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What is the point of horses in Breath of the Wild?

catboy

catboy

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
4,322
as the title states, I'm not sure what the point in them is.

While they let you move faster, so much of the game revolves around climbing, and horses can't climb.

If you do climb and get too far away they can't come to you anymore. This means if you think you are going to be going off for a trek there is no point bringing one with you as if you climb down the other side of a mountain you won't be able to call to it.

The game relies on Link gathering and harvesting constantly which you cannot do from horseback.

So what is the point in them? What did you end up using them for?
 
Amiibola

Amiibola

Banned
Oct 29, 2017
2,255
Another traversal option

Also, having a excuse to go visit the best fairy of the game.
 

Mhj

Attempted to circumvent ban with alt account
Banned
Oct 30, 2017
879
Buying in game cosmetic new saddles
 
OP
OP
catboy

catboy

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
4,322
Amiibola said:
Another traversal option
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But under what circumstance is it preferential to running?

If it's a short distance, run, if it's a long distance, fast travel. This is compounded by the fact that fast travelling away from your horse will not bring it, thus it's not even particularly useful in a lot of cases.
 
ZeroX

ZeroX

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
21,266
Speed Force
You should've been able to call them to you anywhere by default, stupid that it was locked behind horse armor DLC of all things
 
Blackquill

Blackquill

Attempted to circumvent ban with alt account
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
783
Link's movement option is so good that you don't need them. I played 95% of BOTW on foot and I think it's the best way to having fun in this game
 
Castlemadeofsand

Castlemadeofsand

Banned
Oct 30, 2017
672
Riding into battle and doing a slow mo flip off them whilst simultaneously pulling out your bow to wreak havoc on your foes
 
Vareon

Vareon

Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,843
- They're part of Link's image
- They're quite useful in plains or for exploring new lands
- They're fun to use

I mean you can remove them, but a lot can be said about elements in that game. The game is more than sum of its parts though, and Link riding a horse is a crucial part.
 
Weltall Zero

Weltall Zero

Game Developer
Banned
Oct 26, 2017
19,343
Madrid
I agree that they sometimes feel like a relic from a version of the game that didn't have fast travel.

Also, I think because the game pretty much lets you fight from horseback as well or better than on foot, they didn't want you to spend the entire game on a horse. This probably led to the decision of not being able to call them from anywhere, and needing to go to stables. If the game had an ability that let you call them from anywhere, they'd be considerably more useful. Quite possibly the only thing I would suggest they take from Horizon.
 
Dyle

Dyle

One Winged Slayer
The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
29,940
They're fast on roads and on non mountainous terrain. If you plan out your trips properly you can take the majority of the trip on horseback and only have to do the steepest parts on foot. There are enough wild ones around that you can just jump on one of them and take it where you need to go.

I didn't ever use fast travel and horses were an essential part of making that a reasonable playstyle.
 

Deleted member 426

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
7,273
Because walking around early on in the game came be a real fucking drag because the world is so big and spread out, and your traversal options are still being built up. Horses are introduced precisely at the point where that's at its worst.
 

KratosEnergyDrink

Using an alt account to circumvent a ban
Banned
Oct 27, 2017
1,523
I know a little girl that spends all her gaming time catching and riding horses in BotW. She loves it.
 
Blackquill

Blackquill

Attempted to circumvent ban with alt account
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
783
Jack Orion said:
Because walking around early on in the game came be a real fucking drag because the world is so big and spread out, and your traversal options are still being built up. Horses are introduced precisely at the point where that's at its worst.
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I actually think the opposite, Horses are great to get around already visited location really fast but it sucks if you want to explore new areas. I used them more late game than early game
 
Pineconn

Pineconn

Member
Oct 27, 2017
629
Ohio
I'm replaying in Master Mode right now and I've used my horse a rather significant amount. Horses aren't super useful when exploring every nook and cranny, but they're good for general traversal.

I've even called my horse by whistling a fair amount, too.
 
darz1

darz1

Member
Dec 18, 2017
7,092
Whats the point of being able to surf down a mountain on your sheild when it actually damages your sheild?

Its a fun thing to do. Horses also are fun to use from time to time.
 

Deleted member 41931

User requested account closure
Member
Apr 10, 2018
3,744
They probably realized they made too much big empty space in the map, so they added horses. Also, so they can sell the amiibo that gave you Epona and season pass with QoL feuture to call it from everywhere.
 
Amiibola

Amiibola

Banned
Oct 29, 2017
2,255
o k said:
But under what circumstance is it preferential to running?

If it's a short distance, run, if it's a long distance, fast travel. This is compounded by the fact that fast travelling away from your horse will not bring it, thus it's not even particularly useful in a lot of cases.
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I dunno man, it's just another option
 
Oscillator

Oscillator

Banned
Oct 30, 2017
1,787
Canada
They're more useful earlier in the game to get across the vast fields. After you've unlocked a lot of fast travel points, they just become a relaxing ride.
 
Charamiwa

Charamiwa

Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,056
Well obviously if you're gonna fast travel everywhere horse are somewhat useless. But some people don't like fast travel, I certainly think it takes away from some of the joy of the game.

Horses are especially useful on Central Hyrule since you can't climb anything here. I also love just following the roads from time to time, makes you appreciate the careful design that went into the world.

Also with the DLC that makes you able to summon them everywhere, it does make it way more likely to use them.
 
ArkhamFantasy

ArkhamFantasy

Member
Oct 25, 2017
13,548
You guys aren't really addressing the core issue, he's asking why you can't just call the horse and have it spawn behind you like they do in most games.
 
Mistle

Mistle

Member
Oct 25, 2017
994
Melbourne, Australia
Because riding around on a horse through BotW's landscape is inherently a great feeling?

Just because you didn't use something doesn't mean it's useless.

And focusing entirely on horse mechanics and their efficiency is ignoring that riding around on a horse in BotW just feels awesome. Taking it easy. Seeing the sights, hearing and great night/day horse music. BotW is the best at making me forget I'll playing a videogame and just letting me merge into the world.
 
cowbanana

cowbanana

Member
Feb 2, 2018
13,711
a Socialist Utopia
I played through the game and saw little reason to use the horse, save for a few times just riding around for the sake of it. When playing to progress and explore the horse seemed more like a hindrance than a help. It's an option you can use if you like, but I didn't personally find it very useful or fun.
 

Deleted member 3017

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
17,653
o k said:
I think this is my remaining question, yeah. It alone causes most of the issues I've raised.
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I guess the team didn't want you to rely on them all the time. Whether or not that was a good decision is up for debate. There's a DLC item to allows you to call your house by your side at any point. They probably should have made this a quest reward in the base game.
 
Herr Starr

Herr Starr

Member
Oct 26, 2017
2,228
Norway
I picked up a horse, tried it out for a few minutes, then never used any horse again for the remainder of the game. It feels like the designers wanted to include horses but had no idea what to do with them. The horse mostly just makes the game more fiddly and makes travel harder.
 
Cudpug

Cudpug

Member
Nov 9, 2017
3,556
I have to admit, while I loved the experience of having a loyal horse in the game, I ended up kind of having to force myself to use them a lot of the time. You kind of need to say to yourself, 'no, I'm not going to fast travel, I'm going to ride all the way there' - sort of like taking the scenic route on a drive. It is slower but more picturesque.
 
Kraq

Kraq

Member
Oct 25, 2017
807
I found them to be useless, probably the worst implementation of horses in a recent AAA game. You can't call them anywhere you want, they can't jump over small ledges and you have to mess around for a while trying to get them to "learn" to do what you want them to do through bonding. Until then, they don't control like you want them to.

I love the game, but horses are certainly one of its lowest points.
 

Deleted member 3017

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
17,653
Real Renaissance Man said:
The whole map doesn't need to be littered with it though. The desert and area leading up to Hyrule Castle serve a purpose. The empty areas in rest of the map are largely pointless.
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They're not pointless. They add to the immersion of the world. Negative space is a good thing in large open world games that don't take place exclusively in a big city or something similar.
 
lvl 99 Pixel

lvl 99 Pixel

Member
Oct 25, 2017
44,698
Horizontally inclined transport in a vertically inclined world. Having to go to a stable to get your specific horse is such a downgrade from every single past game where you could just call them.
 
MaitreWakou

MaitreWakou

One Winged Slayer
Avenger
May 15, 2018
13,180
Toulouse, France
o k said:
This is the reason I feel like they're in the game, but I don't think they are designed around it very well.
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It's just fun, that's it... It gives more options. It's just cool to just travel on the roads on horse, meeting other people on their horse...
What is the point to have a house in Breath of the Wild ? What is the point of surfing on your shield ? What is the point of the bike in the dlc ? It's fun, that's it. Video games are meant to be fun.
 
Jahranimo

Jahranimo

Community Resettler
Member
Oct 25, 2017
9,016
I like horses

They start walking/running on trails by themselves

The music that plays is really subtle but cool

Attacking enemies while riding them is also fun
 

Deleted member 33533

Banned
Nov 17, 2017
12,864
o k said:
But under what circumstance is it preferential to running?

If it's a short distance, run, if it's a long distance, fast travel. This is compounded by the fact that fast travelling away from your horse will not bring it, thus it's not even particularly useful in a lot of cases.
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You can only fast travel to shrines you've visited before. When exploring new territory, it's good to have a horse. Especially in the game's many wide open fields.

Even then, sometimes you don't want to fast travel. Sometimes the place you want to go to isn't exactly where an already visited shrine is. Sometimes you just want to ride your horse because it's fun. I like fighting guardians on horseback.
 
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