In the expansive world of Hytale, establishing a thriving animal farm is a common aspiration for many players. While the animal husbandry system, particularly breeding, is not yet fully integrated into the game's early access, there are effective strategies to gather and acclimate a menagerie of creatures. This guide will walk you through the current mechanisms for bringing wild animals into your controlled environments and fostering a degree of interaction with them, enabling you to populate your personal homestead with various critters.
Bringing creatures into your Hytale farm involves several steps, as direct breeding functions are currently unavailable. One technique involves constructing a partially open, enclosed area. This allows wild herds, such as pigs, sheep, or horses, to wander in naturally. Once inside, you can quickly complete the fencing to secure them. However, this method can be challenging due to the animals' tendency to flee upon detecting a player's presence. A more reliable and efficient approach utilizes a specialized item: the capture crate. This item, crafted at a farmer's workbench with four wood pieces and 50 units of essence of life, enables the direct capture of smaller animals with a simple left-click.
The capture crate is particularly effective for a variety of miniature and juvenile animals. This includes young calves, lambs, and foals, as well as all sizes of rabbits, baby pigs, swine, mice, frogs, meerkats, and armadillos. After successfully capturing an animal, you can transport it back to your farm. It is crucial to have a secure enclosure prepared beforehand, as newly released wild animals will attempt to escape immediately. Fences, essential for these enclosures, can be crafted at a builder's workbench by using any type of wood. Releasing an animal from its crate is as straightforward as equipping the crate and left-clicking once more. There has been some misunderstanding regarding the feed bag's luring capabilities; despite its description, it does not currently attract animals.
Although the ability to breed animals is absent, players can achieve a limited form of taming within Hytale. Animals newly introduced to an enclosure will initially be fearful and attempt to evade players. However, by keeping them within a fenced area equipped with a feed bag for approximately one in-game day, players may observe heart icons appearing above the animals. This indicates a shift towards a more docile state. While this taming process does not result in animals following players or engaging in breeding, it does reduce their skittishness, causing them to simply disregard a player's presence rather than panic. The feed bag, crucial for this process, requires 10 wheat, five vegetables, five fruits, and 10 essence of life to craft at the farmer's workbench. It is important to note that re-capturing an already partially tamed animal will revert it to its wild state. Additionally, the chicken coop feature does not appear to function yet, as chickens tend to flee from it.
Given the current lack of animal reproduction, players aiming to acquire resources like hides and leather should focus on hunting wild animals. As Hytale continues to develop, more comprehensive taming and breeding functionalities are anticipated to be introduced, which will undoubtedly enhance the farming experience for all players.
