftclaws[/b] and [b]Direwolves[/b] are very quick, while others, like the [b]Moose,[/b] are great at carrying medium loads while remaining agile. The [b]Transport Mammoth[/b] is by far the best mount for carrying a lot of weight. [img]//assets.albiononline.com/uploads/media/default/media/a1dc4bfce579f162edf69cc39a2d7cffed8318ea.png[/img] [h3]Faction Mounts[/h3] Each major city in Albion hosts a faction that players can fight for to earn [b]Faction Points[/b]. These points can be used to acquire baby animals. Each city has a [b]standard[/b] and an [b]elite version[/b] of their mount to choose from. In addition to the six Royal Cities, [b]Brecilien[/b] also offers two baby animals that can be purchased with [b]Favor[/b]. Each city’s mounts are: [list] [*]Thetford: [b]Swamp Salamander[/b] & [b]Elite Swamp Salamander[/b][/*] [*]Fort Sterling: [b]Winter Bear[/b] & [b]Elite Winter Bear[/b][/*] [*]Lymhurst: [b]Wild Boar[/b] & [b]Elite Wild Boar[/b][/*] [*]Bridgewatch: [b]Terrorbird[/b] & [b]Elite Terrorbird[/b][/*] [*]Martlock: [b]Bighorn Ram[/b] & [b]Elite Bighorn Ram[/b][/*] [*]Caerleon: [b]Greywolf[/b] & [b]Elite Greywolf[/b][/*] [*]Brecilien: [b]Mystic Owl[/b] & [b]Elite Mystic Owl[/b][/*][/list] [img]//assets.albiononline.com/uploads/media/default/media/b9907d7385b04059f626f88150783f6dcf48a103.jpeg[/img] [h3]Battle Mounts[/h3] Battle mounts are used in [b]large-scale battles[/b] to enhance the survivability and offensive strength of a zerg. They can offer [b]buffs[/b] to big groups of players and shape the battlefield with their [b]disruptive skills[/b]. These mounts are usually tough to take down. Most battle mounts are given out at the end of a [b]Guild Season[/b] through [b]Conqueror’s Chests[/b]. Attaining a higher [b]guild rank[/b] and a better chest [b]increases the chances[/b] of getting battle mounts. Players engaging in high-level [b]20v20 Crystal League[/b] matches also have a chance to receive these. Some battle mounts can only be obtained through the [b]Energy Manipulator[/b]. They require a base mount, some [b]materials,[/b] and a large amount of [b]Siphoned Energy[/b]. [img]//assets.albiononline.com/uploads/media/default/media/e422e5c7f96d451dfaa7969508e78308c2dab65e.png[/img] [h3]Special Mounts[/h3] There are also a few rare mounts that don’t fall into any of the above categories, like the [b]Morgana Nightmare[/b], the [b]Rageclaw,[/b] and the [b]Spectral Bonehorse[/b]. Each of these can be crafted from artifacts dropped by [b]World Bosses[/b] found in special raid zones in the open world. The [b]Rites of Spring[/b] event allows players to earn the [b]Spring Cottontail[/b] and [b]Caerleon Cottontail[/b] mounts. Some older referral seasons rewarded unique mounts. And, last but not least, the [b]Avalonian Basilisk[/b] can be acquired with a Saddled Swamp Dragon and 5000 Avalonian Energy at the Saddler. [img]//assets.albiononline.com/uploads/media/default/media/a689aee5cd2405abf12587751d47c486ecd097ab.png[/img] [h2]Mount Skins[/h2] [b]You are what you wear[/b]. So make yourself a dashing adventurer or a gruesome warrior while you’re riding through Albion! There are a multitude of skins available to give your favorite mount a makeover - simply go to the [b]Appearance[/b] [b]UI[/b] in the player menu to check out which skins are available. [img]//assets.albiononline.com/uploads/media/default/media/205cc0aa8ca695bf2198b053e3143cf204980f30.jpeg[/img] Many skins can be purchased from the [url=https://albiononline.com/shop/vanity][b]Albion Online Web Shop[/b][/url] or ingame store[b],[/b] while some can be purchased for [b]Gold[/b] or earned by [url=https://albiononline.com/profile/referral/overview][b]referring a friend[/b][/url]. Referral mount skins can be traded at the Marketplace. Ready to ride? With this knowledge you'll be well-equipped to traverse Albion's treacherous roads with the right mount for any occasion. Giddy up!