Part of the series:

No Man's Sky Creatures & Companions Guide: Hub for pets, breeding, mounts, and discovery.

How to Get a Companion Pet: Adopt creatures before riding them.

Quick Answer

Tame a creature by feeding it Creature Pellets (biological) or an Ion Battery (mechanical).
Only certain body types can be ridden: most ground creatures and low-flying creatures, but not rolling or mutant types.
Mount by interacting with the tamed creature and selecting the ride option.
While riding you can use the Analysis Visor, Survey Device, and Quick Menu; Sentinels will not attack you.
Mechanical creatures and large multi-legged species are generally the fastest mounts.

Overview

Riding a creature is among the most satisfying ways to travel in No Man's Sky. A good mount ignores rough terrain, moves faster than sprinting, and lets you scan and survey without dismounting. Unlike Exocraft, mounts do not require fuel or a summoning station. Just a tamed creature and a free companion slot.

Which Creatures Can Be Ridden

Not every creature is mountable. The general rules are:

Rideable: Most walking ground creatures, including quadrupeds, bipeds, and multi-legged species. Low-flying creatures can also be ridden since the Prisms update.
Not rideable: Rolling creatures, certain exotic mutants, high-flying birds, fish, worms, and Biological Horrors.

If a creature can be tamed but not ridden, the interaction menu simply will not show a ride option.

Taming a Mount

The taming process is the same as for any companion:

Complete Awakenings to unlock Creature Pellets.
Craft pellets from Carbon.
Approach a calm creature and feed it.
Wait for hearts to appear, indicating it is tame.
Interact again and choose to adopt it as a companion.

For detailed taming steps, see the companion pet guide. Mechanical creatures require an Ion Battery instead of a pellet.

How to Mount and Control

Once a creature is your companion, summon it from the Quick Menu. Approach it and select the ride prompt. Default controls are similar to walking:

Move forward to start walking or running
Steer left and right
Sprint for a burst of speed
Jump or interact to dismount

Low-flying creatures glide horizontally when ridden from high places. You cannot control ascent and descent, so treat them like a paraglider rather than a flying vehicle.

Advantages of Riding

Riding offers several unique benefits:

Sentinel immunity: Sentinels will not attack you while you are mounted.
Terrain traversal: Mounts can climb steep slopes and ignore uneven ground.
No fuel cost: Unlike Exocraft, mounts do not consume resources.
Tool use: Analysis Visor, Survey Device, and Quick Menu remain accessible.
Safe passage: You do not take damage from hostile plants or predators while mounted, except from direct contact with Carnivorous Trap Plants.

Choosing the Best Mount

Different creatures move at different speeds. From community testing:

Mount Type	Speed	Best For
Mechanical creatures	Very fast	Long-distance ground travel
Giant crabs / mantises / scarabs	Fast	Rough terrain
Cat-like / canine creatures	Moderate	General exploration
Low-flying creatures	Slow horizontal	Scenic gliding and photography
Large diplos	Slow	Visual presence, not speed

If speed matters, prioritize mechanical creatures or large multi-legged fauna. If you want a flying mount for screenshots, look for low-flying species.

Limitations

Mounts are powerful but have limits:

You cannot enter water while mounted; you dismount automatically.
You cannot enter player base buildings while mounted.
Mounting inside caves or tight spaces can cause the camera to clip.
Increasing a companion's size through gene editing can reduce movement speed.
Carnivorous Trap Plants dismount you on contact.

FAQ

Do I need a saddle or special equipment to ride?

No. Once a creature is tamed and adopted, the ride option appears automatically when you interact with it.

Can I ride a creature on any planet?

You can summon and ride a companion on most planets, regardless of climate. However, the companion's native climate affects its happiness and stamina if you induce it to spawn naturally.

Can I use weapons while riding?

You cannot fire weapons directly, but your companion may attack threats automatically. You can still use the Analysis Visor and Survey Device.

Is riding faster than an Exocraft?

Mechanical mounts can rival or exceed some Exocraft in raw speed, but Exocraft still win for mining, combat, and carrying capacity. Many players use both depending on the situation.

Can I ride underwater creatures?

No. Underwater fauna and fish cannot be mounted. You dismount as soon as you enter water.

Keep Exploring

Match a mount to the terrain using the planet types, biomes, and hazards guide.
Prefer a vehicle for long hauls? Compare the Exocraft guide.

Key Takeaways

Clear Awakenings before you start hunting for a mount. Creature Pellets don't unlock until it's done, and every biological taming starts with a pellet crafted from Carbon.
Adopt first, then check for the ride prompt. If no ride option appears when you interact, that body type isn't mountable, so move on rather than trying to work around it.
Reach for a mount where an Exocraft is awkward: steep, broken ground, and anywhere Sentinels are circling, since they leave you alone while you're mounted. Keep the Exocraft for mining, combat, and hauling.
Resist enlarging a companion through gene editing if you plan to ride it. A bigger creature moves slower, which undercuts the main reason you tamed it.
Plan your dismounts. Water, player base buildings, and Carnivorous Trap Plants all put you back on foot, and weapons stay holstered while riding even though the Analysis Visor and Survey Device still work.
Treat a low-flying mount as a paraglider for scenery and screenshots, not transport. You can't control ascent or descent, and the horizontal glide is slow.

No Man's Sky: How to Ride & Tame Creatures