📖 Beefalo 101: Hunt, Tame, and Avoid the Stampede
Don't Starve Beefalo Hunting & Taming
The Ultimate Survival Toolbox - 2025 Edition
Quick Answer:
Beefalo are both a threat and a treasure in Don't Starve and Don't Starve Together. In solo play, they're a prime source of meat, wool, and manure – if you can hunt them without getting trampled by the herd. In DST's multiplayer, they can become loyal mounts through domestication, offering speed, inventory space (via saddlebags), and even tankiness with the right saddle. The key is understanding Beefalo behavior (especially during mating season), using tools like the Beefalo Hat to avoid aggression, and mastering the hunger/obedience taming mechanics. Whether you plan to hunt Beefalo for survival or tame one as a trusty steed, this guide has you covered – from quick solo tips to advanced team strategies.
Table of Contents
- 1 Quick-Start Guide
- 2 Beefalo 101: Meet Your Fuzzy Frenemies
- 3 Survive the Stampede: Hunting Beefalo
- 4 Taming & Domestication: Train Your Beefalo
- 5 Beefalo Tendencies & Saddles
- 6 Riding Into Battle: Combat Usage
- 7 Multiplayer & Team Strategies
- 8 Mods & Tools: Beefalo QoL
- 9 Real Tales: Beefalo and Me
- 10 Wrangling Wrap-Up: Key Takeaways
Ready to become the Beefalo whisperer of Don't Starve? Whether you're hunting Beefalo for survival or teaming up with one as your loyal mount, this comprehensive guide has your back. We cover everything: solo and multiplayer strategies, PC and console tips, hunting tactics, domestication how-tos, plus mods and recent updates that make Beefalo more fun than ever. It's written by a veteran survivor who's spent hundreds of days in the Constant – I've been trampled by herds, tamed an Ornery Beefalo named "Buckington", and lived to tell the tale. Let's get you from prey to partner when it comes to Beefalo!
Quick-Start Guide
Sometimes you need results fast – maybe winter's coming and you need Beefalo wool today, or you're in DST and want to start taming before day 10. This Quick-Start Guide gives you rapid-fire tips to get going.
For Hunting Beefalo (Solo Quick Tips):
- Gear Up: Craft a Spear and a Log Suit (or Football Helmet). A Beefalo Hat is a lifesaver in mating season, as Beefalo won't target you while you wear it.
- Isolate One Beefalo: Don't take on a whole herd! Target a Beefalo on the edge of the herd. You can use a Beefalo Horn (33% drop from Beefalo) to make up to 5 Beefalo follow you – then run, and one or two will stray from the pack. Alternatively, wait until night when they sleep and approach a lone straggler.
- Attack & Kite: Land 1–2 hits, then dodge the Beefalo's counter-attack. Beefalo have a predictable head-butt. With a road speed boost or cane, you can hit and run easily. Repeat until it's down. Pro tip: Place a Tooth Trap and trigger it repeatedly under a Beefalo – the trap's damage won't anger the herd, so you can silently kill it.
- Finish Quickly: A Beefalo has 500 health in DS / 1000 in DST. Don't let it run too far or back to its friends. If it flees when low on HP, chase it down or use a ranged weapon to finish the job.
- Collect Loot Safely: Beefalo drop meat, wool, and maybe a horn. If other Beefalo are nearby, drag the corpse away before harvesting so picking up items doesn't accidentally hit another Beefalo (which can trigger aggro).
For Taming Beefalo (DST Quick Steps):
- Find a Beefalo & Bell it: Craft a Beefalo Bell (3 Gold + 1 Flint, under Tools tab). Use the Bell on a Beefalo to bond it to you – a little heart will pop up. Now it's "yours" and will follow you around (keep the Bell in your inventory).
- Saddle Up: Prototype a Saddle (4 Pig Skin, 4 Beefalo Wool, 4 Gold at Alchemy). Feed the Beefalo 5–10 pieces of grass or twigs right away – each feeding = +10% obedience. At 100% obedience, equip the Saddle on it. Mount the Beefalo.
- Short Rides Daily: Initially, it'll buck you off after ~15 seconds. No worries – that's normal. Dismount or get bucked, then immediately feed a few more twigs to keep obedience > 40% so the saddle stays on. Do a few ride sessions throughout the day.
- Repeat & Feed Smartly: Every day, brush your Beefalo once (if you have a Brush – grants ~1.7% domestication) and ride it as much as possible. Only feed it when not riding and its hunger is zero (to prevent domestication loss). While you're riding, hunger doesn't matter (it won't lose domestication as long as it's being ridden actively).
- Manage Temperament: If you want a specific tendency (see Tendencies section below), tailor your behavior: fight things while mounted for Ornery, ride a lot for Rider, overfeed for Pudgy. If you don't care, just mix activities – you'll likely end up with a Default beefalo.
- Keep It Up ~20 Days: It takes about 15–20 in-game days of consistent care to fully domesticate. You'll notice it stays mounted much longer as domestication grows (e.g. 60+ seconds after ~5 days). Once fully tamed (100% domestication), it won't buck you off anymore and obedience will never drop below a base level (which varies by tendency).
- After Taming – Maintenance: Your Beefalo is now a trusty companion! But it can still go feral if neglected for many days. Drop a Salt Lick in its pen to pause decay. Feed and ride it occasionally (or keep the Bell on you when you log off so it pauses).
Quick Don'ts:
- Don't attack your own Beefalo (that adds 6 days to taming time each hit!).
- Don't feed it while its hunger is full ("overfeeding") – that lowers obedience by 30%, potentially bucking you.
- Don't leave the Bell on the ground and wander off – it might start a new herd without you!
Beefalo 101: Meet Your Fuzzy Frenemies
Before diving deeper, let's cover the basics of Beefalo in Don't Starve (single-player) and Don't Starve Together (multiplayer):
What are Beefalo?
They're large, shaggy buffalo-like creatures that wander the Savanna biome in herds. Think of a musk ox mixed with a buffalo – and in DS, perhaps part rabbit (just kidding… mostly). Beefalo are neutral by default; they won't attack you on sight as long as you keep a distance. But provoke one, and the whole herd may join in the stomp-fest.
They're essentially the Constant's equivalent of cattle: providing Beefalo Wool (for warm clothes), Beefalo Horns (used to craft a Beefalo Hat and to call herds), meat, and manure.
Beefalo in Don't Starve (Solo)
- Cannot be ridden or domesticated
- Purely wild animals
- Use as protection (lead mobs into Beefalo)
- Shave for wool while they sleep
- Kill for resources (meat, wool, horn)
Beefalo in Don't Starve Together
- Can be tamed and ridden (added in "A New Reign")
- Have taming mechanics (hunger/obedience/domestication)
- Develop different personalities when tamed
- Special items like Saddles, Brush, Beefalo Bell
- Annual events (e.g., Year of the Beefalo)
Platform Differences
PC vs Console:
Beefalo behavior is the same across platforms, but controls differ. Console players use different buttons to interact with Beefalo (e.g., on PS4, hover over bell and press X to use). The biggest difference: mods are mostly PC-only, so console players rely more on visual cues without UI mods to see Beefalo stats.
Solo vs Multiplayer:
In DST multiplayer, Beefalo open up team dynamics. Players can coordinate (e.g., one tames while others gather resources), and even create "cavalry charges" during boss fights. Communication is key, as accidental hits on others' Beefalo can cause chaos. Remember: only the player who bonded a Beefalo can see its domestication status without mods.
Survive the Stampede: Hunting Beefalo for Resources
Sometimes, you gotta do what you gotta do – maybe it's early winter and you desperately need a Beefalo Hat (top-tier winter gear) which requires a horn, or you want a stockpile of meat. Hunting Beefalo is risky but feasible. Let's break it down:
Herd Mentality (Why They All Hate You)
Beefalo are herd creatures. If you attack one Beefalo and others are within roughly screen range, all adults will become aggressive towards the offender (you). Suddenly, a peaceful field of grazers turns into a horned death squad. This is obviously bad for your health. Rule #1: Never fight an entire herd head-on. You'll get cornered and trampled into a Wilson-pancake.
- Herd Size: A typical herd can be 3–12 Beefalo, depending on how long the world's been running (they reproduce slowly).
- Separation Tactics: The key to hunting is isolating one Beefalo from its herd.
How to separate one from the herd:
Lead Beefalo Away
Get the attention of one Beefalo with a quick whack or by getting close enough that it starts to "huff" at you. Immediately run away from the others. The targeted Beefalo will chase. The rest might not notice if you run fast – Beefalo are surprisingly quick, but you can outpace them with a Walking Cane or on a road.
Use a Beefalo Horn
When you blow the horn (right-click it), up to 5 Beefalo in range will start following you like you're their herd leader. Lead 2–3 far enough, then if the group is manageable, you can try to pick one fight. After use, the horn loses 10% durability (10 uses total).
Nighttime Ambush
Beefalo sleep at night. Only do this if you have a way to quickly kill or severely hurt the Beefalo in one go. If it doesn't die by the first hits and wakes up, it will call the herd and now you're fighting multiple Beefalo in the dark.
The Kite Fight: 1v1 Beefalo Combat
So you've isolated a Beefalo. Time to duel. Beefalo hit for 34 damage (DS) or 50 damage (DST) base per smack – quite painful. With armor (Log Suit 80% or Football Helmet 80%), that's reduced, but don't get cocky.
Kiting pattern:
The Beefalo will do a short charge animation (head down) then swipe its horns. You can usually get 1–2 hits in after it completes an attack, then back off before it swings again. A common pattern:
- With walking cane speed: You can land 2 hits, sometimes 3, then move out of range.
- Normal speed: Stick to 1 hit, then dodge, to be safe.
Pro tip: Always keep moving when it starts its attack animation. It's better to be patient than dead – you might need 10+ swings to bring it down, but slow and steady saves your health.
Tooth Trap trick:
Tooth Traps do 60 damage each. If you set 5 traps in a line and lead a Beefalo across them repeatedly, the Beefalo will take damage from each trap without ever knowing it was you. In Reddit, one player mentioned resetting a trap ~6 times to kill a Beefalo, with no aggro or Krampus naughtiness. It's slow but extremely safe.
After the kill:
Beefalo drop:
- Meat (4 large meat in DST, 4 in DS Console Edition as well).
- Wool (3 Beefalo Wool).
- Horn (33% chance).
Mating Season Mayhem (and How to Not Die During It)
Now the real reason many players fear Beefalo: mating season. During a certain part of the year, Beefalo become red-bottomed (literally their butts turn red) and extremely aggressive to anything that comes near – including you, even if you don't provoke them.
When and how to identify mating season:
- In DST: Usually late spring by default.
- In DS RoG: During spring (when new babies are born).
- Visual cues: Red rumps on Beefalo and tiny Baby Beefalo in the herd.
- Inspect quote: Many characters have funny lines like Woodie: "Ope, he's lookin' for love in all the wrong places."
Avoiding Beefalo in heat:
Beefalo Hat
Your best friend. This dress item (8 wool + 1 horn to craft) makes Beefalo consider you one of their own. While wearing it, Beefalo will not attack you even if they're in mating season. You can stroll right through a herd of angry red-butted Beefalo and they'll be chill.
Stay away
If you have other food sources, you can just not mess with Beefalo during that season. They usually calm down after a few days.
Wall off herds
Some players build a wall enclosure around a Beefalo herd (with plenty of space) to keep them mostly contained. Then in mating season, you know not to go in there.
DST Taming Tip:
For DST taming, note that a Beefalo in heat cannot be ridden unless you're wearing a Beefalo Hat. Even your tamed beef will buck you in mating season if you aren't disguised. So keep a hat handy!
Using Beefalo as Allies (Hound Defense)
One of the fun parts of Beefalo is turning them against your enemies. Early game, if you hear a Hound wave, a viable strategy is to run toward a Beefalo herd. The hounds will start attacking the Beefalo and vice versa.
Benefits of Beefalo defense:
- Beefalo can make short work of a small hound wave.
- After the fight, you can collect monster meat, teeth, and any Beefalo drops (if casualties occurred).
- Some base designs incorporate keeping a "pet" Beefalo or luring a herd near the base as a living defense system.
- Be careful with fire hounds - they can set Beefalo on fire, which can lead to cooked meat but possibly destroy your defensive line.
Important: If it's mating season and you run hounds into Beefalo without a Beefalo Hat, the Beefalo will happily murder both the hounds and you. So... timing and attire matter.
Taming & Domestication: How to Train Your Beefalo
So you want a pet mount that can smash enemies and carry you across the map? Don't Starve Together lets you do exactly that by domesticating a Beefalo. It's one of DST's "endgame" style projects – not hard like boss fights, but time-consuming and requiring consistent effort. Here we'll explain in plain terms how taming works and how to do it efficiently (with minimal frustration).
Hunger, Obedience, Domestication – The Holy Trinity
Taming a Beefalo revolves around managing three hidden stats:
Domestication (%)
Progress towards being fully tamed. Starts at 0%, needs to reach 100%. Increases slowly when you do "taming" activities; decays if you neglect the beef.
Obedience (%)
How willing the Beefalo is to be ridden or listen. If it falls below 40%, the Beefalo will buck off any saddle on its back. Gotta keep this up!
Hunger
Beefalo have a 300 hunger meter (similar to player's 150, but double). They eat grass, twigs, veggies, etc. If hunger hits 0 and you're not riding them, they start losing domestication progress.
Think of Obedience as the short-term taming work, Domestication as the long-term goal, and Hunger management as a maintenance task.
How to raise each stat:
Domestication
Gained by either riding the Beefalo or feeding/brushing it while it's not starving. Roughly, a Beefalo gains 1.1% domestication per day just from not bucking you off. Brushing adds ~1.7% per day. So without brush it's ~5% per day (20 days to tame), with brush ~6.67% per day (15 days to tame).
Obedience
Increase by feeding and brushing: +10% per feeding of any food (even twigs which give 0 hunger), +40% per brush use. Decays over time: -50% per day normally, but a whopping -150% per day if Beefalo is starving. Also drops if the Beefalo takes damage (-1% on hit) and huge drop -30% if you overfeed (feed when it's full).
Hunger
Fill by feeding. Different foods give different hunger points. A Beefalo can eat a lot; 300 points is like 6 carrots or so to fill from empty. It loses hunger over time like players (though slower). When hunger is above 0, domestication gain from riding continues; if hunger hits 0 while not being ridden, domestication starts decaying and obedience decays faster.
Simplified Taming Management:
- Always keep obedience ≥ 50% (feed 5 grass/twigs in morning).
- Ride as much as possible for free domestication.
- Only feed for hunger when necessary: If you see "hungry eyes" animation, feed it.
- Don't overfeed: Stop feeding once it's not begging.
Step-by-Step Taming Flow
Let's walk through a typical taming process as if it were a daily journal, to illustrate:
Day 1
Craft Beefalo Bell, find herd, bond with a Beefalo. Feed it 6 twigs – now obedience is 60%. Craft and slap on a Saddle. Ride around for 15 seconds until it bucks me. Feed 2-3 more twigs (obedience back up), ride again. Repeat until evening. Before night, I park him near a Salt Lick at base (if available) or keep bell on me when logging off.
Day 2-3
Feed ~5 cheap foods in morning. Brush once a day (if I have Brush). Do a ride in morning for a minute or so, let him buck, feed a bit, ride again afternoon. By end of Day 3, ride time might be ~25-30 seconds per go now. Already faster to travel with him than walking.
Day 4-7
Continue pattern. If hounds come, I might ride the Beefalo into battle. Keep an eye on hunger – maybe give a stack of berries on Day 5 to fill him up. By end of first week, I likely have ~30–40% domestication.
Day 8-15
Around this time, Beefalo might enter "tendency lock" if I've heavily skewed one behavior. I'll notice changes: Ornery face gets a frowny brow and spikier hair, Rider face looks lean with tongue out, Pudgy face looks derpy with a droopy tongue. By Day 10, ride time is a minute or more, which is a good sign (maybe ~50–60% domesticated).
Day 15-20
If brushed daily, it's done by Day 15 or 16 – I'll hear a distinct sound "ploink" and see a message "Beefalo has become domesticated!" If not brushing, by Day 20 at latest I hit 100%. Now the Beefalo will no longer spontaneously buck me ever (unless obedience hits zero which it can't now – each tendency has a permanent minimum obedience). I name him with the Bell (right-click the bell to name your Beefalo).
Mating Season Note: If mating season occurs during taming, slap on a Beefalo Hat and continue as normal. Riding a Beefalo in mating season without a hat will instantly anger it and others. Alternatively, pen the Beefalo away from females if you want to avoid that problem entirely.
Beefalo Tendencies & Saddles
Beefalo Tendencies: Choosing Your Steed's Specialty
When fully domesticated, Beefalo get one of four "tendency" types based on how you handled them during taming:
Which tendency should you aim for?
Rider (Speed Focused)
Solo players often like Rider because zooming around the map is incredibly useful. With a Glossamer Saddle, this is the fastest method of travel in the game.
Ornery (Combat Focused)
Great for those wanting to use Beefalo in boss fights. Ornery beef + War Saddle = 50 (ornery base) + 16 = 66 damage per hit, and you can still wield a weapon to attack simultaneously.
Pudgy (Support Focused)
The sanity aura is nice if you're Wigfrid (who struggles with sanity), or if you often have friends near you who could use the aura (cooperative sanity).
Default (Balanced)
Happens if you don't know what you're doing and do a bit of everything. Default tamed Beefalo still has the benefit of never bucking and being as strong as a wild one but with loyalty.
Pro Tip: If you are trying for a specific tendency, focus on it early in the taming process. Tendency points accumulate and whichever category hits a threshold first kind of "locks in" the tendency before full domestication.
Saddle Up: All About Saddles
You can't ride a Beefalo bareback (ouch). So you need a Saddle. There are a few types in DST:
Standard Saddle
- Crafting: 4 Pig Skin, 4 Beefalo Wool, 4 Gold
- Durability: 5 days of use
- Speed: +40% rider speed boost
- Notes: Your first saddle, easy to craft early on
War Saddle
- Blueprint: From Tumbleweeds or Pig King (full moon)
- Durability: 8 days of use
- Combat: +16 damage to Beefalo's attack
- Notes: -10% Beefalo speed (heavier saddle)
Glossamer Saddle
- Materials: 68 butterfly wings (no joke!)
- Durability: 8 days of use
- Speed: Highest speed boost in the game
- Notes: The "racing saddle" - perfect for Rider Beefalo
Nightmare Saddle (NEW 2024)
- Materials: Late-game shadow materials (Pure Horror, etc.)
- Defense: 60% damage resistance to Beefalo
- Offense: 18 planar damage (hits shadow creatures)
- Notes: Allows mounting even if Beefalo is chasing something!
Wigfrid-Only: Battle Saddle
Unlocked via Wigfrid's skill tree (Noble Mount tier III). Speeds up Beefalo by 30%, increases Beefalo defense by 40%, and +5 Beefalo damage. This is basically a mini War+Glossamer hybrid just for Wigfrid. Materials: 4 Gold, 3 Marble, 6 Azure Feathers.
Saddle Tip: Each saddle can be removed with a Saddlehorn (craftable tool). Removing a saddle is useful if you want to swap or if your Beefalo is feral and you want your saddle back without killing it.
Feedin' Time: Beefalo Feeds and Healing
Feeding Beefalo random twigs is fine for obedience, but what about keeping hunger up efficiently or healing your Beefalo mid-fight?
Crock Pot Feeds:
In a 2022 update, Klei added Beefalo feed recipes – special crock pot dishes just for Beefalo taming. These allow you to nearly max a Beefalo's hunger with cheap ingredients (since Dragonfruit can be farmed easily).
Beefalo Treats
Recipe: 1 Dragonfruit + fillers = a dish that gives a huge amount of hunger but low health.
Beefalo Feast
Recipe: 2 Dragonfruit + fillers = even bigger hunger restore, useful for longer trips.
Healing Beefalo:
Beefalo have 1000 HP (in DST). To heal them, feed foods that restore health:
- Dragonpie: Gives 40 health to players, likely similar to Beefalo. Great but fills hunger fast.
- Cactus: Works great (decent healing, low hunger).
- Glommer's Goop: Free healing item if you have Glommer, doesn't contribute to hunger much.
Salt Lick:
Not food, but consider it a "feed" for the soul. If you leave Beefalo near a Salt Lick, they will use it to keep themselves busy and their domestication decay very low. Salt Licks wear down with use, but one usually covers a Beefalo for a season or two. Craft is 4 salt crystals (from the ocean) + boards.
Riding Into Battle: Beefalo Combat Usage
Now that you've put in the work taming, let's talk about why – combat and mobility.
Mobility Benefits
- Fastest Travel: A tamed Beefalo (especially Rider or with Glossamer saddle) outpaces even Walking Cane + Road combinations.
- No Resource Drain: You don't consume hunger or sanity while moving on a Beefalo.
- Heavy Lifting: Carry heavy objects at normal speed (marble, statues) without the usual movement penalty.
- Free Inventory: When mounted, you still have your entire inventory free (except hand for weapon).
- Night Vision: You can use a Lantern or Miner Hat at night and ride – no slowdown like if you were walking with a torch.
Combat Advantages
Double Damage:
While riding, you can attack with hand-held weapons and your Beefalo will attack as well. You essentially double hit (one from you, one from beef). Beefalo attacks ~ every 1.5 seconds.
Damage Sponge:
Beefalo have a large HP pool (1000) to tank hits for you. On a Beefalo, if you get hit, the Beefalo takes the damage (the player doesn't get hurt unless the Beefalo gets killed). This makes fights like Deerclops or Moose/Goose much safer.
Hard Bosses to Fight on Beefalo
- Bee Queen: Hits frequently with swarms, can cause your Beefalo to panic or take tons of hits.
- Ancient Fuelweaver: Does insane damage and you need precise maneuvering. Could trap you in bones.
- Toadstool: Its spore clouds can dismount you (sleep). Not very feasible to kite on beef.
Good Fights for Beefalo
- Klaus (Winter boss): Beefalo can dodge deer spells easily and tank Klaus hits.
- Dragonfly: If you have enough healing or Nightmare Saddle, an Ornery beef can tank a bit.
- Shadow Pieces: Fun to joust on Beefalo, especially with multiple players on beefs.
- Hound Waves: Beefalo can just stomp hounds (watch for Fire Hounds though).
Combat Tip: If Beefalo's health gets low mid-fight, you can try to run off and feed it some food. Alternatively, dismount and let it retreat (if you have Beefalo Horn, you can horn to call it back after).
Maintaining a Domesticated Beefalo
- Salt Lick: Keep one where you park the Beefalo (like in your base pen). This prevents the passive loss of domestication over time.
- On Trips: If you go on a trip and can't bring Beefalo, either take the Bell with you (so Beefalo despawns) or leave it with a friend who will feed it.
- Creating a Herd: If you drop the Beefalo Bell on the ground, the Beefalo becomes un-bonded and forms a new herd at that spot. Useful to establish a personal Beefalo farm near base.
- If Your Beefalo Dies: Use a Beefalo Horn to possibly attract a nearby Beefalo and immediately bond-bell it as a new pet. Or if you have the Gloom Bell (and nightmare fuel), resurrect it.
Important: Do NOT just leave your Beefalo in the wild without salt; after ~10 days of neglect (no feeding, no riding, no brushing), it will lose domestication and become wild again. It's heartbreaking to come back and find "Buckington has reverted to the wild" 😢.
Multiplayer & Team Strategies
Beefalo play differently when you have friends around. Let's look at some team dynamics:
Team Beefalo Tactics
Co-Taming:
Can two people tame one Beefalo faster? Kind of, but not exactly. Only one person can ride at a time obviously. But others can contribute by feeding the Beefalo to keep obedience up while someone else rides. However, be careful: if two players both keep feeding, you might accidentally overfeed. It's often better for one person to "lead" the taming and others just assist as needed.
Multiple Beefalo Squad:
If each person wants their own Beefalo, you can absolutely do that – a group of 3 players each on Beefalo is formidable. Coordinate tendencies: maybe one goes Ornery (the tank/dps), one goes Rider (the scout), one goes Pudgy (the chill support). You can roam together, and even penguin dive (all charge an enemy at once).
Wigfrid's Rally:
Wigfrid's songs can buff players and Beefalo alike. Her inspiration gain is increased when mounted with a skill. She could inspire the group while mounted.
Covering Weaknesses:
Beefalo riders can't use certain items while mounted (for instance, you can't use a Lazy Explorer while on a Beefalo). So if one player is mounted and another is not, the unmounted can handle such tasks (like building structures or using magic) while the mounted provides defense and mobility.
PvE Boss Team:
A group on Beefalo trivializes some bosses by alternating tank roles. If one Beefalo's low, that rider can back off and a fresh Beefalo takes aggro.
Communication Tip: Only the beefalo's owner can see its health (if near death, it makes a specific idle animation but hard to notice without mods). So communicate – if you think your beefalo is below ~300 HP, call out and swap out.
Year of the Beefalo Event:
If this event is active (around Lunar New Year), it's a fun diversion – you can temporarily tame Beefalo (via special items) and do races and dance competitions. In those few weeks, everyone becomes a beefalo rider without the long taming, which is great. The skills you learn (like cornering, timing jumps in races) actually make you a better beefalo rider in normal game too.
Console Multiplayer Note: If you do split-screen DST on console, controlling Beefalo can be harder (camera etc). Communication with your couch co-op partner is even more key, since one might distract a Beefalo herd while the other shaves them, etc. Possibly designate roles: "I'll be the rider/protector, you be the feeder/brush person."
Mods & Tools: Beefalo QoL
We touched on mods throughout, but here's a consolidated look at the best tools (in-game and mods) to improve your Beefalo experience. If you're a console player, you can skim this for awareness, but unfortunately mods are PC-only.
In-Game Tools
Beefalo Bell
Essential for bonding. Always keep it on you to prevent losing your beef. If you drop it, remember to pick it up.
Brush
Obtainable via the Oasis desert trade. One use per day on a Beefalo gives a big obedience and small domestication boost.
Saddlehorn
This tool (2 twigs, 2 boneshard) pops the saddle off a Beefalo. Good to have if you need to swap saddles or temporarily remove it.
Pan Flute / Sleep Darts
Not specifically for beefalo, but useful if your beefalo is about to go feral and you need to calm it or if a wild herd is angry and you need to pacify them.
Client Mods (Visual & Control)
Popular Beefalo UI Mods:
- Beefalo Widget / Beefalo Status Bar: Display a HUD when you mount showing Hunger, Obedience, Domestication, and buck timer. They remove the guesswork.
- Beefalo Buck Timer: Shows how long until you're bucked off. Great for those doing the ride-time inference method for domestication.
- Combined Status: Some versions incorporate follower hunger (like for Beefalo) into your top screen display.
- Geometric Placement: Not Beefalo-specific, but if you want to build a nice Beefalo pen with walls and gate, this helps make it neat.
Server Mods (Mechanics changes)
Server-side Beefalo Mods:
Insight
A mod mentioned on Reddit that shows a lot of info including Beefalo stats for everyone. It's a server-side mod, meaning it works for all players when enabled.
Better Beefalo
With over 90k subscribers, this mod changes a lot about Beefalo to make them more practical:
- Feed while mounted (no need to dismount)
- Tamed Beefalo won't die outright; they go to near-death state
- War Saddle prevents being knocked off by heavy hits
- Beefalo can jump over fences/cliffs now
- Added "Plane Mud Pie" food for Beefalo that gives planar damage/defense
- Jump through wormholes while mounted
- Interact with structures on mount (open chests, pick stuff)
For Console Players:
Since you can't mod, use the in-game cues:
- Obedience cue: If saddle looks like it's about to fall (Beefalo will do an animation scratching it off), that means obedience is low – feed immediately.
- Hunger cue: Beefalo will "moo" at you occasionally when hungry (and the begging animation).
- Domestication cue: It's more subtle; time your ride or notice that the Beefalo sticks around you more readily or no longer wanders off when not on a bell.
Real Tales: Beefalo and Me
Every seasoned Don't Starve player has a Beefalo story. Here are a few from my travels and the community:
Each anecdote shows a facet of Beefalo life: loss, victory, utility, and sheer fun. Beefalo can be frustrating at times (especially when you're new to taming), but they create memorable moments in a game known for its brutal survival.
Wrangling Wrap-Up: Key Takeaways
We've covered a ton of ground (on two legs and four). Before you venture out to hug or slug a Beefalo, let's recap the must-know points:
- ✓ Avoid Herd Rage: Isolate one Beefalo to fight it. Don't engage a full herd unless you have death wish. Use horns, night time, or traps to single one out.
- ✓ Mating Season Safety: Wear a Beefalo Hat in spring when Beefalo have red butts. This single item turns you from target to friend.
- ✓ Taming Basics: In DST, keep obedience >40% (feed twigs/grass), ride daily, and don't let it starve while off-duty. Aim for ~15–20 days of this routine.
- ✓ Tendency Choice: Decide early if you want a high-damage Ornery (fight lots) or speedy Rider (ride nonstop) etc. Training method impacts final stats.
- ✓ Use the Bell: The Beefalo Bell is life. Bond your beef, and carry the bell or your Beefalo might wander off if you disconnect.
- ✓ Boss Fights: Use Beefalo as tanks for certain bosses, but avoid bringing them into every fight (learn which ones are Beefalo-friendly).
- ✓ Mods & HUD: If on PC, install Beefalo HUD mods for an easier time. If on console, learn the visual cues.
- ✓ Maintenance: After taming, don't neglect your new pal. Salt Licks and occasional rides will keep it forever yours.
- ✓ Have Fun: Lastly, enjoy the process! It's one of DST's long-term goals that's very rewarding.
With these action steps in mind, you're ready to conquer the Savannah – either with spear in hand or reins in hand. Beefalo can turn from deadly foes to invaluable allies. Many survivors consider a tamed Beefalo the "endgame mount" that makes late-game exploration and fights much more manageable (some even say it's the most OP mechanic nobody uses!). Now you're in on the secret.
Recent Updates
Feb 27, 2025 (Quality of Life Update)
LatestAdded Walter, Wendy, Wortox skill trees. Included "some beefalo riding QoL changes" – e.g. improved responsiveness when feeding or dismounting Beefalo, and fixed a bug where attacking with a torch while mounted had glitched animation. Impact: Riding feels smoother, fewer random dismounts or animation quirks for Beefalo riders.
Sep 12, 2024 ("Depths of Duplicity" Update)
MajorMajor update in the "From Beyond" series. Introduced Nightmare Saddle and Beefalo Gloom Bell as new shadow craftables. Nightmare Saddle gives Beefalo 60% damage absorption and +18 planar damage, turning them into late-game tanks. Gloom Bell allows revival of a deceased bonded Beefalo (at 50% domestication loss).
Apr 2024 ("Merm May Madness" mini-update)
MinorAdded two Beefalo Feed recipes in the Crock Pot (unofficially dubbed "Beefalo Treats" by players). These feeds restore a large amount of Beefalo hunger without overfilling. Impact: Made the "keep Beefalo well-fed" taming strategy more practical, letting players rapidly refill Beefalo hunger cheaply.