Taming a wolf in Valheim can get tricky, but with the right techniques and knowing how the taming mechanics work, the advantages will be worth the effort. Wolves can be great companions during exploration or just for guarding bases.
Read ahead as we go through the steps of taming a wolf and learn the tips to make it efficient and successful.
Where and when to find a Wolf in Valheim?
Wolves can be found in the Mountains biome during the day and night. However, wolves with 1 or 2 stars only spawn at night.
More wolves also spawn during the event that happens after defeating Bonemass, though these ones are the common non-star variants.
How to tame a Wolf in Valheim
To tame a wolf, you will need to have the following meat types:
- Raw fish
- Neck tail
- Deer meat
- Lox meat
- Boar meat
- Sausages
You will need to have at least 3 to 5 of the listed food items, regardless of the type.
In order to initiate the taming process, you must first search for a wolf that you want to tame and make sure to not make it alerted (red !). Then, place the food item on the ground nearby, up to a maximum distance of 10 meters. If a wolf successfully eats the food, then it would mean that it is not alerted and its hunger should be relieved, and the taming process should start. You should see that the wolf’s status is “acclimatizing” and yellow hearts can be seen floating above it if you have met these conditions.
A wolf’s taming status will last for 10 minutes after consuming food, and it has to be tamed for a cumulative time of 30 minutes without it despawning, hence the minimum amount of 3 food items needed per wolf.
Make sure to not wander too far away, otherwise the wolf might get “unloaded” by the game if it is out of render distance, even if it is within a pen. As long as it is within your view, the taming process should still be running, which is roughly within 64 meters. You will get a notification once taming has been successful.
It is best to remember that taming only works in the game’s normal time, so an activity that skips time like sleeping will not make the taming process faster and it would only result in food spoilage.
As for wolves with stars, it is important that their taming process should be started right as they spawn at the start of the night. This is to make sure that you will have ample time to tame them before the night ends. You can prevent them from despawning if you manage to lure them into a dug pit in the ground that is low enough for them to crawl out of, but they will only resume eating by next nightfall.
Why tame wolves with stars?
The advantage of taming wolves with stars is that the more stars that they have, the more health they have and the more damage they can deal.
Valheim Wolf Taming Tips
Food items can be placed on the ground all at once. A wolf will only eat food one at a time and only when they are hungry or the taming status has run out, provided that the wolf stays within your render distance.
When making a pen to keep the wolf in, consider digging a deep hole in the ground instead of placing them in fences especially if you do not have enough food to complete their taming process. Wolves tend to break placed structures if they detect food that it is blocking their path. They can also break structures if they detect a creature that they are naturally aggressive against. Consider bringing the Abyssal Harpoon to drag a wolf down in your pit to make the process easier.
When looking for a wolf, try to look at the nearest Mountain biome that is still connected by land to your base. Getting a wolf to ride a boat is tricky and will put the wolf at rick of dying from collision damage, plus wolves cannot go through portals.
You can press the E key to make a tamed wolf follow you or press the key again if you want it to stay at a location and guard it. Press Left Shift + E to give your wolf a name.
Tamed wolves can get injured and eventually die if their HP runs out, so make sure to give them food to replenish their health.
Check out this video by Embr showing how to tame a wolf in Valheim:
