New to playing WolfQuest?

If you are playing WolfQuest for the first time in multiplayer, be sure to use the in-game help and/or see the articles about game controls, strategies, and quests in this section:  WolfQuest Anniversary Edition - Gameplay Tips

Game Modes

Game types may be defined by the host to offer different activities during multiplayer. There are three different modes of gameplay:

  • Pack Life: the basic online experience: hunt and survive, explore, chat or roleplay. (2-8 players, all maps )
  • Territory Acquisition: your multiplayer pack claims and holds territory: your multiplayer pack vs three NPC stranger wolf packs. (2-8 players, all maps)
  • Story: Establish a territory, choose a den, and raise a litter of pups through late summer. (2-5 players, all maps except Lost River Classic)

Maps

There are currently three multiplayer maps in WolfQuest: Anniversary edition. The main maps are

  • Amethyst Mountain is set in Yellowstone National Park.
  • Slough Creek is set in Yellowstone National Park.
  • Lost River (DLC) a fictional map of a mysterious, abandoned town somewhere in the West with all the features and gameplay of WolfQuest: Anniversary Edition.
  • Lost River Classic is a smaller, fictional map of a mysterious, abandoned town somewhere in the West. The habitat is a conglomeration of vegetation and wildlife of other WolfQuest maps. You cannot Raise Pups here!

Learn more about the Yellowstone habitats and game maps on Wolfopedia

Territory Configurations

When creating a multiplayer game, the host can choose from four territory configurations. These establish the initial pack territories, so you can choose a larger or smaller unclaimed area, depending on what kind of game you seek.

Game Speed

In Story mode, the host can choose from two time speeds:

  • Normal Time: Same as in single-player games, where the entire Slough Creek arc takes 6-8 hours.
  • Accelerated Time: Pups grow more quickly in this mode, so games last about two hours.

Major Decisions

In Story mode, there are two ways that decisions are made, and the host chooses one when creating the game:

  • Host Decides: The host is the sole decision-maker when choosing den and rendezvous site, and deciding when to move to a new den or rendezvous site.
  • Majority Rules: All players vote on homesites and when to move, with the host breaking any ties.

Public and Private Games With Friends

Public Games

WolfQuest public multiplayer games are open for everyone to join and include players from all over the world. When entering multiplayer games, you agree to be a friendly, respectful, and helpful player. Public multiplayer games are not a place to share personal information or criticize or condemn people on the basis of their race, color, religion, gender, gender expression, age, ancestry, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, military status, or political views.

Private Games with Friends

Set up a private game if you want to play with certain players and/or have specific gameplay expectations. Private games use your WolfQuest friends list and pack groups. When hosting a game, you can choose to include:

  • All Friends
  • Selected Friends
  • Selected Packs

MULTIPLAYER-SPECIFIC FEATURES

  • Revive: If killed, you can revive yourself after ten seconds.
  • Quick Heal: If very low on health, use this action, which converts some food in your stomach to health. Can only restore some health (capped at 40%). On keyboard, lay down, then press-hold the R key. On controller, lay down, then press-hold Y button and right trigger.
  • Pack Rally: If most players howl simultaneously, everyone earns a stamina boost, which lasts for several minutes.
  • Player Markers: On the World Map, other player-markers are displayed only when they are within two kilometers. If they howl, their marker will appear and remain displayed for one minute. If players do a Pack Rally, everyone's markers will be displayed for everyone else for the duration of the rally.
  • Limbo: When a player leaves the game, they indicate if they are planning to return soon or not. If returning soon, their wolf is put into limbo for five minutes and if they return within that time, they can resume where they were. This also occurs if they leave abruptly without clicking the Quit or Main Menu buttons (such as if they are disconnected from the game.).
  • Text Chat: Chat with other players in an onscreen chat panel. The chat blocks inappropriate words, but players can report others who try to work around it or behave in other inappropriate ways. (See below for more.)
  • Pup Favorites: In Slough Creek Story mode, each pup has a favorite adult wolf (initially the player who named them), whom they will socialize with more often, and follow when traveling to a new den or rendezvous site. Feed and socialize with this pup to maintain your status (but the more pups who consider you their favorite, the harder it will be to maintain that status.).

NOTE ABOUT GAME SIMULATION

The game host runs the entire simulation, so more powerful CPUs can handle bigger simulations than weaker CPUs. The host's game runs a CPU benchmark test when starting a new game and uses that to set a cap on the number of spawned animals. If players mostly stay together, they should rarely be affected by this cap, but if there are a lot of players and they spread out, it's possible (especially if the host has a weaker CPU) to hit that cap. (The cap ranges from 50 animals for weak CPUs to 120 for powerful CPUs.)

Text Chat

Multiplayer games for 13 and up include text chat or no chat options.

Multiplayer text chat filters all messages through a list of inappropriate words and converts any it finds to asterisks. Players are required to use appropriate language and not circumvent the filters with creative spelling etc.

Players under age 13

  • are restricted to No Chat across all public multiplayer gameplay modes
  • can choose Text Chat in private (limited access) games with friends.
  • must comply with COPPA (Childrens' Online Privacy Protection Act), a U.S. regulation that requires us to have parent/guardian permission for anyone under the age of 13 who wishes to create a WolfQuest game or forum account. Learn more about COPPA.

Check out these videos

To hear more about some of the new features: