Table of Contents SHOW
The Animal Ranching feature was added in Patch 1.1, released on August 15, 2024. Players gained the ability to tame certain animals from the world of Once Human. As of this guide’s writing, this feature contains many bugs and unfinished elements. I tested the animals for several days and have not yet found any useful functions they can perform.
How to Start Animal Ranching
Patch 1.1 introduced two new Memetics nodes that need to be activated. These nodes can be found in the Memetics Cradle (hotkey “O”) → Memetics → Logistics section.
- The Animal Capture node allows you to capture wild animals using tranquilizers.
- The Animal Taming node unlocks the construction of an Animal Trough and the crafting of four types of feed to tame captured animals.
How to Capture a Wild Animal
To do this, you will need a Tranquilizer Throwing Needle, which can be crafted using the Advanced Supplies Workbench. This is a single-use throwable item that should sedate the animal.
Any wild animals that can be captured have a special mark on their health bar. When the animal’s health drops below this mark, you can hit it with the Tranquilizer Throwing Needle. The animal will fall asleep, and you can place it in your inventory (under the “Tools” tab).
In the later stages of the game, your weapon’s damage may be too high, causing animals to die in 1-2 shots. To avoid this, craft a low-damage weapon, such as the MPS5 (Tier 1).
Which Animals Can Be Tamed and Where to Find Them
Currently, I know of six animals that can be tamed. Here’s a list of these animals and the spots where you can find them:
Deer (peaceful)
To the west of Meyer’s Market, there is a Teleportation Tower that stands on a cliff. Inside the cliff is a large cave. At the entrance to this cave, there are always level 13 deer.
Rabbits (peaceful)
One of the best spots for capturing rabbits is the plains around the Teleportation Tower northwest of Lea Research Lab. This spot is great because there’s relatively little vegetation in this region, so you always have a good view. Also, there are quite a few rabbits here.
Bears (combat)
Bears can be found north of Securement Silo – ALPHA. Many bears spawn in the Contaminated Area in the marked region on the map near the riverbank and around the mountain. There is also a large cave in the mountains where you will find dozens of bears. The cave entrance is marked on the map.
Goats (peaceful)
Goats live in many regions of Red Sands. There are especially many near the location 73 Source Extraction Point west of Blackfell.
Boars (combat)
Quite a few level 28 boars can be found near the pond next to the Teleportation Tower southeast of Greywater Camp.
Wolves (combat)
In the same spot (near the pond next to the Teleportation Tower southeast of Greywater Camp), you can find wolves, although there aren’t many of them.
Crocodiles (combat)
The only place where I’ve managed to find a tameable crocodile is the southwest corner of the map, exactly where my character is standing. Crocodiles spawn on riverbanks, but they are quite rare.
Wild Animal Respawn Time
According to my tests on level 28 boars, wild animals respawn every 5 minutes. However, keep in mind that animals and any other mobs spawn separately for each world, so you can switch worlds using the teleportation tower and farm them faster.
How to Tame a Wild Animal
You can have up to 6 Territory Animals. To tame a wild animal, you must build a separate Livestock area for it. Livestock is considered any enclosed space on your territory. The simplest Livestock consists of 1 Foundation, 4 Parapets of any kind, and an Animal Trough inside, but you can build livestock of a different shape.
After that, select the animal in your inventory (under the “Tools” tab) and press “Use” to place it in the livestock.
Initially, any wild animal should be placed in separate livestock. If you house multiple predatory wild animals (like two wolves) together, they will attack each other until one of them dies.
Approach one of your Territory Animals and select “Details” (F) to open the Territory Animal Interface. Each of your animals has four indicators: Tameness, HP, Energy, and Hydration.
To make a wild animal start producing resources and following player commands, you need to increase its Tameness, which is quite a long process that can take several days of real time. You also can rename any of your animals, as shown in the screenshot.
How to Increase Tameness
Method #1: Keep the animal’s Energy and Hydration above 30%. To do this, you need to place the appropriate feed and water (Pure or Boiled) in the Animal Trough. Animals will approach and eat on their own, increasing their Energy and Hydration.
Feeds can be crafted using the Electric Stove or Kitchen Set. The animal’s diet profile always indicates its typical diet. You can feed the animals with feed or give them regular food like raw meat, berries, vegetables, and fruits.
Method #2: Provide the animal with its favorite food. Each animal has its favorite food, and the list is also indicated in the animal’s profile. If you feed the animal this food, its Tameness will increase faster.
How Tameness Works
- 0%-20%: The animal will flee, attack the player, or other animals within reach, and won’t produce any supplies.
- 20%-50%: Animals no longer attack the player or each other. Such animals can be released from livestock and will peacefully roam your territory without producing any supplies.
- 50%-80%: Animals begin to produce supplies as indicated in their profile (e.g., boars produce pork and hides). Combat animals will follow the player’s commands.
- 80%-100%: Animals produce more supplies and will defend the territory by attacking enemies, including mobs that spawn during Territory Purification.
Note! As of the publication of this guide, the Animal Ranching feature contains many unfinished elements. According to my tests, animals do not produce any supplies and do not react to the appearance of enemies on your territory. However, they will defend themselves if mobs attack them.
What Animal Rating (Grade) Affects
There are 4 grades of animal quality: C Grade (blue), B Grade (gray), A Grade (purple), S Grade (orange). The higher the rating, the more Traits the animal will have. Traits are randomly generated when capturing animals and are gradually unlocked as Tameness increases.
Also, the animal’s rating will affect the number of breeding attempts, but this feature is currently unavailable in the game.
Can You Breed Animals on Your Base
At the moment, this feature is unavailable, but the developers promise to add it in the near future. Keep an eye on game updates on the official Once Human Discord server.