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For NPC howls, see Howls.

Howls are an auditory vocalization that various species of wolf are capable of emitting as a form of communication. The implementation of it in-game varies considerably between major revisions of WolfQuest! This article is specific to the player's customization and the player-wolf itself.

In WolfQuest: Anniversary Edition, Howls is a standalone category in the Howls tab of the Customize Wolf interface found between the Eyes and Ears tabs. They are now customizable and have been split into primary and secondary subcategories, with each having some differences in their functions. All howls are included with the base game at no extra cost; there are no paid howls. As of 1.1.0, there are a combined total of forty-six (46) customizable howls. The player may choose any two howls — whether the same audio sample or two different audio samples — to function as their wolf's primary and secondary howls. In the customization interface, the selected primary howl is marked with a icon and the selected secondary howl is marked with a icon. The selector icons will overlap if the same howl is chosen for both categories.

Pressing the key (controller: Xbox , PlayStation or Steam Deck ) once makes the player-wolf perform their primary howl. Pressing it twice in quick succession performs the player-wolf's secondary howl. They can be performed while idle or resting, but not while asleep or on the move without coming to a complete halt.

A lesser-known tip that is worth knowing: howl duration does not matter — as long as the player allows their wolf's howl to elapse for at least three (~3) seconds, interrupting or cutting it off before it completes will still count towards territorial upkeep. This applies to all howl audio clips!

In WolfQuest: Classic, howls made their first debut in the customization interface. Prior to this release, only one sample existed and it could not be changed. In addition to the original sample, seven new samples were added. All eight howls are unlocked by default and will be available in the Free Trial and Full Game across all platforms. No purchases necessary!

In Legacy versions of WolfQuest, neither the player-wolf's howl nor the mate's howl could be reassigned to a different audio sample. Both wolves used the same default sound.

Uses[]

Howls have a few uses.

In the Anniversary Edition, the primary howl has the most uses. It is the main communication howl used when calling for a response from other wolves, or when responding to other wolves' howls. A long howl — typically uninterrupted or only interrupted after ~3 seconds — serves as a method to mark territory per individual hex. Once per in-game day, a long howl will give a small increase to the claim of multiple nearby hexes, a boon whose odds are boosted with the Territorial Might perk. Howling in a hex that is not claimed by the player-wolf's own pack will decrease its claim by a small amount once per howl until the hex becomes unclaimed, or until its occupants find the player to initiate a fight. Taking hexes in this manner only works best if the scent post is eliminated first. Caution is advised: howling will have no territorial effect during conflict or while in close proximity to an ongoing hex invasion. It can be used in the presence of nearby prey and carcasses provided there are no nearby competitors ready to fight.

If it is used while standing next to any ungulate carcass as of 1.0.8, the game will mark the location of any dead animal(s) within a small radius of the player's wolf on the world map and compass with a pink icon, though with some exceptions: carriable fawns and calves, beavers, snowshoe hares, fish, regurgitant and all meat chunks cannot be marked. This mark prevents the player from losing any carcasses they may have discovered to scavenge from and keeps them from forgetting where their own kill sites are, effectively allowing for an easier return trip later on when their own wolf and packmates are getting hungry. When a marked carcass despawns, its marker will disappear along with it.

The secondary howl is useful after pups are born, as it can be used to call the active mate to the player any time from any distance. This is especially useful if they were left at home to watch over and protect the pups while the player is busy, on an excursion (hunting or marking territory), or exploring. When pups have grown into yearlings, the player-wolf's secondary howl will instead summon both the mate and their yearlings, sending pups of the year into hiding unless all but one individual stays behind the babysit while the rest of their family is away. Both the primary howl and secondary howl can be used to increase territorial claim.

All wolves can and will howl. Rival wolves will howl to mark their territory, at random without provocation, and occasionally in response to the player's howl. Dispersals howl in response to the player and will do so during the Find a Mate quest and Find a New Mate subquest. All howling wolves will have a temporary icon appear on the compass as of 1.0.8d provided the player-wolf is within a certain radius. (50-2000m = roughly 2.5 hexes.) As of 1.1.1g, wolves who are eligible for courtship are distinguished with a heart in their compass icon, as well as an icon attached in their scent identifier.

Pups will respond to howling by joining in, and packmates may also join depending on their personality traits. A lost pup who isn't tired may also respond to howls, giving away their position on the compass as a means of guiding player-wolves to help find them.

As of the 2.0.0 saga release, performing two primary howls within a short span of time will initiate a pack rally in single-player. Responding to the mate's howl would formerly boost pack affinity while away from home; this has been removed post-update and responding no longer has any yields.

In Classic, a full, uninterrupted howl can be used to increase territorial claim within the boundaries of the player-wolf's active den site, and a howl in the presence of the player-wolf's single-player pack initiates a pack howl to raise pack affinity.

In Legacy versions, a full, uninterrupted howl can be used to increase territorial claim within the boundaries of the player-wolf's active den site, and a howl in the presence of the player-wolf's single-player pack initiates a pack howl to raise pack affinity.

Multiplayer[]

In the Anniversary Edition, certain aspects of howling are unavailable during multiplayer gameplay. The secondary howl has no major functionality to it, thus players can decide amongst themselves whether to give it an alternative use.

If another player's wolf isn't visible on the world map, they will reveal their position if they howl. If a server has at least two players, the game will initiate a pack rally when at least two player-wolves howl. During this time all players present in the server must cooperate by repeatedly howling together until the meter is filled. Alternating between primary and secondary howls effectively keeps the meter filling for as long as there are no breaks.

The position of a carcass marked with a primary howl by any player-wolf is shared and synchronized with all other player-wolves in the server. Any new joining players or existing players who re-join without going into limbo will not see any carcass markers unless they are howled at again.

In Classic multiplayer, when at least two player-wolves howl, a pack rally will be initiated, during which time all players in the server must come together and cooperate either by repeatedly howling themselves or performing emotes to raise the bar.

Pups will respond to howling by joining in.

In Legacy versions' multiplayer, a howl's main function served only to initiate a pack rally, to which players would be required to repeatedly howl with or perform emotes in order to raise the bar. Players could also use it to communicate distance, provide hints while playing minigames such as hide and seek with nametags toggled off or similar.

Audio[]

All of these audio clips were extracted from the game's own assets.

Loud volume and pitch sensitivity warning! Howls in the modern game are better optimised, but those in older revisions are not. If you choose to proceed with playback, do so at a reasonable volume. Listen with care! ♥

Adult Samples[]

Samples used by adult wolves.

Anniversary Edition Adult Howls

Name	Audio sample
Adult #1
Adult #2
Adult #3
Adult #4
Adult #5
Adult #6
Adult #7
Adult #8
Adult #9
Adult #10
Adult #11
Adult #12
Adult #13
Adult #14
Adult #15
Adult #16
Adult #17
Adult #18
Adult #19
Adult #20
Adult #21
Adult #22
Adult #23
Adult #24
Adult #25
Adult #26
Adult #27
Adult #28
Adult #29
Adult #30
Adult #31
Adult #32
Adult #33
Adult #34
Adult #35
Adult #36
Adult #37
Adult #38
Adult #39
Adult #40
Adult #41
Adult #42
Adult #43
Adult #44
Adult #45
Adult #46

Classic Adult Samples

Name	Audio sample
Howl #1
Howl #2
Howl #3
Howl #4
Howl #5
Howl #6
Howl #7
Howl #8

Legacy Adult Samples

Name	Notes	Audio sample
Default Howl	All adult wolves in 1.1.0 - 1.6.4 Player-wolf-only in 2.0.0 - 2.5.1

Gallery[]

Anniversary Edition Gallery

Contributions for Howls in the Anniversary Edition are welcome in this gallery!

Classic Gallery

Contributions for Howls in Classic are welcome in this gallery!

Legacy Gallery

Contributions for Howls in Legacy versions are welcome in this gallery!

Bugs[]

Anniversary Edition Bugs

Classic Bugs

Legacy Bugs

It is possible to bypass the mission Mark your Territory by repeatedly spamming howl to quickly fill the Pack Affinity meter.

Trivia[]

Anniversary Edition Trivia

In the developer's blog Stand Out From the Pack! there were a total of 14 primary and secondary howls.
Marking a carcass can be performed with only the primary howl. Playtesting indicates the secondary howl doesn't work for this purpose!
Calling the mate to the player via secondary howl will work no matter how far apart the pair is from one another. Currently, this command is only used during the second episode.
- If the mate was left pup-sitting, summoning them with the secondary howl also serves as an instant "go home" command for pups if they are outside of the den.^[1]
In 1.0.8l, new howl vocalisations can be heard. These seem to correspond to pack (and possibly dispersal) wolves. None of these are currently available in the Customize Wolf interface.
1.0b up to and including 1.0.9h featured a combined total of twenty-five (25) customizable howls split between thirteen (13) primary-only howls, and twelve (12) secondary-only howls.
- Post-1.1.0, primary and secondary howls were merged, becoming one large selection of howls.^[2]
- Post-1.1.0, secondary howl 12 seems to have been removed.
- Pre-1.1.0, the split is self-explanatory. Primary-only howls could only be utilised for the player-wolf's primary howl, and secondary-only howls could only be utilised for the player-wolf's secondary howl. The merge addresses this issue.

Classic and Legacy Trivia

The mate will always perform a full, uninterrupted howl, even if the player cancels out their own howl and moves far away from them. It is unknown whether this was intentional or if it is a bug.
This makes it possible to stall the mate to manipulate their behavior, which can sometimes be useful while hunting.
This could also be exploited to reach the edges or corners of the game world while also leaving the mate far enough to be near enough to the opposite edge or corner of the game world by repeatedly howling again when the mate's howl was complete.
The mate no longer does this in the Anniversary Edition release; instead, their howl will be interrupted if the player moves far enough away from them.

The first howl — primary 1 in the Anniversary Edition, howl 1 in Classic, and the player's (and prior to 2.0.0, also the mate's) howl in all Legacy versions — is in every single publicly-released edition of WolfQuest. Its position has not changed.

Dave has stated in the past that they had considered removing it in the newest incarnation. The WolfQuest Wiki Fandom is glad it was kept!^{[citation needed]}

References & External Links[]

↑ Learned by observing nametags from a reasonable distance. When the mate's nametag blinks (setting its AI state to "following player") all pups will simultaneously enter their hide/shelter state. This happens in almost the same instant that the secondary howl is performed.
↑ More Ways to Express Yourself

Anniversary Edition Customization
Coats	Free	Original (Classic) • Lamar Canyon Pack • Blacktail Deer Plateau Pack • IWC Ambassador Wolves • Minnesota Browns • Campfire • Unlockable
	Paid	Founders • Hall of Fame • Cool Coats • Beauteous Blacks • Gorgeous Grays
	Assorted	All Coats • Genetics • Pup Coats • Wolf Coats
	Bundles	Life is Rough Pack • Yellowstone Wolf Coat Pack • Building Character Pack
Modifiers	Ears	Bent • Flat • Notched • Torn
	Eyes	Missing • Corneal Edema
	Head	Snaggletooth
	Body	Back Curve • Body Mass • Neck Ruff • Radio Collar
	Tail	Fluffy • Mange • Short • Cut Off • Crooked
Miscellaneous	Abilities	Age (birthdays, perks) • Attributes • Biography • Howls • Personality
	Non-customizable	Injury (Limpy) • NPCs (howls, personality)
	Related	Customize Wolf • Howls • Ironwolf (elder) • Random Events • Personality

Classic Customization
Coats	Free	Original
Coats	Paid	Lamar Canyon • Life is Rough Pack • Blacktail Deer Plateau
Modifiers	Ears	Bent • Flat • Notched • Torn
Modifiers	Body	Limpy • Radio Collar
Miscellaneous	Abilities	Howls • Stats
Miscellaneous	Related	Choose Your Wolf • Create Your Wolf • Howls

Legacy Customization
Coats	Original
Miscellaneous	Abilities	Howls • Stats
Miscellaneous	Related	Customize Your Wolf • Howls

[1] Learned by observing nametags from a reasonable distance. When the mate's nametag blinks (setting its AI state to "following player") all pups will simultaneously enter their hide/shelter state. This happens in almost the same instant that the secondary howl is performed.

[2] More Ways to Express Yourself

[1]

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