How Close Do You Need to Be for Taming in Valheim?
The question of proximity is crucial when embarking on the rewarding journey of taming creatures in Valheim. The short answer is that while a specific distance isn’t explicitly stated, you need to be within the render distance of the animal for the taming process to progress. Being close enough to witness the taming animations, particularly the appearance of yellow hearts, and to see the progress on the creature’s hover text is generally within the acceptable range for the taming process to be active. Staying nearby ensures that taming ticks continue to accrue; if you move beyond render distance, taming progress will halt.
The Nuances of Taming Proximity
Taming in Valheim isn’t a simple case of dropping food and walking away. It’s an active process that requires your character to remain in proximity to the animal being tamed. While the game doesn’t provide a numeric value for this distance, it’s best to think of it as being close enough that the creature and its immediate environment are fully rendered on your screen, including all visual effects like the yellow hearts when a creature eats. This visual confirmation is your primary indicator that the taming process is underway.
The hover text, while also an indicator, can be tricky, since it requires you to get very close, sometimes alerting the creature in the process. It’s often better to rely on visual confirmation and to understand that taming progress stops when you’re not within visual range of the animal.
Render Distance and its Impact
Render distance refers to how much of the game world is actively loaded and displayed by your computer at any given time. It varies depending on your settings and system specifications but affects how far you can move away from a taming creature without pausing progress. For most players, this means sticking close by, not venturing far beyond the taming pen or area.
The 30-Minute Taming Requirement
It’s important to remember that every creature in Valheim, whether it’s a boar, wolf, or lox, requires approximately 600 successful ticks, which equates to about 30 minutes of real-time taming. This 30-minute timer only counts down when the creature is rendered on your screen. Any time you are outside this range, the taming process essentially pauses. Therefore, while you don’t need to be right next to the creature, being close enough to maintain that visual connection is essential to the timer not pausing.
The Taming Process: More than Just Proximity
The taming process isn’t solely about proximity; it also hinges on food. To get a creature acclimated to your presence, you’ll need to provide them with their preferred food. For example, wolves prefer meat, boars enjoy berries and mushrooms, and lox eat cloudberries, flax, or barley.
Here’s a simplified breakdown of what is needed for the taming process:
- Enclose the Creature: Build a pen to safely contain the animal you want to tame. This enclosure needs to be completely secure to prevent escape.
- Provide Food: Drop the creature’s preferred food into the pen.
- Stay Within Render Distance: Make sure the creature stays rendered on your screen for the entire taming process.
- Wait for Taming to Complete: Wait for 30 minutes, which is when a message will appear on the screen to confirm the animal is tamed.
Taming: A Time-Consuming but Rewarding Effort
Patience is key to successful taming in Valheim. It’s not a task that can be rushed, but it offers a valuable payoff. Once tamed, animals can assist in hunting (wolves), provide mounts (lox), and can be used for breeding. Being present to ensure the taming is done uninterrupted is essential, as sleeping doesn’t make the process faster and actually wastes food as the animal will not eat when the player is sleeping.
Frequently Asked Questions About Taming in Valheim
Here are some common questions related to taming in Valheim:
1. Can tamed animals starve in Valheim?
No, tamed animals cannot starve. However, they will not reproduce if they are hungry.
2. Can tame boars follow me?
Once fully tamed, boars will follow you, but they also enjoy wandering around your base. They may not always follow you directly but will stay nearby.
3. How long does it take to tame a Lox in Valheim?
Taming a Lox takes approximately 30 minutes, but the timer will pause if you are not nearby to witness it. You must remain within render distance.
4. How long does it take to tame a wolf in Valheim?
Taming a wolf also takes around 30 minutes, assuming you are feeding it when it’s hungry and within render distance.
5. Does sleeping speed up taming?
No, sleeping does not speed up taming and it can waste food as the creature will not eat when you are asleep.
6. Can you tame multiple wolves?
Yes, you can tame multiple wolves, which is necessary if you wish to breed them.
7. Why won’t my Lox breed?
Lox will breed if they are happy and well-fed with Cloudberries, Flax, or Barley, and there is another lox within 8 meters, and no more than 4 lox within 20 meters.
8. Why won’t my tamed Lox eat?
Lox won’t eat if there is a roof too close to them or if they are standing on an area that is not valid for pathfinding.
9. What is the point of taming Lox?
Tamed Lox can be ridden once you equip them with a Lox Saddle, making them a great mount for exploring.
10. Can you tame dragons?
Yes, you can tame drakes, which are the juvenile forms of dragons, by using a dragon egg at a campfire.
11. Why won’t the wolf eat?
Night-time creatures, like starred wolves, must initially be fed during the night. If it’s daytime, you must trap the wolf and stay nearby until nightfall so it doesn’t despawn.
12. Can wolves go through portals?
No, animals cannot go through portals. You must physically transport them by boat if you want to move them to a new island.
13. Do tamed wolves fight?
Yes, tamed wolves will assist you in combat and defend your base. They will not retaliate against you or other tamed wolves, if attacked/killed.
14. Can you heal wolves?
Wolves heal over time, slowly. Splitting them up can help focus the healing. They die quickly and heal too slow so they are not practical as companions that you actively care about.
15. What are Lox weak against?
Lox are weak against fire damage.
By keeping this information in mind and staying within the render distance while tending to their needs, you can successfully tame creatures and integrate them into your Valheim experience. Good luck, and happy taming!