You won't make it far as a caravaneer without animals to haul cargo, at least at first. Later on you may start relying on vehicles more than these four-legged friends, but you'll need to haul (via) donkey for a good while to get there. Luckily, you start with one.
Each different animal has different characteristics, from how durable against damage they are, to how much they eat and drink each day, to (of course) how much each one can haul for you and how quickly (or slowly) they move. Since your caravan moves as fast as the slowest thing in it, you'll have to consider whether or not to trade hauling-capacity or forage efficiency for speed. All animals except for camels can haul carts to double or triple their hauling capacity.
NOTE: NO ANIMALS CARRY PEOPLE. If there aren't enough vehicle-seats for your entire crew, the extra ones will walk, and your caravan will walk along with them.
| Animal | Health | Capacity | Speed (km/h) | Forage (kg/day) | Water (L/day) | Carts | Price range |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Donkey |
150 | 150 | 4 | 6 | 4.8 | Yes | 700 ~ 1200 |
Mule |
200 | 250 | 5 | 9 | 7.2 | Yes | 1300 ~ 2200 |
Horse |
200 | 200 | 15 | 15 | 12 | Yes | 1700 ~ 2900 |
Ox  |
450 | 500 | 3 | 24 | 19.2 | Yes | 4100 ~ 6800 |
Dromedary Camel  |
250 | 300 | 3 | 1.5 | 1.2 | No | 2800 ~ 4600 |
Bactrian Camel  |
350 | 500 | 4 | 4.5 | 7.2 | No | ~ 7500 |
Should I use mules or horses?
- Slower crews are more efficient with mules than horses.
- Mules carry more cargo for less forage and water, but horses offset efficiency by moving triple as fast with vehicles.
- People faster than mules can also outrun some robbers with horses.
For these reasons, speedier horses may be favored over mules.
Efficiency[]
How much goods the animal can carry for every kg or L it consumes while moving at maximum speed.
| Animal | Forage need (kg/100km) | Water need (L/100km) | Efficiency without cart (kg/kg/100km) | Efficiency without cart (kg/L/100km) | Efficiency with cart (kg/kg/100km) | Efficiency with cart (kg/L/100km) | Extra food (kg/100km/person) | Extra water (L/100km/person) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Donkey | 6.25 | 5 | 24 | 30 | 59.2 | 74 | 0.9375 | 2.5 |
| Mule | 7.5 | 6 | 33.3333 | 41.6667 | 89.3333 | 111.6667 | 0.75 | 2 |
| Horse | 4.1667 | 3.3333 | 48 | 60 | 124.8 | 156 | 0.25 | 0.6667 |
| Ox | 33.3333 | 26.6667 | 15 | 18.75 | 41.4 | 51.75 | 1.25 | 3.3333 |
| Dromedary Camel | 2.0833 | 1.6667 | 144 | 180 | - | - | 1.25 | 3.3333 |
| Bactrian Camel | 4.6875 | 7.5 | 106.6667 | 66.6667 | - | - | 0.9375 | 2.5 |
NOTE: horses need vehicles to carry people for max speed travel (so take consideration the fuel consumption as well). Cart = the best cart for that animal.
Empty Animal Shops[]
Sometimes, what ends up happening is that all the animals in the shops are gone. You can't find any at all. Don't panic, this is temporary. Those NPC caravans will buy up animals over time. They will eventually buy ALL the animals. When this happens, the game will automatically have its towns start "making" animals. After a couple of months of ingame time, there will be a fresh stock of animals in the animal shop. Be patient and wait it out, the animals will appear again eventually.
