How do you tame a Dunkleosteus in ARK: Survival Ascended?

The Dunkleosteus is a knockout tame. Knock it unconscious using Tranq Arrows, Tranq Darts, or Shocking Tranq Darts, then feed it Superior Kibble for the best taming effectiveness. Use a taming calculator to determine the exact food and narcotic quantities needed for your target level.

What does a Dunkleosteus eat in ARK: Survival Ascended?

The best food for taming a Dunkleosteus is Superior Kibble. It also accepts Raw Mutton, Raw Prime Meat, Cooked Lamb Chop.

Where can you find Dunkleosteus in ARK: Survival Ascended?

Check the interactive spawn map on the Dunkleosteus 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 Dunkleosteus?

A baby Dunkleosteus takes 3 days and 10 hours to reach full maturity. Use a breeding calculator for imprint timing and food requirements.

Dunkleosteus Taming, Breeding & Spawns

Dunkleosteus

FARMER

Dunkleosteus

Spawn Command

Information

Level

Preset

Base Settings

Variant

Taming Speed

Spawn Locations

16 mapsFull Map →

The Dunkleosteus spawns on 16 maps, typically found in oceans, deep rivers, and underwater caves. 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 mapAstraeos →

Dunkleosteus Taming Calculator

Open Calculator→

KnockoutTime: 40m 14s|Effectiveness: 98.6% (+73 Lvl)|Base Torpor: 1,150Lv.150

Food	Qty	Time	Effectiveness
Superior KibbleBest	7	40:14	73 Lvl (223)
Raw Mutton	14	31:31	70 Lvl (220)
Raw Prime Meat	18	40:31	68 Lvl (218)
Cooked Lamb Chop	26	58:27	61 Lvl (211)
Raw Meat	52	1:57:01	40 Lvl (190)
+6 more in calculator →

Required Narcotics (Superior Kibble ×7)

Narcotics0

Narcoberries0

Bio Toxin0

Ascerbic Mushrooms0

Breeding

Open Calculator →

TypeLive Birth

Maturation Time3d 10h

Quick Info

Saddle

Dunkleosteus SaddleLv.44

XP Calculator

Full Calculator →

Kill XP

Wild Kill (1.25×)

Creature Level

Kill Count

Per Kill954 XP

12 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

Saddle Crafting XP

Dunkleosteus SaddleBase: 51.2 XP · Lv.44

205 XP

Base × 1× quality × 4 × 1× server

Drops & Harvest Resources

You can gather Raw Fish Meat, Chitin, Raw Prime Fish Meat from a Dunkleosteus corpse. The corpse has 750 harvest health, allowing multiple hits before it's fully depleted.

Different tools yield different quantities - check the table below to pick the right tool for the resource you need. Generally, a Pick favors meat while a Hatchet favors hide and secondary materials.

Harvest Body HP

Melee Damage

Weapon Damage

Harvest Multiplier

Resource	Pick	Sickle	Harvest Weapon
Raw Fish Meat	100%~38~24 hits	100%~38~15 hits	60%~35~25 hits
Chitin	100%~38~24 hits	100%~38~15 hits	75%~115~25 hits
Raw Prime Fish Meat	0%~0~24 hits	13%~5~15 hits	4%~2~25 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

Weight Reduction

Obsidian-75%

Oil-50%

Metal-50%

Stone-50%

Crystal-50%

Black Pearl-50%

Damage Resistances

The Dunkleosteus has 15 damage type modifiers that affect incoming damage. It shrugs off 8 damage types but is weak to 6, with its worst vulnerability at +400%. Focus damage there for maximum efficiency. See the full breakdown in the table below. Values under 100% indicate resistance, above 100% indicate weakness.

MiningDrill Harvest

0%-100%

Engine

40%-60%

Dino AttacksStandard dino melee hits

50%-50%

Plant Species XPlant turret projectiles

50%-50%

GenericFall damage, environmental

60%-40%

Herbivore DinoHerbivore dino attacks

60%-40%

Base Stats

Full Stats →

Stat	Base (Lv.1)	Wild +/Lv	Tamed +/Lv
Health	710.0	+142.00	+4.00%
Stamina	200.0	+20.00	+2.00%
Torpidity	1150.0	+69.00	+0.00%
Food	2000.0	+200.00	+2.00%
Weight	910.0	+18.20	+0.80%
Melee Damage Multiplier	100.0%	+5.00%	+10.00%
Speed Multiplier	100.0%	+0.00%	+1.00%

Hitbox Multipliers

Damage dealt to the Dunkleosteus varies across 1 hitbox zone. The Head is the most vulnerable spot at 1.5x damage - aim there for maximum DPS.

Headc_jaw

1.50x

Can Damage

The Dunkleosteus can damage: Thatch, Wood, Stone. It can break Stone structures, so only Metal-tier builds are fully safe from it.

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

Dunkleosteus Tips & Tricks

Check out what other players have learned about the Dunkleosteus - and contribute your own tips. Look for taming trap blueprints, ammo counts, and advice on avoiding accidental kills during knockout.

Everything you need to know about the Dunkleosteus in ARK: Survival Ascended is collected here. Use the stat overview, taming summary, and breeding details below to plan your approach, then explore the dedicated tool pages for step-by-step help.

At base level the Dunkleosteus has 710 base Health, 100% base Melee Damage, 910 base Weight. Use the taming calculator to project how these stats grow through wild levels and taming effectiveness.

The Dunkleosteus is a knockout tame — render it unconscious with torpor weapons, then feed it Superior Kibble for the fastest results. Our taming calculator shows exact food quantities, narcotics needed, and time estimates for every level.

The Dunkleosteus gives live birth after a gestation period. Babies mature in 3 days and 10 hours. Check the breeding calculator for detailed imprint schedules and raising costs.

Once tamed, the Dunkleosteus can harvest Raw Fish Meat, Chitin, Raw Prime Fish Meat. Visit the information tab for the full harvest table with quantities and efficiency data.

The Dunkleosteus is a tamable, aquatic, carnivore creature in ARK: Survival Ascended. Classified under the Farmer group.

Melee starts at 100% - solid damage output that scales with level-ups. With 710 base Health, the Dunkleosteus is solidly tanky. With 200 base Stamina, the Dunkleosteus has decent staying power. Weight capacity starts at 910, giving it excellent carrying capacity.

The Dunkleosteus is a knockout tame: apply enough torpor to knock it out, then place food in its inventory. Feed it Superior Kibble for the fastest tame and highest effectiveness bonus.

After taming, the Dunkleosteus is well-suited for deep-sea exploration, cave diving, and ocean resource runs. It gives live birth after a gestation period, making breeding straightforward. Defeating one in the wild grants 12 base XP. It can be cloned at a Cloning Chamber for 0.43 Element plus 0.01 Element per level.

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