Why Won’t My Tamed Boar Move in Valheim? Understanding Stubborn Swine
It’s a frustrating sight for any aspiring Viking farmer: you’ve successfully tamed a boar in Valheim, carefully constructed a pen, and eagerly anticipate your burgeoning pig farm, only to find your tamed boar stubbornly glued to a corner, facing the direction of its spawn point. They eat, they’re listed as tamed, but they refuse to budge, won’t breed, and seem utterly devoid of the desire for a scenic stroll. What gives? The issue stems from a combination of game mechanics and, perhaps, the boar’s inherent desire for home. Simply put, tamed boars often retain a strong inclination to return to their original spawn location, or the area where you first encountered them. This behavior is a known quirk within the game’s AI.
The “Spawn Point” Phenomenon
The core reason your tamed boar is immovable is tied to its initial spawn location. Whether it originated from a boar stone or was simply wandering in the wild, the game seemingly keeps track of this spot. Once tamed, the boar doesn’t immediately abandon its instinct to return to that area. It’s not necessarily a bug but rather an ingrained behavior within the game’s coding.
Why the Corner?
You might notice that boars often get “stuck” in corners, facing their original spawn area. This isn’t because they’re particularly fond of the aesthetics of right angles. Instead, they’re attempting to pathfind back to their spawn point. When encountering a corner, they reach an obstacle, get caught, and become fixated on their ingrained destination. They essentially run into the corner while trying to navigate back home.
Breeding and the “Home Instinct”
The good news is that the spawn point obsession appears to primarily affect the original tamed boars. Once they start breeding, the newborn piglets generally don’t exhibit the same behavior. These offspring tend to stay near the other tamed boars and wander within the confines of their pen, much like a typical farm animal should. This makes the primary challenge getting the original, stubbornly immobile boars to breed in the first place.
Overcoming the Stubbornness: Solutions
So, how do you coax your boars out of their corners and get them to breed? Here are some strategies:
Patience and Persistence
- Keep feeding them: Ensure a consistent supply of berries, mushrooms, carrots, or turnips in their pen. Boars need to eat to calm down and eventually reach a ‘happy’ state, essential for breeding.
- Minimize Frightening: Maintain a safe and calm environment. Make sure you are not scaring them by moving too fast, even while you are within the pen. Move slow and try sneaking while near them. Make sure there are no nearby fires or mobs that may frighten them. Remember, boars must be calm to eat, and be within render distance to consume dropped food.
Forceful Relocation (Use with Caution)
- The Harpoon Method: You can use a harpoon to drag boars. This is a highly effective albeit somewhat clumsy way of moving a boar. Dragging them away from their stuck location may be the key to un-sticking their pathing towards their original spawn location.
- Pushing: While less effective than the harpoon, you can try to push the boar out of the corner.
Breeding For Better Behaviors
- Focus on Progeny: The real solution to the immobile boar problem is getting the original stuck boars to breed. Once that is achieved, you’ll have a farm of boars that are not inclined to stick in corners and will not have pathfinding towards their original location. Focus on getting them into a happy mood by always having food available.
- Limit the herd: Make sure there are no more than 6 boars in the pen at one time. Otherwise the boars will not continue to breed.
Understanding the Taming Process
- The Taming Percentage: Pay attention to the “tame” status when hovering over the boar. Yellow hearts indicate a successful taming progress. It takes 600 successful ‘ticks’ (30 minutes) to fully tame a boar.
- Time Investment: Taming is a process that takes time, and it can take several days for a boar to become fully tamed.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. Can tamed boars starve in Valheim?
No, tamed animals cannot starve in Valheim. However, they will not breed if they are hungry. So feeding them is still important if you want to grow your boar population.
2. How long does it take to tame a boar in Valheim?
The taming process takes approximately 30 minutes of active taming progress. However, getting a boar to that point may take several days while they calm down enough to eat.
3. What foods do boars eat to tame them in Valheim?
Boars can be tamed by feeding them any food that grows in the ground, such as raspberries, blueberries, mushrooms (yellow or red), carrots, or turnips.
4. Why won’t my boar eat in Valheim?
Boars won’t eat if they are frightened. Make sure there are no enemies nearby and that you are moving slowly around them. Boars must also be within your render distance to eat food. This may require you to wait for them to calm down.
5. Do tamed boars follow you in Valheim?
Initially, no. However, once tamed, they will eventually reach a point where they want to follow you just to be near you. This behavior will take time. They will still wander around a pen freely.
6. Can I move boars through portals in Valheim?
No, animals cannot be moved through portals in Valheim. You will need to transport them by boat if you want to move them to a different island.
7. Do boars respawn in Valheim?
Boars that spawn from boar stones will respawn when all the boars associated with the stone are killed.
8. What is the maximum number of tamed boars I can have in one pen in Valheim?
You can have more than six boars in one pen, however only 6 or less boars will breed. After that point they will no longer produce offspring.
9. How do I know if my boar is taming?
Hovering over the boar will show its status, including a “tame” stat. Yellow hearts will also float above the boar as it tames.
10. Can tamed boars get attacked during raids in Valheim?
Yes, tamed animals can be attacked during raids. So make sure to create a secure pen with no access from the sky to protect them from flying enemies.
11. Do tamed boars run away in Valheim?
The original tamed boars will constantly try to run back to where they spawned. This is a well known quirk of the game. Focus on breeding and you’ll have a herd of boars that do not have this issue.
12. Do tamed boars fight back in Valheim?
No, tamed boars will not fight back if they are attacked. They will try to run away.
13. Is taming boars worth it in Valheim?
Yes, taming boars is a great way to obtain an infinite supply of leather scraps and raw meat. This makes them a valuable asset to any Viking farm.
14. How do I make a leash for my boar in Valheim?
You can craft a Lead item to leash and lead mobs, using 4 ooze and 2 deer hide.
15. Can boars be tamed on multiplayer servers?
Yes, boars can be tamed on multiplayer servers using the same methods as single player.