Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim players will no longer be helpless when riding their horse. Patch 1.6 will enable players to perform both melee and ranged attacks while mounted.
If you own the PC version of the game, you can try out mounted combat as early as today. The patch is available in beta form through Steam. If you decide to opt into the beta program for Skyrim, be sure to back up your save files before installing the patch. Alternately, you can just create new save files.
The addition of mounted combat does remove one bit of awkwardness from the game's combat. Horseback riding always felt like a different phase of gameplay than being on foot. I'm looking forward to being able to use Shadowmere to chase down renegade dragons.
Patch 1.6 will also add new optimizations and bug fixes. The kill cams added in Patch 1.5 should behave themselves better. Furthermore, Meridia's Beacon will no longer disappear from your inventory. Here's the full list of fixes:
BUG FIXES
General stability and memory optimizations
General AI pathfinding optimizations and bug fixes
Optimizations 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)
Bethesda didn't mention when this update will be publicly available. I suppose it depends how smoothly the beta testing goes on Steam. They reassured gamers that all three platforms will receive the patch, though.
