Greetings explorers!
Today we’re excited to share a closer look at one of the most important parts of Under a Rock that will be crucial to your survival on the island: tamed creatures and companions. Whether you’re traversing lush forests, exploring dark caves, or just trying to survive another chaotic day, the creatures you’ll encounter and befriend will play a big role in your journey. Check out our latest video:
QUICK SUMMARY
You can Tame wild creatures by offering them their favourite item and then bring them to your base where they will produce resources for you and require upkeep to keep being loyal and productive. In order to obtain a Companion, you would need to incubate a creature from an egg. Companions are your most loyal partners: you can ride them into combat, and they grow stronger by being part of your journey.
Taming is built around learning, experimenting, and slowly mastering the unique characteristics of the creatures of the island. It rewards proper planning and patience, since creatures will each have their specific needs, behaviors, and taming levels.
Some will be easier to tame, while others will require more of your time and effort (and perhaps a few failed attempts before you get it right). But the work you put in will have its rewards, as each of the tameable creatures offer unique advantages and benefits, including dropping rare crafting materials and creature eggs (more on that later).
As for the wild creatures you’ll be able to tame, here’s a preview of just some of them:
Your main tool for turning wild creatures into tamed creatures (“tames”) is the Taming Box, which you will use to attract nearby creatures by depositing items into it.
Once a creature interacts with the box, two things will occur:
Two bars will appear above the box, with one showing the amount of total items still available in the box and the other showing the amount of the particular item currently being consumed
A Taming Bar will appear above the creature and display the progress towards taming that creature
Total taming time varies by creature type and your Creature Handling skill (more on that below), and you’ll need to make sure you put the preferred taming item for the desired creature, or the attempt will fail and the creature will bid you adieu (those picky Snuggets!).
The most important skill involved in taming will be your Creature Handling skill, which determines how efficiently you tame creatures, and which tiers you’re able to tame (and later which creatures you can turn into companions):
Higher skill means faster taming and fewer resources used
Lower skill means that taming higher-tier creatures will be more likely to fail
The use of low-tier taming boxes will make things harder and more expensive for higher-tier creatures, so make sure you are ready and have a plan!
As you interact with creatures, tame them, hatch companions, and level your creatures up, you will naturally improve and gain experience towards your creature handling skill.
Essentially, the more you work with creatures the better you’ll become at handling them, so get ready to work!
So, you’ve tamed a new friend. Now what can it do?
Follow you around. Your tame will follow you and ignore other creatures, unless it is being attacked. Then they will react based on their natural instincts (that can also mean they might run away, like in the case of a Dodo fleeing from a Snugget).
Live at your base. Your tame can be attached to your base, where it will roam freely within the base boundaries.
Shed Resources. It will periodically drop creature-specific resources, so there is no need to harm it to receive something like you would do in the wild.
Lay eggs. Not only will it drop resources, but happy and fulfilled tames may also lay eggs that can be hatched into Companions!
Get hungry. Don’t forget to keep its belly full, as it must eat to remain loyal. If it is hungry for too long, it will slowly revert back to a wild state, and in that case, it might not leave quietly!
Chill in the Stable: If you don’t want to bother with the creature, you can put it in a stable. Keep in mind that tames stored there don’t eat or shed resources.
Be released: You can release a tame at any time. Once released, it becomes wild again and there is no way back!
Die: If a tame dies, it’s sent to a farm upstate gone for good (but still drops some loot).
Tames are great, but what if you’re looking for a deeper connection with a creature? Well, then a Companion might be just what you’re looking for!
Companions are more advanced than tamed creatures, as they won’t only follow you, but can be ridden, carry items, jump into combat with you, and grow stronger as you continue your journey with them.
Think of them as your ultimate ride-or-die because unlike tames, your companions don’t truly perish, nor do they require constant care. Food is only needed if you want them to gain experience and loyalty. But unlike tames, they don’t shed resources, so a combination of both companions and tames is key to flourishing on the island.
So, with all of that said, how do you earn the lifelong trust of a companion? Well, you’ll first need to hatch one...
Like taming a creature, earning a trusted companion will take a little bit of time and patience.
Here’s a breakdown of the process of gaining a companion:
First, care for your tamed creatures until one of them drops an Egg
Next, build a Hatchery and place that egg inside of it to start the incubating process
Finally, once it hatches, you’ll receive a companion based on that egg type (e.g. a Dodo Egg I produces a Tier 1 Dodo)
Congratulations! You’re now the proud foster parent of a furry/feathery/scaly creature, but what can your pet do?
Carry items. Once you have a companion, it will assist you in carrying items using its 5 inventory slots (which can be upgraded in the future). The maximum carry weight varies between creature types and can be increased with the appropriate skill.
Ride forth! Travelling long distances becomes much easier, as you can ride your companion and move swiftly across the world. When not being ridden, your companion will follow you on your adventures.
Note: Not all companions can be ridden.
Fight for you. Your companion will be your most faithful ally in combat, helping protect you from danger.
Follow Commands. You can issue direct commands to your companion at any time, like Stay, Follow, Attack, Stop, Mount, Dismiss. You can also choose their default posture in combat between Aggressive, Defensive, or Passive.
Your companions will grow stronger over time as you progress on your journey together. Apart from their standard stats and built-in resistances to different damage types, each companion has a set of core skills such as Mobility, Ferocity, Lifeblood, Burden, and Hardiness.
These improve through use and affect their movement, damage, health, carry capacity, and armor values, respectively.
Companions can be tiered up in the Hatchery, and this process will require the right amount of resources and a sufficient Creature Handling Skill.
Upgrading a companion not only improves its base stats but also improves its appearance to reflect the new tier.
Your companions are always ready to jump into a fight and will protect you and themselves when needed. During combat, if their health ever reaches zero, they don’t truly die, but are downed and enter a staggered, inactive state, which they will remain in until you are no longer attacked. Once things calm down and the danger is gone, they get up and slowly recover on their own. In the end, companions are an island survivor’s best friend - loyal to the end, but with no end. Does it get any better than that?
Before we wrap up this part, we wanted to highlight two new creatures we added to the world recently:
The mysterious Curse Eye, lurking inside Crystal Caves and the always busy Giant Bees, found across Meadows and Forests. Both are early implementations so they might be a bit rough around the edges, but we will continue with refining them in future updates.
While this Dev Blog focused on Taming and Companions, we also want to mention that a lot of additional work is happening on other fronts, including adjustments to environmental hazards; refinements to gliding, improvements to climbing and swimming; slight reworking of combat and creature attacks; and expanding our Tier 1 and Tier 2 item lists.
Lastly, thank you again for helping us reach over 400,000 wishlists on Steam! Your support really means the world to us!
We hope you enjoyed reading this update, see you next time! Tell us: Which creature are you most looking forward to taming and turning into your Companion?
Would you like to know more? Then make sure to join us on social media and Discord, where we regularly share screenshots and short videos of the game. X Instagram Facebook YouTube Join our discord: discord.gg/underarock