ESO How To Get A Mount: The Ultimate Beginner Mount & Riding Guide

In The Elder Scrolls Online, players automatically unlock their first free mount, the Sorrel Horse, by reaching character Level 10 and claiming it from the Level Up Advisor rewards menu. Alternatively, mounts can be purchased directly from Stablemasters in major zone capitals for 10,000 Gold, bought via the Crown Store, or earned through event tickets and Seals of Endeavor. Mount speed, stamina, and inventory expansion require daily character-specific upgrades at a Stablemaster, which cost 250 Gold per lesson with a mandatory 20-hour cooldown period.

Pre-Acquisition Requirements & Riding System Prerequisites

Before securing a mount and optimizing travel times across Tamriel, players must understand how the character progression system interacts with mount availability and account-wide collections. While mounts themselves are unlocked account-wide once acquired, the riding stats required to increase movement speed, endurance, and extra bag slots are bound strictly to individual characters.

Essential System Requirements & Budget Metrics

• Level Requirement: Level 10 (for the free Sorrel Horse account milestone).
• Base Currency Requirement: 10,000 Gold for purchasing additional basic mounts (such as the Midnight Steed or Mountain Nag) from any regional Stablemaster NPC.
• Daily Maintenance Budget: 250 Gold per day per character for Riding Skill lessons.
• Time Commitment: 180 total daily upgrades (minimum of 150 real-time days due to the 20-hour reset timer) to fully max out all three riding attributes on a single character.
• Key Locations: Major starter zone hubs containing Stables, such as Daggerfall (Glenumbra), Davon's Watch (Stonefalls), Vulkhel Guard (Auridon), Vivec City (Vvardenfell), or Rimmen (Elsweyr).

Step-by-Step Mount Acquisition & Optimization Workflow

Step 1: Claiming the Level 10 Free Mount Reward

The fastest way to get a mount in The Elder Scrolls Online without spending real currency or accumulated gold is through natural character levelling.

1. Progress through questing, dungeon exploration, or zone clear activities until your character achieves Level 10.
2. Open the Level Up Advisor menu (default hotkey P on PC, or through the character menu on PlayStation and Xbox consoles).
3. Claim the Level 10 reward package, which explicitly grants the Sorrel Horse mount descriptor item.
4. The item is automatically consumed upon claim and added directly to your account-wide Collections menu under the "Mounts" category.

Pro-Tip: If you have already unlocked the Sorrel Horse or any other mount on a previous character, any new character created on your account can equip and ride that mount starting at Level 1 immediately upon leaving the tutorial zone.

Step 2: Purchasing Alternative Base Mounts with Gold

If you prefer a different aesthetic over the basic Sorrel Horse without spending real money on Crown Packs, you can acquire three additional horse variants directly using in-game Gold.

1. Fast-travel to any major city indicated by a horse-head icon on the local map legend (e.g., Daggerfall, Davon's Watch, Vulkhel Guard, Rimmen, or Leyawiin).
2. Locate and interact with the resident Stablemaster NPC.
3. Select the Buy Mounts dialogue option.
4. Purchase any of the standard options for 10,000 Gold:
   
   
   • Midnight Steed (Black coat)
   • Mountain Nag (Brown/white patterned coat)
   • Brown Horse (Classic dark brown coat)
5. The purchased mount instantly registers in your Collections menu.

Step 3: Setting and Summoning Your Active Mount

Purchasing or unlocking a mount does not automatically assign it to your quick-summon hotkey. You must manually designate an active mount within your user interface.

1. Open the Collections Menu (Hotkey U on PC / Navigated via the main menu pause screen on console).
2. Select the Mounts category to view your unlocked riding beasts.
3. Browse through your subcategories (e.g., Horses, Cervines, Felines, Canines, Dwemer Automatons).
4. Hover over your desired mount and press the Set Active command (Left Click on PC, A on Xbox, X on PlayStation).
5. Exit the menu into the game world and hold the Summon Mount hotkey (Default H on PC, press and hold the View/Touchpad button on consoles) for 1.5 seconds to mount up.

Step 4: Initiating Daily Riding Lessons at the Stablemaster

A base mount provides only a minor speed advantage over sprinting on foot. To convert your mount into an efficient travel system, you must train your character's personal Riding Skill stats daily.

1. Re-visit any Stablemaster in any major settlement.
2. Interact with the NPC and select the Train Riding Skills interface option.
3. Choose one of the three upgradable stats (each lesson costs 250 Gold and grants +1 point into that category up to a maximum cap of 60):
   
   
   • Speed: Increases overall mounted movement velocity by +1% per point (Max +60%).
   • Stamina: Increases mounted stamina by +1 point per level (Max +60), preventing your character from being knocked off their mount when damaged by enemies or falling.
   • Capacity: Adds +1 extra inventory bag slot to your character per level (Max +60 carrying capacity).
4. Confirm the upgrade to start the mandatory 20-hour real-time cooldown timer before your next lesson becomes available.

Warning: Riding lessons are tied strictly to the character that purchases them, NOT your overall account. If you create an alternate character (alt), you must repeat the 180-day training cycle on that specific character, even if your main character is fully maxed out.

Step 5: Unlocking Passive Speed Buffs (Continuous Attack)

You can significantly boost your mounted movement speed beyond base stats early in the game by investing ten minutes into the Alliance War PvP tutorial.

1. Upon reaching Level 10, open your Alliance War menu (Hotkey L on PC).
2. Join any non-champion Cyrodiil campaign.
3. Accept the intro quest titled Welcome to Cyrodiil from your faction commander (do not skip the tutorial dialogue).
4. Complete the simple siege weapon firing range objectives to immediately reach Alliance War Rank 2.
5. Open your Skills menu, navigate to Availabilities > Alliance War > Assault.
6. Allocate 1 Skill Point into the Continuous Attack passive ability.
7. This passive permanently provides your character with the Major Gallop buff at all times, increasing your mounted speed by an additional +30% everywhere in Tamriel (both PvE and PvP).

ESO Mount Acquisition Channels & Technical Metrics

The table below outlines the primary acquisition methods for obtaining mounts across Tamriel, detailing their entry costs, account accessibility, and primary mechanical benefits.

Riding Speed Bottlenecks & Mechanical Failures

Issue 1: Character Instantly Dismounts When Taking Environmental Damage

• Root Cause: Your mount's Stamina pool has dropped to 0 due to damage sustained from enemy attacks, traps, or fall impacts. Base mounts have exceptionally small stamina pools and are easily broken.
• Actionable Fix: Train the Stamina attribute at the Stablemaster to increase health pool resistance. Alternatively, avoid sprinting through dense monster packs, as sprinting on a mount drains mounted stamina continuously. Keep combat food or health recovery active before mounting in aggressive overland areas.

Issue 2: Daily Riding Lesson Upgrade Option Is Grayed Out

• Root Cause: The mandatory 20-hour real-time lockout timer has not fully expired since your last purchased lesson, or your specific character has reached the absolute cap of 60/60 points in all three attributes.
• Actionable Fix: Check the bottom of the Stablemaster dialogue UI to view the precise remaining countdown timer (Hours:Minutes:Seconds). If the timer displays 00:00:00 and is still grayed out, check your character stat sheet; if Speed, Stamina, and Carrying Capacity all read 60/60, your character has completed the 180-lesson cap and requires no further upgrades.

Issue 3: Mount Appears Extremely Slow Despite Maxing Out Riding Speed

• Root Cause: The character lacks the permanent Major Gallop named buff (+30% speed) or is overburdened by low base movement modifiers, or you are running in an zone with restricted movement effects.
• Actionable Fix: Enter Cyrodiil and unlock the first passive point in Continuous Attack under the Assault skill line. Ensure you are not holding down the toggled walk key (Default Num Lock or Z on PC) which caps mount movement to a walking pace. Additionally, verify you are actively holding down the Sprint modifier key while mounted to utilize maximum velocity.

Issue 4: Unable to Summon Mount Inside Caves, Buildings, or Delves

• Root Cause: ESO game mechanics prohibit mounted travel inside designated indoor spaces, subterranean dungeons, houses, and specific enclosed quest instances to prevent collision geometry clipping and maintain spatial balance.
• Actionable Fix: Check the mini-map icon. If an eye icon or indoor map overlay is displayed, walk outside the entry doorway or threshold until your camera transitions to open ambient outdoor lighting. You will then be able to cast the summon mount action smoothly.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are mounts account-wide in The Elder Scrolls Online?

Yes, all mount cosmetics, breeds, and unlockables are permanently linked to your ESO Account Collections menu. Once unlocked via any character, all existing and future characters on that server can equip and ride the mount immediately from Level 1. However, Riding Skill progression (Speed, Stamina, and Capacity stats) is strictly character-specific.

Which riding skill attribute should I prioritize first at the Stablemaster?

You should prioritize Riding Speed until it reaches the maximum cap of 60/60. Speed drastically reduces travel time across Tamriel's expansive zones. Once Speed is maxed out, prioritize Carrying Capacity to expand your total inventory space by 60 slots, and leave Stamina for last unless you heavily focus on PvP in Cyrodiil where dismount prevention is vital.

How do I get the +30% Major Gallop mount speed boost passively?

You can get the permanent +30% Major Gallop speed boost by spending 1 Skill Point on the Continuous Attack passive ability in the Assault skill tree. This skill tree is unlocked by entering the Cyrodiil Alliance War region at Level 10 and completing the brief intro questline. The passive remains permanently active in all PvE regions, overland zones, and dungeons without needing to slot an active ability.

Can your mount die or take permanent damage in ESO?

No, mounts in The Elder Scrolls Online cannot die, be permanently lost, or require health restoration costs. When a mount's stamina bar reaches zero due to damage from enemies or fall distance, the player is forcibly dismounted and stunned momentarily, but the mount can be re-summoned immediately after exiting active combat status.

What is the absolute maximum mount speed possible in ESO?

The maximum speed stack combines +60% base Riding Speed (via daily lessons), +30% Major Gallop (via the Continuous Attack passive), +15% Major Expedition situational boosts, and the Steed Mundus Stone modifier. When fully optimized alongside sprinting, a character can travel over 110% faster than base walking speed, dramatically improving map traversal times.

Master the Roads of Tamriel

Optimizing your daily riding lessons early guarantees a smooth, efficient adventure across every zone in Tamriel. Head to the nearest regional capital, claim your Level 10 mount, and visit the local Stablemaster today to start your journey toward max riding speed.