Skyrim gets mounted combat in new update

Mounted combat is the headline addition in Skyrim update 1.6, due out on PC and consoles soon.

As detailed on the Bethesda Blog, the patch will allow both ranged and melee combat on horseback.

Update 1.6 also brings with it a number of bug fixes and stability tweaks. PC users can try it out now in Steam beta, though a final release date has not yet been set.

Here's the change log in full:

New features:

• Mounted Combat

Bug fixes:

• General stability and memory optimisations
• General AI pathfinding optimizations and bug fixes
• Optimisations and crash fixes for data leaks
• Fixed rare crash with lighting
• Fixed crashes related to loading and saving games
• Fixed crash with summoned creatures/NPCs
• Fixed rare issue where saves would be corrupted
• Improved logic for when ranged kill cams are played
• Fixed issue with ranged kill cams while killing a dragon
• Fixed rare issue with certain ranged kill cams not playing properly
• Fixed issue with nirnroot lighting not properly cleaning up
• Fixed issue where bow damage was being calculated incorrectly
• Fixed rare problem with werewolf kill moves would not finish animating properly
• In "The Break of Dawn" fixed rare issue where Meridia's Beacon would disappear from player's inventory
• Fixed occasional issue where followers would disappear after player pays off a bounty after committing a crime
• Fixed issue where certain creatures and NPCs would fail to respawn properly
• Fixed rare issue with dialogue subtitles not displaying properly
• Fixed issue with water appearing blurry when loading a saved game after creating a save underwater
• Fixed issue where map cursor would occasionally disappear after closing a message box with Kinect enabled  (Xbox 360)
• Fixed rare issue with shouts only performing the first level and not other unlocked levels with Kinect enabled  (Xbox 360)
• Fixed issue where the shout buttons would stop working properly if users mashed LB and RB during cooldown with Kinect enabled  (Xbox 360)