Dances With Wolves challenge in Dead Rails (2025 Guide)

The Dances With Wolves challenge in Dead Rails has players scrambling to build their wolf army faster than ever before. After completing this challenge myself and testing multiple strategies over countless runs, I can tell you that this seemingly simple objective—taming 20 wolves in a single playthrough—is deceptively difficult.

The RNG-dependent wolf spawns, dangerous werewolf encounters, and the challenge of keeping your wolves alive make this one of the trickiest special objectives in the game. In this comprehensive guide, I’ll walk you through everything you need to know to conquer the Dances With Wolves challenge efficiently, from choosing the perfect class to advanced wolf management strategies that will save you hours of frustration.

Dances With Wolves Challenge Overview

Challenge Detail	Information
Challenge Name	Dances With Wolves
Objective	Tame 20 wolves in a single playthrough
Difficulty	★★★☆☆ (Medium-Hard)
Reward	Bonds + Star Points
Best Class	Packmaster (35 Bonds)
Estimated Time	30-50 minutes (depends on wolf spawns)
Key Challenge	RNG-dependent wolf pack spawns
Can Wolves Die?	Yes, but they still count if tamed first

The Dances With Wolves challenge references the classic 1990 film of the same name and requires you to successfully tame 20 wolves during a single run from start to finish. What makes this challenge particularly demanding is that wolf packs spawn randomly throughout the desert areas between checkpoints, and each pack may contain 3-6 wolves—sometimes including a deadly werewolf that cannot be tamed and poses a serious threat to both you and your wolf companions.

Understanding Wolf Mechanics in Dead Rails

Before diving into the challenge strategies, you need to understand how wolves function in Dead Rails. This knowledge will make the difference between success and repeated failures.

Where Wolves Spawn?

Wolves appear in packs throughout the barren desert areas between major locations like towns, forts, and special structures. These packs spawn randomly, which is why the Dances With Wolves challenge can be frustratingly RNG-dependent. Each pack contains a minimum of three wolves and can include up to six wolves in a single group.

The spawn locations are completely random—you might encounter multiple packs early in your run or go long stretches without seeing a single wolf. This unpredictability is what makes planning your route impossible and requires you to be opportunistic when wolf packs do appear.

Wolf Pack Composition

Not all wolf packs are created equal, and understanding their composition is crucial for the challenge:

Standard Packs: Most wolf packs contain 3-6 regular wolves that can all be tamed. These are your ideal targets for the challenge.

Werewolf Packs: Occasionally, a pack will spawn with a werewolf mixed in among the regular wolves. Werewolves are significantly more dangerous enemies that deal massive damage, move quickly, and cannot be tamed under any circumstances. Even the Packmaster class’s automatic taming ability doesn’t work on werewolves.

When you spot a pack from a distance, watch their behavior carefully. Werewolves are noticeably larger, move differently, and will generally be more aggressive. If you’re not prepared with good weapons and ammunition, it’s often better to avoid werewolf packs entirely and wait for cleaner opportunities.

How Regular Wolf Taming Works?

There are two primary methods for taming wolves in Dead Rails:

Corpse Feeding Method (Traditional): Hold a corpse in your hands as a wolf approaches. When the wolf makes contact with the corpse before reaching you, it will eat the corpse and become tamed instantly. Zombie corpses are the easiest to obtain, but any corpse works—including horses, other wolves, or any dead enemy.

Packmaster Auto-Taming: If you’re playing as the Packmaster class, any wolf that bites you automatically becomes tamed without needing to feed it a corpse. This makes the Packmaster the undisputed best class for completing the Dances With Wolves challenge.

Important Wolf Behavior Facts

Tamed Wolves Are Aggressive: Once tamed, your wolves will immediately attack any enemies they perceive as threats—including untamed wolves from their own pack. This means you need to tame the entire pack quickly before your tamed wolves kill the untamed ones.

Wolves Can Die (But Still Count): Your tamed wolves are fragile and will often charge into combat and die. The good news is that as long as a wolf was tamed first, it counts toward your 20-wolf total even if it dies later. You don’t need to keep all 20 wolves alive until the end—just make sure they were tamed at some point during the run.

Wolves Deal 15 Damage Per Bite: Each tamed wolf has 100 health and deals 15 damage per bite, making them quite effective against basic enemies like zombies and bandits.

Storage and Deployment: Tamed wolves can be stored in your sack inventory and later deployed when needed. You can also weld them to your train for mobile defense, though they remain vulnerable to enemy fire even when welded.

Best Class for Dances With Wolves: The Packmaster

The Packmaster class is hands-down the best—and arguably the only practical—choice for completing the Dances With Wolves challenge efficiently. Here’s why this class is absolutely essential:

Packmaster Class Overview

Attribute	Value
Cost	35 Treasury Bonds
Starting Items	1x Shovel, 3x Tamed Wolves
Special Ability	Wolves that bite you are instantly tamed
Wolf Capacity	6 wolves alive + more stored in sack
With Full Armor	Can tame up to 13 wolves at once

Why Packmaster Dominates This Challenge?

No Corpses Required: The Packmaster’s automatic taming ability means you don’t need to collect, store, and position corpses for each wolf. This saves massive amounts of time and inventory space.

Faster Taming Process: Simply stand still and let wolves bite you. Each bite instantly tames them—no awkward positioning or timing required.

Early Wolf Advantage: You spawn with three tamed wolves, giving you immediate combat support. However, these three starting wolves do not count toward your 20-wolf challenge total.

Health Cost Management: While letting wolves bite you does drain health, you can carry Snake Oil and Bandages to heal through the damage. This is a small price to pay for the convenience.

Alternative Classes (Not Recommended)

While technically possible to complete the challenge with other classes, you’ll need to use the corpse-feeding method, which is:

• Time-consuming: You need to hunt down enemies for corpses, store them in your sack, and carefully position them for each wolf.
• Inventory-intensive: Corpses take up precious sack space that could be used for valuable items.
• More dangerous: You’re vulnerable while holding corpses and positioning yourself for wolf approaches.

Classes like Cowboy, Vampire, or Survivalist can work if you’re determined, but expect the challenge to take significantly longer and require multiple attempts due to the tedious corpse management.

Step-by-Step Strategy to Complete the Challenge

Here’s my proven strategy for completing the Dances With Wolves challenge efficiently:

Pre-Run Preparation

1. Unlock the Packmaster Class: If you haven’t already, spend 35 Treasury Bonds at the Tailor to unlock the Packmaster. This is a non-negotiable requirement for efficient completion.

2. Stock Up on Healing Items: Before starting your run, collect as many Snake Oils and Bandages as possible. You’ll need these to heal after letting wolves bite you for taming.

3. Acquire a Firearm and Ammunition: Bring a revolver, rifle, or shotgun with plenty of ammunition. This is crucial for dealing with werewolves that may appear in wolf packs.

4. Start Your Run: Begin a standard playthrough. The challenge can be completed in any game mode.

During Your Run: The Taming Process

Step 1: Spot a Wolf Pack

As you travel between locations, constantly scan the horizon for wolf packs. They’re most common in the open desert areas between forts, towns, and special structures. When you spot a pack, immediately assess whether it contains a werewolf.

Step 2: Werewolf Assessment

If No Werewolf Present: Proceed directly to taming the pack.

If Werewolf Present: You have two options:

• Kill the werewolf first (recommended if you have good weapons and ammo)
• Skip the pack entirely and wait for a safer opportunity

Never try to tame wolves while a werewolf is in the pack—the werewolf will attack you, your wolves will attack it, and chaos will ensue, likely killing multiple tame-able wolves before you can convert them.

Step 3: The Taming Sequence

As the Packmaster, approach the wolf pack and let them come to you. Here’s the critical process:

1. Stand Still or Move Slowly: Let wolves reach you and bite you
2. Each Bite Tames Instantly: The moment a wolf bites you, it becomes tamed
3. Immediately Store Tamed Wolves: Press F to open your sack and store each newly-tamed wolf right away
4. Repeat for Each Wolf: Continue this process for every wolf in the pack

Step 4: Quick Storage is Essential

This is the most important technique: immediately store each wolf in your sack as soon as it’s tamed. Here’s why:

• Tamed wolves will attack untamed wolves from their pack
• This wolf-on-wolf violence will drain health from both sides
• You risk killing untamed wolves before you can tame them
• Quick storage prevents this infighting entirely

The storage process is simple:

1. Wolf bites you and becomes tamed
2. Press F to open sack
3. Click the wolf to pick it up
4. Place it at the bottom of your sack inventory
5. Close sack and wait for next wolf bite

Step 5: Heal Between Packs

After taming a pack, use Snake Oil or Bandages to restore your health before continuing your journey. Don’t let your health get too low—you need to survive the full run to complete the challenge.

Step 6: Track Your Progress

Keep a mental count of how many wolves you’ve tamed. Remember that your three starting wolves don’t count, so you need to tame 20 additional wolves beyond those.

2025 Advanced Tips for Faster Completion

Maximize Each Pack: Always try to tame entire packs rather than partial groups. Since wolf spawns are RNG-dependent, you want to capitalize on every opportunity.

Don’t Worry About Wolf Deaths: Your tamed wolves will die—often quickly. Don’t stress about keeping them alive. As long as you tamed 20 total wolves at some point, the challenge completes successfully.

Prioritize Wolf Encounters: When traveling between locations, take routes through open desert areas where wolf packs are more likely to spawn rather than sticking strictly to the railroad tracks.

Use Wolves for Combat: While they will die, your tamed wolves are useful for taking down zombie towns and outlaw camps. Their deaths often draw enemy fire away from you.

Full Armor Advantage: If you manage to acquire full armor during your run (helmet, chestplate), you can tame up to 13 wolves simultaneously alive at once, though this is rarely necessary for challenge completion.

Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Through my own challenge attempts and watching others struggle, I’ve identified the most common mistakes that cause failures:

Mistake #1: Fighting Werewolf Packs Unprepared

The Problem: New players see a wolf pack with a werewolf and try to tame the wolves while the werewolf is still alive and aggressive.

The Solution: Always kill the werewolf first before attempting to tame its packmates, or skip the pack entirely if you lack sufficient firepower. Werewolves deal massive damage and can easily kill you while you’re trying to tame their companions.

Mistake #2: Not Storing Wolves Immediately

The Problem: Players tame one or two wolves and let them wander, then those tamed wolves attack and kill the remaining untamed wolves before they can be converted.

The Solution: Store every single tamed wolf in your sack immediately after taming. Only release wolves when you specifically need them for combat or when you’ve tamed the entire pack.

Mistake #3: Running Out of Healing Items

The Problem: Players don’t bring enough healing items and die from accumulated bite damage during taming attempts.

The Solution: Stock up heavily on Snake Oil and Bandages before starting your run. Heal frequently between wolf pack encounters. Don’t let your health drop below 50% unless absolutely necessary.

Mistake #4: Trying Without Packmaster

The Problem: Players attempt the challenge with non-Packmaster classes using the corpse-feeding method, which is significantly slower and more tedious.

The Solution: Just use Packmaster. The 35 Bonds investment is absolutely worth it for this challenge. Trying to complete it with other classes will likely take multiple frustrating attempts.

Mistake #5: Attacking Wolves During Taming

The Problem: Players accidentally hit wolves with melee weapons or stray bullets while trying to tame them, killing potential tames.

The Solution: Keep weapons holstered during the taming process. Only draw weapons when dealing with werewolves or other threats, and be careful with area-of-effect attacks near wolf packs.

Mistake #6: Giving Up Too Early

The Problem: Players experience bad RNG with few wolf spawns early in their run and abandon the attempt prematurely.

The Solution: Stay patient and continue your full playthrough. Wolf packs can appear at any point, and you may encounter multiple large packs later in your run that quickly catch you up to the 20-wolf requirement.

Dealing with Werewolves: Combat Strategies

Werewolves are the single biggest threat during Dances With Wolves challenge runs. Here’s how to handle them effectively:

Identifying Werewolves

Werewolves are visually distinct from regular wolves:

• Significantly larger body size
• Different movement animations
• More aggressive behavior patterns
• Often positioned slightly apart from regular wolves in the pack

Combat Approach

Recommended Weapons: Firearms are essential for werewolf combat. Rifles work best due to their range and damage, but revolvers and shotguns can work if you’re skilled at kiting.

The Kiting Method:

1. Spot the werewolf from a distance
2. Draw it away from the regular wolves in the pack
3. Maintain distance while shooting
4. Avoid letting it close the gap—werewolves deal devastating melee damage
5. Once dead, return to tame the regular wolves safely

Ammunition Requirements: Expect to use 10-15 bullets to kill a werewolf with a standard rifle or revolver. Always carry extra ammunition specifically for werewolf encounters.

When to Avoid: If you’re low on health, ammunition, or healing items, it’s perfectly acceptable to skip a pack with a werewolf and wait for cleaner opportunities later in your run.

Wolf Management During Your Run

Once you’ve tamed wolves, managing them properly can mean the difference between success and failure:

Storage Best Practices

Sack Organization: Keep tamed wolves at the bottom of your sack inventory. This prevents you from accidentally pulling them out when accessing other items.

Deployment Strategy: Only deploy wolves when you specifically need combat support. Leaving them deployed means they’ll wander, engage enemies without your control, and likely die unnecessarily.

Train Welding: You can weld wolves to your train cart for mobile defense. If you choose this method:

• Weld them to the sides of the cart, not the floor
• This prevents them from getting stuck on the cart fence
• They can be quickly unwelded during night attacks or town raids
• Remember they’re still vulnerable to enemy gunfire even when welded

Combat Deployment

Wolves are most effective when:

• Attacking Zombie Towns: Release wolves to help clear towns. They’ll draw aggro and damage, giving you safer positioning.
• Defending During Night Events: Unweld train-mounted wolves during night attacks to help repel enemy waves.
• Raiding Outlaw Camps: Wolves create chaos that distracts bandits from targeting you.
• Fort Constitution Raids: Large wolf deployments can help overwhelm fortified positions.

Accepting Wolf Casualties

This is perhaps the most important mindset shift: your tamed wolves will die, and that’s okay. Wolves are aggressive AI companions that will charge into dangerous situations. Don’t try to keep all your wolves alive—it’s impossible and unnecessary. As long as you tamed 20 total wolves at any point during the run, you complete the challenge successfully.

Alternative Strategies and Advanced Techniques

While the Packmaster method is standard, here are some advanced approaches I’ve tested:

The Corpse Preparation Method (Non-Packmaster)

If you’re determined to complete the challenge without Packmaster:

Phase 1: Corpse Collection

• Kill zombies in early towns and store corpses in your sack
• Aim for 15-20 corpses before actively seeking wolf packs
• Zombie corpses are lightest and easiest to manage

Phase 2: Taming Process

• Approach wolf pack
• Quick-swap to corpse in inventory (hotkey it if possible)
• Hold corpse extended in front of you
• Position yourself so the approaching wolf intersects the corpse before reaching you
• The moment the wolf touches the corpse, it tames
• Quickly store the tamed wolf and repeat

Challenges with This Method:

• Extremely time-consuming
• High failure rate due to positioning errors
• Corpses taking valuable inventory space
• Wolves may bypass corpse and hit you anyway
• Overall success rate is much lower than Packmaster method

The Team Coordination Strategy

If you’re playing with a coordinated team:

Role Distribution:

• Tamer (Packmaster): Focuses exclusively on finding and taming wolf packs
• Guardian: Equipped with strong weapons to clear werewolves from packs before taming begins
• Support: Carries extra healing items to keep the Tamer healthy
• Scout: Ranges ahead to locate wolf pack spawn locations

Advantages:

• Guardian can quickly eliminate werewolves, allowing more frequent taming opportunities
• Support keeps Tamer alive through extended taming sessions
• Scout maximizes efficiency by directing team to wolf locations
• Shared completion means entire team gets the reward

Coordination Tips:

• Use voice communication if possible
• Establish clear calls for wolf pack locations
• Guardian should have priority on ammunition purchases
• Tamer should avoid other combat to preserve health for taming

The Speed Run Approach

For experienced players who know the game well:

Pre-Run Setup:

• Packmaster class
• Full healing item inventory (10+ Snake Oil, 10+ Bandages)
• Starting revolver and maximum ammunition

Execution:

• Rush through the map at maximum speed
• Skip all optional content except wolf packs
• Immediately tame every non-werewolf pack
• Kill werewolves only if they’re blocking necessary path progression
• Ignore town raids, loot, and economy entirely
• Focus singularly on finding and taming 20 wolves

Expected Completion Time: 25-35 minutes with good RNG

Risk Level: High—you’ll have minimal equipment and resources, making you vulnerable to all threats

Rewards and Why This Challenge Matters?

Completing the Dances With Wolves challenge rewards you with:

Bonds: Additional Treasury Bonds that can be spent on unlocking other classes Star Points: Contributes to your overall challenge completion progression Bragging Rights: This is one of the more difficult challenges in Dead Rails Game Knowledge: Mastering wolf mechanics benefits all future playthroughs

The Bonds Economy

Bonds are the premium currency in Dead Rails used to unlock classes at the Tailor. Completing challenges is one of the primary methods for earning Bonds without real-money purchases. The Dances With Wolves challenge provides a significant Bond reward that can help unlock your next class.

Challenge Completion Benefits

Dead Rails tracks your total challenge completions and rewards players who complete multiple challenges with cosmetic rewards and special unlocks. The Dances With Wolves challenge is part of this progression system.

FAQ’s

Do the three starting wolves from Packmaster count toward the 20 total?

No, your three starting Packmaster wolves do NOT count toward the 20-wolf requirement. You must tame 20 additional wolves beyond those three to complete the challenge.

Can I complete this challenge in solo mode?

Yes, the challenge can be completed in solo play. You don’t need a team, though coordinated teams can complete it more efficiently.

What happens if I tame 20 wolves but die before reaching Mexico?

Unfortunately, if you die before completing the run, the challenge fails even if you tamed 20 wolves. You must survive the entire playthrough for the completion to register.

Do wolves that die still count toward my total?

Yes! As long as you successfully tamed a wolf at some point during your run, it counts toward your 20-wolf total even if it dies later. You don’t need to keep wolves alive.

How many wolf packs do I typically need to encounter?

Most successful runs involve 4-6 wolf pack encounters. Since packs contain 3-6 wolves each, you’ll usually need to find at least 4 packs with decent spawns to reach 20 wolves total.

Can werewolves be tamed with the Packmaster ability?

No, werewolves are completely immune to all taming methods, including the Packmaster’s auto-taming ability. They must be killed or avoided.

Is there a way to increase wolf pack spawn rates?

No, wolf spawns are purely RNG-based. There’s no way to force more wolf packs to appear. This is why the challenge can sometimes take multiple attempts.

What’s the minimum ammunition I should carry for this challenge?

I recommend carrying at least 40-50 rounds for your primary firearm. This gives you enough ammunition to kill 2-3 werewolves plus handle other threats during your run.

Can the Hunter class help with this challenge?

Actually, no—the Hunter class is terrible for this challenge. When you’re playing as Hunter, all wild wolves transform into werewolves, making the challenge impossible to complete. Never use Hunter for Dances With Wolves.

Do team members all get credit if one person completes it?

Yes, if you’re playing in a team and one player completes the Dances With Wolves challenge, all players in that run receive credit and rewards, even if they didn’t personally tame any wolves.

Conclusion: Mastering the Dances With Wolves Challenge

The Dances With Wolves challenge represents one of Dead Rails’ most interesting special objectives, combining RNG elements, resource management, and strategic decision-making. While the random nature of wolf spawns can make this challenge frustrating at times, following the strategies in this guide will dramatically increase your success rate.

Remember the core principles:

1. Always use the Packmaster class for efficient completion
2. Store tamed wolves immediately to prevent pack infighting
3. Deal with werewolves decisively or skip those packs entirely
4. Carry ample healing items to survive repeated wolf bites
5. Accept wolf casualties as part of the process—you don’t need to keep them all alive
6. Be patient with RNG—wolf spawns are random, but persistence pays off

With good preparation, the right class, and a bit of luck with wolf pack spawns, you should be able to complete the Dances With Wolves challenge in 30-50 minutes of focused gameplay. The Bond rewards and satisfaction of conquering this tricky challenge make it well worth the effort.

Related Dead Rails Guides

Looking to master other aspects of Dead Rails? Check out these comprehensive guides:

• Dead Rails Tier List – Complete class rankings with stats and strategies
• Dead Rails Forest Update Guide – Master the new biomes and Wonder Weapons
• Dead Rails Classes Guide – All 24 classes ranked and analyzed