How to maximize a wagon's potential?

[Ayuna 331]

Can a wagon ever go as fast as a 5 speed horse?

 

I'm discouraged as to the usefulness of my wagon, because even with three 5-speed horses wearing enchanted horse shoes and an enchanted saddle, and a hell horse, the top speed of the wagon is 15 km/h. Which means I can't really take it anywhere, especially uphill, without risking death due to a mob train.

[gnomegates 1,427]

A few things here about gaining speed with a wagon/cart.

 

Hell horses will be faster, so if you had 4 hell horses, especially with the 3 needed speed traits for carts (Lightning, Fleeter Move, Stronger Legs) The other 2 traits that are typically associated with the speed traits do not have any bearing on carts/wagons. This goes for any hitched animal, bull, bison, horse, hell horse. The reason for this is because the other two traits only effect the speed of the horse based on the weight it is carrying. Since weight has no effect on hitched animals, they serve no purpose. 

 

High quality shoes enchanted will help a ton!

 

Saddles, enchanted or not have no bearing on animals hitched to a cart/wagon, so put the effort into improving the shoes being used, not the saddle. (I still use saddles on hitched animals because they tend to wander away if you unhitch for any reason, so it keeps them in place still, and I think they look better with saddles/bags)

 

Rarity will of course matter in the overall speed. Both of the shoes and the actual wagon/cart.

 

Rune for 10% increase speed also helps a ton!

 

In my experience, wagons with proper Molten Hell Horses with high end gear and Rare+ can get 30+ km/h

 

So to answer your question, yes it is possible to get wagons that go as fast or faster then 5 speed horses, is it worth it is totally up to you. The cost involved to get the gear needed would be pretty expensive, but to some of us, it is well worth the cost and effort! It can also be a pretty fun challenge, trying to squeeze that next 0.25 km/h out of your cart/wagon!

 

Hope that helps a little bit. If I left anything out, I'm sure someone else will add to it, otherwise have fun!

[Ayuna 331]

6 hours ago, gnomegates said:

A few things here about gaining speed with a wagon/cart.

 

Hell horses will be faster, so if you had 4 hell horses, especially with the 3 needed speed traits for carts (Lightning, Fleeter Move, Stronger Legs) The other 2 traits that are typically associated with the speed traits do not have any bearing on carts/wagons. This goes for any hitched animal, bull, bison, horse, hell horse. The reason for this is because the other two traits only effect the speed of the horse based on the weight it is carrying. Since weight has no effect on hitched animals, they serve no purpose. 

 

High quality shoes enchanted will help a ton!

 

Saddles, enchanted or not have no bearing on animals hitched to a cart/wagon, so put the effort into improving the shoes being used, not the saddle. (I still use saddles on hitched animals because they tend to wander away if you unhitch for any reason, so it keeps them in place still, and I think they look better with saddles/bags)

 

Rarity will of course matter in the overall speed. Both of the shoes and the actual wagon/cart.

 

Rune for 10% increase speed also helps a ton!

 

In my experience, wagons with proper Molten Hell Horses with high end gear and Rare+ can get 30+ km/h

 

So to answer your question, yes it is possible to get wagons that go as fast or faster then 5 speed horses, is it worth it is totally up to you. The cost involved to get the gear needed would be pretty expensive, but to some of us, it is well worth the cost and effort! It can also be a pretty fun challenge, trying to squeeze that next 0.25 km/h out of your cart/wagon!

 

Hope that helps a little bit. If I left anything out, I'm sure someone else will add to it, otherwise have fun!

 

Ahh, your answer is perfect, Gnomegates. I don't think you've left anything out. You've given me hope, encouragement, and a challenge.

 

[Ekcin 2,402]

Another thing: Driving with a slow vehicle is often a death trap. This is even more true when driving intrinsically slow vehicles like ship and animal transporters. In mob ridden areas you will attract long trains bashing you every here and then until you die.

 

But there is an easy way to avoid that. Always lead a horse while driving, well saddled and horseshoed (need not even be a 5 speed though that comes handy). Once the number of mobs is getting too high, disembark, mount the horse, and drag the train away, then back to the wagon.

 

Also, you may have saddled horses hitched. As the driver, you may unhitch-lead one, then disembark, mount, and ride away. That method is slightly more risky that the lead horse while driving but should work as well.

[Jaz 2,663]

Also need to consider that you need to manage the age of hellhorses hitched, they cannot go above Aged or will unhitch.

[DaletheGood 1,073]

On 2/1/2021 at 11:41 PM, Ekcin said:

But there is an easy way to avoid that. Always lead a horse while driving, well saddled and horseshoed (need not even be a 5 speed though that comes handy). Once the number of mobs is getting too high, disembark, mount the horse, and drag the train away, then back to the wagon.

 

Also, you may have saddled horses hitched. As the driver, you may unhitch-lead one, then disembark, mount, and ride away. That method is slightly more risky that the lead horse while driving but should work as well.

Leading a horse is the best way to be able to get out of trouble as you can select 'ride' even if you are engaged in a fight, but i have found that you can't 'lead' the horse if you're actively fighting - which has lead to death on a couple occasions. Now, I'm always leading a horse no matter what I'm doing. Even if there isn't danger, it's nice to have it handy if you have to run and do something.

[Koreal 108]

I can't speak to a wagon as I don't have enough alts to have 4 tamed creatures, but 5 speed champion brown bears pull large carts super quick, and can hold their own in a fight even while still hitched!

[Sidereal 1,118]

Gnomegates has led a master class on the subject!  A few additional observations:
 

- Hell horses are hands down the fastest solution, but fretting about when a hell horse will 'age out' can be stressful for some folks.

- 16 quality horseshoes with good WOA casts can be a bit spendy to purchase if you can't make them yourself.
- Bison get a bonus pulling wagons - a team of bison with the cart-speed attributes will pull at 18km/h on flat ground when their speed bonuses are active - which is frequently.  Unfortunately, horseshoes are not an option for them.

- Wild bison used to be more plentiful, but the meta has changed in the last year and sadly they're almost impossible to find in the wild at the moment.

- Bison also die off more quickly and do not benefit from the spark/longevity trait the same way that horses do.

- If you have the luxury, a team of horses/bison that are cared for and have the cart speed traits means never having to fuss with your wagon team ever again.