Dragon
Variant
Overview
The Dragon is a massive flying boss creature and variant of the Wyvern species. It excels in combat with high damage output and extreme resistance to most forms of damage. Players tame it primarily for aerial dominance and raiding, where its ability to destroy structures makes it a top-tier offensive mount. It can be airlifted by Quetzal or Karkinos for fast deployment.
Spawn Locations
16 mapsThe Dragon does not spawn naturally in the wild. It is exclusively encountered as part of boss events or special encounters across ARK maps. Due to its rarity and event-based appearance, locating one requires participation in designated boss fights.
Each shape is a real spawn volume. Click for exact chance and zone info.
Taming
The Dragon must be tamed via knockout using ranged weapons. The most effective food is Raw Prime Fish Meat, providing the highest affinity. Raw Mutton also works nearly as well if Prime Fish Meat is unavailable. Use Tranq Arrows or Tranq Darts to sedate it, and immobilize with a Chain Bola to reduce movement. Taming takes around 15 minutes with optimal settings. Use the calculator below for your settings.
Dragon is not tamable.
Drops & Harvest Resources
Killing a Dragon yields Hide, Raw Meat, and Raw Prime Meat. The Hatchet yields the most Hide, while the Pick maximizes Raw Meat and Raw Prime Meat.
| Resource |  Pick |  Hatchet |
|---|---|---|
| 40%~205~157 hits | 60%~308~125 hits | |
| 60%~231~157 hits | 40%~154~125 hits | |
| 10%~26~157 hits | 10%~26~125 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
The Dragon is highly resistant to Mining Drill Harvest, taking -100% damage, making it immune to that damage type. It is weak to Spike Wall attacks, which deal +400% damage, and to Melee DmgMetal RaidDino, which hits for +55%. Explosions and Instant HurtDinos also exploit its vulnerabilities. Focus on Health and Melee Damage for optimal performance.
Kill XP
Boss Kill (5×)3000 base × 15.9 level × 4 × 5× boss 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 | 20000.0 | +4000.00 | +4.00% |
 Stamina | 400.0 | +40.00 | +2.00% |
 Torpidity | 350.0 | +21.00 | +0.00% |
 Oxygen | 2000.0 | +200.00 | +2.00% |
 Food | 2600.0 | +260.00 | +2.00% |
 Weight | 3000.0 | +60.00 | +0.40% |
 Melee Damage Multiplier | 100.0% | +5.00% | +4.00% |
 Speed Multiplier | 100.0% | +0.00% | +0.00% |
Can Damage
Can break Thatch, Wood, and Stone. Build at least in Metal.
Thatch
Wood
Stone
Metal
Tek| Attack | Base | Thatch | Wood | Stone | Metal | Tek |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BiteExplosion NoMetal | 3500 | 52500.0 | 52500.0 | 12250.0 | — | — |
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
Dragon Tips & Tricks
The Dragon takes +400% damage from spike walls, making them extremely effective in base defense setups.
It is immune to Mining Drill Harvest damage, allowing it to pass through resource nodes unharmed.
It can be carried by Quetzal or Karkinos, enabling rapid deployment to distant areas.
Its flight allows access to high-altitude zones unreachable by ground mounts.
Use its high melee damage to quickly destroy enemy structures during raids.
This page covers the Dragon's taming, combat stats, harvesting output, and defensive capabilities. For detailed planning, refer to the taming calculator, breeding calculator, and spawn map tools available on-site.
