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Bonding and Skills

Skills

The SWEM horse has the capacity to upgrade 'skills' that increase their stats or abilities in various areas. These skills start at 0 when a horse is tamed and experience points are gained through various training methods, increasing until the horse reaches the next level. It is the increase of levels themselves that result in stat or ability upgrades and not the experience amount of a level.

image-1686789432316.png

Shown: Horse Inventory GUI showing current skill levels and experience points accumulated.

Speed

Speed is the skill that dictates how fast your horse can move at certain gaits. It is also important to note that Walk, Trot, and Canter are universal speeds and are not altered by speed leveling - these universal speeds were added for convenience of multiplayer servers where certain disciplines or leisure activities might require players to ride at a uniform speed. 

Speed skill can be increased by: 

  • Riding the horse (particularly in faster gaits)
  • Using Speed or All XP potions found in loot chests or acquired from the creative inventory

 Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5
Experience Req. --- 1350 3038 4050 5063
Walk 3bps 3bps 3bps 3bps 3bps
Trot 5bps 5bps 5bps 5bps 5bps
Canter 11bps 11bps 11bps 11bps 11bps
Extended Canter 11bps 13bps 15bps 17bps 19bps
Gallop 13bps 15bps 18bps 20bps 22bps

Shows default experience values. Experience requirements will differ on servers / worlds with non-default configs.

Jump

Jump is the skill that increases the height in blocks that your horse can jump. All horses can jump 1 block initially, and up to 5 blocks (or slightly above for clearance) maximum.

Jump skill can be increased by:

  • Jumping during riding
  • Using Jump or All XP potions found in loot chests or acquired from the creative inventory
  • Leveling up Affinity - reaching level 3 (Tolerant) automatically increases a jump to Level II (2)

 Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5
Experience Req. --- 1350 3038 4050 5063
Height 1.75b 2.75b 3.75b 4.75b 5.75b

Shows default experience values. Experience requirements will differ on servers / worlds with non-default configs.

A horse's jump has a natural arc that increases after 'launch' and declines before they land, and their jump height refers to the highest point of that arc. This means that SWEM horses need more space between jumps to allow the rider to approach, charge their jump, release to launch and make it over the obstacle at the highest point of the jump. 

  • Jumping will be on the spot (no movement) unless the rider must press W to initiate forward movement.
  • Jump refusals are very common at low level affinity so it is easier to train jump after some bonding has occurred. 
  • Jumps are either successful (jumps) or they are not (refuses) - there is no acknowledgement of jump collision (faults).
  • Jumping has a short couple second cooldown so the best courses are well-spaced to account for this stride.
  • Jumps at lower level have a shorter animation (less height and time in the air) so travel a shorter distance over a jump.
  • Jumps at higher levels have a longer animation (more height and time in the air) and can achieve either height at their peak jump phase, or distance over a gap. A maxed jump and speed horse could cover up to 11 blocks on a flat jump.
  • Jump distance is influenced by speed - a higher gait will increase the distance a horse covers during a jump. 

Fact: The most difficult jump that a SWEM horse and rider can complete is a 5B tall triple bar jump that spans 5B distance. It is only possible at a gallop and needs to be perfectly timed for charge, takeoff and launching phase to make it far enough and over all 3 bars. 

Affinity

Affinity is a status that determines a horse's connection with riders and impacts their chances of refusing to jump or increase gaits. Lower level horses regularly refuse commands - especially in gaits above walk and trot or when jumping, whereas higher levels or maximum bonded refuse far less frequently.

Affinity level can be increased by:

Affinity experience, unlike any other skill, can be lost if the horse takes damage! This is a small loss that can be regained but might cause a horse to change levels if loss will decrease them below 0 experience for that affinity level.

Level Experience (Level Up) Bonding Level (1.20+) Bonding Level (1.16-1.18) Level (Command)
0 --- Affinity Unwilling 1
1 100 Affinity I Reluctant 2
2 850 Affinity II Tolerant 3
3 2000 Affinity III Indifferent 4
4 3000 Affinity IV Accepting 5
5 4000 Affinity V Willing 6
6 6000 Affinity VI Committed 7
7 9000 Affinity VII Trusted 8
8 11000 Affinity VIII Friends 9
9 14000 Affinity IX Best Friends 10
10 15000 Affinity X Inseparable 11
11 16000
Bonded 12

Shows default experience values. Experience requirements will differ on servers / worlds with non-default configs.

Level (Command) is the value needed if using /swem set AFFINITY # to get that affinity level. 

Health

Health is the attribute that increases the hitpoints (hearts) of a SWEM horse. Horses start with 20HP (10 hearts) of health and can increased up to 40HP (20 hearts) maximum by levelling, or up to 60HP (30 hearts) if using a booster shot on a maxed health horse.

Health level can be increased by:

  • Daily nutrition via food points
  • Using Health or All XP potions found in loot chests or acquired from the creative inventory

Horses meal points contribute points (XP) towards their health stat; feeding your horse sufficient daily points, plus grain, is the best way to maximize a horse's daily health XP gain. Horses that are fed their maximum points daily will progress faster through the levels, by virtue of eating more, than those who miss meals.
If a horse is not fed, it does not lose XP from the health stat, though their maximum health will decrease until recovered.

Negative Debuffs
When a horse is starving or thirsty, their maximum health value will decrease at 0.5 hearts (1HP) per day they are starving. If they are starving and thirsty at the same time, that results in a combined 1 heart (2HP) loss per day.

 
  • Maximum HP will keep decreasing until a horse is missing 0 meals (fed) and 0 drinks (satisfied)
  • Maximum HP will be capped at 3 hearts (6HP) at the lowest
  • Actual HP will not decrease unless a horse takes physical damage
  • Maximum HP will recover gradually each day the horse is not missing any meals and drinks

Horses with low health (5 Hearts | 10HP) will display the sad stand and walk animation - allowing riders to see when their horse needs urgent care - use fly spray, glistening melon or a healing item (SWPM).


 Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5
'Experience' Req. --- 1350 3037.5 4050 5062.5
Hearts | HP 10 | 20HP 11 | 22HP 13 | 26HP 16 | 32HP 20 | 40HP

These are the default experience values. The required experience will differ on servers/games with non-default configs.

image-1665332076583.png

Shown: The most challenging Olympic level jump - a 5 wide triple bar 3/4/5 block increments.

Known Issues

If you find an issue, please report it to our bugs channel on Discord. We ask that you look to see if your issue was reported first!

  • [-] 1.20 Health status can not be seen since health XP is now displayed in the GUI.
  • [~] Horse stats reset to L1 (0XP) - possible factors are significant updates (unlikely unless the update significant overhauls horses and skills) and server related updates or alterations. Very rare and unknown cause/solution.

Changelog

View Changes

This is not a complete list of version changes / fixes. It is a changelog of relevant wiki-related version information.

MC Version Release Notes
1.20.1
 1.20.1-1.4.0
 Health now displays experience rather than current/maximum health.
Affinity now uses roman numerals, similar to other skills (I-XI)
Flying increases affinity skill experience (same as normal riding).
[Bug Fix] Horses not gaining skill stats when ridden/trained.
[Bug Fix] Skill points extending beyond the GUI.
1.18.2
 1.18.2-1.3.0
 Chat message is displayed when a horse levels up a skill during riding.
Horses with low health stand and walk in the sad animation.
1.18.2-1.2.7 Food system (new) contributes points towards the health system.

Other information

Continue reading this chapter to learn more about our Horses!

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