Chibi-Iguanodon

A chibi from Winter Wonderland 4

ARK: Winter Wonderland 4 introduced the Chibi-Iguanodon to ARK: Survival Evolved, and according to the ARK Wiki every event since has brought it back. Our records list it for ARK: Survival Ascended too, and name The Island, Scorched Earth, Aberration, Extinction and Lost Colony as its maps.

How the level bonus works

Chibi-Pets are mostly cosmetic, but they also raise the level cap. With the pet equipped, killing certain predators gives it experience, and it can level up five times. Each of those level-ups adds 1 to the maximum level of the survivor wearing it at that moment, for up to 5 extra levels, and the gain is permanent. The game's own line puts it this way: "Earn XP from Alpha creature kills when equipped, to increase its level and earn additional max-levels for your Survivor!"

Kills that count include the Alpha Raptor, Alpha T-Rex, Alpha Megalodon, Alpha Mosasaur and Enraged Corrupted Rex. The wiki keeps separate lists per game: ASE on Steam adds creatures such as the Alpha Water Wyvern and Abyssal Alpha T-Rex, while ASA adds Astral creatures like the Astral Raptor and Astral T-Rex, plus the Enraged Lightning Rex.

Equipping and losing it

In ASE the chibi goes in the off-hand slot, in ASA in its own Chibi slot. Once equipped it walks at the survivor's front left and follows along; on a mount it rides in the survivor's lap, and while the survivor is in bed it sits nearby. It is an ordinary item rather than an unlocked skin, so it drops with the rest of the inventory on death and is gone if the death cache is not recovered. The wiki adds that this chibi stands and walks on two legs and switches to four when it falls.

Where it turns up

Three crate types can contain it in our records: Raptor Claus Gift, Fishing Items (Valentine's) and Fishing Meat (Valentine's). It weighs 0 and has a stack size of 1. The wiki gives 304.1 as the version that added it.