In Valheim, taming is much more useful than it was during the game's early-access launch. By version 1.0, you can build renewable farms for meat and materials, breed starred animals, keep wolves as combat companions, and ride several large creatures across dangerous biomes.The current wild creatures that can be tamed are Boars, Wolves, Lox, Asksvin, and Moose. Chickens work differently: they hatch already tame from Eggs and can then be bred at your base.This guide explains the current taming system in Valheim 1.0.16, what food each creature eats, how to breed them, how mounts work, and how to instantly tame nearby creatures with console commands.
How Taming Works in Valheim
Most tameable wild creatures use the same basic system:
Prepare a secure pen or another safe enclosure.
Lead or trap the animal inside.
Drop the correct food within its reach.
Move far enough away that the creature becomes calm, but stay close enough for the area to remain loaded.
Wait while the taming percentage increases.
Yellow hearts indicate that taming is progressing.A normal uninterrupted tame takes roughly 30 minutes of real gameplay. A successful meal keeps most tameable creatures fed for around 10 minutes, so leaving several pieces of food inside the enclosure is usually enough.Do not leave the area completely. If the zone unloads because every player moves too far away, taming stops until someone returns.
How to Tame a Boar
Boars are found mainly in the Meadows and are the easiest animals to tame.How to Tame a Boar and Other Animals in ValheimHow to Tame a Boar and Other Animals in ValheimBuild a small enclosure using a Roundpole Fence or another basic wall. Leave an opening, let a wild boar chase you inside, then close the entrance and move away.Boars eat:
Raspberries.
Blueberries.
Red Mushrooms.
Carrots.
Turnips.
Onions.
Drop the food on the ground and wait until the boar becomes calm enough to eat.Once fully tame, boars can be bred to create a renewable source of Boar Meat and Leather Scraps.
How to Breed Boars
Keep at least two adult tame boars together, make sure they are fed, and leave enough room in the enclosure. Pink hearts indicate that breeding conditions are being met.Starred boars are especially valuable because their offspring can inherit the parent's star level, increasing the amount of resources you receive when the animals are harvested.
How to Tame a Wolf
Wolves live in the Mountains and are much more dangerous than boars. A simple wooden fence can be destroyed quickly by an angry wolf, so prepare a stronger enclosure before trying to capture one.Stakewalls, terrain walls, or a deep pit are much safer.Wolves eat several raw meat foods, including:
Boar Meat.
Deer Meat.
Lox Meat.
Chicken Meat.
Neck Tail.
Raw Fish.
Sausages.
Trap the wolf, drop meat inside, move out of its sight, and wait for the animal to calm down.A normal uninterrupted tame takes around 30 minutes.
Why Tame Wolves?
Wolves are unique because you can command them after taming.Interact with a tame wolf to switch between:
Follow — the wolf follows the player and attacks nearby enemies.
Stay — the wolf remains in the area and can be used as a base defender.
A group of bred wolves can become extremely effective against ordinary enemies and raids.
How to Tame a Lox
Lox roam the Plains. They have far more health and structure damage than boars or wolves, so do not try to hold one in a flimsy wooden pen.The safest methods are:
A large stone enclosure.
A deep pit.
Raised earth walls made with the Hoe.
Open-field taming if you can safely drop food and retreat without attracting nearby Fulings or Deathsquitos.
Lox eat:
Cloudberries.
Barley.
Flax.
Taming takes roughly 30 minutes while the Lox remains fed and calm.Lox can also breed. Make sure the enclosure is large because both adult Lox and calves need considerably more space than early-game animals.
How to Ride a Lox
A tame Lox can be ridden after equipping it with a Lox Saddle.Craft the saddle at a Workbench:
10 Leather Scraps.
20 Linen Thread.
15 Black Metal.
A ridden Lox can travel across the Plains and trample smaller creatures. You cannot fight normally with your own weapons while mounted.
How to Tame an Asksvin
Asksvin are tameable creatures from the Ashlands. They are dangerous while wild but extremely useful once bred because they can be ridden and their offspring come from eggs.Asksvin eat Ashlands plants:
Fiddlehead.
Smoke Puff.
Vineberry Cluster.
As with other wild tames, keep the Asksvin fed and calm while staying close enough for the zone to remain active. The base taming time is around 30 minutes.Tamed Asksvin can breed and produce Asksvin Eggs. The eggs hatch into Asksvin Hatchlings, which eventually mature into adults.
How to Ride an Asksvin
Craft an Asksvin Saddle at a level 2 Black Forge:
6 Flametal.
20 Linen Thread.
4 Morgen Sinew.
Asksvin are excellent Ashlands mounts and are much better suited to the biome's difficult terrain than ordinary tamed animals.
How to Tame a Moose in the Deep North
Valheim 1.0 introduced the Moose as a new tameable and rideable creature in the Deep North.Moose eat:
Lingonberries.
The same general taming rules apply: keep the Moose fed and calm while remaining nearby. The base taming time is approximately 30 minutes.Tamed Moose can breed and produce Moose Calves. Starred Moose can also pass their star level through breeding, making high-level animals particularly valuable.
How to Ride a Moose
You need a Moose Saddle, crafted at a level 2 Black Forge.Recipe:
4 Bloodgold.
5 Seal Pelt.
5 Timberwood.
15 Linen Thread.
The Moose is one of the fastest land mounts in the game and is especially useful for traveling across the Deep North.
Can You Tame Chickens?
Chickens do not use the normal wild-animal taming system.After defeating Yagluth, Eggs become available from Haldor. Place an Egg near a suitable heat source and wait for it to hatch. The Chick is already tame and eventually grows into a Hen.Hens can be fed several seeds and crops, including:
Carrot Seeds.
Turnip Seeds.
Onion Seeds.
Beech Seeds.
Birch Seeds.
Barley.
Dandelions.
Fed adult Hens can produce more Eggs, letting you create a renewable chicken farm for food and Feathers.
How to Tame Animals Faster with Brew of Animal Whispers
Valheim 1.0 added the Brew of Animal Whispers, a mead designed specifically for taming.While the effect is active, nearby animals tame twice as fast.The effect lasts 10 minutes.To make the mead base, use a Mead Ketill:
5 Onions.
10 Carrots.
1 Pungent Pebbles.
Ferment the base to receive 6 Brews of Animal Whispers.
How to Breed Tamed Animals
Most tameable creatures can reproduce once you have at least two tame adults.The basic requirements are:
Both creatures must be tame.
They must be fed and happy.
They must be close enough to each other.
There must not be too many creatures crowded into the breeding area.
The surrounding zone needs to remain active.
Pink hearts appear when breeding begins.Boars, Wolves, Lox, Moose, and other breeding animals produce tame offspring automatically. Asksvin produce Eggs instead, while Hens also reproduce through Eggs.
How to Instantly Tame Animals with Console Commands
The old command imacheater no longer works. It was replaced years ago by devcommands.For the full list of Valheim console commands, see our separate guide.On the PC version:
In Steam, open Valheim's Properties and add -console to the launch options if the console is not already enabled.
Launch the game and press F5.
Enter devcommands and press Enter.
Stand near the animals you want to tame.
Enter tame.
For a normal playthrough, Boars are the best first tame, Wolves are the most useful combat companions, Lox and Asksvin become powerful mounts later in progression, and Moose gives the Deep North its own endgame mount. If you plan to build a large animal farm, breeding starred creatures and protecting the enclosure from raids is far more important than simply taming the first animal you see.
