Valheim players,if you want to keep 2 star wolf, you need to keep a 2 star wolf long enough for him to make pups. 2 star pups that become adults dont despawn. It works! confirmed. But do plan on spending 1-2 hours just sitting there. (you can alt tab and do other stuff)
Introduction
For those of you that don’t know what i’m talking about, here are a few basics you need to know:
One star and 2 star wolves spawn only at night (and in mountain binome of course).
They only eat during the night.
They despawn as soon as you go a little distance away.
So the trouble is basically you can’t keep them the normal way. Which is a bummer because they have tons more life than a normal wolf, and do much more damage. You can have up to 4 wolves following you, and you can let them roam free for base defense (although I would suggest building a palisade or else they WILL repopulate your island and breed out of control)
Here is the step by step:
Note: 2 star wolves are level 3. Level 1 wolves have No stars. So as to not confuse I will never talk about 1 star wolves (level 2). only level 1 wolves (no star) and 2 star wolves (level 3)
Preparation
The preparation here might seem overkill, but finding a 2 star wolf be difficult, and losing all your efforts for a silly mistake very frustrating. best to take extra precautions.
– First build a really tough pen. I do mine in 2-3 layers, preferably stone just to be sure, (2 star wolves do damage!) optionally 2 levels high (with a roof to avoid drake attacks)
– Make a platform at the back that you can jump on, Make it deep so you can sneak back out of wolf vision. The reason for this is if the wolf sees you, he will attack the wall and escape. But if you go too far he despawns… so prepare to stay in the pen.
behind the platform leave a staircase just in case, that you can jump through an opening of the roof (this in case you cant sneak)
– leave an opening in the wall to get in (you and the wolf) , some players suggest jumping on platform then quickly blocking the exit… I prefer to build double gate doors, let the wolf follow me while I block walking backwards; close the door, then jump on platform and then add that extra stone wall.
– prepare RAW meat; LOTS of meat. 40 should be enough so I got 60.
– Catch a level 1 wolf FIRST (no stars). the reason is of course you want it to make pups with the 2 star. if you go get it after… then the 3 star wolf will despawn. bummer . Personally I didn’t wait till the lvl 1 was tamed before I brought the level 3 (2 star) in.
– Throw all that raw meat on the ground (in the pen, duh). You can throw the entire stack, no need to throw them one by one.
– If you have a full troll set armor, it would be good to keep it in the inventory or put it in a coffer on the platform for later.
Catching the wolf
– There is a chance other lvl 1 wolves are in the pack, take them out if you can to make catching the 2 star easier. also, try not to let the 2 star wolf kill you. good food and pots recommended.
– Hopefully the way to your pen is clear, golems and drakes killing your wolf tobe are the biggest danger on the way to your pen.
– open the doors and block, dont forget another wolf lvl 1 is inside (unless you tamed it) let the lvl 3 wolf come in, close them doors and jump to safety.
– sneak, and go to the back of the platform, hopefully out of sight. If the wolf keeps attacking your walls, try sneaking further away. If he keeps attacking jump out and walk away… enough so you see the attacks stop, but no further than that. Then sneak back up the stairs and onto the platform. Full Troll armor would be very helpful now.
The waiting game
– Wait. Nothing else you can do. The 3 star wolf will eat ONLY during the night, so shortly after day breaks he will be hungry and stop being tamed. Its normal. You have to wait till nightfall for him to eat again. It takes about 3-4 full day/night cycles for him to be tamed
– I think you can sleep at the campfire. I didnt do it during taming though… I dared to try it only once he had 2 pups that were 2 stars and he didnt despawn. So it should be safe, but my bed was directly opposite to the pen, touching it.
– Just keep on watching, repair if you need to but remember in repair mode you no longer sneak, and if wolves spot you that will become frightened, stop the taming counter and attack you… or if they cant reach you attack the walls.
– normally you see hearts go up indicating he is being tamed. If you get close enough you will see a percentage progress bar. If the heart stops is usually because they are hungry (daytime, no food on the ground) or frightened (they see you), or they are already tamed. In any case close inspection will tell you the reason, although avoid disturbing or getting close when you can.Wolf is tamed!!! not over yet!!!
Breeding
– I cannot confirm this, but I still avoided sleeping. Since the 2 star wolf feeds only at night, he will be hungry during the day and therefor will not mate during the day.
– Once you have a 2 star pup, you can relax… you can now start your breeding program. You could also stay 1-2 extra nights for faster breeding by keeping the current 2 star, but you are also free to walk away. your pup will stay, but your original wolf will *poof* dissapear
– If you do choose to stay and have many 2 star wolves, you will know which one is the original because he will always be hungry during the day, the others will not. Leave, come back… they will still be there.
– If there is no more food on the ground, wolves dont die but they stop breeding. They may possibly escape (to be confirmed) I cant tell, mine have meat everywhere and populate like rabbits
– If they are released in nature, they will attack other animals, feed off the dropped meat and breed. Monster loot everywhere on your map may sound fun at first…
You sow what you reap
So now the only thing you have to deal with is the constant howling, and the danger of getting population control out of hand.
Note that if you don’t feed the wolves, they tend to escape. Do they disappear or just run out of your pen and breed… let me know in comments your experience and ill update this info
One last tip: you can transport wolves by boat if you build a platform above the boat and then destroy the platform. (wolves dont like stairs)
If you succeeded in taming those 2 star wolves please share your experiences in comments for others, including time it took you to find a 3 star or other difficulties you faced. Thanks! And good luck breeding them wolves and hunting in a pack
Related Posts:
- Valheim Taming Guide – How to Tame Animals
- Valheim How to Cook a Lot of Food Quickly
- Valheim Dedicated Game Server (uMod Support)
- Valheim Solo Guide for Swamps, Snow Montain and Plains
- Valheim Enemy Proof Houses Guide
Instead of creating a pen out of wood/stone/etc, dig a deep pit with steep sides with your pickaxe, then add an entrance ramp with a gate and a wall. Stone wall and iron gate is preferred, but if you’re quick about it you won’t need to worry about what material it’s made from.
Get the rested buff, activate Eikthyr ability, then find a 2star wolf, run it down into the pit, then take out your hoe and build an earth wall up beneath you in front of the gate so the wolf can’t damage it, and you can escape. Make sure you have at least a full stack of stones in your inventory beforehand. Do a practice run of getting into the pit and quickly hoeing (lol) your way out before you return to the pit with a 2 star wolf in pursuit.
Of course you can just repair whatever you build to contain the wolves, but the 2 star wolves can easily break whatever you throw at them, and the breeding process is long and tedious. Chances are you’ll want to step away while you wait. Having the wolf trapped in something it can’t break or escape from allows you to do this.
Personally, I have a large moat/trench around my base filled with 2 star wolves. It’s a great base defense, plus it’s hilarious fun to shield parry/push trolls and other enemies into it.