Weight, Build, and Damage Buffs Explained

TLDR / Summary:

Below is an explanation of weight, build, and related buffs for battle wolves, as well as several tables detailing their relationship and the differing weight ranges that determine each of them.

Intoduction:

Heavy-Weight (often abbreviated to HW in the Trading Post or on Forums) refers to wolves weighing more than 130 pounds. This is a desirable trait in battle since it comes with a +5 buff to a wolf’s damage stat. However, wolves take several game-years to reach their adult weight, which creates a problem for players deciding which pups to train. There are several ways of figuring out the adult weight of a pup - the most accurate involves this trading post trick – but the Build attribute provides a much faster – if less accurate method of predicting weight buffs.

Build and weight are listed in the leftmost section of a wolf’s summary, shown on the wolf’s page directly under their picture. For example, my wolf Sooty is 97lbs and has a Narrow Build.

Weight can vary anywhere between 60 and 150 lbs for adult wolves but is usually much lower for pups. Build, on the other hand, generally stays the same for a wolf’s whole life. Possible builds are Short, Slight, Narrow, Lanky, Tall, Long, Thick or Muscular.

The official game guide states that build is correlated to the adult weight of a wolf, but does not, to my knowledge, give any description of what those weights are. To figure out the exact ranges, I used the Trading Post to find wolves at least 5 game-years old, and then recorded the weight and build of each one. Using this data, I discovered a few things.

First, despite the fact there are 8 builds, which one a wolf has is determined by only 4 weight ranges – each encompassing two possible builds.

For example, a pup with an adult weight of 72 pounds will be assigned a build of either Short or Slight, but never Narrow, Tall, or Muscular.

Table – Wolf Build and Corresponding Weight Range

Unlike weight, which is genetic, I am not sure if which of the two viable builds a wolf inherits has a genetic component or is entirely random. This is mostly on account of going through a bunch of bloodlines to check got boring fast, but if someone else wants to do that I would love to read about it.

More importantly, the weight ranges that determine build do not match up with weight ranges that determine buffs to battle or agility. These buffs are described in the game guide under “Wolf Character Attributes,” and are also listed in the table below.

Table – Weight Ranges and Correlating Buffs to Agility and Damage

Very lightweight wolves (60 - 75lbs) do not appear to be affected, or at the very least are not listed.

Using this, we can determine which buffs a pup will have as an adult based on Build, even without knowing their exact adult weight.

Table – Builds and Possible Weight Buffs

For example, only Thick or Muscular wolves can have a +5 buff to Damage. However, since Muscular wolves are 126 – 150lbs, some of them will be under 130lbs and will instead receive only a +2 buff to Damage.

Narrow, Lanky, Tall and Long wolves will always have a moderate buff to either Agility or Damage, but their build cannot be used to accurately predict which attribute it will affect.

On the other hand, since Short and Slight wolves are always under 75lbs, they should not be affected by weight buffs.

Other Considerations:

There are two cases (that I know of) where build can be an inaccurate predictor of weight. The first, and most useful, is pups. Wolves do not reach their final weight until they are 4 game-years old. This means that young wolves can have a lower weight than is indicated by their build. However, since build is a static trait, this means it can be used to predict adult weight.

There is also an item called Echinacea that customizes build but does not affect weight. (It costs 2 apples and can be purchased in Barter under “Wolf Curiosities.”) This mechanic allows for the existence of wolves with builds that fall outside of their weight range. However, since it is an apple item, this is uncommon.

Of course, if you want to know the exact adult weight of a pup, you use the trading post to look up a wolf’s weight before they are fully grown. This post by a Former Pack explains how.

Conclusion:

I realize this isn’t earth shattering news, but I hope it was at least helpful to any new players or anyone not familiar with all the mechanics of the game. If there’s any other game-related topic you’d be interested in reading about, or if you have any idea about if build is genetic, let me know in the comments.

Sources:

Data on weights and builds collected from the Trading Post on 6/13/2025

Wolf Play : A Guide to Weight – Former Pack’s guide to determine the exact weight a pup will be as an adult using the Trading Post.

Disclaimer:

I am not an official source for Wolf Play game information. While this information and my sources are accurate to the best of my knowledge, much of the above is based on my own research and speculation. For the official game guide, click HERE.