Thorny Dragon
Misc · 16 maps
Overview
The Thorny Dragon is a small carnivore used primarily for resource gathering and weight reduction. It reduces inventory weight for Wood, Fiber, Stone, and Thatch by 50% each, making it efficient for hauling bulk materials. The Thorny Dragon can be carried by Argentavis, Karkinos, Quetzal, or Tusoteuthis for rapid deployment to remote resource zones.
Players tame it to streamline large-scale harvesting operations while benefiting from reduced encumbrance.
Spawn Locations
16 mapsThorny Dragons spawn uncommonly across 16 ARK maps. They inhabit desert, desert mountain, mountain, and oasis biomes. Look for them in open, arid regions where resource nodes are abundant.
Each shape is a real spawn volume. Click for exact chance and zone info.
Tame the Thorny Dragon using knockout methods. Use a Chain Bola, Bear Trap, or Large Bear Trap to immobilize it. Then sedate with Tranq Arrow, Tranquilizer Dart, or Narcotic.
Feed it Regular Kibble for the fastest taming. Raw Mutton also works. The process takes about 51 minutes and requires roughly 33 Narcotics at level 223. Use the calculator below for your settings.
| Food | Qty | Time | Effectiveness |
|---|---|---|---|
 Regular KibbleBest | 8 | 25:35 | 74 Lvl (224) |
 Raw Mutton | 20 | 37:30 | 73 Lvl (223) |
 Raw Prime Meat | 25 | 46:53 | 72 Lvl (222) |
 Cooked Lamb Chop | 40 | 1:14:56 | 68 Lvl (218) |
 Raw Meat | 80 | 2:30:00 | 54 Lvl (204) |
| +6 more in calculator→ | |||
Drops & Harvest Resources
Killing a Thorny Dragon yields Keratin, Raw Meat, and Hide. The Hatchet harvests the most Keratin and Hide, while the Pick yields the most Raw Meat.
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
While ridden, the Thorny Dragon gathers using its Claws attack. It harvests double amounts of Bio Toxin, Blood Sap, Blue Crystalized Sap, Cactus Sap, Charcoal, Corrupted Wood, Crystal, Electronics, Element Dust, Fungal Wood, Keratin, Medium Animal Feces, Rare Mushroom, Raw Meat, Red Crystalized Sap, and Sap.
It gathers from nodes categorized as charcoal, chitin, crystal, element, meat, metal, mushrooms, oil, sap, thatch, and wood.
Weight Reduction
The Thorny Dragon provides -50% weight reduction on Wood, Fiber, Stone, and Thatch. Pair with a Argentavis or Quetzal to maintain reduced weight during aerial transport.
Damage Resistances
The Thorny Dragon has a +120% weakness to Instant HurtDinos, making it highly vulnerable to structures like spike walls. It takes -80% less damage from Melee TorpPoison, such as from Poison Wyverns. Avoid spike wall defenses when using it offensively.
Kill XP
Wild Kill (1.25×)6 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 | 260.0 | +52.00 | +4.00% |
 Stamina | 350.0 | +35.00 | +2.00% |
 Torpidity | 450.0 | +27.00 | +0.00% |
 Oxygen | 150.0 | +15.00 | +2.00% |
 Food | 1200.0 | +120.00 | +2.00% |
 Weight | 300.0 | +6.00 | +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 2.5x, making it the optimal target for knockouts. Focus headshots to minimize required sedation.
Can Damage
Thatch
Wood
Stone
Metal
Tek| Attack | Base | Thatch | Wood | Stone | Metal | Tek |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ClawsCarnivore Small MineHide Spiny | 40 | 220.0 | 120.0 | — | — | — |
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
Thorny Dragon Tips & Tricks
The Claws attack gathers double Bio Toxin, Crystal, and Rare Mushroom, making it ideal for high-yield node farming.
It reduces weight by -50% for Wood, Fiber, Stone, and Thatch, enhancing cargo efficiency.
Can be carried by Argentavis, allowing fast aerial transport without losing inventory benefits.
Vulnerable to spike walls due to +100% damage taken, so avoid defensive perimeters with such traps.
Resistant to torpor-based attacks from creatures like the Basilisk, taking -80% less damage from such effects.
This page details the Thorny Dragon's taming, breeding, harvesting, weight reduction, and combat stats. Refer to the taming calculator, breeding calculator, and spawn map for further planning.
