Approximately 176 creatures populate the world of Ark, and while most are based on real-world dinosaurs and prehistoric creatures, mythical creatures such as the wyverns and shadowmanes have been added with increasing frequency. With so many real and fictional beasts for the player to tame and ride, I've decided to do a top 10 creatures that I think make the best utility animals.
For instances where multiple animals fulfill the same task, but may be easier or more difficult to tame based on the player's level, I cheated a tiny bit and listed both animals in order from easiest to hardest. All creatures on this list are from the base game and the free DLC maps: The Island, The Center, Ragnarok, Valguero, and Crystal Isles.
Honorable Mention
Basilosaurus - Able to protect the rider from extreme temperatures and resists being grabbed or shocked. The Basilosaurus also generates and stores up to 20 oil that can be refined into gasoline.
Placed here because ARK's oceans are bare; most players will not be in the water much.
Top 10 Utility Animals
10. Griffin - A fast flyer that requires no saddle. Can carry small-class dinosaurs and two riders, both of which can use their weapons whilst flying. It's speed is retained while pulling out of the dive and the momentum can be used to regain some lost altitude.
Taming: Though difficult to tame, because they may flee, griffins are easy to trap in a pen.
9. Baryonyx - Fast on both land and water, and capable of dismounting other players and stunning other creatures. They are also small enough for cave diving.
Taming: Can be trapped or tranqed from a safe distance.
8. Procoptodon - Great berry gatherer with good weight and amazing speed (both forward and reverse). They can leap vast distances and take very little fall damage. More than one tribe member can be transported via pouch. Baby animals or experience boosting Lystrosaurus can also be carried in the pouch.
Taming: Procoptodon can be immobilized with a chain bola (not a normal bola).
7. Equus - They have a high carrying capacity and speed, and a very high stamina, and extremely low stamina consumption, allowing them to outpace most other creatures. When saddled, they act as a mobile mortar and pestle, and can be used to lasso other creatures. Their kick also inflicts torpor.
Taming: Passively tamed with their favorite food. A ghillie suit can be used to avoid startling the timid creatures.
Raptor - They have an abysmal carrying capacity, but at low levels are good for battle or speed, and can pin some of the smaller animals. In a pack of 3 or more, the pack leader can temporarily apply the pack buff towards all others for 45 seconds. .
Taming: They can be held in place with a bola and knocked out with only a few tranq darts.
6. Megaloceros - Fast, agile, and can gather large quantities of thatch (male only).
Iguanodon - Easy to tame, good damage output at starting levels, long-distance runners, and stamina does not drain when running on all fours. Can gather mass quantities of bio toxin and a fair amount of berries and thatch. Berries can also be turned into seeds.
5. Stegosaurus - They have high melee damage, extremely high health, and can carry heavy loads. There are three plate modes:
- Hardened Plate: Supplies a damage reduction buff (reduce damage by half or double the stego' health); wood harvesting is easier.
- Heavy Plate: Applies a slow effect when attacking with the basic tail whip; thatch harvesting is easier.
- Sharpened Plate: Applies an armor penetration effect when attacking with the tail whip. Also useful for harvesting berries.
Taming: Stegos are slow, but powerful and best tackled from a distance.
4. Mammoth - Good at gathering wood (75% weight reduction) and thatch. The mammoth's trunk allows it to pick up and carry small creatures. Their bellow can intimidate (lower damage) other creatures, including bosses and titans. The tusks and stomping feet also deal a good bit of damage, and attack faster than a Rex. When manned by a rider beating on the drums, the "Ready for War" buff (stamina regeneration and immunity to fear) is applied to nearby allies in a wide radius.
Taming: Mammoths are slow and easy to tame; the weather in which they are found is more likley to be a problem.
Castoroides - Gather wood very efficiently and will gather it on their own when set to wander. Wood, thatch, fiber and stone weigh 50% of their normal value when carried by the Castoroides. They move faster in water and can be used as a mobile smithy when saddled.
Taming: The beavers are not hard to down with tranquilizer darts and can be hit with a bola. Their torpor drops rapidly, however, so a lot of narcotics are necessary, particularly because the beavers take a very long time to tame.
Therizinosaur - While some specialist harvesters such as the Castoroides can collect and carry far more of their favored material (because of weight reduction), not a single creature comes close to the sheer volume of items the Therizinosaur can gather: wood, thatch, berries, crop seeds, rare mushrooms, cactus sap, raw meat/fish, hide, chitin/keratin, leech blood, and organic polymer. When set to wander it will harvest materials on its own and thanks to its high attack stats (especially for a herbivore), it has little to fear from potential enemies. The Therizinosaur is faster than its competitors and can focus on what kinds of materials it wants to collect; harvesting level points are gained separately from its primary level points.
Taming: The main drawback to Therizinosaurs is their difficulty of taming. They deal large amounts of damage with just a few blows. A trap, high ledge, and/or fast mount is necessary.
3. Doedicurus - The stone harvesting god. The saddle is obtained at a relatively low level (34) and they get a 75% weight reduction on rock in its inventory. Doedicurus are easier to tame than the other good stone gathers (like the rock elemental) and have a fun roll that slightly offsets their slow walking speed.
Taming: Doedicurus are relatively easy to outrun and knock out due to their slow movement speed. However, due to their high torpor resistance, Doedicurus can withstand a lot of tranquilizer. They also take a 90% reduced torpor and damage when they are curled up in their protective shell.
2. Ankylosaurus - Painfully slow and decent at gathering berries, but really earn their keep when it comes to metal harvesting. They get 85% weight reduction on metal in its inventory.
Taming: Ankylosaurus are relatively easy to outrun and knock out due to their slow movement speed.
1. Argentavis - Arguably the most versatile creature in ARK. Argys have a high damage output and excellent maneuverability, making them ideal for aerial combat. They also get a
"Rapid Regeneration" buff that partially recovers health and stamina with each kill - even in flight. They can pick up and carry a great variety of animals, including many that are too heavy for the other flyers, and transport up to 3 creatures at once: 1 in the claws, 1 in the beak, and 1 in the rider's hands. They also get a 50% weight reduction to black pearls, polymer, crystal, metal, obsidian and stone, making them ideal for transporting heavy loads, especially at remote mining operations. The Argentavis saddle doubles as a mobile smithy (with more inventory space than an actual smithy) that can be used to craft (not repair) equipment. The only real downside to these giant vultures is their slow flight speed, but given all their benefits, no base is complete without one.
Taming: The aggressive nature of Argy's makes it easily to lure them into a taming pen where they can be knocked unconscious with a crossbow loaded with trang arrows or a longneck rifle with tranquilizer darts.
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