Bison
10 maps
Overview
The Bison is a large herbivore known for its ability to gather a wide variety of plant-based resources while being ridden. It reduces the weight of inventory items, making it efficient for long foraging trips. Players tame the Bison to streamline resource collection across grasslands and snowy regions. It can be airlifted by Quetzal or Tusoteuthis for rapid deployment to remote harvest zones.
Spawn Locations
10 mapsBison spawn in grassland and snow biomes. They are very common and appear across 10 ARK maps. Look for them in open fields and elevated snowy plateaus where plant nodes are abundant.
Each shape is a real spawn volume. Click for exact chance and zone info.
Tame the Bison using knockout methods. Use a Chain Bola, Bear Trap, or Large Bear Trap to immobilize it. Then apply tranquilizing damage with a Bow, Crossbow, or Longneck Rifle using Tranq Arrows or Tranquilizer Darts. Superior Kibble is the best taming food. About 17 pieces are needed. The process takes around 54 minutes and requires approximately 141 Narcotics. Use the calculator below for your settings.
| Food | Qty | Time | Effectiveness |
|---|---|---|---|
 Superior KibbleBest | 9 | 28:47 | 74 Lvl (224) |
 Archelon Algae | 21 | 31:30 | 73 Lvl (223) |
 Crops | 81 | 2:01:30 | 56 Lvl (206) |
 Mejoberry | 108 | 2:01:30 | 47 Lvl (197) |
    | 161 | 2:00:45 | 33 Lvl (183) |
Drops & Harvest Resources
Killing a Bison yields Hide, Raw Meat, Raw Prime Meat, and Keratin. The Hatchet provides the most Hide and Keratin, while the Pick yields more Raw Meat and Raw Prime Meat.
| Resource |  Pick |  Hatchet |
|---|---|---|
| 40%~15~12 hits | 60%~22~9 hits | |
| 60%~17~12 hits | 40%~11~9 hits | |
| 3%~1~12 hits | 2%~0~9 hits | |
| 2%~1~12 hits | 3%~1~9 hits |
Estimates based on game-extracted data (weights, quantities, harvest multipliers, damage type chains). Each harvest event independently rolls each resource - higher weight = higher drop chance. Actual yields vary with RNG.
Gathering Abilities
While ridden, the Bison gathers resources using its attacks. Head Swipe, Headbutt, Gore, and Head Launch all harvest Berries, Wood, Fiber, Cactus Sap, Seeds, Rare Flowers, and Mushrooms. Each of these resources is gathered at 10× efficiency. This includes high-value items like Mejoberry, Narcoberry, Stimberry, and Rare Flower. It excels at rapid node farming in diverse biomes.
Damage Resistances
The Bison takes +200% more damage from spike walls, making them highly effective for defense. It is also vulnerable to instant damage effects and melee attacks with metal weapons. Conversely, it has -60% damage taken from fire-based attacks, making fire weapons inefficient. It resists projectile impacts and small turrets by 50%. Prioritize non-fire, non-ranged tools when targeting it.
Kill XP
Wild Kill (1.25×)4 base × 15.9 level × 4 × 1.25× wild kill × 1× server
Server Settings(Game.ini)
Official servers use non-1× defaults; the values above already reflect official rates.
| Stat | Base (Lv.1) | Wild +/Lv | Tamed +/Lv |
|---|---|---|---|
 Health | 800.0 | +160.00 | +4.00% |
 Stamina | 500.0 | +50.00 | +2.00% |
 Torpidity | 500.0 | +30.00 | +0.00% |
 Oxygen | 150.0 | +15.00 | +2.00% |
 Food | 3250.0 | +325.00 | +2.00% |
 Weight | 650.0 | +13.00 | +0.80% |
 Melee Damage Multiplier | 100.0% | +5.00% | +10.00% |
 Speed Multiplier | 100.0% | +0.00% | +1.00% |
Hitbox Multipliers
The Bison has a head hitbox that takes 1.5× damage, making headshots effective for faster knockouts. Focus attacks on the head when sedating.
Can Damage
Can break Thatch and Wood. Build at least in Stone.
Thatch
Wood
Stone
Metal
Tek| Attack | Base | Thatch | Wood | Stone | Metal | Tek |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Head SwipeHerbivore Large | 30 | 165.0 | 90.0 | — | — | — |
Numbers reflect base melee at level 1, 100% TE, no imprint. The damage calculator lets you scale by melee %, server multipliers, and pick a specific structure for exact hit counts.
Tools & Guides
Bison Tips & Tricks
The Bison gathers Wood, Berries, Fiber, and Seeds at 10× efficiency with any of its harvest attacks. It can be carried by Quetzal without losing its inventory weight reduction benefits. It takes double damage from spike walls, so avoid placing it near such defenses. Its fire resistance reduces incoming fire damage by 60%, making it durable in fire-heavy zones. Use it in cold or grassland biomes where plant nodes are plentiful. It can be immobilized effectively with Plant Species Y.
This page details the Bison's taming, breeding, harvesting, and combat statistics. Refer to the taming calculator, breeding calculator, and spawn map for precise planning and resource management.
