Ravens are a non-interactable flock of birds that were first introduced with the original launch of Episode 2: Survival of the Pack. Their implementation varies across major revisions.
In WolfQuest: Anniversary Edition, the symbiotic relationship between wolves and ravens can be seen often shortly after making a successful kill. Swooping down from the sky to land and assist with cleanup, ravens will be content to eat with competitors and are mostly unfazed by the presence of other nearby predators. They will also pick at abandoned meat chunks and fish if given the chance.
The player-wolf can temporarily shoo ravens away if necessary by growling, though the effect is rather short-lived and ineffective in that it doesn't seem to bother them too much; spooked ravens will quickly return to continue gorging themselves. A flock of ravens will depart when their source of food has been fully depleted.
They are completely passive towards the player-wolf or online packmates, their offline mate, pups, yearlings and subordinate adults, as well as other predators, competitors, and prey.
In WolfQuest: Classic, ravens are only seen flying above most carcasses and live herds, serving as beacons to help players locate food sources from afar, without needing to rely quite so heavily on scent view to find plumes. In addition to appearing in single-player, they can also be seen in multiplayer, and will appear across all maps. They do not spawn at night.
If a player is within range of a carcass that has ravens gliding above it, they can easily distinguish their birdcall above the ambience.
Scent[]
- Main article: Scent View#Anniversary Edition
key, ravens are scentless. They lack body glow if the option is enabled, emit no spores of their own, and they leave behind no tracks or trails while grounded.In Classic's scent view, toggled by pressing the V key, ravens are scentless. They are completely devoid of any identifying scent information.
In Legacy versions' scent view, toggled by pressing the V key, ravens are scentless. They are completely devoid of any identifying scent information.
Diet[]
In the Anniversary Edition, ravens are minor carcass competitors. They congregate en masse at kill sites and will land on the ground or on the carcass itself to eat regardless of whether it is a predator's kill or a naturally-spawned carcass. Unlike other birds, ravens will only lose interest and fly away when carcass is fully depleted or after they have eaten their fill.
In Classic, ravens will land on carcasses to eat.
In Legacy versions, ravens will only ever appear in a flock above carcasses. They do not land to eat from them.
Prey[]
In the Anniversary Edition, unlike eagles, ravens are one of the few competitors who are never observed hunting or fending for themselves. Instead, they are completely reliant on the prey felled by wolves or other predators. They along with other scavenging birds will not eat from carcasses or meat chunks that are near or in water.
It is not uncommon for ravens to join the player-wolf and their packmates shortly after they have killed a prey animal provided its carcass is long-lasting. They do not land to eat from carcasses if they are quickly devoured by hungry wolves or picked to the bone by other scavengers, and they will not show up at all to consume from poisoned carcasses.In Classic, ravens do not hunt for themselves. Instead, they are reliant upon the carcasses left behind by other predators and the kills made by the player-wolf's pack.
In Legacy versions, ravens do not hunt for themselves.
Habitat[]
In the Anniversary Edition, ravens have no known or perceived territory. They appear in all game worlds throughout all seasons. They are one of three bird species occasionally seen flying in the sky or landing on the ground throughout the day. They stop spawning soon after sunset, despawn completely overnight, and resume activity shortly after sunrise.
Their preference maps have the fewest restrictions and exist only along the edges of the game world and world map.
Nodes[]
- Main article: Spawners
In the Anniversary Edition, there are no known spawn nodes for ravens other than large carcasses.
In Classic, there are no known spawn nodes for ravens other than ungulate carcasses.
In Legacy versions, there are no known spawn nodes for ravens other than elk carcasses.
Kill[]
In Classic, ravens are non-attackable entities. They cannot be killed.
In Legacy versions, ravens possess no attackable entities. They cannot be killed.
Life stages & Behavior[]
In the Anniversary Edition, ravens will spend much of their time in flight soaring the skies aimlessly, occasionally landing on the ground to rest their wings for a while before taking off. Ravens will never attack adult wolves or other NPCs. Only adults make an appearance in-game; there is no dimorphism between the sexes, and there are no nests with eggs or hatchling chicks.
A flock of ravens flying in an isolated spot can be indicative of a carcass, making them useful beacons from afar for unmarked sources of food.
In Classic, ravens will spend much of their time soaring over elk herds in their marked hunting grounds. This serves as a distant beacon which the player may use to help them find the elk herd they seek.
At carcasses, ravens will land to eat with the player-wolf when they draw near. If the player-wolf leaves, they will take off and fly over the carcass, serving once more as a beacon to tell the player where a kill was left if they opt to not use scent view to find its plume.In Legacy versions, ravens are a simple two-dimensional flock that spawns above carcasses and will maintain this position until the source carcass despawns. This flock can be used as a beacon to locate carcasses without using scent view. They do little else.
Competitors[]
In the Anniversary Edition, ravens have no competitors. Their relationship with wolves is symbiotic, and so they are tolerated at carcasses.
In Classic, ravens have no competitors. Their relationship with wolves is symbiotic, and so they are tolerated at carcasses, particularly if they aided the player-wolf in finding food.
In Legacy versions, ravens have no competitors.
Gallery[]
Anniversary Edition Gallery
Contributions for Raven in the Anniversary Edition are welcome in this gallery!
Classic Gallery
Contributions for Raven in Classic are welcome in this gallery!
.gif "Ravens arrive (2.7.2).gif (422 KB)")
.gif "Ravens eat (2.7.2).gif (149 KB)")
.gif "Ravens depart (2.7.2).gif (4.99 MB)")
Legacy Gallery
Contributions for Raven in Legacy versions are welcome in this gallery!
History[]
- Main article: Raven/Fundraiser
The WolfQuest Team first revealed plans for this NPC in the March 2009 newsletter[1] as a fundraiser campaign by way of store sales.
If the team sold fifty t-shirts, ravens would be added to help guide players to carcasses. If one hundred t-shirts were sold, ravens would be able to land on and consume from carcasses. The deadline for the fundraiser was June 1st. By the time the next newsletter launched in July 2009, the results for the contest were officially revealed: eighty-five t-shirts had successfully been sold.[2]
As of version 2.7.2, ravens finally earned a model and at long last can and do land on carcasses, and will consume meat while grounded. This also decreases the "health" of a carcass over time. Ravens will leave a carcass if the player or an NPC predator approaches it, however they will return when any predators have finished eating and have moved a short distance away from the carcass.
Bugs[]
- In rare instances, ravens have been observed to be flying/gliding extremely slow.
Anniversary Edition Bugs
Classic Bugs
Legacy Bugs
Trivia[]
- A flock of ravens has numerous names: "unkindness", "conspiracy", "treachery", and sometimes "murder" appear to be the most common. Even so, "flock" is not an incorrect term.
- These are commonly used for flocks of black birds with a dubious reputation.[3]
- Superstition aside, ravens are intelligent species which does not negatively impact any of the populations they happen to feast upon.
- A common misconception is that they are crows despite the long established symbiotic relationship that is well-documented between wolves and ravens.
- Though both come from the family Corvidae, ravens are much larger and have deeper, croaking calls.[4]
Anniversary Edition Trivia
- The model in this game was made by GIM Studio after being commissioned by eduweb.
- eduweb does not own this model outright due to the high costs associated with exclusive rights. An agreement between both parties allows GIM Studio retains the rights to sell this model to other developers, so it may appear in other games.
- Ravens will despawn in the evening and will be absent throughout the night. They begin spawning again the during and after sunrise.
- It is common to see ravens together in a flock at food sources. Lone individuals may be spotted while the player-wolf traverses the wilderness, sometimes soaring or resting on the ground.
Classic Trivia
- It is unknown who made the model.
- In 2.7, their flight formation shows them flying closer together.
- True to the plans of the original fundraiser, ravens can now land on and consume from elk carcasses.
- The models are actually closer to that of real-life rooks than ravens.
- Ravens cannot spawn at night. Players can use this knowledge to their advantage, though it doesn't apply to other competitors.
Legacy Trivia
- In 2.5, their flight formation is more spread apart.
References & External Links[]
- ↑ March 2009 Newsletter
- ↑ July 2009 Newsletter
- ↑ There is speculation as to the origin of the term, with some suggesting it draws on the creature's symbolic association with witches and death. dw.com
- ↑ audubon.org • How to Tell a Raven From a Crow; youtube.com • Caw vs Croak: Inside the Calls of Crows and Ravens, posted by Cornell Lab of Ornithology
| Birds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Large | Competitors | Bald eagles • Ravens |
| Predators | Golden eagles | |
| Small | Songbirds | House sparrow • Mountain chickadee • Robin • Western tanager |
| Competitors | ||
|---|---|---|
| Large | Bald eagle • Golden eagle • Grizzly bear | |
| Medium | Cougar • Dog • Wolf | |
| Small | Coyote • Raven • Red fox • Wolverine | |
| Miscellaneous | Newborn • Juvenile | |
| NPCs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Competitors & Predators | Bald eagle • Bobcat • Black bear • Cougar • Coyote • Dog • Golden eagle • Grizzly bear • Lynx • Raven • Red fox • Wolverine | |||
| Prey | Beaver • Bighorn sheep • Bison • Domestic Cattle • Elk (white) • Moose • Mule deer • Porcupine • Pronghorn • Snowshoe hare | |||
| Newborns & Juveniles | Bighorn sheep lamb • Domestic Cattle calf • Elk calf • Grizzly bear cub • Moose calf • Mule deer fawn • Pronghorn fawn | |||
| Wolves | Dispersal (Mate) • Offspring: Pup (white), Yearling, (Sub-)Adult, Disperser • Predator • Stranger (Rival) | |||
| Non-interactable | Birds • Cat • Insect • Toad • Uinta Ground Squirrel • Vole | |||
| Non-entity | Human • Hunter • Rancher | |||
| Miscellaneous | Airplane • Amphibians • Fish • Herds • Rodents • Wolf Packs | |||
