Chibi-Diplodocus

A pet that raises your level cap

Our records hold the Chibi-Diplodocus for both ARK: Survival Evolved and ARK: Survival Ascended. The ARK Wiki ties its first appearance to Winter Wonderland 7 in ASE and says it has turned up in every event since. Chibi pets are mostly cosmetic, but they can also lift your maximum level, which is what the item text refers to: "Earn XP from Alpha creature kills when equipped, to increase its level and earn additional max-levels for your Survivor!"

How it gains levels

While the pet is equipped, killing certain predators earns it experience, and it can level up five times. Each level-up permanently adds 1 to the maximum level of the survivor who has it equipped at that moment, for at most 5 extra levels. The wiki's list of qualifying kills includes the Alpha T-Rex, Alpha Raptor, Alpha Megalodon, Alpha Deathworm and Enraged Corrupted Rex. It marks some as exclusive to ASE on Steam, such as the Alpha Water Wyvern and the Abyssal Alpha T-Rex, and others as exclusive to ASA, such as the Astral Raptor, the Astral Direwolf and the Enraged Lightning Rex.

Wearing it and losing it

In ASE a chibi goes in the off-hand slot, while ASA has a dedicated chibi slot. The pet then appears in front of the survivor and to the left, following their movement and the way they face. On a mount it rests in the survivor's lap, and while the survivor is in bed it sits nearby. Unlike unlockable skins, this chibi counts as an ordinary item: it drops with the rest of the inventory on death and is lost if the death cache is not recovered.

Where it turns up

Our records list three loot sources that can contain it: Fishing Items (Valentine's), Fishing Meat (Valentine's) and the Raptor Claus Gift. The pet itself is recorded on 4 maps, The Island, Aberration, Extinction and Lost Colony. It weighs 0 and has a stack size of 1, and the wiki gives 355.3 as the version that added it.