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About this mod
Wildlife AI and faction enhancements across most animals in Skyrim. New behaviors and faction improvements for predators, prey, and certain monsters.
- Requirements
- Permissions and credits
- Changelogs
- Donations
Description
Untamed Wilds is a wildlife AI overhaul. Out of the box you get:New AI Packages embodying predator and prey behaviors Faction relationship enhancements that are more true to real-life animal behaviors A dynamic loader for updating faction relationships mid-game, including the ability to revert Balance adjustments to predators and new high-level variants Maximum configurability using a built-in UI with convenience presets
High compatibility through the ZEdit UPF patching system; the generated patch is unique to your mod list and does not need any separate compatibility patches. Otherwise, a pre-packaged installer is available with modest customization.
AI Packages
Animals will perform daily actions suitable to their role in the wild. Foragers like hares will seek flora. Bears - being omnivores - will sniff out fish for meals and defer to local flora otherwise. Wolves will hunt larger prey such as deer and boars. Giants will forage near their camp and then make their way back.
Factions
Ever notice that the bears, wolves and sabretooth cats of Skyrim are all BFFs and happy to work together to kill you, the player? Or see wolves wasting their energy chasing bunnies and foxes? Predators will no longer form an ironclad, unified alliance against the player. Relationships are partitioned amongst large predators, large prey, small predators and small prey. Most large predators will be hostile to one another and will comfortably ignore smaller prey and smaller predators, as they would in nature.
And this feature can be enabled and reverted mid-save through the MCM menu.
AI Tweaks
Aggression and confidence are tweaked across the board, with predators generally being more aggressive with higher aggro radii. Yet in some cases, aggression and confidence are decreased to reflect animal instinct varying across the totem pole. For example, wolves will not always fight to the death anymore. Foxes will attack the player if they get too close, but will otherwise generally be unaggressive.
Balance and Leveled Lists
As if Skyrim wasn’t dangerous enough, higher level variants of apex predators are added to keep the player on their toes into the late-game. They will be uncommon, but not rare. Base creature records are also given some non-trivial buffs to health and stamina in the spirit of this mod.
Installation (preferred)
Mod Organizer 2 is highly recommended for this mod because it is technical and has several moving parts, including a dynamically generated patch and a supplementary JSON metadata file.
This approach uses ZEdit to generate a patch unique to your mod list. There is a Nexus tutorial for ZEdit and MO2 here. However, this option only supports load orders with <253 mods. If your mod order is longer, or you just prefer a one-click install with some drawbacks, see the alternative installation method below.
Enjoy.
ZEdit details
Follow the tutorial to get started. After you've installed ZEdit and configured the UW patcher settings, you must build the mod:
This will generate an ESP which can then be associated with any mod in MO2, and enabled in your mod list.
! Plugin limit !
Unfortunately, ZEdit does not support patching a mod list that has 253 or above plugins. Worse, this limit includes ESL mods.
The simplest workaround is to just use the alternative installation method below. The only other work arounds are as follows:
Extra guides
For guides on how to setup MO2 and SKSE, look here. For more help with ZEdit, there's another tutorial here. For more direct help, the ZEdit Discord channel is here.
Presets
This mod is highly configurable. You can pick which features you want to use. Select from available presets in ZEdit or select functionality a-la-carte.
Installation (alternative)
This approach uses pre-generated patches for vanilla. Vortex will work just as well as MO2 here for mod management. Both Anniversary Edition and non-AE configurations are supported; the installer will auto-detect AE.
However, the provided patches are statically generated and thus compatibility will be lower. There is nothing inherently wrong here (the vast majority of hosted mods don't use tools like ZEdit UPF, SkyPatcher or Synthesis), but the dynamic option is still preferred if it works in your setup.
Compatibility
If you use the preferred approach, the UPF patcher will process your specific load-list, and will dynamically generate a patch unique to your playthrough. For this reason, compatibility is very high. However, wildlife and content mods that add entirely new animal races (e.g. Animallica) are currently unsupported.
Most, but not all, content mods will then be supported. For example, a hypothetical quest mod that adds a dire wolf that respawns in forests and is associated with the vanilla Wolf race record will be supported. Content mods that add entirely new animal races are unsupported. As time goes on, this mod will be updated with native support for specific wildlife mods.
If you use the alternative install approach, compatibility will be lower. All edits will be exclusive to vanilla or AE records, and conflict resolution will be significantly more important.
Essential NPCs
It is not recommended to use this mod with any other one that removes protected or essential flags from important NPCs, because they can be hunted too.
Uninstallation Faction changes may be reverted via the MCM menu. This mod does not have a formal uninstaller. Since this mod doesn’t edit the Default Package Lists ("DPLT") for any animal record, it’s safe to uninstall mid-game; animals will revert to their vanilla behaviors. That said, cell resets after uninstalling are recommended. Note that the MCM script will persist upon uninstall. This should be harmless, but it can be removed via a save cleaner.
FAQ
How stable is this mod?
This mod is in beta. The intent is for testers to find bugs and report them, which I will attempt to resolve. Bugs can include major compatibility issues. That said, all the changes are intended to be safe, revertible and crash-proof. I learned a lot about the potential for CTDs from various AI Package mods and have worked on this mod with that knowledge at the forefront. This mod was built with stability in mind. All packages run sparingly (typically once per day) and add to - not replace - vanilla behaviors. Travel distances and search radii are usually significantly lower than comparable mods. List randomization is used sparingly. The DPLT is preserved; creatures will revert to their vanilla behaviors if this mod's packages aren't running or the mod is uninstalled. And most packages scan for Linked Refs to obtain targets.
Does this mod use scripts?
It only uses a script for the MCM menu and functionality used to update Faction records in an existing save. The AI packages - the bulk of the changes in this mod - do not use scripts. However, that does not mean that they will have no performance impact. Too many or too complex AI package mods can destabilize a playthrough, and YES, can cause crashes. After many hours of testing AI packages in this and similar mods, I've implemented this one with stability as the #1 priority.
How is this different than other wildlife AI mods including SkyTEST and Wild World?
First and foremost, this mod is more compact and was built with stability in mind. If you use ZEdit, you may generate a dynamic patch which dramatically increases compatibility. Otherwise, the install is comparable to both mods. There is an MCM menu and script for hot-loading Faction changes into an existing save. In general, this mod is much leaner than both SkyTEST and Wild World, even with the full feature set enabled. You will find more features and sophisticated AI schedules in SkyTEST and Wild World. Unique AI packages include those for Apex predators, monstrous hunters and omnivores.
How is this different than Wild World specifically? Package schedules and behaviors are lighter as a matter of practice. All animals defer to vanilla behaviors outside of specific event times.
How is this different than SkyTEST specifically?
This mod has much less functionality than SkyTEST, but includes some unique behaviors regarding apex predators and NPC hunters. This mod doesn’t attempt to radically alter Skyrim’s environment and is intended to be a vanilla+ mod. Most packages activate sparingly and supplement - not replace - vanilla behaviors.
Why does this mod need ZEdit?
This mod has a dynamic JavaScript-based patcher that will only seek out records that are safe for patching. The logic to do this is non-trivial. For example, a record to be patched must be respawnable and used in at least one levelled list in an exterior cell. This rule automatically excludes many records used in quests and specific events.
Why does this mod not use SkyPatcher, Synthesis or some other dynamic patcher?
I found UPF to be quite powerful (the entire API is exposed in JavaScript), and I was more comfortable working in a typical programming environment using the WebStorm IDE. The dynamic patcher is non-trivial. For example, it will intelligently search for animal records that are safe to include in AI package edits. It will also consider Templates in the patching process. So it's not just a simple re-write; migrating to a new patching framework will be a fair amount of effort. This mod started development in 2019 and I have refused to migrate from UPF for any reason (other than it not working) which would have ensured this mod was never ever finished and/or released. I plan to check out newer dynamic patchers in time.
I read <X on Reddit> about this mod being unsafe, shady and risky enough to set my PC on fire. Why won’t you fix <X issue>?
First, please try the mod for yourself, taking appropriate backups and seeing what the mod edits via tools like SSEEdit and ZEdit. It is a very good idea to use such tools to see what a mod is actually doing behind the scenes and to look past the marketing. Second, if the issue is specific (versus a kind of vague assertion that is common on Reddit), and it’s not already logged, log a bug and I will investigate.
Don’t you know that “Untamed Wilds” is already taken for <insert X game or mod here>? This name is unoriginal.
This mod has been in development (on and off) for over 5 years. It technically began in 2019, although the earliest evidence I have of working on it is on Discord from 2020 when I started bugging mator and VictorF for assistance with ZEdit patchers. This probably predates any now popular usage of the name.
Permissions
This mod is released with the Cathedral license. Uploads to other platforms are allowed but you must provide credit, and must propagate the licensing. I may be annoyed if someone re-posts almost the same mod on Nexus for no good reason, and I’m hoping that doesn’t happen. But regardless, this is a very permissible license and I have suggestions below for anyone that would like to use the contents of this mod for other purposes.
Open Modding Licenses
Credits
The artwork used for this mod page is commissioned art. The artist’s Instagram is here, and her express permission is required for any usage of the art.
I’d also like to thank Mator for developing the ZEdit patcher framework, and for both Mator and Victor’s guidance and patience.
And finally for all the groundwork with JContainers and of course SKSE. JContainers made a significant portion of this mod possible and just like ZEdit, is something I could never have figured out myself.
Future Plans
This is a beta release. I intend to spend months resolving any bugs and specific compatibility issues. However, my Master’s thesis is going to be taking up most of my time for the remainder of this year. New features are going to take a back seat at first and I’ll prioritize bug fixing, package tweaks (e.g. schedules) and compatibility tweaks. My goal is to declare this mod stable before November 2025, as the winter chill sets in here.
Future functionality may include better support for custom animal mods (e.g. Animallica), more scheduled behaviors, mate variants, and seasonal behaviors. I'll also evaluate transitioning the patcher to Synthesis.
So the Cathedral license permits just about any usage of this mod. I’d suggest the following directions: Upload an already generated vanilla patch for consoles without any MCM or SKSE dependency Upload an already generated vanilla patch for PC (prefer it to be attached to this mod page but alas)Introduce an already generated patch into a gameplay-oriented modpack Generalize the UPF patcher JavaScript code for use in other rebalance mods, e.g. something like Skyrim Revamped Or convert the UPF patcher to Synthesis. Of all the options above, this would probably be the most effort. And I'd absolutely share this page and/or give ownership for this.
Contributors
My thesis is going to be taking up most of my time. So I’d be very interested in finding other contributors, including for both the UPF patcher or the AI packages. If you are interested in this, please let me know, and we can figure out how to share the mod page, credit and/or any (GitHub) repos.
Next Release (1.2)
Planned:
Untamed Wilds is a wildlife AI overhaul. Out of the box you get:
High compatibility through the ZEdit UPF patching system; the generated patch is unique to your mod list and does not need any separate compatibility patches. Otherwise, a pre-packaged installer is available with modest customization.
AI Packages
Animals will perform daily actions suitable to their role in the wild. Foragers like hares will seek flora. Bears - being omnivores - will sniff out fish for meals and defer to local flora otherwise. Wolves will hunt larger prey such as deer and boars. Giants will forage near their camp and then make their way back.
Spoiler:
Show
And if enabled (at your own peril), the apex predators of Skyrim will hunt just about everything - including you. There are even more surprises for the adventurer that braves all the dangerous additions of this mod.
Factions
Ever notice that the bears, wolves and sabretooth cats of Skyrim are all BFFs and happy to work together to kill you, the player? Or see wolves wasting their energy chasing bunnies and foxes? Predators will no longer form an ironclad, unified alliance against the player. Relationships are partitioned amongst large predators, large prey, small predators and small prey. Most large predators will be hostile to one another and will comfortably ignore smaller prey and smaller predators, as they would in nature.
And this feature can be enabled and reverted mid-save through the MCM menu.
AI Tweaks
Aggression and confidence are tweaked across the board, with predators generally being more aggressive with higher aggro radii. Yet in some cases, aggression and confidence are decreased to reflect animal instinct varying across the totem pole. For example, wolves will not always fight to the death anymore. Foxes will attack the player if they get too close, but will otherwise generally be unaggressive.
Balance and Leveled Lists
As if Skyrim wasn’t dangerous enough, higher level variants of apex predators are added to keep the player on their toes into the late-game. They will be uncommon, but not rare. Base creature records are also given some non-trivial buffs to health and stamina in the spirit of this mod.
Installation (preferred)
Mod Organizer 2 is highly recommended for this mod because it is technical and has several moving parts, including a dynamically generated patch and a supplementary JSON metadata file.
This approach uses ZEdit to generate a patch unique to your mod list. There is a Nexus tutorial for ZEdit and MO2 here. However, this option only supports load orders with <253 mods. If your mod order is longer, or you just prefer a one-click install with some drawbacks, see the alternative installation method below.
- Install all the required additional mods, such as JContainers and SkyUI.
- Install the UntamedWilds mod in MO2.
- Enable the ESM in your modlist.
- Install the tool ZEdit and execute it through MO2.
- In ZEdit, install the UPF patcher zip file untamedWildsPatcher-v1.0.0.zip and restart ZEdit.
- In ZEdit, and with your mod list fully enabled, optionally configure the patch settings (e.g. select a preset such as Tamed Wilds).
- Generate the patch in ZEdit. Refer to the below screenshot.
- In MO2, associate the dynamically generated patch ESP and JSON file with the Untamed Wilds mod.
- In MO2, enable the generated patch ESP, which is by default named UntamedWildsPatch.esp.
- Remember like with all ZEdit UPF patches the generated patch should be last in your load order.
- Start the game!
- In-game, optionally open the MCM menu and load the Faction and animal Race changes.
Enjoy.
ZEdit details
Follow the tutorial to get started. After you've installed ZEdit and configured the UW patcher settings, you must build the mod:
This will generate an ESP which can then be associated with any mod in MO2, and enabled in your mod list.
! Plugin limit !
Unfortunately, ZEdit does not support patching a mod list that has 253 or above plugins. Worse, this limit includes ESL mods.
The simplest workaround is to just use the alternative installation method below. The only other work arounds are as follows:
- Pre-select only relevant mods with new animals (e.g. Quest and Content mods instead of Graphics, Companions mods etc) in MO2 and include only those in the patching process. Remember- chances are the vast majority of mods in your mod list do not update animals or add new ones. This will effectively filter out mods that are irrelevant to the patching process.
- Merge plugins using ZMerge or SSEEdit, which is annoying and a bit risky. A tutorial for merging plugins with ZMerge is found here.
Extra guides
For guides on how to setup MO2 and SKSE, look here. For more help with ZEdit, there's another tutorial here. For more direct help, the ZEdit Discord channel is here.
Presets
This mod is highly configurable. You can pick which features you want to use. Select from available presets in ZEdit or select functionality a-la-carte.
Installation (alternative)
This approach uses pre-generated patches for vanilla. Vortex will work just as well as MO2 here for mod management. Both Anniversary Edition and non-AE configurations are supported; the installer will auto-detect AE.
However, the provided patches are statically generated and thus compatibility will be lower. There is nothing inherently wrong here (the vast majority of hosted mods don't use tools like ZEdit UPF, SkyPatcher or Synthesis), but the dynamic option is still preferred if it works in your setup.
- Perform steps 1 through 3 in the preferred instructions list.
- Install the optional file, which runs an installer. The installer will automatically infer if you have Anniversary Edition installed.
- Select a preset.
- Install. It's recommended to name the new install Untamed Wilds Patch instead of merging with the base install.
- Check for conflicts! It is highly recommended to perform conflict resolution now, e.g. by using SSEEdit or Mator Smash.
- Start the game.
- In-game, optionally open the MCM menu and load the Faction and animal Race changes.
- Have fun (pls).
Compatibility
If you use the preferred approach, the UPF patcher will process your specific load-list, and will dynamically generate a patch unique to your playthrough. For this reason, compatibility is very high. However, wildlife and content mods that add entirely new animal races (e.g. Animallica) are currently unsupported.
Most, but not all, content mods will then be supported. For example, a hypothetical quest mod that adds a dire wolf that respawns in forests and is associated with the vanilla Wolf race record will be supported. Content mods that add entirely new animal races are unsupported. As time goes on, this mod will be updated with native support for specific wildlife mods.
If you use the alternative install approach, compatibility will be lower. All edits will be exclusive to vanilla or AE records, and conflict resolution will be significantly more important.
Essential NPCs
It is not recommended to use this mod with any other one that removes protected or essential flags from important NPCs, because they can be hunted too.
Uninstallation
FAQ
How stable is this mod?
Does this mod use scripts?
How is this different than other wildlife AI mods including SkyTEST and Wild World?
How is this different than Wild World specifically?
How is this different than SkyTEST specifically?
Why does this mod need ZEdit?
Why does this mod not use SkyPatcher, Synthesis or some other dynamic patcher?
I read <X on Reddit> about this mod being unsafe, shady and risky enough to set my PC on fire. Why won’t you fix <X issue>?
Don’t you know that “Untamed Wilds” is already taken for <insert X game or mod here>? This name is unoriginal.
Permissions
This mod is released with the Cathedral license. Uploads to other platforms are allowed but you must provide credit, and must propagate the licensing. I may be annoyed if someone re-posts almost the same mod on Nexus for no good reason, and I’m hoping that doesn’t happen. But regardless, this is a very permissible license and I have suggestions below for anyone that would like to use the contents of this mod for other purposes.
Open Modding Licenses
Credits
The artwork used for this mod page is commissioned art. The artist’s Instagram is here, and her express permission is required for any usage of the art.
I’d also like to thank Mator for developing the ZEdit patcher framework, and for both Mator and Victor’s guidance and patience.
And finally for all the groundwork with JContainers and of course SKSE. JContainers made a significant portion of this mod possible and just like ZEdit, is something I could never have figured out myself.
Future Plans
This is a beta release. I intend to spend months resolving any bugs and specific compatibility issues. However, my Master’s thesis is going to be taking up most of my time for the remainder of this year. New features are going to take a back seat at first and I’ll prioritize bug fixing, package tweaks (e.g. schedules) and compatibility tweaks. My goal is to declare this mod stable before November 2025, as the winter chill sets in here.
Future functionality may include better support for custom animal mods (e.g. Animallica), more scheduled behaviors, mate variants, and seasonal behaviors. I'll also evaluate transitioning the patcher to Synthesis.
So the Cathedral license permits just about any usage of this mod. I’d suggest the following directions:
Contributors
My thesis is going to be taking up most of my time. So I’d be very interested in finding other contributors, including for both the UPF patcher or the AI packages. If you are interested in this, please let me know, and we can figure out how to share the mod page, credit and/or any (GitHub) repos.
Next Release (1.2)
Planned:
- Reduce base Wolf and Bear aggro radius below vanilla values