The Complete Guide to Gene Hunting and Fold-Ins

Written by Kaskrim • Scribed by AI Elara • Project Gorgon Genetics Research

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What Is a Fold-In?

Introducing a specific gene from an outside specimen (usually wild-caught) into an established, clarified breeding line. The goal: add the new gene without losing the work already done on the line.

The Challenge

When you cross a wild specimen with a clarified line specimen, the offspring inherits mixed (⦿) genes at every position where the parents differed. You want ONE specific gene. The fold-in process is about keeping that target gene while breeding everything else back to the clarified line's state.

Prerequisite: Clarify First

Your line must be fully clarified (no mixed genes) before folding in anything.

Why it matters:

• If your line is clarified, every mixed gene in the offspring came from the wild specimen. You can track your target gene precisely because you know exactly where the new genetic material came from. Note: a wild-caught specimen often carries multiple genes not present in your line. The target gene is the one you are actively tracking. Other new genes from the wild-caught may be lost during the fold-in process — this is acceptable unless you want them too, in which case they must be planned as separate fold-ins.
• Back-crossing only converges toward a clean genome if the parent IS clarified. An unclarified parent cannot anchor the offspring's genome.
• Mixed genes from multiple sources never resolve. You breed chaos into chaos.

Correct order:

1. Clarify your line completely
2. Identify the gene (or genes) you want to add from the wild-caught
3. Find a wild specimen carrying the target gene(s) at 〇 or ⦿
4. Fold in using the Standard Back-Cross method below — one gene at a time, or two at most simultaneously
5. Keep the wild-caught alive and stabled until ALL desired genes from it have been folded in. This may take a long time and costs a stable slot, but releasing it before you are done means losing access to any genes you have not yet folded in.
6. Re-clarify before starting the next fold-in

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Fold-In Method

Standard Back-Cross

Requires minimum 4 stable slots: 2 parents + 1 slot for offspring + 1 slot for offspring's offspring.

1. Cross wild specimen (target gene at 〇 or ⦿) with clarified line specimen. A mixed gene still carries the needed allele and can be worked with.
2. Offspring will be mixed at many positions — select one carrying the target gene (verify via Genetics skill).
3. Back-cross that offspring to the clarified parent.
4. Each generation, select offspring that still carry the target gene.
5. After several generations, offspring converges toward clarified line plus the new gene.
6. At this point you will have a male and female that are identical to the original clarified parents except for mixed genes at the target gene location (or locations, if you are tracking two simultaneously). Breed these two siblings together to produce offspring that can clarify the target gene(s) to 〇. You now have a new set of clarified parents for your line that carry the folded-in gene(s), replacing the original parents. The fold-in is complete.

Risk Management

• Target gene has 50% chance to be lost each generation while still mixed.
• If lost, discard that offspring (sell or release it) and repeat the same breeding again — do not restart from step 1.

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Gene Hunting

Before you can fold in a gene, you need to find a wild specimen that carries it at 〇 or ⦿. A mixed gene still carries the needed allele and can be worked with. The method for finding these specimens differs between horses and arthropods.

Horses

How to Analyze a Wild Horse

1. Have a Non-Ruminant Ungulate Genetics Analyzer in your inventory.
2. Target the wild horse and open its menu.
3. Select "Analyze Genes."

This reveals the horse's genome on the spot. You can check whether it carries the gene you are looking for at 〇 or ⦿ before committing to a tame. If it does not have what you want, move on and check the next one.

What to Look For

Horse archetypes have not been mapped yet. Unlike arthropods where known archetypes give you targets, there is no chart of which genes appear on which breed. You need to try different breeds of horses and analyze what you find. If you find a gene you have not seen before, document it and share it with the breeding community — the horse archetype map is still being built and every data point helps.

Before you go out:

• Review your own lines and gene stock (stabled horses)
• Identify what genes you are missing and want to add
• Bring that list with you — you are looking for specific targets, not browsing at random

Where to Start and Why It Matters

The horse genome works via breed switches. Each breed has its own set of chromosomes that activate based on dominant genes in the switch chromosome. This makes breed-specific chromosomes a later priority.

Chromosomes 1–3 and 5–8 are universal across all horses (CR 4 is unused and non-functional). Your goal as a new horse breeder should be to maximize these universal chromosomes first. Every improvement here benefits your line regardless of which breed it becomes. Only once the universal chromosomes are strong should you branch out into breed-specific chromosome improvements.

Analyzing horses of different breeds is necessary since archetypes are unknown. Do not limit yourself to one breed while hunting.

Known location data (limited):

• Chromosome 7 genes have only been observed on horses in Vidaria.

Location data for other chromosomes is still being researched. If you find a gene in a specific area, note the location — it contributes to the community's map of where to hunt.

For a full explanation of the horse genome structure, breed switches, and which chromosomes are universal vs breed-specific, see the Horse Genome Structure article.

Arthropods

Prerequisite: Arthropod Genetics Level 50

To analyze wild arthropods, you must level the Arthropod Genetics skill to 50. At that point you unlock the "Analyze Arthropod Genes" ability, which lets you analyze the genetics of a wild living specimen.

The Problem: Specimen Aggro

Using the analyze ability on a wild specimen will cause it to attack you. Being hit while channeling will break the analysis. You need a way to prevent that from happening.

Before attempting to analyze a wild specimen, you need one of the following:

• A freeze, stun, or mesmerize ability to lock the specimen in place
• Another player to tank the specimen and keep it off you while you channel

Plan your approach before you start. A failed channel causes complex complications.

Warning: Do Not Kill the Specimen

Many freeze, stun, and mesmerize abilities also deal damage. If your damage output is too high, you may accidentally kill the specimen you are trying to analyze and tame. Before you go out hunting:

• Consider removing armor pieces to reduce your effective output
• Consider unequipping damage-boosting gear
• Use the weakest CC ability available if it deals damage
• If hunting with a group, make sure your tank is not using damaging CC abilities on the target specimen

Where to Find Wild Specimens

The following locations have tameable wild bees and wasps. No gene advantages have been documented at any specific location yet — these are simply confirmed sources of wild specimens to analyze:

• Freeze Wasps in Sun Vale
• Wasps and Bees in Fae Realm
• Turret Wasps in The Wintertide
• Some solo areas in Errruka's Caves
• Gauntlet 1 dungeon (Turret Wasps — believed tameable, unconfirmed)

Hive Poking (Recommended)

The best method observed for finding rare genes is hive poking. You need a group of 3 players to poke hives. The bees and wasps that spawn from disturbed hives appear to have a slightly higher incidence of rare genes than specimens found in the open world.

Important notes for hive poking:

• Spawned bees are level 80
• A non-tameable elite always spawns with the group and must be killed first
• WARNING: Do NOT use AoE abilities while killing the elite — the regular specimens must be kept alive for analysis and taming
• After the elite is down, someone must tank or crowd control the remaining specimens while the analyzer channels the Analyze Arthropod Genes ability

Moon Phases (Unconfirmed)

Certain rare genes appear to spawn at higher rates during specific moon phases. This has been observed but not formally recorded. Consider noting the moon phase when you find a rare gene — this data will help establish whether the pattern is real.

For a full explanation of the arthropod genome structure, archetypes, and known gene locations by chromosome, see the Arthropod Genome Structure article.

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Don't Sit Idle While Breeding

Hunting for rare genes takes a long time. While you search, your breeding line does not have to stop progressing.

Fold In Archetype Genes While You Hunt (Arthropods)

There are 3 arthropod archetypes: Fae Bees, Fae Wasps (Blinding and Turret), and Freeze Wasps. Each has fixed gene patterns on CR 1–4. Starting from one archetype means you are missing CR 1–4 genes from the other two — those are reliable hunt targets you can fold in while searching for rarer genes. You stay productive and your line improves in the meantime.

Strengthen Universal Chromosomes While You Hunt (Horses)

For horse breeders, the equivalent strategy is to focus on universal chromosomes (CR 1–3 and 5–8) while hunting for breed-specific genes. Every improvement to a universal chromosome benefits your line regardless of breed. Breed-specific chromosome improvements can wait until the universal chromosomes are strong.

Build a Gene Bank Before You Need It

Do not wait until your line is ready for its next fold-in before you start hunting for the gene. By then you are stalled, waiting on RNG.

Instead, hunt ahead. When you find a specimen carrying a gene you want for a future fold-in, tame it and register it at a stable. These are your holder specimens — they sit in stable slots and wait until your line is ready for them.

This requires dedicating stable slots to gene bank storage rather than active breeding. Plan your slot budget accordingly. Having a gene bank ready means you can begin the fold-in the moment your line is clarified and ready, rather than halting progress to go hunting.

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Research and knowledge by Kaskrim. Compiled by AI Elara. Based on 4.5+ years of genetics research.

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This article is part of the Project Gorgon Genetics Research series by Kaskrim.