Valheim Taming Guide — Boar, Wolf, Lox, Asksvin, Chickens and Bees

Why taming matters

Taming is how you turn Valheim from “hunt every time” into “farm when you want” — and it unlocks mounts you cannot craft, combat companions that fight for you, and materials that would otherwise require constant grinding. It is not a side activity; every biome past the Meadows gets materially easier if you have a tame operation.

Taming takes about 30 real-time minutes per creature, and a single feeding keeps it fed for roughly 10 minutes — so drop at least three food items per animal to cover the full window. The diet for each creature is in the table below.

The universal taming process

Every tameable creature follows the same 4-step pattern:

1. Trap it. Build a pen, dig a pit, or lure onto a temporary platform you can break later. The enclosure must be strong enough that the creature cannot break out.
2. Feed it. Drop the correct food inside the enclosure where it can pathfind to. One feeding lasts about 10 real-time minutes before the creature goes hungry again.
3. Keep it calm. A red exclamation mark above the creature means it is frightened or alerted — taming pauses until it calms down. Stay away, avoid fire sources, and let the creature settle.
4. Wait for yellow stars. A yellow star indicator means taming is in progress. The star fills slowly as long as the creature is fed, calm and near an active player. When the star is full, the creature is tame.

Players need to stay close enough for the area to stay active — going offline or sailing away pauses taming.

Every tameable creature

Creature	Biome	Food it eats	What taming gives you
Boar	Meadows	Berries, Mushrooms, Carrots, Turnips, Onions	Early stable food (Boar Meat) and Leather Scraps without hunting
Wolf	Mountain	Raw meat of any kind	Combat companion that follows you and guards areas. Cannot follow through Portals
Lox	Plains	Cloudberries, Barley, Flax	Mount, tank, late-game meat source. Can be ridden with a Lox Saddle
Asksvin	Ashlands	Smoke Puffs, Vineberry Clusters, Fiddleheads	Ashlands mount + egg source (Asksvin Eggs)
Moose	Deep North — 1.0 new	Lingonberries	Rideable mount via a Moose Saddle (1.0 Deep North addition)
Chicken / Hen	Any, from Eggs	Seeds and berry items	Already tame once hatched. Lay Eggs that stack and give early food

Boar — the first tame

Boars are the easiest to tame and the best starter operation. Build a 2m high Wood Fence pen (no gap, no door you cannot close fast), leave one opening, lure a boar in with berries, close the gap. Stay out of sight — wild boars will not approach food if you are too close or if there is a torch nearby. Once tame, boars can be bred for offspring and are no longer afraid of fire.

Wolf — the combat companion

Wolves are a bigger commitment. They can break weak pens, so dig a terrain pit or build a reinforced stone enclosure. Aggro a wolf onto yourself in the Mountains, run it into the pit and close the exit. Stay away while it calms down, then drop raw meat. Starred wolves spawn at night and are worth taming immediately — their star status makes them far stronger and their pups inherit the star.

Wolves cannot follow you through Portals. They only fight within walking distance of you or a marked guard point.

Lox — the Plains mount

Lox look terrifying but are passive until provoked. Dig a large deep pit (they are very big) and lure one in by dropping Cloudberries, Barley or Flax on the ground — Lox walk toward food naturally and will fall in. Once tame, craft a Lox Saddle and you can ride it. Lox also fight well and give a lot of meat. Covered enclosures with a roof too low will confuse their pathfinding — do not roof the pen over.

Asksvin — the Ashlands mount

Asksvin (plural Asksvin) are aggressive Ashlands creatures. Tame one by digging a large pit in an Asksvin-rich area, dropping Smoke Puffs, Vineberry Clusters or Fiddleheads inside, luring them in, and leaving via a ramp or ladder. They lay Asksvin Eggs once tame, which you can hatch elsewhere to start a second farm. Once tamed, craft an Asksvin Saddle (Flametal, Linen Thread and Morgen Sinew) to ride it. The hardest tame operation — only do this once you are comfortable in the Ashlands.

Chickens — no taming needed

Chickens (and Hens) are already tame when they hatch from an Egg. You can craft eggs from Chicken Eggs (from a nest you find in abandoned farms) into baby chicks that grow into Hens. Hens lay Eggs that give early food with no effort — passive, reliable, zero risk. Build a small fenced area for them and they will breed.

Bees — Honey farming, not taming

Bees are not tamed — but they are farmed, and they matter. Find an abandoned Beehive hanging from Black Forest trees, break it, collect the Queen Bee that drops. Build a Beehive structure (Workbench) and place it, one per Queen Bee. Leave your Beehives 1-2m apart (the bees will fight if hives are too close).

Bees produce Honey every few minutes, which you need to brew every Mead except Brawler. Keep at least three Beehives per base — you will never have enough Honey.

What each tame is actually good for

Creature	Use case	Do not waste time taming if
Boar	Early game — before you have Iron or can hunt reliably	You already have a steady source of food (cooked meat + vegetables)
Wolf	Late game — fighting in areas you revisit that have dangerous wildlife	You already solo every biome
Lox	Plains + Ashlands — mount and meat for Lox Meat Pie	You are focused on Mistlands magic and do not ride
Asksvin	Endgame — Ashlands mount and egg production	You will not spend time in the Ashlands
Chicken	Early to mid game — Eggs for food and Sausages	You already have Boars
Beehives	Every stage — Honey for every Mead	— always build Beehives

Breeding — stars inherited

Feed two tamed creatures of the same type until they mate. The offspring inherit stars from either parent at random — breed two 2-star Boars and your new Boars will very often be 2-star. Starred creatures give twice or four times the drop yield and have proportionally more health and damage.

The star inheritance rule is what makes taming worth the grind — stabilize your 2-star line and your food and materials economy solves itself.

The mistakes everyone makes

• Forgetting wolves cannot follow through Portals. You tame 5 starred wolves in the Mountains, then portal home — they stay behind. You will have to lead them on foot or set up a Mountains guard station.
• Building boar pens with weak walls. Greydwarves spawn at night and will smash a 2-star Boar pen you spent time on. Upgrade to stone or keep pens close to your workbench so you can repair fast.
• Trying to tame Asksvin too early. Ashlands is the hardest biome in the game. Do not even think about Asksvin until you have Fader Power + fire cape + Major healing.
• Skipping Beehives. You need Honey for every Mead. Three Beehives take 2 minutes to build and provide the bottleneck for half the Mead guide.

Related

• The Meads your Beehives enable — every Mead category and when to brew: mead complete guide
• The food tamed creatures make — how those meals fit into your three food slots: food and meals
• All the biomes that hold each tameable creature: progression route
• The weapons that actually kill wild versions (in case your taming goes wrong): weapon tier list
• Damage types on every creature so you do not waste shots: enemy weaknesses