Instincts - Animal Taming in Skyrim
⚪ Last updated 2022⚠️ Install Order · 5 steps
Install in this order, then this mod last — most mods fail to load without their framework and dependencies in place.
Preview
🔍 Analysis
- 👍 0.1% endorsement rate
- 🏆 #2 of 113 Gameplay mods in this game by downloads
📋 About This Mod
Taming
To tame an animal, walk up to it and initiate dialogue by pressing , then choose to open a window where you can feed the animal appropriate food from your inventory. Each food item you feed the animal increases the likelihood of a successful taming roll. Close the window to confirm.
Aggressive animals, such as Wolves, must be subdued first by dealing enough damage to reduce their health below 25% or 10 points.
Taming grants Speech experience.
(If the optional Perk Tree Integration is installed, taming animals requires the Animal Taming perk. Immortal or protected animals, ghosts, followers and many quest related animals cannot be tamed.)
Tamed animal features
Tamed animals will follow you and carry items for you. Aggressive animals will also fight for you.
A total of 34 different animal species are eligible for taming, each with five attributes:
-
[]Damage
[
]Carry weight[]Health
[]Hunger resistance
[]Experience gain
To view the attributes of your animal, speak with it and choose the command from the dialogue tree.
Tamed animals cannot be killed in combat and will instead get knocked out temporarily. They will slowly regenerate health and eventually recover from this state, but only after combat has ended.
Commands
Speak with the animal and choose a command from the dialogue tree.
Tamed animals can be ordered to wait in place, or to follow the player. They can be given direct orders (move to a location, pick up an item, interact with an object). They can be ordered to treat the current location as their home, or to go to their home and wait there. Aggressive animals can be ordered to avoid combat, or to fight with you.
(When ordered to go to their home, tamed animals will teleport when out of sight. This enables them to live in homes that would be unsafe or impossible to access through normal pathing. Furthermore, when a location is set as a new home, any other tamed animals that are set to wait at home elsewhere will move to the new home location.)
Hunger and feeding
Tamed animals become hungry over time, and a well fed animal is stronger than a starving one.
Well Fed (90-100% sated)
-
[]+20% damage
[]+20% movement speed
[]Experience gain +50%
-
[]+10% damage
[
]+10% movement speed[]Experience gain +25%
Instincts lets Skyrim players tame wild animals, which then follow, carry items, fight, and can be trained, fed, named, commanded, and ridden. With 1,350 endorsements and 1.0M downloads, it's a popular gameplay mod for those wanting animal companions. Last updated in 2022, it remains a solid choice for immersive taming.
✨ Key Features
📊 Pros & Cons
✅ Pros
- Huge community trust: 1.0M downloads and 1,350 endorsements.
- Adds a whole new gameplay layer—taming and commanding animals feels fresh.
- Animals aren't just pets; they're pack mules and combat buddies.
⚠️ Cons
- Last updated in 2022—might have compatibility issues with the latest Skyrim patches.
- No detailed documentation or install guide provided by the author.
- Requires testing for compatibility with other animal or follower mods.
For Skyrim players who want a deeper connection with the wild—taming animals to be your loyal companions. If you enjoy survival or roleplay elements, this adds a new dimension. Skip if you prefer combat-focused mods or don't care about animal companions.
💡 Beginner Tips
- Check the mod's page for any required patches or load order notes, since it's from 2022.
- Try taming a wolf early—they're common and make great pack mules.
- Use the command options to set your animal's behavior; they can be aggressive or passive.
📊 Mod Details
- Game
- Skyrim Mods
- Author
- Kheree
- Version
- 1.1.6
- Downloads
- 1,008,131
- Endorsements
- 1,350
- Category
- Gameplay
- Created
- 2/12/2022
- Updated
- 8/2/2022
🔧 How to Install Skyrim Mods
Download from Nexus.
📖 Full step-by-step install guide for Skyrim →
Visit the official mod page for specific installation instructions for this mod.
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