How to tame the Deinonychus in Ark: Survival Evolved

While the Raptor might be one of the more popular and well-known bipedal creatures of the Ark: Survival Evolved game, there’s one more known as Deinonychus. This feathered and bipedal creature was introduced with the launch of the Valguero map and, since then, has been adopted by many for different tasks. While not a large creature, the Deinonychus is still a valuable asset to any tribe, and in this guide, we’ll detail how to tame the Deinonychus in Ark: Survival Evolved.

What Deinonychus does in Ark: Survival Evolved

As mentioned, the Deinonychus isn’t a gigantic creature, but it’s by no means weak. This small feathered predator is known for easily destroying larger creatures, thanks to its long claws and flock-hunting tactics.

The Deinonychus has a special bleed mechanic, which allows it to rip the targeted foe and, as such, do a percentile-based amount of damage over time. This means that creatures with large Health pools, such as Brontos, Rexes, and even Bosses, will take huge amounts of damage when struck by a Deinonychus.

Deinonychus is a very territorial creature and will attack without hesitation, especially if you go near their nests. As they’re in flocks and have the bleeding damage, you can be assured that if you’re caught unawares, you’ll not be walking away.

Deinonychus can also latch onto the side of other giant creatures like a Rex, or a Bronto, lifting them up away from the impact zone of the creature’s attacks. You’ll need to find a different way to attack them if they latch onto you.

Related: Beginner’s guide to PvP in Ark: Survival Evolved

What items are needed to tame the Deinonychus in Ark: Survival Evolved

There is only one way to obtain a Deinonychus and to do so, you’ll need to be very fast and very mobile if you wish to avoid death. To do so, you’ll need the following items:

• A flying mount
• Good timing

The Deinonychus is like the Wyvern, Magmasaur, and Rock Drake in that you can only tame one by stealing one of its eggs. While this may sound easy, the Deinonychus that are in the area will instantly swarm you, so you’ll have to be quick and careful.

To find the eggs, you’ll need to head to the White Cliffs area of the Valguero map. You can also find them on the Fjordur map. There you’ll need to look for the red glow inside a nest – this is indicative of an egg waiting to be snatched up.

Scout the area for any wandering Deinonychus, making sure they’re well away from you. Land your flying mount on the nest or as close as you can manage, and press your interact key to pick the egg up. At this point, you need to instantly climb on your mount again and fly away before the Deinonychus return. If the nest is near a cliff, you can kite the Deinonychus off it to make the egg theft easier.

Once you’ve obtained your stolen egg, you’ll need to place it in either an Incubator or, if you have the S+ Mod, the Hatchery to allow it to incubate. If you don’t have either, you can place down Aircons or fires to heat the egg. Be careful because if you’re not watching the incubation bar, it might hatch without you knowing. 

Once the incubation has been completed, you’ll need to claim the baby Deinonychus to add it to your team. The Deinonychus will require various items as it matures or interactions to increase its Imprinting. Imprinted creatures have better stats and a buff once mature. If you have the S+ Mod, the Nanny will do these actions for you, as well as feed it. If you don’t have the S+ Mod, you must place raw meat in its inventory until it is older, or it will starve. Once it reaches the juvenile phase, it will be able to eat from Feeding Troughs around your base.