Mercenaries & Mounts Guide

Quick Answer

Pywel is vast, so mounts are essential. You can tame horses in the wild, summon them anywhere, and even fight mounted. The so-called "greyhound" and other special mounts come from specific taming and upgrade routes. This guide covers taming, mount types, and mercenary-life mechanics.

Why Mounts Matter

The continent of Pywel is large enough that traveling on foot wastes hours. A summoned horse dramatically speeds exploration, lets you cross dangerous regions quickly, and supports mounted combat. You should have a mount summoned almost whenever you are in open terrain — pair this with the fast-travel network in the Exploration guide.

How to Tame a Horse

  1. Approach wild horses slowly — spooking them makes them flee. Crouch and close the gap carefully.
  2. Calm the horse with the prompted interaction when you get close enough.
  3. Complete the taming sequence — follow the on-screen prompts to soothe and mount the horse.
  4. Once tamed, the horse is added to your available mounts and can be summoned and managed from your mount options.
🐎 Horse Care
Visit stables to heal, repair, and upgrade your mount. A well-maintained horse is faster and more durable — and naming your horse is a small touch that makes long rides across Pywel feel more personal.

The Greyhound Mount

Players searching for the "greyhound" are usually looking for a faster, specialty mount rather than a standard horse. Superior mounts are obtained through specific routes rather than random taming:

  • Progress relevant side quests and stable-related tasks that reward rare mounts.
  • Look for higher-tier wild horses in advanced regions — base speed and stamina vary between individuals.
  • Invest mount upgrades at stables to improve speed, stamina, and durability toward "greyhound" levels of performance.

Special Mounts: Wolf, Bear, Donkey

Beyond horses, Crimson Desert features distinctive mounts and rideable creatures suited to different terrain and playstyles:

MountStrengthHow to Obtain
Standard horseBalanced speed & staminaTame in the wild / stables
Fast courser ("greyhound")Top speed / traversalRare spawns, quests, stable upgrades
Wolf-type mountAgility / combat flavorSpecialized taming / quest routes
Bear-type mountPower / durabilityLate-game special encounters
DonkeyCarrying / utilityEarly stable / quest acquisition

Mercenary Life and Your Band

As leader of the Greymane band, mercenary life extends beyond mounts. You will recruit companions, take on bounties and contracts, manage your camp, and dispatch idle followers on missions. Mounts tie into this loop by letting you reach contracts and resources quickly.

  • Use mounts to rotate efficiently between bounties, resource nodes, and fast-travel points.
  • Manage recruited fighters through the Companions system.
  • Crimes and bounties affect how settlements react to you — keep your bounty under control to travel freely.
⚠️ Mounted Combat Note
You can attack while mounted, which is great against scattered enemies, but large boss attacks can still hit you on horseback. Dismount for major boss fights where precise dodging matters.

Mounts & Mercenaries FAQ

Approach wild horses slowly while crouched, calm them with the interaction prompt, and complete the taming sequence. After taming you can summon the mount anywhere and manage it from your mount options.
It refers to a fast, specialty courser-type mount. Obtain superior mounts through rare wild spawns in advanced regions, stable-related quests, and by upgrading mount speed and stamina at stables.
Yes, mounted combat is supported and is effective against scattered open-world enemies, but dismount for precision-heavy boss fights where dodge timing is critical.
At stables, where you can heal, repair, and upgrade speed, stamina, and durability. Keep your mount maintained for long traversal across Pywel.
Yes. You can rename your horse or any mount through the mount management menu. Open your mount inventory/management interface, select the horse, and choose the rename option. Enter a new name and confirm. Renaming is purely cosmetic and does not affect your horse's stats, speed, or abilities. You can rename your mounts as many times as you want.
Horse speed can be increased through several methods: feed your horse speed-boosting treats (carrots, sugar, special horse feed), upgrade horse gear (horseshoes for speed, lightweight saddles), level up your horse through riding and combat (horses gain experience and stats), use sprint/galop skills (unlocked as the horse levels), and choose a horse breed with higher base speed (thoroughbred-type horses are faster). Keep your horse's stamina and hunger topped up for maximum performance.
Horses can be healed by: using horse-specific healing items (carrots, horse bandages, healing potions) from your mount inventory, visiting a stable keeper or veterinarian NPC in town (they heal your horse for a fee), resting at your camp with the horse nearby (passive healing over time), or using companion/character healing skills if your class has AoE healing. Monitor your horse's health bar during combat — if it reaches zero, the horse may be knocked out or die.
The wolf mount is obtained through a specific quest line, as a rare taming target, or as a reward for progressing through a particular faction or mercenary storyline. Wolves are typically found in forested and mountainous regions. Taming a wolf requires advanced taming skills, high-quality taming food, and reducing the wolf to a tamable state in combat. Check the mount guide section above for the exact unlock path and taming requirements.
Feed your horse by opening the mount inventory/management interface, selecting food items (carrots, apples, hay, horse feed, sugar cubes), and using them on the horse. You can also feed your horse at a stable (stable keepers offer feeding services) or by placing feed in the horse's inventory for automatic consumption. Feeding maintains stamina, health, loyalty, and performance — a hungry horse moves slower and may refuse commands.
Horse taming requires a lasso/rope and taming food (sugar cubes, carrots, or special horse feed). Find a wild horse in the open world (they roam in grasslands and plains), approach carefully while crouched to avoid spooking it, throw the lasso to begin taming, and complete the taming mini-game — keep the horse calm by pressing prompts at the right time and maintaining the taming meter. Once calmed, feed it to gain trust, then register it at a stable. Higher-tier horses are harder to tame.
The bear mount is a rare and powerful mount obtained through a specific quest, as an achievement reward, or as a high-tier taming target. Bears are found in forested, mountainous, and cold regions. Taming a bear requires advanced taming skills, high-quality taming food, and significantly reducing the bear's health in combat without killing it. Bear mounts offer high health and carrying capacity but may be slower than horses. Check the mount list for exact unlock details.
Cats are companion/pet animals rather than traditional mounts. Tame a stray cat by finding one in towns, settlements, or near human habitation, feeding it cat food or treats (fish, milk, special cat food) multiple times to build trust, and interacting with it until it becomes your pet. Tamed cats follow you and may provide minor buffs (luck, gathering bonuses, or enemy detection). Cats cannot be ridden but serve as loyal companions.
Crimson Desert features a variety of mounts including multiple horse breeds (common, thoroughbred, war horse, legendary), wolves, bears, and potentially other rare or special creatures. The exact count includes several horse breeds plus special mounts obtained through quests, taming, or endgame content. See the mount list section above for the full roster of known mounts, their stats, and unlock methods.
Pets are obtained through taming (cats, dogs, small animals), as quest rewards, purchased from pet vendors or NPCs in towns, or found as rare drops. To tame a pet animal, approach it carefully, feed it its preferred food repeatedly to build trust, and interact until it becomes your companion. Pets provide minor buffs (gathering speed, luck, enemy detection, item pickup) and follow you in the open world. Different pets have different abilities.
The Greyhound is a mount or companion obtained through a specific quest line, as a rare taming target, or as a reward. Greyhounds are typically found in plains, grasslands, or near human settlements. To tame a Greyhound, you need advanced taming skills and high-quality taming food — approach carefully, use the lasso, and complete the taming mini-game. The Greyhound is known for high speed and agility, making it one of the fastest ground mounts. If you are looking for where to get greyhound crimson desert players often find them in the open plains regions or as a quest reward from a hunter or stable NPC. Check the mount list above for the exact unlock method.
Legendary horses are the rarest and most powerful mounts. To tame one: first unlock advanced taming by leveling your taming skill and acquiring high-tier taming gear and food (premium sugar cubes, rare carrots). Legendary horses spawn rarely in specific remote locations — often high mountain meadows, hidden valleys, or near ancient ruins. Approach extremely carefully (legendary horses spook easily), use the best lasso, and complete the advanced taming mini-game with perfect timing. Even with perfect execution, taming success is not guaranteed — you may need multiple attempts. Legendary horses have superior stats across speed, acceleration, stamina, and health, and may have unique skills. Save before attempting and bring plenty of taming food.