Choosing the best dinosaurs to tame early game ARK can make or break your survival experience on the island. Whether you’re starting fresh on The Island, Scorched Earth, or ARK: Survival Ascended, knowing which creatures to prioritize will accelerate your progression, protect your base, and streamline resource gathering. This 2025 guide breaks down the top early-game tames, their utility, and how to secure them efficiently.
Why Early-Game Taming Matters in ARK
In ARK: Survival Evolved and ARK: Survival Ascended, taming is the cornerstone of progression. Early-game dinosaurs serve multiple roles: they gather resources faster than manual tools, defend you from hostile creatures, and provide mobility across dangerous terrain. Selecting the right tames early on saves time, reduces deaths, and sets the foundation for mid-game dominance.
Understanding taming mechanics is crucial. Most early-game tames use passive or knockout taming. Knockout taming requires tranquilizing the creature with a slingshot, bow with tranq arrows, or clubs, then feeding it preferred food (berries, raw meat, or crops). Passive taming involves hand-feeding without aggression. Always prepare narcotics or narcoberries to keep unconscious creatures sedated during the process.
Key Early-Game Taming Mechanics
- Torpor management: Monitor the dinosaur’s torpor bar; feed narcotics or narcoberries before it wakes up.
- Taming effectiveness: Higher effectiveness yields better stats and bonus levels; avoid damage during knockout.
- Food preference: Using preferred kibble or crops dramatically speeds up taming, but early-game survivors rely on berries and raw meat.
- Safety measures: Build a taming pen (wooden spikes, stone foundations) to trap aggressive tames safely.
Hosting your own ARK server ensures you control taming rates, experience multipliers, and modded content. At Nexus Games, ARK servers run on AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D processors with DDR5 ECC RAM and pre-installable CurseForge mods, guaranteeing low-latency taming sessions and stable performance even during resource-heavy operations.
Top 5 Best Dinosaurs to Tame Early Game ARK
1. Parasaur – Your First Multi-Purpose Companion
The Parasaurolophus is the quintessential first tame. Found in nearly every biome, Parasaurs are passive herbivores that flee when attacked, making them easy to bola and knockout. They require only Mejoberries for taming, which you can gather by hand or with a pick.
Why tame a Parasaur early?
- Berry gathering: Parasaurs harvest berries faster than manual collection, essential for feeding other herbivore tames.
- Transport: Carry more weight than you can on foot, reducing trips between base and resource nodes.
- Turret mode: Place on aggressive or turret mode to detect nearby threats (player radar).
- Low-cost taming: No kibble or rare resources required; bola + tranq arrows suffice.
Taming strategy: Craft a bola (hide + fiber), immobilize the Parasaur, then use a slingshot or wooden club for torpor. Feed Mejoberries and narcoberries to maintain unconsciousness. Taming time: ~10–15 minutes at 1x rates.
2. Moschops – The Berry Harvesting Powerhouse
The Moschops is a passive-tame herbivore with exceptional berry-gathering efficiency. Unlike knockout tames, Moschops require you to hand-feed specific items (usually Mejoberries or Tintoberries) until the taming bar fills.
Advantages:
- No combat needed: Walk up and feed; no risk of death during taming.
- Superior fiber/berry yield: Outperforms Parasaur in raw berry output per swipe.
- Versatile diet: Can be set to harvest rare flowers, plant species, or thatch depending on settings.
Taming tip: Moschops may request rare items like Prime Meat or crops. If you lack these, find another Moschops with simpler demands (Mejoberries). Keep a stack of 50+ berries in slot 0 for quick feeding.
3. Raptor – Early-Game Combat and Speed
Raptors are aggressive carnivores that attack on sight, but their speed, damage output, and pack bonus make them invaluable for early-game defense and hunting. A tamed Raptor can take down Dilos, Compys, and even wild Parasaurs, securing meat and hide for crafting.
Combat benefits:
- Pack boost: Tame 2–3 Raptors for a pack leader buff (+damage, +resistance).
- High speed: Outrun most early predators; escape Carnos and Spinos.
- Pounce attack: Dismounts riders and pins smaller creatures (ARK: Survival Ascended feature).
Taming strategy: Build a 2×2 stone taming pen with ramps. Lure the Raptor inside, exit via a doorframe, then tranq from safety. Feed raw meat or raw prime meat. Use a crossbow with tranq arrows for efficiency. Taming time: ~20 minutes at 1x with raw meat.
For PvP servers, Raptors excel at raiding thatch/wood bases and chasing down fleeing survivors. Nexus Games ARK servers support custom PvP/PvE settings and mod integration via the panel, letting you tweak Raptor stats for balanced gameplay.
4. Pteranodon – Unlocking Aerial Mobility
The Pteranodon is the earliest flying mount, unlocking at level 38 with the Pteranodon Saddle engram. Though slightly mid-game in level requirement, many survivors rush this tame to access vertical exploration, metal-rich mountains, and quick cross-map travel.
Why prioritize a Pteranodon?
- Air superiority: Escape ground predators; scout enemy bases or resource nodes from above.
- Metal runs: Fly to mountain peaks for metal ore, crystal, and obsidian without ground threats.
- Speed leveling: Invest points into stamina and speed for rapid point-to-point travel.
Taming strategy: Pteranodons are skittish and fly away when hit. Use a bola to ground them briefly (only works on low-level Pteranodons in older ARK versions; in Survival Ascended, use a grappling hook + bear trap combo). Knock out with tranq arrows, feed raw meat or regular kibble (Dodo Egg kibble for faster taming). Taming time: ~30 minutes at 1x with raw meat.
Running your own ARK server with boosted taming rates (3x–5x) drastically reduces Pteranodon taming time. Nexus Games offers one-click taming multiplier adjustments via the control panel, plus anti-DDoS protection to prevent interruptions during critical tames.
5. Trike – The Armored Resource Farmer
The Triceratops is a tanky herbivore perfect for thatch, wood, and berry farming. Its charge attack and knockback resistance make it a defensive powerhouse against early predators like Raptors and Carnos.
Resource advantages:
- Thatch & wood: Trikes harvest massive quantities of thatch from trees; switch to wood by targeting stumps.
- Berry specialization: Gather Mejoberries, Narcoberries, and Stimberries in bulk for taming and crafting.
- Combat tank: High HP pool; charge attack deals AoE damage and knockback.
Taming strategy: Trikes are aggressive when approached. Lure into a taming pen (stone for safety), then tranq from above or behind. Feed Mejoberries or Crops (Rockarrot). Avoid headshots; body shots yield better torpor-to-damage ratio. Taming time: ~40 minutes at 1x with Mejoberries.
For tribes, a Trike can defend your base perimeter on aggressive mode, deterring low-level raiders. Pair with spike walls for a formidable early-game defense.
Advanced Taming Tips and Server Optimization
Taming Pens and Trap Designs
Building efficient taming pens minimizes risk and resources. A basic design uses 4 stone doorframes in a square (no doors), with ramps for luring creatures inside. For flying tames, add a roof with a single gap to shoot through.
Optimal trap materials:
| Material | Use Case | Durability |
| Thatch/Wood | Passive tames (Parasaur, Moschops) | Low |
| Stone | Aggressive tames (Raptor, Trike) | Medium |
| Metal | High-level or dangerous tames (later game) | High |
Boosting Taming Efficiency with Server Settings
Custom ARK servers let you adjust taming speed, harvesting rates, and XP multipliers. On a Nexus Games ARK server, you can modify TamingSpeedMultiplier, HarvestAmountMultiplier, and XPMultiplier directly in the panel without editing config files manually.
TamingSpeedMultiplier=3.0
HarvestAmountMultiplier=2.5
XPMultiplier=2.0
These settings triple taming speed, increase resource yield by 2.5x, and double XP gains, ideal for small tribes or solo players who want faster progression without sacrificing challenge. The AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D and DDR5 ECC RAM ensure zero lag even with 10+ simultaneous tames rendering.
Mod Support for Enhanced Taming
Popular ARK mods like Structures Plus (S+), Awesome Spyglass, and Dino Storage V2 streamline taming. S+ adds improved feeding troughs and auto-crafting, Awesome Spyglass shows exact taming stats, and Dino Storage lets you store tamed creatures as items for easy transport.
Nexus Games supports pre-installable CurseForge mods via the panel. Select your preferred mods, click install, and the server auto-configures them—no FTP or manual file edits required. This is particularly useful for ARK: Survival Ascended servers, where mod compatibility is critical.
External Resources for Taming Data
For precise torpor, food consumption, and effectiveness calculations, consult the official ARK Wiki. It provides exhaustive taming charts, preferred kibble recipes, and stat multipliers for every creature.
Conclusion
Mastering the best dinosaurs to tame early game ARK—Parasaur, Moschops, Raptor, Pteranodon, and Trike—will accelerate your survival journey and establish dominance on any map. Prioritize utility (Parasaur, Trike), speed (Raptor, Pteranodon), and passive taming ease (Moschops) to cover all early-game needs. Whether you play solo or with a tribe, these tames provide resource gathering, combat support, and mobility essential for mid-game expansion. For the best ARK hosting experience, leverage high-performance servers with mod support and customizable settings.
FAQ
What’s the fastest way to tame a Parasaur in ARK early game?
Craft a bola to immobilize the Parasaur, then use a slingshot or wooden club to knock it unconscious. Feed Mejoberries and keep torpor up with narcoberries. On official servers (1x rates), expect ~10–15 minutes. Boosted servers (3x–5x) reduce this to under 5 minutes.
Can I tame a Raptor without a taming pen in ARK?
Yes, but it’s risky. Kite the Raptor into a corner or rock outcrop where it can’t circle you. Use tranq arrows from a safe distance (ledge or boulder). However, a stone taming pen guarantees safety and prevents other predators from interrupting the tame.
Which early-game dinosaur is best for solo players in ARK?
The Trike is ideal for solo players due to its high HP, resource gathering, and defensive capabilities. It can defend your base, farm berries and thatch, and survive attacks from Raptors and Carnos. Pair it with a Parasaur for berry backup and you have a solid early-game duo.
