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For rival wolves' packs and territories, see Stranger wolf pack and Stranger wolf territory.
For dispersals and their groups, see Dispersal wolf and Dispersal wolf group.

Stranger wolves, also known as rival wolves, are competitor wolves with goals similar to the player and their own packmates. They are composed of a family unit. In general, they share a level of hostility across all versions of the game, and their functionality varies across major revisions.


Stranger wolves are seen in all major maps: Amethyst Mountain, Lost River (Classic), and Slough Creek. Although there are distinct packs, their actions and behaviors are identical to one another.


Wolf appearances (Modern)[]

Types of wolves (Modern)[]

There are two types of wolves in WolfQuest 3.0 / AE: pack wolves and dispersal wolves. Pack wolves are those who have already found a mate and raised a family, or a wolf that has been born into the family. Dispersal wolves are in search for a mate and are aged between 2-4 years old.

Within the game, pack wolves are numbered, by the persistent packs system, which gives all wolves a random "WOLF ID" (*example* "1267F" for a 3-year-old wolf, and "1876F" for a 2-year wolf wolf)

Appearances (Modern)[]

Dispersals and stranger wolves have randomly generated coats, stats and accessories. Thus making every wolf generated in your world different and unique. Stranger wolves can have random relationships with other wolves as sisters, brothers and mates.

Traits can vary, if they are bold they are more of the one to pick a fight. If they are cautious then they most likely will tend to back away from fighting. Every other stat does not represent on what the wolf will do.


Location (Modern)[]

Wolf packs are generally seen taking control of a general cardinal direction within a map. In Amethyst Mountain for example, the Rescue Creek pack control the northern territories, the Wapiti pack control the southwestern territories, and the Lamar Canyon pack control the eastern territories.

Dispersal wolves are wolves who left their pack in search for a mate. Their search for a mate generally results in dispersal wolves roaming into territory that has not been claimed by any pack.


Territory (Modern)[]

Territory is an important aspect of pack life, as territory increases the pack's hunting area. At any point in time, there are usually stranger wolves marking other's territory. In WolfQuest 3.0/AE, territory is denoted by a hex that encompasses a large area of the map. In order to strengthen one's territory, packs must create scent posts and howl within the hex territory.

For more information, visit the page on territories.

Wolves

Amethyst wolves are much more dynamic and unique from the ones in the old game, meaning that one of the wolves in these images might generate accessories if not already and possibly a new coat. Visit Courtship if you would like to see what socializing looks like in the game.


Wolf carcasses (Modern)[]

Wolf carcasses may spawn in the game world at world generation and can be located by following the bright yellow ground scent trails. These carcasses appear to spawn randomly and do not necessarily indicate that a NPC pack or dispersal wolf has died. They may be present from the moment a new game is started. If the player kills a hostile wolf, or an NPC wolf is killed by another animal, it will leave a carcass.

Like all other predator carcasses, they have no food value and cannot be consumed.

Stranger wolves are a mix of rival wolves belonging to other packs and dispersal wolves on their journey to find a mate, much like the player-wolf. These entities were introduced with the public launch of WolfQuest in late 2007. Aside from bug fixes, they have seen little change and behave much like their counterparts in Legacy versions; all Amethyst packs continue to use their old, defunct pack names, yet some individuals can now be seen using add-on coats instead of the generic original textures to give more variation.

With the exception of the mate, it is not currently possible to recruit any more wolves into the player's pack nor is it possible for the player to forfeit their own pack to instead join any NPC pack and, although it happens in real life, it isn't possible to give up on finding a mate to return to the player-wolf's natal pack.

These wolves appear in single-player across all maps and episodes, while in multiplayer, they only appear along with predator wolves during the raise pups game mode. In scent view, toggled by pressing the V key, players can easily identify stranger wolves by their yellow scent trails.

If the player has a mate, their mate's scent trail is a warmer amber to better differentiate between friendly and rival.

The music heard when a stranger wolf is nearby.


Behavior (Classic)[]

Stranger wolves will behave according to their status as a rival, a predator or a dispersal. Behavior differs between episodes and maps. The locations and behavior of stranger wolves differs between episodes.


Rivals (Classic)[]

During the first episode and Lost River, rival wolves will always engage the player with neutral-hostile responses during a social arena encounter. They will rarely use submissive responses, choosing to do so only when beaten into submission and their own life is endangered. They tend to be short-tempered and will not be tolerant of a player if they have no interest in dispersing.

If provoked, they will fight until defeated, sometimes to the death.[1]
If the player submits midway through a fight, the stranger will momentarily cease attacking; repeating submissive, neutral or passive responses will end this brief truce and the opposing wolf will resume fighting until either the player dies, leaves of their own volition, or continues fighting and successfully dominates the stranger.
If the player submits after defeating a stranger wolf, the wolf may submit once more then leave, or it will become annoyed and attack the player. If the player attacks it again, depending on its health, it will either leave or be killed as a consequence of this action depending on its remaining health.

During the second episode, rival wolves are non-interactable; a group of rival wolves will spawn and roam within the grounds of their own territory if the player comes within range of their boundaries at any point during the game. These wolves will watch the player (and their pack) for as long as they are nearby, performing dominant actions, growling, and snarling all the while. It isn't possible to get too close to these wolves without a message warning the player to keep their distance due to the threat the pack may pose to the player's offspring. This event only occurs in the southern rival territory. It does not occur in the northern rival territory.


Dispersals (Classic)[]

Main article: Dispersal wolf#Classic

Dispersal wolves are only encountered in Amethyst Mountain and Lost River, where they do not begin to spawn until the player has accumulated at least 750 experience or more. They make no appearance and are completely absent in Slough Creek. During a social arena encounter, these wolves are neutral if not always friendly towards the player. They never use hostile responses nor attack. However, if they are threatened or challenged by the player, or repeatedly issued negative interactions while at a high bond, they may reject the player and exit the social encounter.

For as long as the player does not have a mate, dispersal wolves always have a chance to spawn in any one of the three wolf territories.


Predators (Classic)[]

Main article: Predator wolf#Classic

Predator wolves are the only predatory wolf variant encountered exclusively in Slough Creek. They function in the exact same way as any other pup predators, targeting one of the pack's offspring with the intention to kill if it is successful in getting close enough to the den. These wolves cannot be interacted with in a social arena encounter.


Locations (Classic)[]

Where instances of NPC wolves can be found in Classic 2.7.


Amethyst Mountain (Classic)[]

Main article: Stranger wolf territory#Classic

In Amethyst Mountain, stranger and dispersal wolves can only be found and interacted with inside their respective territories.

  • The Slough Creek wolves have established their territory to the north-west, near the Grassy Plain.
  • The Specimen Ridge wolves have established their territory to the south, near Amethyst Mountain.
  • The Druid Peak wolves have established their territory to the east, near Soda Butte Vista.


Slough Creek (Classic)[]

Main article: Stranger wolf pack

During Slough Creek, stranger wolves are confined to the large northern and southern territories. The player and their pack are not able to delve into the heart of either territory like they could in the previous episode; getting close to the territory reveals a group of stranger wolves who will observe and follow the player.

A boundary prevents entry for the player and restricts the NPC wolves from leaving.

Occasionally, the player may find a roaming predator wolf has intruded into their territory. This wolf belongs to one of the two packs.


Lost River (Original)[]

In Lost River, NPC wolves behave like their Amethyst Mountain counterparts. Three wolf-inhabited territories can be visited to find rival and dispersal wolves.

  • The Elevation wolves have established their territory to the south, near Allison Acres.
  • The Van Winkle wolves have established their territory to the west, near Baer Bluffs.
  • The Lost River wolves have established their territory to the east, near the Back Forty.


Kill (Classic)[]

It is possible to kill stranger wolves, though entirely dependent on the wolf's demeanor and remaining health.

A way to trick a wolf out of submission involves submitting yourself, then either submitting a second time or waiting. The opposing wolf is then likely to attack again allowing another chance for the player to attack. However, if the wolf's health is not low enough for it to die, it will flee on its next turn.

Druidfemale killed (2

It is possible to kill stranger wolves provided they do not run away first.

Stranger wolves are only encountered during WolfQuest's single-player campaign. They do not exist and are completely absent in all multiplayer maps and sessions.

Encountering a stranger wolf occurs in a social arena event. The locations and behavior of stranger wolves differs between episodes.

The music heard when a stranger wolf is nearby.


During Amethyst Mountain (Legacy)[]

Main article: Stranger wolf territory#Legacy
WolfQuest Screenshot wq (2

Social encounter arena.

During Amethyst Mountain, the player must visit all three territories before they can encounter a dispersal wolf of the opposite gender. Each territory spawns a stranger wolf, varying in pelt colour, pack classification, and personality. Some are hostile towards the player and will attack if provoked. Some are neutral and will only attack if the player refuses to leave or challenges the wolf in their territory. Others are friendly and will happily submit without a challenge.

If a stranger wolf is defeated, they will submit and flee or die during the fight. It is uncommon for a stranger wolf to be killed. Due to a potentially game-breaking bug in Amethyst Mountain's map, players are discouraged from fighting to the death in version 2.5.1. 

There are four variants of stranger wolf encountered during Amethyst Mountain. 

  • Druid (♂ / ♀)
  • Specimen (♂ / ♀)
  • Slough (♂ / ♀)
  • Dispersal (♂ / ♀)


Dispersal wolves (Legacy)[]

Main article: Dispersal wolf#Legacy

During the first episode, the player is a dispersal wolf. Dispersal wolves are friendly and fairly passive even if they are of the same gender as your wolf. They will not attack when provoked, nor will they be rude or unfriendly. It is not possible to fight or kill other dispersal wolves.

Only dispersal wolves of the opposite sex can become the player's mate during Amethyst Mountain. They are not encountered at all during Slough Creek. Choose your responses carefully, because if you say something like I want be boss, then the wolf will lose all hearts and run away.

Dispersal wolves do not spawn until the player has visited all three territories and encountered one stranger wolf within each.


During Slough Creek (Legacy)[]

Social arena (2

Social arena during 'Slough Creek'.

Main article: Stranger wolf pack

During Survival of the Pack, stranger wolves are encountered randomly throughout the map, and still vary in their friendliness or hostility towards the player. The player's mate cannot interact with stranger wolves; when entering a social encounter area, he or she will stand idle throughout the exchange. Once the session has ended, it will move normally again and resume following  the player. 

It is possible for stranger wolves to enter the player's territory if the player neglects to refresh their territorial markers, however they cannot harm your pups. Keeping territory markers at about 80-85% will reduce the chances of stranger wolves invading your territory.


Gallery[]

Anniversary Edition Gallery

Contributions for Stranger wolf from the Anniversary Edition are welcome in this gallery!

Classic Gallery

Contributions for Stranger wolf from Classic are welcome in this gallery!

Legacy Gallery

Contributions for Stranger wolf from Legacy versions are welcome in this gallery!


Bugs[]

Anniversary Edition Bugs

  • It was once possible to completely wipe out stranger wolf packs without new wolves spawning or a new pack replacing the extinct pack. This was an oversight, and it has since been fixed.

Classic Bugs

  • It was once possible to bypass the boundary which normally prevents the player and their packmates from trespassing into the southern rival pack's wolves towards the end of the game. In doing so, it is possible to see just how tame the AI used really is; despite their facade indicating them to be hostile and aggress, they cannot and will not harm the player, the mate, nor their pups if they could be glitched through the barrier. The bug has since been fixed.

Legacy Bugs

  • There exists a bug where, if the player should die during or near a social arena, their carcass does not despawn. This only affects Amethyst Mountain and may irreversibly prevent the player from being able to save the game. Should this bug occur, the player can only exit the game and restart the level, being careful not to die until the episode is complete.[2] This has since been fixed as of Classic.
    • In multiplayer, the player would respawn, but their carcass would remain where their first death had occurred. This would result in some oddities with the camera returning to the first carcass when resting or attempting to sleep.
  • Another bug reported stretching or deforming issues in 2.5.1. Some stranger wolves will submit before death and cannot be killed through normal means. In some cases, a bear may spawn near a stranger wolf and attack it. When sufficiently weakened it may be possible to kill the stranger wolf due to its AI being glitched, meaning it will not submit when near death. The stretching cause wasn't diagnosed and may be a random occurrence or a hardware issue/conflict.[3]


Trivia[]

Anniversary Edition Trivia

  • It was a common misconception that 1M and 1F in NPC packs were the breeding pair (aka "Alphas"). Their logic appears to be intended as either relatives or siblings; no breeding pair(s) did appear to exist during gameplay before patch/update (1.1.1) outside of the player's own pack, as no pups are born to rival packs that can been seen in the game world's/maps, but they do exist as Non present NPC's after update (v 1.1.1) and they will join the rival packs after they become yearlings. "
  • (*If someone can confirm that Pack Leader' females do exhibit pregnancy put it here as, it said they didn't, here before this edit*)"
    • Other clues include age groups and dispersal status.[4]
      • Some packs have wolves much older than 1M/1F, while in others, 1M/1F are younger than their packmates. As of version 1.1.1, the breeding pair are always the oldest wolves in their respective packs.
      • It is unlikely that a breeder would leave a pack where they have been accepted by another wolf or while their proposed mate still is alive and well.
  • Stranger wolves will immediately kill a targeted pup if they get close enough.
  • As evidenced in some old developer's blog entries, a fourth rival wolf pack was planned for release: Mollie's Pack.[5]
    • In the game, each new save would have randomly chosen three of the four available packs to occupy the area. However, this did not make the final cut when early access was nearing release. Currently, single-player games always generate with Lamar Canyon in the east, Rescue Creek in the northwest, and Wapiti in the southwest. This is also subject to change if a wolf pack disbands.
    • The Mollie's pack made its debut in multiplayer configurations in early access patch 1.0.7e, where it replaces Wapiti and reuses its red hexes.

Classic Trivia

  • If a stranger wolf is killed during Amethyst Mountain (and likely Lost River), their death is treated as permanent by the save file. That wolf will not respawn unless starting from a new save.
  • All Classic versions require the player to accumulate 750 experience points before dispersal wolves begin to spawn in all territories.[6]
  • Stranger wolves make their first debut in multiplayer, although they only appear during the Slough Creek episode arc. They remain absent in Amethyst Mountain, nor do they appear in the then-new map, Lost River.

Legacy Trivia

  • As of version 2.5 (Survival of the Pack Deluxe), stranger wolves in Amethyst Mountain have random spawn locations. Prior to this update, each wolf had a set spawn location in each of the three territories. 
  • All Legacy versions require the player to visit each stranger wolf territory in Amethyst, and encounter a wolf within each, before dispersal wolves begin to spawn in all territories.


References & External Links[]

  1. Fighting to the death has been observed with one of the Druid females.
  2. wolfquest.org • Saving Problems? Multiple wolf corpses? Read on. web archive copy, archived from the original.
  3. wolfquest.org • Creepy dead wolf Glitch! DX web archive copy, archived from the original.
  4. Junction Butte (pack)/Wolves
  5. wolfquest.org • Feeling Territorial
  6. 750 is the value given by the developer. It has been confirmed through playtesting.


NPCs
Competitors & Predators Bald eagleBobcatBlack bearCougarCoyoteDogGolden eagleGrizzly bearRavenRed fox
Prey BeaverBighorn sheepBisonDomestic cattleElkMooseMule deerPorcupinePronghornSnowshoe hare
Newborns & Juveniles Bighorn sheep lambDomestic cattle calfElk calfGrizzly bear cubMoose calfMule deer fawnPronghorn fawn
Wolves Dispersal (Mate) • Offspring: Pup, Yearling, Adult, DisperserPredatorStranger
Non-interactable BirdsCatInsect
Non-entity Human
Miscellaneous AirplaneAmphibiansFishHerdsWolf Packs
Anniversary Edition Wolf Packs
Family & Packmates Family & Packmates Single-player Breeding Pair Player-wolfMate
Offspring PupYearlingSubadultAdult (dispersal)
Multiplayer Packmates
Shared CompanionshipFondnessHome SitesTerritory (hexes, scent posts)
Activities CommandsCourtshipHunting (scavenging) • Pack Info (known wolves, roles)
NPC Packs & Wolves Hostile Established Rivals (stranger wolves, predator wolves) • Rival Territory (home hex) • Wolf Packs
Neutral Disperser Groups (dispersal wolves)
Locations
Amethyst Mountain Established Rival Pack 1 Rescue CreekRival Pack 2 Lamar CanyonRival Pack 3 Wapiti LakeRival Pack 3 MolliesRival Pack 4 Rival Pack 4Rival Pack 5 Rival Pack 5
Replacers Pending Data
Dispersers 8 MileBeartoothBiscuitCanyonCinnabarHaydenHoodooMadisonPahaskaProspect PeakQuadrantRosebud
Slough Creek Established Rival Pack 1 Junction ButteRival Pack 2 Prospect PeakRival Pack 2 OxbowRival Pack 3 Crevice LakeRival Pack 4 Rival Pack 4Rival Pack 5 Rival Pack 5
Replacers BaronetteBison PeakFrenchysHornadaySilver TipWolverine Creek
Dispersers AvalancheBeartoothCastle CreekEmigrantFishtailFridleyLake SurrenderLebo PeakQuadrantRimSlip n' SlideSouth ForkToadflax
Dollar Tower Fall Established Unknown • Placeholder
Replacers Unknown • Placeholder
Dispersers Unknown • Placeholder
Dollar Hellroaring Mountain Established Unknown • Placeholder
Replacers Unknown • Placeholder
Dispersers Unknown • Placeholder
Lost River Dollar Expansion Established Rival Pack 1 Van WinkleRival Pack 1 ElevationRival Pack 1 TempletonRival Pack 1 BadlandsRival Pack 2 LuckyRival Pack 3 Lost RiverRival Pack 4 Rival Pack 4Rival Pack 5 Rival Pack 5
Replacers Pending Data
Dispersers AvalancheCalamityDesolationEclipseElementsGhostRenegadeRequiemRogueSalvageShadowSolaceStardustStargazerStormcloudSulfurTumbleweedWindstorm
Classic Established Rival Pack 1 Lost RiverRival Pack 2 Van WinkleRival Pack 3 Elevation
Replacers Pending Data
Dispersers CalamityDeltaDesolationEclipseGhostRenegadeRequiemShadowStormcloudTumbleweedWindstorm
Classic & Legacy Wolf Packs
Family & Packmates Single-player Breeding Pair Player-wolfMate
Offspring Pup
Multiplayer Packmates
Shared Den SitesRendezvous SiteTerritory (wedges)
Activities Hunting (scavenging) • Pack StatsSocial Arena
NPC Packs & Wolves Hostile Stranger Wolves (packs, territories) • Predator Wolves
Neutral Dispersal Wolves
Locations
Amethyst Mountain DruidSloughSpecimen
Slough Creek Identities Unknown
Lost River ElevationLost RiverVan Winkle
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