Prehistoric Beasts Part V Mod Guide

Prehistoric Beasts Part V is the fifth creature pack of Prehistoric Beasts for ARK: Survival Ascended, a separate mod. It holds nine creatures so far, and the mod page lists one more as planned. They include a seal with a Tek saddle, a parasaur relative mutated by Aberration's radiation, a trampling hadrosaur with a passenger saddle, a desert ceratopsian, a fishing proto-whale, a trumpeting elephant relative, an eagle that hunts players, a caiman whose hunger shapes its fighting, and a shoulder healer. If you are new to the series, start with our Prehistoric Beasts Part 1 guide. The other packs, Part II, Part III and Part IV, each have their own mod page.

The creatures at a glance

Acrophoca

A large prehistoric seal: clumsy on land, quick and graceful in water, and quick to bite. Riding it keeps you insulated from the cold. It can drown but holds a lot of oxygen, and its bite gathers prime fish meat, organic polymer, Jelly Venom and more. The Acrophoca Tek Saddle unlocks at level 90 and needs the Tek Boots engram. It always hides the rider, and with Element it gives you and the seal unlimited oxygen, turns on a headlamp and lets you fire rockets that shoot it through the water, even out of it.

Taming is passive with fish or prime fish, and feeding makes it aggressive, so wear armor. Males are larger and always hostile; females may attack or flee. Feed it pearls first, and it stays calm and follows you for a timed spell; Black Pearls work better. Pearls do not add to the tame itself.

Angulomastacator

A parasaur relative that grew bigger and stronger in Aberration's radiation, and whose mildly toxic blood keeps attackers away. It switches between two stances: on four legs it is faster and uses less stamina; on two it is slower but turns in place. Its tail attack gathers gems, which it carries at reduced weight, and on two legs its roar scares off creatures under 250 drag weight. The saddle shields the rider from radiation and from poison such as mushrooms. It is a passive tame that asks for one of five favourite foods, and you must be level 60. Even calm ones sometimes lash out while being hand-fed.

Edmontosaurus

A big, bulky hadrosaur that starts slow but is hard to stop once it gets moving. Running tramples creatures, players and structures, and at top speed it hits hardest and gets extra buffs. It also has a stomp and a heavier mega stomp. It has three pieces of gear: the Edmontosaurus Saddle for one rider, the Edmontosaurus Transport Saddle for a rider and eight passengers, and the Edmontosaurus Helmet, which raises its damage with or without a saddle.

Tranquilizers do not work on its thick hide; electricity does. Knock it out with several electric prods, or, less well, with a Lightning Wyvern or a Jiangjunosaurus from Part II in electric mode. Once it is down, feed it Extraordinary Kibble.

Eotriceratops

A ceratopsian of the desert, found only in Scorched Earth's easy desert. It has a directional headbutt and back kick, a bite you can charge for more damage, and a bellow that makes it take less damage. Its brace roots it in place with reduced damage, and after enough hits it gets a 60-second buff that doubles its damage and raises its experience gain. It harvests stone and sand, turns cactus sap into Liquid Tequila, and drinks Tequila to become stronger and faster. Like a Therizinosaurus, it can specialize from the wheel. Its basic saddle protects you from sandstorms, and the Advanced Eotriceratops Saddle crafts whiskey and clay.

To tame one, keep Wyvern Talons in your inventory (the mod team asks for all three). Then, on foot, bring it below 20% health with weapons. When a glow shows around its head, it turns passive and you can feed it Deathworm Horns or Woolly Rhino Horns.

Gandakasia

A small, fluffy whale relative that supports its sea family. Its gang bonus buffs whales and their kin: Basilosaurus, Livyatan and other Gandakasia. After time in water it gets a hydration buff for speed, vision and better loot. It can grab fish alive and carry them, even on land. Wait until a wild one lies down on land or in water, then feed it passively, or steal one of its young.

Gomphotherium

An elephant relative, smaller than a Mammoth or Deinotherium but full of uses. It harvests trees, and its trumpet call helps both ways: allies get more damage, resistance and speed, stacking up to five times, while enemies get a debuff that makes them bleed whenever they run. That bleed does not stack. It has a basic and an armored saddle. The basic one takes one attachment at a time:

• Gomphotherium Medkit: heals it over time; a better-quality kit heals more.
• Gomphotherium Packs: reduce the weight of its inventory, and halve all wood.
• Gomphotherium Bedroll: keeps the rider from being knocked off and slowly restores health, stamina and food; its quality sets the temperature protection.

The Gomphotherium Armored Saddle adds armor and also keeps you in the seat. To tame one, throw sugarcane on the ground and let it eat, as with a Gacha. Sugarcane is new in this mod: plant Sugarcane Seeds to grow it. It can also replace Giant Bee Honey in some recipes.

Haast's Eagle

A fast eagle that hunts humans, so watch the sky and keep your armor on. It does double damage to smaller creatures, grabs prey and dives. Its dive bomb pins players and small creatures; press an attack or jump to break free. Kills can give it Hunter's Luck and special loot, with better odds when the kill is an enemy tame. It is a plain knockout tame that prefers Superior Kibble.

Purussaurus

A large caiman, slow on land and deadly in water. It grabs only in water, and on land a tail-and-bite combo stuns. Killing a Pelagornis, Ornithocheirus, Pteranodon, Dearc or Paraxenisaurus heals it. It can bring food back up to refill stamina, and its food level decides its form:

• Fat (50% to 100% food): a little slower, takes 15% less damage and deals 25% more.
• Skinny (20% to 49%): 25% faster in water and 15% on land, slower stamina drain and 10% more damage, but no armor bonus.
• Malnourished (under 20%): takes 25% more damage and deals 20% less. Avoid it.

Only adults get these forms. Taming happens in water and works like a Carcharodontosaurus. Ride a tame of 500 drag weight or less up to it and let it be grabbed, then jump onto the Purussaurus and kill creatures, wild or tamed, to fill the taming bar. Heavier kills count for more. Too slow, and it bucks you off, usually to your death, so use a sturdy creature as bait; a Turtle is a good choice against a high-level one.

Sinornithoides

A small, shy shoulder pet that heals you. Clap to switch auto-healing on or off: it can heal you once you drop to 50% health or lower, and each heal uses a Medical Brew, which lasts longer and weighs less in its inventory. Watch the HUD for the heals left. It cannot heal you while you swim. Its heal also clears some effects, such as bleeding and the Pinacosaurus bone break from Part III. It runs from you, so drop under 50% health before you approach. It then lets you feed it, heals you, and follows you while you pet and feed it until the tame is done. If you leave it, it forgets you and you start over. It prefers Simple Kibble.

Variants and alphas

Our database lists 23 creature entries for Part V: the nine base creatures plus their variants. These are Scorched, Aberrant and Lost map versions, Eerie Purussaurus and Sinornithoides, a Tek Gandakasia, a Skeletal Haast's Eagle and the Alpha Edmontosaurus. The Alpha Edmontosaurus can drop a saddle blueprint or a chibi, and sometimes the transport saddle, and the Skeletal Haast's Eagle drops a skeletal chibi and skin. See the full creature list for every entry and its spawn command.

Server notes

• Single player: the mod author advises turning off hibernation, because the mod's spawn control only works when it is off.
• Ini options: Part V reads its options from a [PrehistoricBeasts5] header in GameUserSettings.ini. If you change an option, copy it under the header of every Prehistoric Beasts part you run.

Getting started

• Early game: plant sugarcane for a Gomphotherium, and drop to low health near a Sinornithoides for a healer.
• Water: a Gandakasia supports your whales, and an Acrophoca with its Tek saddle explores the deep.
• Mid game: bring electric prods for an Edmontosaurus and carry the tribe with its transport saddle.
• Late game: tame a Purussaurus for the rivers, an Eotriceratops in the desert and an Angulomastacator for Aberration.

Saddles, attachments, eggs, trophies and the pack's resources, such as sugarcane and Liquid Tequila, are listed under items, and each creature's drops under loot drops. Everything in the pack is on the Prehistoric Beasts Part V mod page.

Further reading: the mod team's own Prehistoric Beasts guide on Steam covers every part of the mod, with the ini options of each creature.