Where can you find Defense Unit in ARK: Survival Ascended?

Check the interactive spawn map on the Defense Unit spawn location page for exact spawn zones across all ARK maps. Spawn density and locations vary by map.

How long does it take to raise a baby Defense Unit?

A baby Defense Unit takes 3 days and 20 hours to reach full maturity. Use a breeding calculator for imprint timing and food requirements.

Defense Unit Taming, Breeding & Spawns

Defense Unit

Misc

Defense Unit

Spawn Command

Information

Level

Preset

Base Settings

Variant

Taming Speed

Spawn Locations

4 mapsFull Map →

The Defense Unit spawns on 4 maps, typically found in most regions of the map. Green cells indicate high spawn density, red means low. Click a cell to see exact spawn chance. If you can't find any, try clearing creatures nearby to free up the population cap.

Official

Mod Maps

Map Legend

High spawn density

Medium spawn density

Low spawn density

Cave spawn

Click any cell for exact spawn chance and nearby spawn groups. Zoom in for detail.

Explore full interactive mapExtinction →

Taming

Defense Unit is not tamable.

Breeding

Open Calculator →

TypeLive Birth

Maturation Time3d 20h

Quick Info

Carried By

Immobilized By

XP Calculator

Full Calculator →

Kill XP

Wild Kill (1.25×)

Creature Level

Kill Count

Per Kill1,193 XP

15 base × 15.9 level × 4 × 1.25× wild kill × 1× server

Server Settings(Game.ini)

Official servers use non-1× defaults for kill-type multipliers. Adjust these if your server uses custom Game.ini values.

Server XP

Wild Kill

Tamed Kill

Alpha Kill

Cave Kill

Boss Kill

Drops & Harvest Resources

The Defense Unit's corpse can be harvested for Scrap Metal, Electronics, Oil, Element Dust. The corpse has 80 harvest health, allowing multiple hits before it's fully depleted.

The harvest table below breaks down exact yields per tool. Choose your tool based on which resource you're after - yields vary significantly.

Harvest Body HP

Melee Damage

Weapon Damage

Harvest Multiplier

Resource	Pick	Hatchet
Scrap Metal	60%~4~3 hits	40%~2~2 hits
Electronics	60%~4~3 hits	40%~2~2 hits
Oil	60%~4~3 hits	40%~2~2 hits
Element Dust	60%~4~3 hits	40%~2~2 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.

Damage Resistances

Incoming damage to the Defense Unit is modified by 12 different type-specific multipliers. It resists 6 damage types (up to 100% reduction) and is vulnerable to 5 (up to +120% incoming damage). See the full breakdown in the table below. Values under 100% indicate resistance, above 100% indicate weakness.

MiningDrill Harvest

0%-100%

Dino AttacksStandard dino melee hits

50%-50%

Plant Species XPlant turret projectiles

50%-50%

Stone WeaponsClub, slingshot (high torpor)

66%-34%

GenericFall damage, environmental

70%-30%

Player MeleeSwords, pikes, fists

80%-20%

Base Stats

Full Stats →

Stat	Base (Lv.1)	Wild +/Lv	Tamed +/Lv
Health	924.0	+184.80	+4.00%
Stamina	2000.0	+200.00	+2.00%
Torpidity	420.0	+25.20	+0.00%
Oxygen	150.0	+15.00	+2.00%
Food	3000.0	+300.00	+2.00%
Weight	1500.0	+30.00	+0.80%
Melee Damage Multiplier	100.0%	+5.00%	+10.00%
Speed Multiplier	100.0%	+0.00%	+1.00%

Hitbox Multipliers

Aiming matters - the Defense Unit has 1 hitbox region with distinct damage modifiers. Hit the c_Back_08 (1.5x multiplier) for the highest damage per shot.

c_Back_08c_Back_08

1.50x

Can Damage

The Defense Unit can damage: Thatch, Wood, Stone, Metal, Tek. Its ability to break Metal structures makes the Defense Unit a serious raid threat - account for it in base defense.

Thatch

Wood

Stone

Metal

Tek

Tools & Guides

Taming CalculatorFood, narcotics, and time for any level

Breeding CalculatorMaturation, imprint timers, raising costs

BuildingsCommunity traps, pens, enclosures

AbilitiesAttacks, harvest specs, unique skills

Tips & TricksCommunity strategies and advice

Spawn LocationInteractive maps with spawn zones

Spawn CommandAdmin commands, all variants

Defense Unit Tips & Tricks

Read and share community tips for the Defense Unit in ARK: Survival Ascended.

Welcome to the full Defense Unit guide for ARK: Survival Ascended. Here you can quickly review its stats, taming requirements, breeding info, and resource gathering potential, then dive into our detailed calculators and maps for more depth.

At base level the Defense Unit has 924 base Health, 100% base Melee Damage, 1500 base Weight. Use the taming calculator to project how these stats grow through wild levels and taming effectiveness.

The Defense Unit gives live birth after a gestation period. Babies mature in 3 days and 20 hours. Check the breeding calculator for detailed imprint schedules and raising costs.

Once tamed, the Defense Unit can harvest Scrap Metal, Electronics, Oil, Element Dust. Visit the information tab for the full harvest table with quantities and efficiency data.

ARK: Survival Ascended features the Defense Unit as an unknown creature that survivors will encounter in the wild.

At 924 base HP, the Defense Unit is solidly tanky. Its base Melee Damage sits at 100%, giving it respectable melee power. With 2000 base Stamina, the Defense Unit has exceptional endurance. A base Weight of 1500 means excellent carrying capacity.

The Defense Unit is a wild creature that cannot be tamed through conventional methods. A wild Defense Unit is worth 15 base experience when killed. It can be cloned at a Cloning Chamber for 0 Element plus 0 Element per level.

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