RimWorld, the hit colony-management sim from Ludeon Studios, has been challenging players with its complex strategy since 2016. RimWorld is a game of survival, and players must work hard to build a colony that can withstand pirate raids, failing crops, burrowing insectoids, and crazed colonists.
Animals can make the difference between the success and failure of a RimWorld colony, whether it's a herd of cows providing milk, meat, and leather, or a loyal guard dog that protects a hunter from a rampaging bear. However, taming and raising animals isn't easy, and requires both skilled colonists, plenty of food, and a good amount of luck.
How to Get Animals in RimWorld
There are only three ways that players can acquire animals for their RImWorld colony: taming, trading, and random events. Taming animals is the riskiest method, as several creatures have a chance to retaliate when a colonist fails a taming check. However, it's also the cheapest method and only requires a little food and a colonist with a good Animals skill, though it's best if they also have some good RimWorld traits. Players can mark any wild animal to be tamed, but the chances of success and the chances of retaliation will depend on the species.
Buying animals from traders or trade ships is a simpler process than taming, requiring only Silver or valuable goods like RimWorld's Plasteel to trade. However, players will find that caravans have less choice overall than the constant rotation of wild animals that will wander into most biomes in RimWorld, though their wares are often more suited to domestication. Beyond trading and taming, there's also a chance that a random wild animal will self-tame while near the colony, joining without any action needed from the player.
Finally, domesticated animals may land near the colony in drop pods, ejected from a spaceship following some unknown disaster. These animals will often require urgent treatment but may join the colony afterward.
How to Raise Animals in RimWorld
Taking care of animals in RimWorld isn't always easy, but the rewards can be considerable. Grazing animals like cows and sheep are best contained in Pens, fence-enclosed areas that are designated with the Pen Marker item. Pens not only show whether they contain enough grazing land to support the animals inside but also allow players to set up systems to automatically harvest and slaughter from the herd. In areas where there isn't enough land to graze on, players should grow Haygrass to support their animals, or feed them on RimWorld's Kibble. Animals in Pens will be marked as passive, meaning that they won't be attacked by predators or marauders.
More independent animals like canines and felines are best allowed to roam freely, or given a safe area to wander near the base through the zoning system. These animals can also eat Kibble, prefer to sleep in animal beds, and will provide mood bonuses to colonists that they attach themselves to. All animals will attempt to breed if there are animals of the opposite gender available, producing young that are automatically tamed by the colony.
Finally, players can choose to train intelligent animals in more advanced tasks, including guarding their assigned master, attacking enemies, or even hauling supplies, though the success of this training relies on the master's Animals skill.
RimWorld is available now for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
