Build an Ant Mounts are created through Mount Training. You submit one of your ants; training can succeed or fail, and either outcome removes that ant from normal colony production. A successful training creates a rideable mount, so use a replaceable ant rather than your best producer.
Reference date: October 6, 2026
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How to Get a Mount in Build an Ant Empire
Visit the Mount Training NPC or area and read the current interaction. Choose your ant before submission: once it goes to training, plan to continue the colony without that worker.
Choose a replaceable ant
Find a spare or a worker you can comfortably replace. Keep your best producer and valuable mutated keepers in the colony. If losing this ant would stop useful income, wait before training.
Visit the Mount Training NPC or area
Use the trainer interaction and read the available options. Check the current in-game interface for the live requirement rather than planning around an assumed price, timer or success rate.
Submit the selected ant
Check the selected worker before confirming. Treat this as giving up an ant from production, even if you are hoping for a successful ride. Confirm only when the remaining colony can handle the loss.
Check the training result
Training can succeed or fail. Read the result shown by the game before deciding what to do next. A failed attempt does not establish that your next attempt will succeed.
Ride after successful training
A successful result creates a rideable mount. Try it for travel, then return to the colony loop with the workers you retained; the trained ant is no longer a normal producer.
What Happens if Mount Training Fails?
| Outcome | Mount result | Colony production |
|---|---|---|
| Success | Creates a rideable mount. | The submitted ant leaves normal colony production. |
| Failure | Does not create the intended mount. | The submitted ant can be consumed or removed; plan for losing the worker. |
Failure can consume or remove the submitted ant without creating the mount you wanted. The colony guide also says that a successful attempt removes the ant from your colony. Plan around the worker loss in both outcomes, rather than treating success as a way to preserve production.
After a failure, check your remaining workers and resume Food sales before another attempt. Avoid chasing success with increasingly valuable ants. The current guide does not publish a percentage for predicting the next result.
Which Ant Should You Train?
Choose a replaceable ant only after your colony income is stable. A spare is a safer candidate than your only strong producer, but “spare” should mean you can absorb the loss, not simply that you own two ants. Consider what each worker contributes before selecting one.
Keep valuable mutated workers in production, and consider how difficult a rare ant would be to replace. Getting a mount can wait while you secure reliable Food sales and Cash for another worker.
Safe candidate checklist
Answer these before using the trainer. If any answer points to a production problem, choose another ant or build your colony further first.
- I have other working ants that can maintain useful Food income.
- This ant is replaceable and is not my only strong producer.
- I am comfortable losing this worker even if training fails.
- I am not sacrificing a valuable mutation I still rely on.
- I have checked the selected ant and the live training interaction.
Build an Ant Empire Ants — Compare rarity, colony slots and keeper choices before choosing a candidate.
Mounts vs Colony Production
Losing a worker means losing that worker’s contribution to the Food you can sell. The size of that tradeoff depends on your roster: removing a modest spare is different from handing over the ant responsible for much of your income. Check your colony situation before focusing on the riding result.
A mount provides travel convenience and progression content; it does not replace a worker in a colony slot. Make sure the remaining colony can support the purchases you still need.
Build an Ant Empire Beginner Guide — Build a steady collect, sell and upgrade routine before sacrificing a worker.
Are Mounts Faster Than Walking?
The All Things How colony guide describes a mount as only slightly faster than walking. It also points out that the teleport-to-nest button already covers much travel. Treat this as a practical observation, rather than a published numerical speed stat for every mount.
Consider which trips you actually make. If returning to the nest is your main travel need, try the existing teleport option first. If you want a ride for moving around the map, decide whether that convenience is worth removing your selected ant from production. A mount does not automatically make the colony grow faster.
Mounts and Mutations
A mutated ant leaves production when handed to the trainer, taking its Food-production benefit with it. Do not choose a valuable mutated keeper simply because you expect a stronger mount.
The current training description does not promise a potion refund or a particular mount stat based on a mutation. Judge the candidate by what you are giving up now, and read the live result for the mount you obtain.
Build an Ant Empire Mutations — Review the EFF effect you would remove from production before training a mutated ant.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I get a mount?
Choose a replaceable ant and submit it at the Mount Training NPC or area. Successful training creates a rideable mount; failure is also possible.
Can Mount Training fail?
Yes. Success and failure can both happen. The current guide does not publish a training success percentage.
Do I lose the ant if training fails?
Failure can consume or remove the ant. Plan to lose the submitted worker from colony production whether the attempt succeeds or fails.
Can I get the ant back?
The colony guide says you cannot use the submitted ant in your colony again after training, regardless of the result. Choose a worker you can afford to lose.
Which ant should I train?
Use a replaceable spare after establishing stable income. Keep your only strong producer and valuable mutated workers in the colony.
Are mounts faster than walking?
The colony guide describes them as only slightly faster than walking, and notes that teleport-to-nest already handles much travel. It does not give a numerical speed increase.
Should I use a mutated ant for Mount Training?
Avoid a valuable mutated keeper if its production matters. The ant leaves production, and the training description does not promise a potion refund or a special mount stat.
References
All Things How — colony progression and Mount Training