Piranha
Water · 21 maps
Overview
Piranha is a small aquatic carnivore found in freshwater and oceanic environments. It excels at damaging structures made of Thatch, making it useful for base raids in vulnerable early-game phases. The creature does not tame, but its aggressive nature and abundance in water systems make it a common hazard and occasional tool for sabotage.
It can be carried by larger aquatic or flying creatures such as Megalodon or Quetzal for transport across maps.
Spawn Locations
22 mapsPiranha spawns on 20 ARK maps across a wide range of biomes, including Caves, Deserts, Freshwater, Oasis, Ocean, and Volcanic regions. It is very common, appearing frequently in rivers, lakes, and coastal zones. Look for dense clusters in green zones on the spawn map for efficient farming or avoidance.
Each shape is a real spawn volume. Click for exact chance and zone info.
Taming
Piranha cannot be tamed.
Piranha is tamable using a Fish Basket.
Drops & Harvest Resources
Killing a Piranha yields Raw Fish Meat. The Mining Drill harvests the most Raw Fish Meat from its corpse.
| Resource |  Pick | Harvest Weapon |
|---|---|---|
| 100%~3~2 hits | 60%~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
Piranha has a strong weakness to Melee Dino Carnivore Medium Flyer HarvestPolymer attacks, taking +900% more damage. It is also highly vulnerable to Explosion Demolition and Melee DmgMetal RaidDino damage. Spike walls and ranged turrets deal reduced damage, making them less effective for defense.
Kill XP
Wild Kill (1.25×)1 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 | 150.0 | +30.00 | +4.00% |
 Stamina | 120.0 | +12.00 | +2.00% |
 Torpidity | 250.0 | +15.00 | +0.00% |
 Food | 1200.0 | +120.00 | +2.00% |
 Weight | 15.0 | +0.30 | +0.80% |
 Melee Damage Multiplier | 100.0% | +5.00% | +10.00% |
 Speed Multiplier | 100.0% | +0.00% | +1.00% |
Hitbox Multipliers
The head has a damage multiplier of 1.5x, making headshots effective for faster kills. Focus on the head zone during combat for optimal damage output.
Can Damage
Can damage Thatch structures. Build at least in Wood to resist Piranha attacks.
Thatch
Wood
Stone
Metal
Tek| Attack | Base | Thatch | Wood | Stone | Metal | Tek |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MeleeCarnivore Small | 22 | 121.0 | — | — | — | — |
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
Piranha Tips & Tricks
Piranha deals significant damage to Thatch-based structures, making it dangerous in early-game bases.
It takes +900% more damage from certain melee attacks, especially from medium carnivores and flyers.
Explosives deal +50% more damage, making them highly effective for eliminating swarms.
It is resistant to Mining Drill Harvest damage, reducing resource loss when attacked by automated miners.
This page details the Piranha's spawn locations, damage modifiers, harvesting output, and structural damage capabilities. Refer to the taming calculator, breeding calculator, and spawn map for further planning.