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

The Quetzal is a knockout tame. Knock it unconscious using Tranq Arrows, Tranq Darts, or Shocking Tranq Darts, then feed it Exceptional 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 Quetzal eat in ARK: Survival Ascended?

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

Where can you find Quetzal in ARK: Survival Ascended?

Check the interactive spawn map on the Quetzal 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 Quetzal?

A baby Quetzal takes 5 days and 12 hours to reach full maturity. Eggs must be incubated between 5°C and 6°C. Use a breeding calculator for imprint timing and food requirements.

Quetzal Taming, Breeding & Spawns - ARK: Survival Ascended

Quetzal

FLYER

Quetzal

Spawn Command

Information

Level

Preset

Official servers currently have boosted rates! You don't need to change settings in our calculator.

Base Settings

Variant

Taming Speed

Spawn Locations

15 mapsFull Map →

The Quetzal spawns on 15 maps, typically found in mountains, cliffsides, and elevated terrain. 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 →

Quetzal Taming Calculator

Open Calculator→

KnockoutTime: 49m 18s|Effectiveness: 99.5% (+74 Lvl)|Base Torpor: 1,850Lv.150

Food	Qty	Time	Effectiveness
Exceptional KibbleBest	17	49:18	74 Lvl (224)
Raw Mutton	35	59:32	73 Lvl (223)
Raw Prime Meat	44	1:14:50	72 Lvl (222)
Cooked Lamb Chop	65	1:50:26	69 Lvl (219)
Raw Meat	130	3:41:06	57 Lvl (207)
+6 more in calculator→

Required Narcotics (Exceptional Kibble ×17)

Narcotics152

Narcoberries467

Bio Toxin76

Ascerbic Mushrooms437

Breeding

Open Calculator →

TypeEgg Layer

Incubation Temp5°C – 6°C

Maturation Time5d 12h

Quick Info

Saddles

Quetz SaddleLv.76

Quetz Platform SaddleLv.97Platform

Immobilized By

XP Calculator

Full Calculator→

Kill XP

Wild Kill (1.25×)

Creature Level

Kill Count

Per Kill1,431 XP

18 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.

Server XP

Wild Kill

Tamed Kill

Alpha Kill

Cave Kill

Boss Kill

Saddle Crafting XP

Quetz SaddleBase: 116 XP · Lv.76

464 XP

Quetz Platform SaddlePlatformBase: 462 XP · Lv.97

1,848 XP

Base × 1× quality × 4 × 1× server

Drops & Harvest Resources

Harvesting a dead Quetzal yields Hide, Raw Meat, Raw Prime Meat. The corpse has 520 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	Hatchet
Hide	40%~21~17 hits	60%~32~13 hits
Raw Meat	60%~24~17 hits	40%~16~13 hits
Raw Prime Meat	3%~1~17 hits	2%~1~13 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 Quetzal has 15 damage type modifiers that affect incoming damage. With 7 resistances and 7 weaknesses, its biggest vulnerability takes +400% extra damage - exploit that for faster kills. 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%

Herbivore DinoHerbivore dino attacks

60%-40%

Stone WeaponsClub, slingshot (high torpor)

66%-34%

GenericFall damage, environmental

80%-20%

Base Stats

Full Stats →

Stat	Base (Lv.1)	Wild +/Lv	Tamed +/Lv
Health	1200.0	+240.00	+1.60%
Stamina	800.0	+40.00	+1.00%
Torpidity	1850.0	+111.00	+0.00%
Oxygen	150.0	+15.00	+2.00%
Food	1200.0	+120.00	+2.00%
Weight	800.0	+16.00	+1.00%
Melee Damage Multiplier	100.0%	+4.00%	+10.00%
Speed Multiplier	100.0%	+0.00%	+1.00%

Hitbox Multipliers

Damage dealt to the Quetzal varies across 1 hitbox zone. The Head is the most vulnerable spot at 3x damage - aim there for maximum DPS.

Headc_jaw

3.00x

Can Damage

The Quetzal can damage: Thatch, Wood. Lower-tier structures are at risk - Stone walls or better will keep the Quetzal out.

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

Quetzal Tips & Tricks

Browse survivor-submitted tips and strategies for the Quetzal. Look for taming trap blueprints, ammo counts, and advice on avoiding accidental kills during knockout.

Welcome to the full Quetzal 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 Quetzal has 1,200 base Health, 100% base Melee Damage, 800 base Weight. Use the taming calculator to project how these stats grow through wild levels and taming effectiveness.

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

Breeding Quetzals produces fertilized eggs that need incubation between 5°C and 6°C. Full maturation takes 5 days and 12 hours. Use the breeding calculator for imprint timers and food requirements.

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

The Quetzal is a tamable, flying, carnivore creature in ARK: Survival Ascended. It belongs to the Flyer category.

Melee starts at 100% - solid damage output that scales with level-ups. Starting at 1,200 Health, it's among the tougher creatures. Its base Stamina of 800 gives it massive stamina reserves. It carries 800 base Weight - excellent carrying capacity.

The Quetzal is a knockout tame: apply enough torpor to knock it out, then place food in its inventory. For best results, use Exceptional Kibble - it gives the highest taming efficiency.

As a tame, the Quetzal excels at carrying heavy loads through the air, making base-to-base logistics much faster. Breeding produces fertilized eggs that hatch within a 5°C–6°C temperature window. A wild Quetzal is worth 18 base experience when killed. It can be cloned at a Cloning Chamber for 0.98 Element plus 0.1 Element per level.

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