Crimson Desert Special Mounts Guide: All 11 Animals

Crimson Desert Special Mounts were the surprise addition in patch 1.06 — 11 tameable animals, regional saddleries, and a claw machine you can ride your lion to. Bigger than the patch notes made it sound.

This guide covers how the taming process actually works for each animal type, where to buy saddles by city, the feeding mechanic you can use while mounted, and what the Claw Machine actually gives you.

Crimson Desert Special Mounts: Key Takeaways

• Patch 1.06.00 (May 11, 2026) added 11 tameable animals as Special Mounts
• Two taming tracks: ferocious animals (subdue first, then feed) and passive animals (feed only)
• Ferocious types: Bears, Wolves, Raptors, Lions, Tigers — you fight them before feeding registers
• Passive types: Deer, Mountain Goats, Boars, Kuku Birds, Iguanas, Camels
• Saddles are region-locked to specific saddleries — not every city stocks every saddle
• You can feed your mount while riding it (open inventory → food item → Feed)
• Special Mounts use the same quickslot as regular mounts but occupy a separate slot; you can have one of each equipped

Overview

Before 1.06, mounts were horses. That was it. The 1.06.00 update added Crimson Desert Special Mounts as an entire second system with its own inventory tab, saddle economy, and trust-building mechanics layered on top of horses. Neither system replaces the other — your horse stays your horse, and the bear or wolf you tame lives in the Special Mounts slot.

Special Mounts don't give you a combat edge. They're travel companions with distinct looks and the satisfaction of riding a camel through a city that clearly wasn't designed with camel riders in mind. If that sounds worthwhile to you, here's how to get one.

The Claw Machine added in the same patch gives you somewhere to ride your mount to — it dispenses furniture and cosmetics. Worth knowing where it is.

Special mounts require specific conditions — most players trigger the encounter before they're ready to tame.

All 11 Special Mount Animal Types

Ferocious animals (subdue first)

These animals won't register feeding until you've knocked them down in combat. Approach one, fight it until it's staggered or subdued, then shift to feeding. Attacking after subdual breaks the process — don't land hits after it goes passive.

Bears are heavy — slow but stable, found in wooded and mountainous regions. Saddles at Hernand and Calphade Saddleries.

Wolves are fast and low to the ground. Common in plains and at forest edges. Saddles at Hernand and Equinsher.

Lions got the most attention in the patch preview, and the spawn zones are arid and savanna areas. The patch notes don't specify a dedicated saddlery; check the larger hub cities.

Tigers are less common than lions and tend toward denser vegetation zones. Same saddlery situation as lions.

Raptors move quickly, which makes them harder to track during the subdual phase. Handle them like bears: get the stagger, stop hitting, then feed.

Passive animals (feeding only)

These don't require a fight. Walk up slowly (sprinting startles them in most cases), equip food from your inventory, and start feeding. Trust builds with each feeding interaction. Multiple feeding sessions over time — they don't max trust from one approach.

Deer are the easiest entry point — found near water and meadows, no fighting required. Saddles at Equinsher and Demeniss.

Mountain Goats spawn at higher elevations. Saddles at Pailune Saddlery, which also stocks Ibexes.

Boars are forest animals, medium build. No dedicated saddlery called out in the patch notes; Delesyia is the closest option listed for that region.

Kuku Birds are lower to the ground than the quadrupeds and have an unusual silhouette. Saddles at Calphade and Demeniss.

Iguanas are slow and ground-level. If you want one, Tommaso Saddlery is the specific stop.

Camels are arid zone animals. Varnia Saddlery stocks their saddles.

Step-by-Step: Taming a Special Mount

Phase 1 — Locate the animal and prepare food

Bring food from your inventory before approaching. The game doesn't specify a single "correct" food per animal — general provisions work for most, though ferocious animals may respond faster to higher-quality food. Stock up before heading to a spawn zone.

Phase 2 — Subdue ferocious animals (skip for passive)

For bears, wolves, lions, tigers, and raptors: engage in combat until the animal enters a subdued state — typically after a stagger threshold is crossed. Don't kill it; stop attacking when it drops. The subdued window is the only time feeding registers for ferocious types.

If you keep hitting after subdual, the animal resets. One stagger, one feeding session per encounter. Repeat across multiple encounters until trust is maxed.

Phase 3 — Feed and build trust

Open inventory, select a food item, choose Feed. The trust meter advances. For ferocious animals, you can feed multiple times during a single subdued window before the animal recovers. For passive animals, feed at each encounter — they'll wander off after a few feeds per visit.

You can track trust progress in the Special Mounts tab that was added to the inventory UI.

Phase 4 — Register the mount

When trust maxes, the option to register the animal as a Special Mount becomes available. Registration locks it to your mount slot. After registration, it appears in your Special Mounts inventory tab and can be assigned to the special mount quickslot.

Phase 5 — Equip a saddle

Saddles are sold at regional saddleries and must be purchased for your specific animal type. Without a saddle, the mount works but the default appearance includes the saddle-less look. Equip through the Special Mounts tab.

GODEEPER: Crimson Desert's gear Refinement system is the primary power progression — no character levels, just tiers 0–10. Crimson Desert Gear Refinement Guide →

Each special mount has terrain-locked bonuses — pick based on where you spend most of your time.

Saddle Locations by City

Pearl Abyss split the saddle stock across eight regional cities. If you want a wolf saddle, you're going to Hernand or Equinsher specifically, not the nearest blacksmith.

Lions, Tigers, Raptors, and Boars aren't listed with a specific saddlery in the patch notes — check larger hub cities and saddleries in regions where those animals spawn.

The Claw Machine

Added alongside Special Mounts in 1.06.00, the Claw Machine is exactly what the name suggests: a decorative-reward dispenser that spits out furniture (chairs, tables) and cosmetic accessories (hats, gear skins). It's not a combat system — it's optional, currency-based cosmetic hunting.

Pearl Abyss didn't specify locations in the patch notes. Players have reported finding it in central plaza areas of major hub cities. The appeal is straightforward: you ride your lion or tiger to a cosmetic dispenser. It's goofy, and that's the point.

Items from the Claw Machine go into housing inventory or your cosmetics collection. Nothing from it affects Refinement, stats, or combat viability.

GODEEPER: Crimson Desert's difficulty settings can be changed mid-playthrough without penalty — useful when farming for mount food or taming zones. Crimson Desert Difficulty Settings Guide →

Tips

Start with a passive animal if you're new to the system

Deer or mountain goats are the lowest-friction entry to Crimson Desert Special Mounts. No combat phase means you learn the trust loop without needing to time a subdue correctly. Once you know how feeding sessions work and how fast trust builds, moving to a ferocious animal makes more sense.

Bring excess food before a long taming session

Trust building requires multiple interactions. Running out of food mid-session means the animal wanders back to normal behavior and the progress you've made stays — but you've lost the encounter. Stock three to four times what you think you'll need.

Use Calphade Saddlery if you want a bear

Bears are one of the higher-demand Special Mounts given their size and presence. Calphade and Hernand both stock bear saddles. If you're in the central region of the map, Calphade is likely closer.

Don't confuse Special Mounts with legendary mounts

Patch 1.05.00 fixed a bug preventing legendary mount summoning. Legendary mounts and Crimson Desert Special Mounts are separate systems. Legendary mounts are rare combat-adjacent items; Special Mounts are the tameable animals added in 1.06. They use different quickslot entries and don't compete.

Feed your mount during travel

The in-ride feeding mechanic lets you maintain or build trust without stopping. Open inventory, select food, hit Feed. Useful if you're already mounted and want to keep a trust bonus active or just have leftover food taking up inventory.

Common Mistakes

Attacking after the subdual

One hit after the animal drops resets the feeding window. Watch for the posture change — the animation shifts to something passive or grounded — and stop all attacks before touching inventory.

Buying saddles before confirming animal type

Eight saddleries, each with two or three animal types covered. Buying a Kuku Bird saddle when you're taming a wolf is a wasted trip. Check the table above before traveling to a saddlery.

Treating Special Mounts as temporary content

Some players tried the system and moved on, treating it as a patch novelty. Trust building is persistent — the progress doesn't reset between sessions. If you're 60% through taming a tiger and log off, it'll be at 60% when you return.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you tame ferocious animals in Crimson Desert? Fight the animal until it enters a subdued state — usually after it crosses a stagger threshold. Stop attacking immediately. While it's subdued, open your inventory, select food, and choose Feed. Repeat across multiple encounters. The trust meter tracks cumulative progress; it doesn't reset between sessions.

What's the fastest Special Mount to get in Crimson Desert? Passive animals are faster because you skip the combat phase. Deer and boars are among the more common passive animals and are found in accessible early-to-mid-game zones. A full trust build on a deer can be done in a few dedicated sessions.

Do Special Mounts have speed differences? The patch notes don't specify unique speed stats per animal. They function comparably to standard mounts for travel. The choice of animal is primarily aesthetic and preference-based.

Can other players see your Special Mount? Yes. Special Mounts are visible to other players in the world, which is part of the appeal — particularly for rarer animals like lions and tigers.

Where exactly is the Claw Machine? Pearl Abyss didn't specify exact map coordinates in the 1.06.00 patch notes. Community testing placed it near major city areas. Check central plazas or hub areas in cities you haven't fully explored since the patch.

References

• Patch Notes Version 1.06.00 — Crimson Desert Steam News — primary source for all Special Mount and saddlery details
• Crimson Desert on Steam — official store page, current review score and player information

Related reading

The Crimson Desert tips guide covers the core game loop before you get into optional systems like mounts.

The Crimson Desert combat guide is relevant if you're going after ferocious animals — parry and dodge timing helps with the subdual phase on bears and wolves.

GODEEPER: If you're investing in a ferocious mount, understanding Crimson Desert's parry and dodge windows makes the subdual phase much more controlled. Crimson Desert Combat Guide →