There are plenty of boars to be found in Valheim, but sometimes a Viking warrior has better things to do than go tromping through the woods in search of them. That’s why we’re going to learn to domesticate the little fellas, so you can have an unlimited supply of meat and leather scraps right in your own backyard.
Where to Find Boar
Boar can be found in the starting Meadows biome as well as the Black Forest biome, both in open areas and in forests. There are also runestones scattered about these biomes that instruct you on how to domesticate boar; if you find one of these, a herd of boar is sure to be nearby.
If you find one of these, you’ve probably already found some boar
How to Tame Boar
While the runestone suggests that you sneak up on the boar and feed them by hand, that method seems to be fairly hit or miss. A much more surefire way to tame boar is to trap them first, and then feed them. Here’s how to do it:
First things first, build a pen for the boar, but don’t finish it. Many guides suggest building a pen with a gate and just leaving the gate open, but the boar’s pathfinding often makes this method hard to pull off. Instead, build a Roundpole fence pen with a gate, but leave a large gap that you can close with two or three sections of fence.
Next, you’ll need to find some boar. Finding a group is best, because it’s hard to trap them one at a time. Once you find 2 or more boar (more is better), get close enough that they aggro, and then walk back to the partly-finished pen. If you run, you’ll end up losing them. Try to take paths that are in the open, so the boar don’t get stuck on objects and lose their aggro.
Once you’ve led them close to the pen, pull out your building hammer — if you haven’t built anything since the pen, your Roundpole fence should still be selected. Now just finish off the fence and trap the boar!
Throw mushrooms or berries into the pen by facing towards the pen and then opening your inventory. Then, click and drag the food out of your inventory screen and into the pen.
Build a pen, but leave a nice big gap in the fence
Find yourself some boar
Get them to chase you, and don’t lose them
Once they’re safely inside, use your hammer to build finish the pen and trap them in. Don’t forget to feed them!
After consuming food for a few days, the boar will become tame. As long as there are at least two boar in your pen, they’ll eventually start having babies!
It’s important to know that the boar will try to attack you through the fence if you are nearby. While they have a hard time breaking through the fence, they will do so eventually. You must either repair the fence periodically, or else put the pen far enough away from your workbench and bed that you don’t aggro the boars while going about your business.
You should now be more than ready to become a Viking boar farmer! Let us know in the comments if you have any questions, or if there are other guides you’d like to see.
Share this article:
DanielD
Unabashed FromSoftware fanboy still learning to take his time with games (and everything else, really). The time he doesn't spend on games is spent on music, books, or occasionally going outside.
