{"id":21139,"date":"2026-06-04T22:55:31","date_gmt":"2026-06-04T22:55:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xgamingserver.com\/blog\/ark-survival-ascended-taming-guide\/"},"modified":"2026-06-04T23:21:05","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T23:21:05","slug":"ark-survival-ascended-taming-guide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xgamingserver.com\/blog\/ark-survival-ascended-taming-guide\/","title":{"rendered":"ARK: Survival Ascended Taming Guide (Knockout & Passive)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Taming is the core of ARK: Survival Ascended \u2014 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.<\/p>\n

The two ways to tame<\/h2>\n

Almost every creature is tamed one of two ways: knockout taming<\/strong> (render it unconscious, then feed it) or passive taming<\/strong> (hand-feed it while it stays awake). A handful of creatures have unique methods, but these two cover the vast majority.<\/p>\n

Knockout taming, step by step<\/h2>\n\n
    \n
  1. Raise its torpor.<\/strong> Hit the creature with torpor-dealing weapons until it collapses unconscious. Early game that’s a wooden club<\/strong>, slingshot or tranq arrows<\/strong> from a bow; later, tranq darts<\/strong> from a longneck rifle, and shocking tranq darts<\/strong> for high-torpor creatures like a Rex or Giga.<\/li>\n
  2. Keep it unconscious.<\/strong> Once down, its torpor drains over time<\/strong> and it will wake up if it hits zero. Feed it Narcoberries<\/strong> or, far more effectively, Narcotics<\/strong> (crafted from narcoberries + spoiled meat) to top torpor back up. Watch the torpor bar constantly.<\/li>\n
  3. Feed its preferred food.<\/strong> Put the right food in the unconscious creature’s inventory. It eats on its own when hunger drops, filling the taming bar<\/strong> over time.<\/li>\n
  4. Protect it.<\/strong> An unconscious creature is defenceless against predators and other players. Clear the area or use a taming pen.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n

    Passive taming, step by step<\/h2>\n

    Some creatures \u2014 like the Equus, Gigantopithecus and many fliers \u2014 are passive-tamed<\/strong>. You don’t knock them out:<\/p>\n\n

      \n
    1. Put the correct food in the last slot of your hotbar<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
    2. Approach slowly, usually crouched<\/strong>, until the prompt to feed appears, then feed it.<\/li>\n
    3. Back off and wait for it to get hungry again, then repeat. Don’t get hit and don’t hit it<\/strong> \u2014 taking or dealing damage resets the progress.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n

      Taming effectiveness & bonus levels<\/h2>\n

      The most important hidden stat is taming effectiveness (TE)<\/strong>. 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<\/strong> added on top of the creature’s wild level \u2014 and those extra levels are what make a tame strong. The way to keep TE high is to feed the best possible food<\/strong> so the creature needs fewer bites, and to knock it out fast so it takes minimal extra torpor damage.<\/p>\n

      The food hierarchy<\/h2>\n

      Food quality directly controls tame speed and effectiveness:<\/p>\n