ARK: Survival Ascended Taming Guide (Knockout & Passive)

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 food hierarchy, building a taming trap, and the mistakes that ruin tames.

Knockout vs passive taming

Knockout taming, step by step

1. Raise its torpor. Hit the creature with torpor-dealing weapons until it collapses. Early game that’s a wooden club, slingshot or tranq arrows; later, tranq darts from a longneck rifle, and shocking tranq darts for high-torpor creatures like a Rex or Giga.
2. Keep it unconscious. Its torpor drains over time and it wakes if it hits zero. Feed Narcoberries or, far better, Narcotics to top torpor up. Watch the torpor bar constantly.
3. Feed its preferred food. Put the right food in the unconscious creature’s inventory; it eats on its own as hunger drops, filling the taming bar.
4. Protect it. An unconscious creature is defenceless. Clear the area or use a taming pen.

Passive taming, step by step

1. Put the correct food in the last slot of your hotbar.
2. Approach slowly, usually crouched, until the feed prompt appears, then feed it.
3. 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 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 means more bonus levels added on top of the wild level — and those extra levels make a tame strong. Keep TE high by feeding the best possible food (fewer bites) and knocking it out fast (minimal extra torpor damage).

The food hierarchy

Build a taming pen

A taming trap is the single biggest upgrade to your taming. A 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.
• No trap — taming in the open invites predators and players.
• Over-tranqing — excess torpor damage lowers effectiveness; use the right tranq.
• Ignoring the diet — feeding a carnivore berries (or vice versa) won’t work.

Run the numbers first with our free ARK Taming Calculator so you never show up short on food or narcotics.

Frequently asked questions

What’s the best food for taming in ARK?

Kibble — it tames fastest and keeps taming effectiveness highest, giving the most bonus levels. Each creature has a preferred kibble tier. If you can’t make kibble, use Raw Prime Meat for carnivores and crops like Mejoberries for herbivores; plain meat and berries are the slow last resort.

What is taming effectiveness?

A hidden stat starting at 100% that decides how many bonus levels a tame gets on top of its wild level. It drops as the creature eats and takes torpor damage, so feeding the best food (fewer bites) and knocking it out quickly keeps it high — which is what makes a tame strong.

How do I keep a dino knocked out while taming?

Keep Narcotics (or Narcoberries) in its inventory and add them whenever the torpor bar drops toward empty. Narcotics restore far more torpor than berries. Over-stock them — running out wakes the creature, which then eats your food and forces you to start over.

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