Ark: Survival Ascended is filled with powerful and useful themes, but one underrated dinosaur is a top-tier option. Taming is a crucial aspect of this prehistoric survival game, both to make the tedious grinds easier and for combat. However, taming the best dinosaurs can get annoying even when you use kibbles to pass the time. The other option is breeding strong dinosaurs after getting a male and female tame, but this is often time-consuming, even if the result is amazing.
Depending on the map, there are a handful of creatures that go to Tames. The most common is the Rex due to its power, but later DLCs added other popular options. The last one Aberration DLC adds the Xenomorph-like repairs which, despite having one of the weirdest Ark Mechanics, are very strong. However, there is one dinosaur that is significantly underrated.
How spinosaurs work in Ark: Survival Ascended
The king of water
The Spinosaurus may not be as popular as the Rex, but it may be just as powerful if not stronger than one. Spinosaurus are found near rivers and are generally a cheaper/easier tame than most other S-tier tames. They are highly mobile creatures in their quadruped stance and get even faster in water due to the hydration passiveWhich also increases melee damage by 15%. This makes them great for navigating swamps, rivers and beaches.
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The real power behind the Spinosaurus is their biped mode, where they stand on their hind legs. This stance improves their melee damage and attack speed. In this way, they are slower, but can also turn faster than most dinosaurs. The biped mode also receives the hydration passive buffs.
How do spinosaurs compare to other primates?
A powerhouse in its own right
The best comparisons for the Spinosaurus are other creatures found on the original island map, since later DLC creatures became more fantastical and difficult to overpower. This would make its top competitors the Rex, Giganotosaurus and Carcharodontosaurus, which are some of the best dinosaurs in Ark: Survival Ascended. The latter two are hard to compete with with their massive stats and abilities, but they are also extremely rare. When compared to the Rex, Spinos fall just a little short in terms of damageBut there are areas where it is much better than a rex.
Due to the hydration buff and Spinosaurus’s large oxygen stat, It is arguably the best base-game tame for water encounters. It will overpower Megalodons or the terrifying new Xiphactinus with ease and is able to go right onto the beach to fight a rex if needed. Although location is important, Spinosaurus’s 15% damage buff is better than Rex’s, which only procs on herbivores. Especially since two of the three island boss fights are in locations that can proc it.
Overall, while the big three of the island and DLC creatures will rightfully be stronger than Spinos, they still have uses. The ability to defeat them more easily than other options, and almost unparalleled water combat skills combine to make it as powerful as it is. That is why this underrated dinosaur is an S-tier tame Ark: Survival Ascended.