This extension of our Genetic's Guide goes into detail on every marking, what their tiers mean, and how to get each of them.
You can navigate this post quickly by using the table of contents below.
This guide takes up two forum pages. If you do not see something you are looking for on the first page, it is likely on the second page of the guide instead.
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Markings are sorted similarly to bases in that they have a colour and rarity. An additional category is added to reflect marking shapes.
The colour of the marking is very straightforward and is representative of the hue of the marking. The colour of the marking will be important if you're interested in breeding combo markings.
Wolves have a dedicated section on their pages for Markings. Here, you can see the color and shape of each marking they have. Wolves can have up to ten markings.
The Markings section of a wolf's page.
The number in parenthesis next to each marking is the marking's opacity. The opacity represents the vibrancy or transparency of the marking -- how much it stands out or blends into other markings.
Pass Rates
Markings
If both parents have a marking in a specific slot, there is an estimated 60% chance that the pup will get a marking in that slot in general. Once it's decided that the pup will get a marking in the slot, it is a 50/50 chance for which parent's marking they will receive. Identical markings that are bred in the same slot (both parents have the exact same marking in the same slot) have a 75% chance of passing directly onto the pup, rather than a 60% chance.
If only one parent has a marking in a specific slot, the puppies have a 50% chance to obtain that marking.
Special thanks to Nika (#10475) and Mossfoot (#23226) for these calculations!
Opacities
The opacities of the parents' markings will affect what opacity the pup's marking will have. The opacity does not affect the pass rate of the actual marking. The pup's marking will be the average of the two parent's opacities in that slot, give or take about 10%. This could be represented by the formula below.
(mother's opacity + father's opacity)/2 ± 10%
If one parent does not have a marking in that slot, their opacity is 0%. So, if only one parent has a marking in that slot and the pup inherits that marking, the opacity will be 1/2 of the one parent's opacity, also with 10% wiggle room.
Special thanks to Coal (#476) for the formula and tips!
Combo Markings
Combo markings are another marking mechanics that is rolled during genetics calculations.
Some marking colour combinations will produce combo colours. To produce a combo marking, the wolves that are bred must have the compatible colours in the same marking slots. The marking shapes do not have to be the same as each other, but one of the shapes must also have a version in the combo colour. So, if one parent has a White Cross marking and the other parent has a Black Dilution marking in the same slot, the pup would have a chance to get Silver Cross or Silver Dilution.
Combo markings will pass in a normal breeding just like any normal marking. For example, if wolf has Silver Cape, a combo marking, the puppies can inherit Silver Cape directly without the need for Black or White markings.
The following table lists every combo colour and the combinations used to get them.
Possible Combo Colours and Combinations to Get Them
Auburn
Black + Red
Deira
Beige + Honey
Dinar
Honey + Brown
Doubloon
Honey + Yellow
Ducat
Yellow + White
Sepia
Brown + Yellow
Silver
Black + White
Sterling
Silver + Black
Tuff
Silver + Cream
Zircon
Red + Cream
Marking Deviations
Some marking shapes may produce deviations, or mutations, from breeding.
There is a small chance that certain marking shapes will mutate into different shapes within the same tier, but only if the original marking is a Tier 0 or Tier 1 marking. Markings will most likely only be able to mutate into a different marking with a similar name. For example, Cape mutating into Cape Ticking.
Markings which don't belong in Tier 0 or Tier 1 will not have the chance to mutate. So, the Wings Heavy marking could not mutate into the Wings marking.
Every marking is sorted into a category based on the way it is obtained.
These "tiers" are not representative of how rare a marking is. A Tier 8 marking isn't necessarily rarer or harder to obtain than a Tier 2 marking.
Rather, they simply define where the marking comes from. Certain categories of markings also define what a marking is able to do.
Below is an overview of every marking tier.
Tier 0 - Basic NBW Markings
Tier 1 - Custom
Tier 2 - Raffle/Rare
Tier 3 - Event/Applicator
Tier 4 - Empty Category
Tier 5 - Placeholder/'Unreleased' (Markings are placed in this category if they are not meant to be RMA-able, like raffle stud markings before the raffle is pulled, and lunar event markings until after their debut event is over)
Tier 6 - Combo Markings
Tier 7 - RMA
Tier 8 - Rare NBW
Every marking, regardless of these tiers, has a chance to drop from a Random Marking Applicator!
Below are more detailed breakdowns of every marking tier.
Tier 0
Tier 0 markings are the most common markings and generally the easiest to get.
They can be obtained through a variety of means:
Game-generated basic NBWs
Starter wolf customiser
Grove Marking Applicator
Grove Wolf Customiser
Some Tier 0 markings also have the ability to deviate into similar shapes during a breeding. For example, a parent with a Beige Cape marking may randomly produce a pup with a Beige Cape Ticking marking.
Tier 1
Tier 1 markings are another very common class of markings.
These can be obtained through customisation:
Grove Marking Applicator
Grove Wolf Customiser
Unlike Tier 0 markings, Tier 1 markings are not available to new players in the starter wolf customiser.
Like Tier 0, some Tier 1 markings also have the ability to deviate into similar shapes during a breeding.
Tier 2
Tier 2 markings are often considered the rarest tier of marking, however not every shape in this tier is included in this sentiment.
Most Tier 2 markings originate on Raffle Studs and must be bred from said studs.
Merle and Merle Patches are the exception to this, as they're only available through Random Marking Applicators or Total Shuffles instead. It's theorized that Merle was originally intended to be a Raffle Stud marking, but plans were changed after it became very popular and over-saturated before Raffle Studs came out.
Tier 3
Tier 3 consists of markings available only through specific applicators obtained during events.
For example, the Selene Markings Applicator allows you to choose one Selene marking to apply to your wolf.
Many of these applicators are "retired" after their event has passed, and will only return on rare occasions. However, since the markings are able to be directly applied, most of them aren't particularly rare or sought-after.
Tier 4/5
There are no markings currently permanently in Tier 4 or Tier 5. When a Raffle Stud marking has been added but is not yet available to be RMA'd or Total Shuffled, it is placed in Tier 5 temporarily.
Tier 6
Tier 6 markings are considered "breed-only" markings as, other than through RMAs and Total Shuffles, they can only be obtained through breeding the correct markings or marking combinations. These include both combo color markings as well as shape deviation markings.
Combo markings, covered earlier in this guide, result when two compatible colors and at least one compatible shape are bred together.
Deviation markings, also covered above, can appear randomly when a wolf has a compatible marking.
Tier 7
Tier 7 markings can only be obtained through the use of a Random Marking Applicator or Total Shuffle. They cannot be selectively applied, only randomly.
Tier 8
Tier 8 markings can generate on a "Rated" NBW, a NBW who has at least one gold star in the top left corner of their befriending screen.
These NBWs can have up to five of these markings at once, but only if they have five stars, a very rare occurrence.
The value of markings is a common question around the site. "Is this marking rare?" "Does this marking make my wolf valuable?"
Unfortunately, this question is a bit difficult to answer. There are a lot of factors that contribute to the rarity and value of a marking. However, we hope to give you an idea of how to go about it here.
Marking Origin
In order to properly value your marking, you mainly need to consider where it has come from. You can browse the Markings Sorted by Type section of this guide to find where your marking can be obtained.
Markings in the Common/NBW and Custom sections are not valuable and tend to not add any value or your wolf.
Markings in the Applicator section are a bit rare, but they usually don't add very much value to your wolf unless your wolf has a lot of them. These markings can be selectively applied using applicators, and are thus relatively easy to obtain.
Markings in the NBW section can be obtained on rare NBWs if your lead wolf is Level 15 or higher. Since there are many lead wolves that fall within this level range, these markings are easy to get and aren't particularly rare.
The markings in the Raffle section are the most valuable, as they originate on Raffle Studs and must be bred from said studs. One new marking is released on these studs every week, and the newer the marking the more desirable it tends to be. At the moment, markings with the Cougar shape in this tier are the most valuable as they are the newest.
Markings in the RMA tier aren't particularly valuable either, as they've been around for a while and have become a bit over-saturated. They only tend to be valuable if they're present on a chased NBW.
The value of markings in the combo markings section vary greatly based on shape. If the combo is in a raffle shape such as Cougar or Wings, it tends to be much more valuable than if it's a combo in a common shape like Back Patch.
Finally, markings in the misc. breed-only tier have also been around for a fair amount of time and are common on the market, thus not particularly rare.
Market Saturation
Markings that are very saturated on site (that is, a lot of wolves have them) are generally less valuable than markings which are on only a few wolves comparatively.
Like mentioned above, raffle markings are typically the most difficult to obtain and are often the least saturated on the market since one new marking comes out every single week.
In order to get an idea of how popular a marking is, you can use the Search page. Under the specific markings section, select your marking from the dropdown menu and then Apply Filters. This will show you how many wolves on site have this exact marking. The fewer, the better.
Marking Slot
Another factor to consider is the slot that your marking is in.
To many players, finding a rare marking in a slot that no other wolves have it is exciting, as this makes their wolf unique and desirable to people searching for a very specific marking. This also means that the wolf is likely not related to any of the other popular wolves who have the same marking in a different slot.
However, this generally only applies to already rare markings like Wings or Panda.
When Searching for wolves with a marking, you may choose to specify which slot it is in. If no other wolves on the market have that exact marking in the same slot, that marking may be a lot more valuable.
Current Valuable Markings?
The current most valuable markings are raffle stud Cougar markings, as these are the most recently released and most difficult to obtain. A wolf with a Cougar marking will generally fetch a fair price if they meet other desirable factors (low gen, not inbred, etc).
There are currently 860 unique markings available from a variety of different methods. Every marking is available to preview here, sorted by how it is obtained.
As a reminder, every marking can be obtained through RMAs or Total Shuffles. These categories only specify their intended method of obtention.
Common/NBW Markings
Every marking in this section can be found on basic NBWs, as well as applied using a Marking Applicator from the Grove. These markings are also available in the Wolf Customiser in the Grove.
This section includes Tier 0 markings. Some of these markings have the ability to deviate into similar shapes through breeding.
