Taming is the core of ARK: Survival Ascended — a strong tame changes how you farm, fight, travel and survive. But taming efficiently is a skill, and a botched tame wastes hours of resources. This guide covers both taming methods, how torpor and taming effectiveness work, the best foods, building a taming trap, and the mistakes that ruin tames.
The two ways to tame
Almost every creature is tamed one of two ways: knockout taming (render it unconscious, then feed it) or passive taming (hand-feed it while it stays awake). A handful of creatures have unique methods, but these two cover the vast majority.
Knockout taming, step by step
- Raise its torpor. Hit the creature with torpor-dealing weapons until it collapses unconscious. Early game that’s a wooden club, slingshot or tranq arrows from a bow; later, tranq darts from a longneck rifle, and shocking tranq darts for high-torpor creatures like a Rex or Giga.
- Keep it unconscious. Once down, its torpor drains over time and it will wake up if it hits zero. Feed it Narcoberries or, far more effectively, Narcotics (crafted from narcoberries + spoiled meat) to top torpor back up. Watch the torpor bar constantly.
- Feed its preferred food. Put the right food in the unconscious creature’s inventory. It eats on its own when hunger drops, filling the taming bar over time.
- Protect it. An unconscious creature is defenceless against predators and other players. Clear the area or use a taming pen.
Passive taming, step by step
Some creatures — like the Equus, Gigantopithecus and many fliers — are passive-tamed. You don’t knock them out:
- Put the correct food in the last slot of your hotbar.
- Approach slowly, usually crouched, until the prompt to feed appears, then feed it.
- Back off and wait for it to get hungry again, then repeat. Don’t get hit and don’t hit it — taking or dealing damage resets the progress.
Taming effectiveness & bonus levels
The most important hidden stat is taming effectiveness (TE). It starts at 100% and drops as the creature eats and (for knockouts) takes torpor damage. Higher TE at the end of the tame means more bonus levels added on top of the creature’s wild level — and those extra levels are what make a tame strong. The way to keep TE high is to feed the best possible food so the creature needs fewer bites, and to knock it out fast so it takes minimal extra torpor damage.
The food hierarchy
Food quality directly controls tame speed and effectiveness:
- Kibble — almost always the best choice, taming fastest and with the highest effectiveness. Each creature has a preferred kibble tier (see our kibble guide).
- Preferred natural food — for carnivores, Raw Prime Meat or fish; for herbivores, Crops (like Mejoberries or vegetables) beat plain berries.
- Basic food — Raw Meat or Berries work but tame slower and with lower effectiveness.
Build a taming pen
A taming trap is the single biggest upgrade to your taming. A simple box of dinosaur gateways and gates lets you lure a creature in, trap it, and knock it out safely without it running off or predators interrupting. For dangerous tames (Rex, Therizinosaur, Carno) a trap turns a risky tame into a routine one.
Common taming mistakes
- Letting torpor run out — the creature wakes, eats your food and you start over. Over-stock narcotics.
- Using cheap food — plain meat or berries tank your effectiveness and waste the tame’s potential.
- No trap — taming in the open invites predators and players.
- Over-tranqing — excess torpor damage lowers effectiveness; use the right tranq for the creature.
- Ignoring the creature’s diet — feeding a carnivore berries (or vice versa) simply won’t work.
Plan every tame
Exact food counts, narcotics needed, tame time and the tranq darts required all depend on the creature and its level. Run the numbers first with our free ARK Taming Calculator, and craft the right food with the Kibble Chart — so you never show up short on narcotics again.
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