The Dunkleosteus in ARK: Survival Evolved is a large fish and can therefore be found in the ocean. It is mainly used for farming oil and stones, but of course, you can also use it to explore the ocean.
Find out everything you need to know about this ocean dweller in our Dunkleosteus guide. But also how to catch him, tame him, feed him, and breed offspring too.
This is the Dunkleosteus in ARK: Survival Evolved
Appearance: You can recognize the Dunkleosteus by its fully armored head. The large fish is slightly larger than the Megalodon living in the same habitat, but unlike the Megalodon, it has no teeth, but rather massive, jagged bony plates. Its physique resembles that of a normal fish, with an eel-like tail.
Wild: The Dunkleosteus is a slow, lumbering fish that slowly wanders the depths of the ocean. Due to its low speed, it feeds mainly on shells and crustaceans. Unlike aggressive ocean creatures, he won’t just attack you. In order for it to attack you directly, you must attack it yourself or with another creature.
Domesticated: The Dunkleosteus is very useful when it comes to obtaining stone and oil. Its powerful bone plates destroy them with ease. It can also protect you well from underwater threats but note that the Dunkleosteus is not the fastest swimmer and cannot escape from most attackers.
How to tame the Dunkleosteus in ARK
How to hunt Dunkleosteus: The easiest way to hunt Dunkleosteus is to follow it on a faster ocean dweller and shoot it with tranquilizer darts. It is best to use the spear gun for this, as the shotgun cannot shoot underwater.
Another way would be to lure the Dunkleosteus into a cave where you can shoot him with the shotgun from land. For this, you have to hurt him so that he follows you into the cave. There you prevent him from escaping with a barrier and then shoot him safely from land.
How to tame him: Once he’s unconscious, it’s best to put the superior kibble in his inventory and feed it to tame him. Should the Dunkleosteus nevertheless threaten to wake up again, you can also feed it Narcoberries or Narcotic to keep the stun level up.
How to craft the Dunkleosteus Saddle
To craft the Dunkleosteus Saddle, you need to be level 44 and 20 Engram Points to unlock the recipe. You now need the following resources to craft:
- 300x Hide
- 180x Fiber
- 120x Cement
- 80x Metal ingots
How to feed the Dunkleosteus in ARK
Once you have tamed your Dunkleosteus, it is important to know what it likes to eat. The Dunkleosteus is a carnivore, which of course makes the choice of food easier.
- Superior Kibble:
- Ingredients: 1x Large Egg,1x Prime Meat Jerky, 5x Fiber, 2x Citronal, 2x Rare Mushroom, 1x Sap, 1x Water
- Ingredients for Prime Meat Jerky: 1x Cooked Prime Meat, 1x Oil, 3x Sparkpowder
- Raw Mutton:
- Received by gutting Ovis.
- Cooking turns it into the Cooked Lamb Chop
- Raw Prime Meat:
- Gained when gutting larger creatures
- Cooking turns it into Cooked Prime Meat
- Raw Prime Fish Meat:
- Obtained from Alpha Mosasaurus, Dunkleosteus, Electrophorus, Leedsichtys, Megalodon, and Sabertooth Salmon
- Cooking turns it into the Cooked Prime Fish Meat
- Raw Meat:
- Earned by gutting a creature
- Cooking turns it into Cooked Meat
- Raw Fish Meat:
- Received from gutting fish
- Cooking turns it into Cooked Fish Meat
How to breed the Dunkleosteus in ARK
This is how you prepare the breeding: If you have a male and female specimen, you build an enclosure that is large enough at best. Put both dinos in the pen and set them to “wander” via the command menu. Alternatively, you can also switch directly to “Pair”, but then there must always be a player nearby, otherwise the pairing will stop due to the rendering.
The breeding interval for a Dunkleosteus is 18 to 48 hours.
After successful mating, the female Dunkleosteus is pregnant for about 8 hours if you play with default settings. After 8 hours, you can welcome the little Dunkleosteus baby into the world. As a baby, it takes up another 8 hours of your attention, during which you have to keep putting meat in its inventory. Pay attention to the embossing intervals every 8 hours to tickle the greatest potential out of the baby.
Once it gains juvenile status, it can feed on its own. The entire ripening period lasts about 3 days and 20 hours.
Beginner tips on breeding in ARK can be found here:
Looking for more helpful guides on ARK: Survival Evolved? Then take a look at our ARK guide overview, where you will find more of our dinosaur, crafting, resource, and technology guides. You can also chat with us and other players on our Discord server. We’re looking forward to see you!
