Applies to Valheim 1.0, patch 1.0.20 (released October 15, 2026), on PC, Xbox, PS5 and Switch 2. Taming, feeding and breeding values below come from the community Valheim Wiki taming page, which documents the game's own timers and ranges. Saddle recipes are from the wiki's Lox Saddle, Asksvin Saddle and Moose Saddle pages. Patch notes are from Iron Gate's Steam news feed. Updated October 24, 2026.
Six animals in Valheim can live on your side: boars, wolves, Lox, hens, Asksvin and the Deep North's new Moose. Every one of them runs on the same hidden rules. Learn those rules once and taming stops being a gamble. A wolf in a pit at midnight and a Moose in the snow need the same three things: the right food, no fear, and a player close enough to keep the area loaded.
This guide covers the shared mechanics first. Then it goes animal by animal with exact foods, ranges, saddle recipes and breeding caps, so you can build a sausage factory, a wolf pack or a stable of mounts without wasting hours.
Quick answer: Valheim taming in 60 seconds
- Tameable animals in 1.0: Boar, Wolf, Lox, Asksvin and Moose. Hens are tame the moment they hatch from an egg.
- Taming takes 600 ticks, one every 3 seconds: 30 minutes total. Done without interruption, it costs only 3 food items.
- The animal must be fed, calm and in a loaded area (a player within roughly 64 m). Red alert, hunger or you walking away all pause progress.
- A fed animal stays full for 10 minutes and looks for food every 10 seconds within 10 m.
- Brew of Animal Whispers halves taming to 15 minutes for every animal within 60 m. Two players drinking it stack the bonus (x2, x4, x8).
- Stars carry over. A tamed 2-star animal keeps its stars and passes them to the offspring it gives birth to.
- Three mounts: Lox, Asksvin and Moose, each with its own saddle.
How does taming work in Valheim?
All tameable animals use one system. The wiki's breakdown of the code lists three conditions that must be true for a taming tick to count:
- The animal is not hungry. Drop its preferred food close enough for it to reach.
- The animal is not alerted. A red exclamation mark stops progress. A yellow "aware" icon does not.
- The area is active. Someone has to stand within about 64 m, or the zone unloads and nothing happens.
Every 3 seconds that all three hold, the animal gains one tick. It needs 600 ticks (30 minutes). Yellow hearts float up each time a tick lands, and the hover text shows a "Tameness %" and the word "Acclimatizing."
Feeding has its own rules. An animal checks for food every 10 seconds, but only if it isn't fleeing, it can path to the food, and the food is within 10 m. After eating it stays fed for 10 minutes. It eats one item from a stack at a time, so you can drop a stack instead of throwing items one by one.
Two traps catch most new tamers:
- Sleeping doesn't speed anything up. It burns the food timer and wastes your stock. Stay awake and keep the area loaded.
- Pathfinding counts, not distance. Food sitting on the other side of a fence post or on a narrow floor piece is invisible to the animal. Lox, which path like Trolls, won't eat at all under a low roof.
What does each animal eat? (taming food table)
| Animal | Biome | Taming food | Eating range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boar | Meadows | Raspberries, Blueberries, Carrots, Onions, Turnips, Red Mushrooms | 1 m |
| Wolf | Mountain | Boar Meat, Deer Meat, Lox Meat, Neck Tail, Raw Fish, Chicken Meat, Sausages | 1.4 m |
| Lox | Plains | Barley, Cloudberries, Flax | 4 m |
| Hen | (hatched) | Carrot Seeds, Turnip Seeds, Onion Seeds, Beech Seeds, Birch Seeds, Barley, Dandelion | 1 m |
| Asksvin | Ashlands | Smoke Puff, Vineberry Cluster, Fiddlehead | 4 m |
| Moose | Deep North | Lingonberries | not yet documented |
The eating range is the distance between the animal and the food, so a 1 m range means the boar must be almost standing on its berries. Boars ignore yellow mushrooms. Wolves skip wolf meat, bear meat and seeker meat, per the wiki's wolf page.
How do you tame animals faster?
The game's base timer can't be skipped, but you control everything around it.
- Dig a pit or build a pen first. The wiki recommends a hole dug with a pickaxe over a fenced pen, because luring an animal into a pen often makes it hostile. Make the space big enough for it to stand next to its food.
- Get out of sight. An animal that sees you is far more likely to panic and alert. Stand behind a wall, but stay inside the 64 m loading range.
- Drop a stack and walk away. One stack covers a full tame. Three items is the minimum if nothing goes wrong.
- Drink Brew of Animal Whispers. It halves taming from 30 to 15 minutes for every animal within 60 m. The mead base takes 5 Onions, 10 Carrots and 1 Pungent Pebbles at a Mead Ketill, then ferments for two in-game days into 6 brews. Each lasts 10 minutes, so drink a second one before the first runs out to cover a full 15-minute tame. Two players drinking it double the speed again.
- Use the Abyssal Harpoon. This spear (level-2 Workbench: 8 Finewood, 30 Chitin, 3 Leather Scraps) latches onto non-boss creatures (fish excluded) and drags them toward you. It's the cleanest way to haul a boar or wolf into a pen without a chase.
A player tip from an r/valheim thread on October 23, 2026: if a wolf keeps charging while you're setting up, knock it back instead of hitting it hard. Players in the thread recommend parrying with a shield and kicking, normal-blocking with a tower shield for big knockback, or rolling into a 2-star wolf to push it away. The goal is to survive the charge without killing the animal you came to tame.
How do you tame a boar in Valheim?
Boars are the first animal most players tame, and the easiest. They live in the Meadows, have just 10 HP at 0 stars, and deal 10 blunt damage.
The game's own Runestone sets the rules: "Look also to the wild boar who roam these lands. They fear fire and the hand of man but they can be taught to obey it. Go quietly to them and let them eat of your stock. Roots of the ground are their pleasure."
That's the whole method. Crouch-walk up, drop berries, carrots or turnips within 1 m, and keep torches and campfires away. Fire frightens wild boars, and a frightened boar won't eat. Once tamed, they lose that fear.
Boars that spawn randomly in the open Meadows only roll stars more than 800 m from the world center, so head out from spawn if you want 1-star or 2-star breeding stock. The one-time boars at Runestones and abandoned farms are the exception and can be starred even near spawn. One catch: boars from abandoned farms and Runestones keep their spawn anchor even after taming. They'll always try to walk home. Breed them where they stand and move the piglets, or tame them, breed once, then cull the parent with a Butcher Knife.
How do you tame a wolf in Valheim?
Wolves are the only tame animal you can command. Press E to switch between following you and guarding a spot. A Runestone hints at it: "There are friends in Valheim but you must seek them amongst your enemies. Old friends, fire-kin, moon-singers."
Key numbers at 0 / 1 / 2 stars: 80 / 160 / 240 HP and 70 / 105 / 140 slash per bite. A wolf attacks three times in quick succession, so a pit is essential. Getting bitten while it's in the open resets the calm you need.
The star rule matters most here. Starred wolves only spawn at night and despawn at dawn. Start the tame at night. The first successful taming tick removes the despawn flag, so after that it'll keep eating even in daylight. If you trap a starred wolf at dawn before it has eaten, you have to wait with it until night.
Tamed wolves won't follow you through portals. They will swim after a slow boat, and they'll wait where you left them if you log out or portal away, then resume following when you return. Our Valheim Mountain guide covers where wolf packs spawn and how to survive the climb.
How do you tame a Lox in Valheim?
The Lox is the Plains' tank: 1,000 HP, a 130-slash bite and a 120-blunt stomp that also deals chop and pickaxe damage. That stomp is why a Lox can flatten stone walls. Approaching one always frightens it, so you need sneak or a clever setup.
The wiki describes a no-pen method many players use. Lox stay in herds and keep returning to the same spot, so you can sprint through and scatter Cloudberries where the herd gathers, then retreat. It saves building, but you're doing it among Deathsquitos and Fulings. Bring a portal-equipped shelter nearby so you can hold the area loaded safely.
To ride one, craft a Lox Saddle at a level-1 Workbench: 10 Leather Scraps, 20 Linen Thread and 15 Black Metal. A ridden Lox has 240 stamina, ignores your carry weight, and outruns any player. You can't attack while mounted, but a sprinting Lox tramples most enemies.
How do you tame an Asksvin in Valheim?
The Asksvin is the Ashlands mount: 800 / 1,600 / 2,400 HP across its star levels, resistant to fire and poison, and it takes no damage from lava. Neither does its rider. That makes it the best way to cross lava fields.
Feed it Smoke Puffs, Vineberry Clusters or Fiddleheads. Like wolves, 2-star Asksvin only spawn at night. Daytime spawns cap at 1 star. Trap a night spawn in a pit or start taming before dawn so it doesn't despawn.
The Asksvin Saddle needs a level-2 Black Forge: 6 Flametal, 20 Linen Thread, 4 Morgen Sinew. For a full walkthrough, see our Asksvin taming guide and the Ashlands survival guide.
How do you tame a Moose in Valheim?
The Moose arrived with Valheim 1.0 and the Deep North. It has 1,000 HP at 0 stars, hits for 145 to 160 slash with its horns, and resists blunt, slash and frost. It's weak to fire. Moose spawn anywhere in the Deep North, with stars.
Tame it with Lingonberries, which grow on bushes across Deep North forests. The wiki hasn't documented the Moose's eating range yet, so trap it in a pit and drop the berries close. The Moose Saddle comes from a level-2 Black Forge: 4 Bloodgold, 5 Seal Pelt, 5 Timberwood, 15 Linen Thread. If a saddled Moose dies, the saddle drops and floats in water.
Bloodgold is the hard part. Our Moose taming guide covers the full run, and the Bloodgold farming guide explains the Gammeltroll chain.
How do you get chickens in Valheim?
Hens can't be tamed in the wild because there are none. You start with two eggs: buy them from Haldor for 1,500 coins each after defeating Yagluth, or loot one from the chest at the bottom of a Plains Sealed Tower.
Hatching is fussy. Drop each egg individually (not as a stack) near a heat source and under a roof. Not too close to the fire, or the chick dies the moment it hatches. After 30 minutes you get a chicken, which grows into a hen in 50 minutes. Feed hens seeds, barley or dandelions and they lay more eggs. The population cap counts hens, chickens and eggs together: 10 within 10 m.
How does breeding work in Valheim?
Once tamed, animals breed on their own if you keep them fed. Every 30 seconds each animal rolls a 33% chance for a love point. It also needs a fed, tamed, non-pregnant partner nearby and a population under the cap. Pink hearts mark a love point.
| Animal | Love points | Population cap | Partner range | Pregnancy | Grow time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boar | 3 | 5 within 10 m | 3 m | 1 min | 50 min |
| Wolf | 3 | 4 within 10 m | 3 m | 1 min | 50 min |
| Lox | 4 | 4 within 20 m | 8 m | 2 min | 100 min |
| Hen | 3 | 10 within 10 m | 4 m | 1 min | 30 min hatch + 50 min |
| Asksvin | 3 | 10 within 10 m | 4 m | 1 min | 30 min hatch + 50 min |
| Moose | 3 | 5 within 10 m | 3 m | 1 min | 50 min |
Breeding rules that change how you build a farm:
- Stars come from the parent that gives birth. Breed a 2-star pair and every baby is 2-star. Pair a 1-star with a 2-star and each baby matches whichever parent gave birth to it.
- Babies are tame at birth. You need a Butcher Knife (or friendly fire) to kill them.
- The cap counts the animal itself. Five boars in 10 m stop breeding. Spread pens out or build separate pens for each group.
- Lox need room. Their population check covers 20 m, and the wiki suggests 8 m of vertical clearance on flat ground, ideally 10 m or more indoors.
- Asksvin and hens lay eggs, which need a heat source. Asksvin egg quality shows the star level: quality 1 is 0-star, 2 is 1-star, 3 is 2-star.
Patch 1.0.20 added another reason to raise starred stock. Iron Gate's 1.0.20 patch notes (October 15, 2026) say: "Trophy drop chance is now increased by star level of monsters." Starred animals already dropped more meat and leather; since 1.0.20 they also drop their trophy more often. Turn that meat into food with our Valheim food tier list, and grow carrots, turnips and onions for feed with the farming guide.
What changes once an animal is tamed?
- It joins your faction. It attacks wild creatures (except its own species) and never attacks other tame animals.
- It loses its spawn anchor and can roam freely, except for farm and Runestone boars.
- You can rename it with Left Shift + E. Pressing E shows "(name) loves you" and a cloud of hearts.
- It only regenerates health while fed. Keep food in reach of guard wolves and mounts.
- You can't hurt it by accident. Normal weapons do nothing to tamed animals unless friendly fire is on. The Butcher Knife is the exception.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does it take to tame an animal in Valheim? 30 minutes of uninterrupted taming (600 ticks, one every 3 seconds) for every species as of patch 1.0.20. Brew of Animal Whispers cuts it to 15 minutes, and each extra player drinking it halves the time again. Any time the animal is hungry, alerted or out of a loaded area doesn't count.
Why is my animal not taming? One of three conditions is failing. The animal is hungry (food is out of range or blocked for pathfinding), it's alerted (a red exclamation mark because it saw you or another creature), or nobody is within about 64 m to keep the area loaded. Hide out of sight, check the food is reachable, and stay nearby.
Can you tame bears or deer in Valheim? No. In Valheim 1.0 the tameable animals are boars, wolves, Lox, Asksvin and Moose, plus hens hatched from eggs. Deer, bears, Necks and every other creature can't be tamed.
Do tamed wolves follow you through portals? No. Tamed wolves won't go through portals. They stay where you left them and resume following when you come back through. To move a pack across the map, walk them or ferry them by boat.
Does sleeping speed up taming or breeding? No. Sleeping doesn't advance taming and wastes food. It does let babies grow and pregnancies finish while time passes, but pregnancy only lasts one or two minutes, so there's little to gain.
How do you get 2-star animals in Valheim? Tame a wild 2-star and breed it. Random Meadows boars only spawn starred more than 800 m from the world center, though Runestone and abandoned-farm boars can be starred closer in. Starred wolves and 2-star Asksvin only spawn at night. Every baby a 2-star animal gives birth to is also 2-star.
More Valheim guides
New to the game? Start with our Valheim beginner's guide, then follow the boss order guide to unlock the stations each saddle needs. For more, browse all our Valheim guides.
