Mounting



Mounting is RuneScape's newest and most unique skill. It is a skill that was released in RuneScape on 15 July 2010 that is open to members only.

Mounting features a new area south of Wizards' Tower, Kiphlar, a wide grassland of mythical creatures and inhabitants, which is about the size of Falador. Mounting gives a player the ability to mount an animal or creature, either to reach destinations in a short amount of time using lesser energy, or to enhance combat and uses whistles and scrolls to summon their mounts at any time, anywhere.

The skill follows a new skill training system called 'Progressive Skill Training'. Trained entirely from the mount itself, the player can do just about anything in RuneScape with the mount and still gain experience no matter what. For example, for every amount of distance the player and their mount travel, experience is gained. No experience will be gained if the mount is absent during activities such as questing. However, you can still earn experience through quests such as those involving the use of your mount. Mounts can be found all over Gielinor. Training mounts can be found on Kiphlar itself and nowhere else on Gielinor, although they don't have an important purpose other than getting used to the basics. Training mounting is lightly dependent on the agility skill. Unlike what players may think at first, a player's agility binds with the mount's agility, giving the player a tremendous increase in run energy and stamina.

The current minimum requirement to be ranked (at approximately rank 450,312) on the hiscores for Mounting is level 30. As of 1 September 2010, there are 67 players that have achieved level 99 in Mounting and 3 players have reached level 120 in Mounting yet but no one has achieved 200 million experience yet. The closest to achieving 200 million experience is 117,890,109 experience. The current rankings are visible on the Runescape Hiscores page. On 2 August 2010, the skill received a massive upgrade to include, among other things, the ability to use Construction to build many useful things around Gielinor and the ability to use mounts in many PvP minigames such as Duel Arena and Clan Wars. It also released several new training grounds in major towns such as East Ardougne (Grassland), Bandit Camp (Desert), Lletya (Forest), Burthorpe (Mountain) and Lunar Isle (Snow).

Getting Started
To be able to begin Mounting, you must complete the Transporter quest, which will give you a free Kharidian Colt, and raise your Mounting level to 4.

Background
It has been revealed by Potus, when you reach Level 99 Mounting, that the place where your mounts hail from has never been part of Gielinor, yet is nevertheless part of our lives every day. The Mounting creatures have a strong connection with the Summoning familiars as well as where they both come from, from the Spirit Plane. Other races than the Elves, Spiritual Beings, and now the Humans, appear to possess some knowledge of Mounting; for instance, the Gnome ride Terrorbird into battle, hinting that the Gnome race possesses Mounting skill.

Mounts
Mounts are creatures that players may tame or find around Gielinor to help them with various tasks. The mounts can be obtained by finding their location and by right-clicking on the mount, the player has the option to "tame" it. If the player is successful in taming the mount then they will receive it in their inventory, but failing to tame the mount will cause it to run away. The higher the level a player is at mounting the more chance there is to tame the mounts. The mounts have many different abilities, from boosting energy to aiding you in combat. All familiars have a special move or boost which can be activated with Mount Scrolls. Only one mount can be mounted at a time, although a player may keep more than one mount. Mounts do not take up inventory space, instead, they are stored in the new Mounting tab next to the Summoning tab. However, mounts can be put in banks. Players may only use either Mounting Familiars or Summoning Familiars at a time. Some of these mounts require certain quests while others require certain skills. When mounts are stored in the tab, they appear as scrolls. Clicking on the particular scroll will have options to summon the mount, check what the mount is carrying, boost the mount for new effects and release the mount.


 * NOTE: Once you release a mount, you cannot undo the action.

The scrolls listed below, are mounts you may ride:

In order to mount a familiar, players must use the "Summon" option on the Mounting tab if a mount has been assigned. Mounting familiars do not cost any mounting points (as to Prayer and Summoning points). Mounting points decrease depending on the level of the Mount summoned. Example, if a player had 40 mounting and he/she summoned a familiar which requires level 26 mounting, his/her mounting points will decrease by 26 and will be left with 14 mounting points. Mounting points can be renewed by visiting stables, or can be instantly refilled from the Energy Pack gained from completing Transporter.

Players may interact with their mounts, feeding them food and training them to increase a player's mounting experience. Player's mounts may also interact with a player's pet. By dropping a pet while a mounting familiar is summoned, the two will interact in many ways.

Scrolls
There are 2 different types of scrolls. The first type of scroll is used to summon your mounts. Similar to Familiar Pouches, these scrolls can be created at Stables which may be built or found all over RuneScape. The second type of scroll is Perk Scrolls. Perks, or Special Abilities, may be imbued to your mount as long as you have the certain Mounting level. You will have to kill various monsters or find them in the Grand Exchange for perk scrolls. A list shows what type of perks are available:

Coming soon!

Armour
Mounting armour comes in a wide variety from melee to mage to range armours. Mounting armour can be used on both mounts and on the ground. The mounting armours come in three versions, warrior armour, ranger hides and mage robes. All of which come in many versions which differ in level and stats.

Warrior

 * Warrior Robe Top - An armour plated robe top for a mounted warrior. Combines the strength of a platebody with the light leather body
 * Warrior Robe Bottom - An armour plated robe bottom for a mounted warrior. Very light and effective
 * Warrior Faceshield - A faceshield to protect a mounted warrior. Excellent defense against ranged
 * Warrior Grieves - A pair of boots to protect a mounted warrior's feet
 * Warrior Gauntlets - A pair of gloves to protect a mounted warrior's hands

Ranger

 * Ranger Leather Body - Lighter than leather but as strong as dragon hide. Excellent ranger armour
 * Ranger Leather Chaps - Strong, lightweight and flexible. A ranger's ideal leg wear
 * Ranger Headcap - Protective wear for a mounted rangers head. Great magic insulation
 * Ranger Footwear - Very flexible and silent. Perfect for ambushing foes
 * Ranger Vambraces - A pair of vambraces to protect a mounted ranger's wrists

Mage

 * Mage Arcane Top - Woven from elemental steel chains. Excellent defense against melee
 * Mage Arcane Legs - High magic absorbing abilities. Increases magic effectiveness
 * Mage Headpiece - A headpiece which shields a mounted magician's head
 * Mage Boots - A pair of boots to protect a mounted mage's feet
 * Mage Gage - A pair of gloves to enhance magic power

Mount Shops
There are many locations around RuneScape which sell mounting equipment. A wide variety of mounting equipment can be bought at a reasonable price at every mounting shop. These are some main NPCs who sell mounting equipment:
 * Fadardo - Sells empty scrolls and the necessary materials which can be later fused into mount scrolls
 * Faramir - Sells starter mounting armour for warriors
 * Hejoldis - Sells starter mounting armour for mages
 * Arseon - Sells starter mounting armour for rangers
 * Mideth - Sells the player the Mounting cape if they have achieved 99 Mounting. Also sells the True Skill Master cape once the player has achieved 120 mounting

Stables

 * Stables are places where you can infuse mount scrolls. Similar to Summoning Obelisks, they also act as a spot to refill your Mounting points.
 * Feeder's are partially-charged with mounting energy and may be used to recharge summoning points, but not to infuse scrolls. They are found throughout RuneSscape

Pre-Built Stables
Pre-built stables are stables which are already built and may instantly provide a player with the mounting points refill and scroll infusion.

Build Your Own Stable
More commonly known as the 'POH Stable', Build your own stables are stables which can be built in Player-Owned-Houses. Unlike any regular pre-built stable, the POH stables are made using the construction skill, which means that there are many different stables to be built. The type of stable built depends on the construction skill level of the player. A player's mounting level does not affect the availability of stables to be built, though a certain mounting level is needed to infuse pouches at that stable. There is no limit to refilling mounting points at any stable even if a player's mounting level is lower than the required level to infuse pouches at a desired stable.

Training
Locations There are several training locations for your mount. Each boasts a different method of training your mount. Each training ground has a level prerequisite before you may enter along with your mount. The training grounds are:

Progressive Training
Progressive Training is a new training system applied to Mounting. For every distance a player travels on his/her mount, experience will be gained. 1 EXP will be gained for every 4 squares a player travels on his/her mount, either sprinting or at regular pacing. Experience will NOT be gained if a player on their mount follows another player or doesn't move a complete 4 squares. Experience will only be gained once a player moves at least 4 squares. This is so that training may not be too speedy and more of a challenge.

Kiphlar
Kiphlar is a small island located south of the Wizards' Tower which originated from the Spirit Plane. Kiphlar serves as the main island for the Mounting Skill. It has a training ground for mounts, a racing ground and also many other accommodations such as banks, anvils, fishing spots, and altar, a furnace and many more. Players can bring their mounts here to train. Although it is only effective for training from level 4 Mounting to level 30 Mounting, players also come here to race, though the maps for racing cannot be seen on the map as Marius Aurelius teleports you to the starting line.

Odense
Odense is a huge piece of land north of Rellekka. It is an island larger than Asgarnia and Misthalin combined and is available to both members and non-members. There are no requirements to enter. Only some parts are free to play, but it is to be noted, Mounting is a members only skill, although the Mounting skill features can be found all over Odense. There are tons of things to do on Odense, especially the new additions to the many skills in RuneScape including the new non-members level 50 Birch tree which logs can be made into bows. Other than that, the new armours dropped by the Crusaders at The Citadel are also a new addition to the members-only armours.

There are also huge additions to mounting such as the all new Jousting Tournaments and the Steed Arena located at The Order. Beside that, the Mounting capital of Falerin also features a town called Riderhaven which has many mounting equipment shops, stables, training grounds, and the entirely new Mercenary Quests. Mercenary Quests are like quests that reward the player with money instead of the usual quest points depending on the quest difficulty.

Cape of Accomplishment
The Mounting Cape of Accomplishment can be bought from Mideth at Kiphlar for 99,000 coins once a player reaches 99 Mounting, like all other Capes of Accomplishment. A player may also obtain the trimmed version of the cape once they reach True Skill Mastery at level 120 Mounting. The cape can be obtained from Marius Aurelius after winning him in a race.

Races
There are several races that you can race in. Each requires a different mounting level to enter.

The first racing course is the Kiphlar Racing Grounds. This is a race course packed with a tutorial for first time mounters. No Mounting level is required to enter the race.

The second racing course is the Desert Race. Unlike the Kiphlar Racing Grounds, this takes place in all deserts. Waterskins are recommended for racing since desert effects apply to you and your mount still. Camels are recommended to race with since they can go on without water for 20 minutes while other mounts can go on for 10 minutes. You need 20 Mounting to attend this race.

The third racing course is the Varrock Steed. This large race course takes place near the Digsite. You need level 40 Mounting to attend this race.

The fourth racing course is the Ardougne Challenge. From Ardougne to Yanille, this racing course is littered with traps, so look out! You will need level 60 Mounting to attend this race.

The fifth racing course is the Isafdar Challenge. As the title says, it is indeed a challenge. The entire forest is a racing course and it is packed with wild animals and traps! You will need level 80 Mounting to initiate this challenge.


 * Main Article: Grand Championship

The sixth racing course is the Grand Championship. You will need level 100 Mounting to attend this.

When you reach level 120 Mounting, the master Mounter in Kiphlar, Marius Aurelius wants to challenge you! You need to race him in order to get the True Skill Mastery cape. If you win, you will be able to wear the cape. If you loose, you will have to try again in one week.

Trivia

 * When the skill was first released, the Tutorial Island was move more southern and the Shipyard was relocated to the West side of Karamja. All of Karamja during this time was updated and the quests received a drastic update. Tutorial Island then turned into the Grand Championship area.
 * The Swiftwind Charger is the best choice for a mount due to its tremendous speed. Many people find this a great way to get to 105 Mounting.
 * When you reach 99 in this skill, you will receive not only the skillcape notice but, you will also receive "What are you waiting for? Keep going!" meaning the skill doesn't end at 99 like Dungeoneering.
 * Since a horse or most mounts will take up 2 squares, the mount will always be visible whenever a player walks into either one of those squares.
 * A player riding a mount cannot open doors or walk through doorways.