Animals

Overview

In the decades since the bacteriological war, wildlife has returned to the abandoned landscapes of Rooted's world. Animals serve dual roles in the game: as a food source through Hunting and Fishing, and as a potential threat through dangerous wildlife encounters.

Confirmed Wildlife

Dangerous Wildlife

Not all animals are passive. Some wildlife species are aggressive and will attack players who enter their territory. These dangerous animals function as one of three enemy categories alongside hostile survivors and ROTOR robots. Wildlife encounters can vary between animals that flee from players and those that charge aggressively.

Hunting Development

The full hunting system is planned as part of Alpha Phase 3. Current hunting capabilities include:

• Firearms: The M4A1 and Glock can be used to hunt wildlife. See weapons for details.

• Hunting traps: Traditional snare-based traps for capturing prey without using ammunition.

• Deer: Currently the only confirmed huntable animal in the game world.

Fishing

Fishing mechanics are being introduced in stages:

Role in Survival

Animals are a primary component of the Food Management system. Hunted game and caught fish provide protein to supplement crops from gardening and foraged berries. Cooking captured food at a campfire or with a Cooking Pot makes it safe and more effective for sustaining the player.

Live Wildlife

Deer is the only species live in the world as of the January 22, 2026 update. The studio framed the deer as the first step toward a deeper wildlife system, and the implementation focused on movement, spawning, and basic combat behavior. Deer drop food items when killed, which feeds back into the hunting loop and food management.

Planned Species

Additional huntable species are confirmed as planned, with some intended to behave aggressively and some to be infected. The studio has not committed to a final roster; expect rollouts to align with Phase 3 pacing through 2026.

Expanded Wildlife Layer (In Development)

A broader living-animal layer is in active development and is not yet in the public build. Animals are simulated across the whole map as lightweight agents and become full creatures when a player gets close, then fold back into agents once everyone leaves the area. The first three species being built each use their own behaviour archetype.

Senses and tracking. Every animal perceives by sight, hearing, and scent, and scent is carried on the wind, so staying downwind makes a survivor much harder to smell. Kills decay through stages from fresh down to bones, and while they do they pull scavengers toward the carcass. Footprints and blood leave tracking marks that last longer on soft ground, briefly on firm rock, and longest in snow. These systems are confirmed by the studio as work in development; the meshes, animation, audio, and per-species behaviour are authored separately on top of the systems layer.

Player Interaction

Until skinning and meat-cooking depth ships, animals function primarily as food sources gated by combat readiness. Players running coordinated co-op can split a hunt between scouting via drones and the actual approach, reducing missed shots and reducing the chance of scaring nearby herds.

Animal Perception And Visibility (In Development)

A June 2026 update detailed how animals will sense the player, work that is in development and not yet in the public build. Animals see within a forward cone that needs a clear line of sight, and they pick up scent across a range that shifts with the wind, so approaching from downwind matters. When an animal feels threatened it flees, sprinting away until it feels safe again.

The same update fixed visibility: animals now appear with their correct species model and stand properly on the ground, where earlier they could render as nothing. This perception layer is confirmed development direction rather than shipped content.

Hunting And Predators (In Development)

A June 12, 2026 development update advanced the hunting layer, work that is in development and not yet in the public build. Animals can now be hunted in full: they take the same per-bone hits as everything else, die, ragdoll, and leave a carcass that records the species and who made the kill.

Predators react with their own routine. A bear assesses the player, warns with a huff, charges, attacks, and disengages back to its territory once the player leaves. Its claws make the player bleed. Deer remain the only species live in the current public build; the bear and this hunting depth are confirmed development direction.

Wildlife Behavior Detail (In Development)

A July 2026 development update expanded how each wildlife species behaves, work that is in development and not yet in the public build. Hearing now runs on a shared noise system: a gunshot carries far across the map, footsteps register only a few meters away, and moving in a crouch stays silent, so sound discipline decides how close a survivor can get before an animal reacts.

These per-species routines are confirmed development direction rather than shipped content. Deer remain the only wildlife live in the current public build.