How to Tame Dunkleosteus in ARK
A heavily armored fish excellent at gathering underwater oil, metal, and stone. Very tanky for ocean exploration.
Quick Facts
- Diet
- Carnivore
- Temperament
- Aggressive
- Tame Method
- Knockout
- Rideable
- Yes
Dunkleosteus Taming Details
Dunkleosteus is a knockout tame. Its most effective taming food is Kibble (preferred) or Raw Mutton.
Alternative foods: Cooked Lamb Chop, Raw Prime Meat, Cooked Prime Meat, Raw Meat.
Harvest yield: a tamed or killed Dunkleosteus drops Raw Meat, Raw Fish Meat, Hide, Chitin.
Taming Steps
1. Prepare your gear
Bring Tranq Arrows or Tranq Darts, a Crossbow or Longneck Rifle, Narcotics or Narcoberries, and bug repellent.
2. Locate the creature
Find a wild Dunkleosteus on supported maps. Check the spawn map and bring a fast mount or a flyer for transport.
3. Knock it out
Dunkleosteus is a knockout tame. Use a Crossbow, Longneck Rifle with Tranq Darts, or Shocking Tranq Darts. Aim for the head for bonus torpor and keep distance to avoid aggro damage.
4. Feed the right food
Place Kibble (preferred) or Raw Mutton in its inventory (alternatives: Cooked Lamb Chop, Raw Prime Meat, Cooked Prime Meat, Raw Meat). Higher-tier food gives faster taming and higher level bonuses.
5. Maintain torpor
Watch the torpor bar. Feed Narcoberries or Narcotics to prevent it from waking up before the tame completes.
6. Claim & saddle
Once tamed, equip a saddle (unlocks via the engram tab) to ride your Dunkleosteus.
Dunkleosteus base stats
Level 1 wild values, with the gain each point adds in the wild and after taming.
| Stat | Base | Per wild level | Per tamed level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Health | 710 | +20.0% | +27.0% |
| Stamina | 200 | +10.0% | +10.0% |
| Oxygen | 150 | +10.0% | +10.0% |
| Food | 2000 | +10.0% | +10.0% |
| Weight | 910 | +2.0% | +4.0% |
| Melee damage | 1 | +5.0% | +10.0% |
| Movement speed | 1 | +0.0% | +1.0% |
| Torpidity | 1150 | +6.0% | +0.0% |
Taming & saddle figures
Breeding & movement
Where it spawns & other details
Dunkleosteus spawns on The Island, Ragnarok, Valguero, The Center, Genesis Part 1, Astraeos.
Dunkleosteus variants
- Eerie Dunkleosteus
- X-Dunkleosteus (Genesis: Part 1)
Related tools & resources
Dunkleosteus — Background & Lore
The Dunkleosteus is a heavily armored fish with a crushing bite. It is a strong underwater gatherer of 
Oil, 
Metal and 
Stone.
Where to find it
Deep water on The Island, The Center, Ragnarok, Valguero and Genesis Part 1 in both games, Astraeos in ASA, and Crystal Isles, Fjordur, Lost Island and Genesis Part 2 in ASE.
Taming
A knockout tame. Its saddle unlocks at level 44. See the taming calculator.
Breeding
- Birth: a live birth, about 7 hours 56 minutes of gestation.
- Growth: a baby matures in about 3.4 days at 1x.
Uses
Gathering from underwater nodes, and tanking at sea.
Tips
Bring it to the oil and metal nodes on the sea floor for fast underwater runs.