The horse in Metin2 is not just fast travel. Riding raises your status points, adds 20 defence on its own, and from horse level 21 it hands your character a second set of skills that cannot be used on foot. The official wiki tracks four horse tiers and a level cap of 40, which is a lot further than the level 20 cap a lot of third-party guides still print.[1]
Riding early, and the permanent horse
You can ride from character level 10. The cheap way in is a Horse Riding Ticket, which comes from opening a Riding Permit chest and lasts 10 minutes, or an Appaloosa seal, which lasts 7 days and can be extended by handing an Appaloosa Snack to the Stable Boy.[1]
The permanent horse starts at character level 25. The requirements for the Horse Picture are a Horse Medal and 100,000 Yang, and the first task is killing 20 Savage Archers inside 30 minutes. Those archers live in each kingdom's second town and also spawn from a Metin of Jealousy. Only archers you kill yourself count, so grouping does not help here. Hand the quest in and the Stable Boy needs a day to make the picture.[1]
Horse levels 1 to 10: the beginner horse
Until horse level 10 you are on a beginner horse, and levelling it is a riding test rather than a fight. You talk to the Stable Boy while sitting on the horse, you are not allowed to step off, and you need one Horse Medal per attempt. Stepping off fails the quest and costs you a day.[1]
- Horse levels 2 to 6: checkpoints in map 1, in Joan, Pyungmoo or Yongan. One checkpoint at levels 2 and 3, two at levels 4 to 6.
- Horse levels 7 and 8: Valley of Seungryong or Yongbi Desert, 3 to 5 checkpoints.
- Horse levels 9 and 10: Mount Sohan or Doyyumhwan, 4 to 5 checkpoints at level 9 and 5 at level 10.
Horse level 11 to 20: the war horse
The Armed Horse Book needs character level 35, a Horse Medal, 500,000 Yang and horse level 10, and you can start it the moment you hit horse level 10. The exam is 100 Scorpion Archers or Snake Archers in Yongbi Desert within 30 minutes, and they also spawn from a Metin of Shadow. Either monster counts toward the same total. Unlike the beginner test, you may group up as long as the person taking the exam is the group leader, because then the group's kills count for them. Finishing it unlocks fighting from horseback.[1]
From horse level 12 to 20 you keep talking to the Stable Boy while mounted, one Horse Medal per attempt, and the tasks are kills rather than checkpoints:
- Level 12: 5 Bo. Level 13: 5 Chuong.
- Level 14: 10 Elite Orc General. Level 15: 10 Black Orc.
- Level 16: 10 Dark Tormentor. Level 17: 10 Claw Poison Spider.
- Level 18: 20 Desert Outlaw. Level 19: 10 Ice Golem.
- Level 20: 20 Fighting Tiger.
The Military Horse Book needs character level 50, a Horse Medal, 1,000,000 Yang and horse level 20. The exam is 300 Demon Archers in Demon Tower inside 30 minutes, and grouping works the same way as the war horse test. This is the tier that unlocks horse skills, and it also gives you a Horse Riding Manual to start improving them.[1]
From horse level 21 the levelling method changes completely. Instead of exams you feed the horse experience with Fodder, which comes from the Stable Boy's daily quest and from Horse Care Kits. Each Fodder adds a random 200 to 300 EXP, and an attempt costs 50 Fodder plus Yang and Gaya, with 50 Gaya used up to horse level 30 and 100 Gaya from level 31 upward.[1]
- Level 21 needs 12,500 EXP and 500,000 Yang. Level 22 needs 12,810 and 1,000,000. Level 23 needs 13,130 and 1,500,000.
- Level 24 needs 13,440 and 2,000,000. Level 25 needs 14,060 and 2,500,000. Level 26 needs 14,380 and 3,000,000.
- Level 27 needs 14,690 and 3,500,000. Level 28 needs 15,000 and 4,000,000. Level 29 needs 18,750 and 4,500,000.
- Level 30 needs 37,500 and 5,000,000, then levels 31 to 39 need 48,800 up to 308,200 EXP with 5,000,000 Yang each.
The Golden Horse Book needs champion level 1, horse level 31 and 100,000,000 Yang. The exam is 100 gnolls in the Gnoll Caves inside 30 minutes, any gnoll counts, and grouping works. You get 50 Fodder along with the book, and the reward that matters is a second passive horse skill slot. The mighty war horse is the top tier and it still levels to 40, which raises both your base stats and the values on your horse skills.[1]
What the horse gives you while mounted
Status points scale with horse level, and your own character level has no effect on them. The wiki's table runs from VIT 18, INT 9, STR 26 and DEX 35 at horse level 1, to 23, 12, 35 and 46 at level 10, 32, 16, 48 and 64 at level 20, and 63, 61, 67 and 90 at level 30. From horse level 31 the horse also grants Sung Ma's will, starting at STR 10, VIT 15, INT 25 and RES 25 and reaching 35, 40, 45 and 45 at horse level 40.[1]
One rule catches people out: if your own distributed status points or an item bonus is higher than the horse's value, the horse's value is not added on top.[1]
Horse skills
Active horse skills are per class and come online at set character levels. Horseback Slash lets you run and attack at the same time and slash through monsters, players and some objects, and it needs character level 50. Horse Stump charges a selected target and faints it, similar to Dash, at character level 52. Power Wave knocks back surrounding enemies at character level 55, and each class gets its own animation for it. Ninjas get a fourth skill, Arrow Storm, which hits up to five enemies with a bow at character level 50.[1]
You find them in the skill tab, under riding, next to your subskill name. They need at least level 1 to be usable, horse skill points come from reading Horse Riding Manuals, and the maximum active level is M1, which takes 20 successfully read books per skill. Higher skill levels also shorten the recharge time.[1]
Passive horse skills are separate. You get one slot at horse level 21 and a second at horse level 31, and each is learned from a Horse Skill Book. The bonus only applies while you are mounted, you cannot learn the same skill twice, and you can remove one by talking to the Stable Boy or to your horse. Upgrading costs 20,000,000 Yang and 1,000 Gaya per level, up to level 20.[1]
At horse level 40 with the skill at level 20, the wiki lists these values:
- Riding (EXP): experience gain +12%, permanent while mounted.
- Riding (Random): a random strong against bonus +9%, permanent while mounted.
- Riding (Horse Skill): the bonuses of the riding mount +20%, permanent while mounted.
- Riding (Precision): precision +9, permanent while mounted.
- Riding (vs. Warriors), (vs. Suras), (vs. Ninjas), (vs. Shamans), (vs. Lycans): strong against that class +9% each, permanent while mounted.
- Riding (Swift Hooves): movement speed +80% for 19 seconds, 3 minute cooldown.
- Riding (Raging Storm): attack speed +25% for 19 seconds, 3 minute cooldown.
- Riding (Immortal): you become immortal when HP drops below 30%, for 4 seconds, 10 minute cooldown.
- Riding (No Knockback): opponents do not knock you back, 23 seconds, 3 minute cooldown.
- Riding (Feather Walk) and the four Sung Ma's will variants: utility effects and +35 to the relevant Sung Ma's will stat.
A horse must be fed or it eventually dies. Each tier eats something different: Hay for the beginner horse, Carrot for the war horse, Red Ginseng for the military horse and Red Ginseng (Premium) for the mighty war horse. A status icon shows when it needs food, and if it dies you revive it by giving the Stable Boy the right Monkey Herb, gathered from bosses in the ape and gnoll dungeons. Sitting on the horse too long makes it tired and unusable for a while.[1]
Useful shortcuts: CTRL + B sends the horse away, CTRL + F feeds it, and CTRL + H or G mounts and dismounts. You can rename a summoned horse by clicking it, which costs a Horse Sugar. You can only run one horse quest per day, Time Spirals cut the waiting time, and a Scroll of Forgetfulness skips the cooldown after a successful quest. All horse bonuses and skills also apply while riding the cosmetic Mounts from level 75, which are separate items bought or dropped as seals.[1][2]
A note on the guides that get this wrong
There is a lot of copied misinformation about this system. One widely indexed blog guide states that the horse quest opens at level 30, that the horse cap is level 20, and that the skills are named Charge, Wild Attack and Riding Haste.[3] None of that matches the wiki: the mount is usable at character level 10, the permanent horse quest opens at 25, the cap is horse level 40, and the skills are Horseback Slash, Horse Stump and Power Wave. If a guide quotes a level 20 cap or a skill called Wild Attack, it is repeating a private server description or inventing numbers.
Frequently asked questions
At what level can I ride a horse in Metin2?
Character level 10 with a Horse Riding Ticket or an Appaloosa seal. The permanent horse quest opens at character level 25.[1]
What is the maximum horse level?
40. Levels 21 to 30 come from feeding Fodder, and the mighty war horse tier takes it from 31 to 40.[1]
How do I level a horse past 20?
Get the Military Horse Book at character level 50 and horse level 20, then feed the horse Fodder from the Stable Boy's daily quest. Each Fodder adds 200 to 300 EXP and each level attempt costs 50 Fodder.[1]
When do horse skills unlock?
Active skills from horse level 21, and the passive skill slot also opens at 21, with a second passive slot at horse level 31.[1]
Can I use horse skills on a mount instead of a horse?
Yes. The wiki states that horse bonuses and skills also apply while riding the cosmetic Mounts.[1][2]
How many horse quests can I do per day?
One. Time Spirals shorten the wait, and a Scroll of Forgetfulness can skip the cooldown after a successful quest.[1]
Sources
[1] Metin2 Wiki (Gameforge): Horse
[2] Metin2 Wiki (Gameforge): Mounts
[3] metin2.gg, Metin2 Horse System Guide (example of a guide with incorrect values)