10 Best Dinosaurs In Ark: Survival Ascended (2024)

With over 140 different creatures in Ark: Survival Ascended, narrowing down the 10 best dinosaurs in the game is difficult. After all, each dinosaur poses its own unique strengths. Because of this, deciding which is the "best" largely depends on its intended use. That said, some dinosaurs are exceptionally skilled at what they do and have distinguished themselves from the pack as the dinosaurs you want.

From finding the best mounts for travel to the best harvesters and fighters, this list of the 10 best Dinosaurs in Ark: Survival Ascended has all the bases covered. At the same time, because this list focuses on effectiveness and functionality rather than style, it may be worth checking out the 10 coolest creatures to tame if you want to add some flair to your lineup. Nevertheless, it's time to break down which dinosaurs in the game are the best and why.

10 Baryonyx

The Most Versatile Starting Dinosaur

Baryonyx can be tamed relatively early, and it's a good choice because these nimble dinosaurs will serve as a worthy sidekick throughout the game.​​ Baryonyx are incredibly versatile, having great speed, agility, and a far jump distance; this makes them ideal for navigating and exploring the map. Better yet, you can use your weapons while riding them, making them a perfect option for PvE.

The real selling point for the Baryonyx comes once you find out they can swim and don't have an oxygen stat. They also have a deadly underwater stun attack that works on alpha creatures in Ark: Survival Ascended, such as the Alpha Megalodon.

Alternatively, you can use the stun to knock out other aquatic animals, such as the Basilosaurus, to help you tame them. All in all, Baryonyx has applications on both land and water, making them one of the most versatile dinosaurs you can acquire in the game.

9 Megatherium

A Great Harvester and Counter to the Broodmother Lysrix Boss

What distinguishes the Megatherium from the pack is its ability to counter insects. After killing insects, these unique tames receive a 250% increase in damage and a 75% reduction in incoming damage. As a result, they're the ideal counter to the Broodmother Lysrix Boss and, to be honest, the only option for battling insect-based creatures. However, that's not its only appeal as a tame.

Megatheriums are also excellent gatherers, with two attacks—a secondary and a primary. You'll want to exploit the secondary attack as it gathers a huge amount of resources at a time. In general, Megatheriums are tanky creatures that come in clutch at various points in Ark: Survival Ascended, and why you should pick one up for yourself.

8 Basilosaurus

Best Overall Ocean-based Dinosaur

The Basilosaurus is the only water-based dinosaur featured in this list of the 10 best dinosaurs in Ark: Survival Ascended, and there's a good reason for that. While these subtle sea creatures may not appear much, they can hold their own against any other foe lurking in the depths. Basilosaurus is immune to dismounts and stuns, including those caused by Jellyfish, the Electrophorus shock attack, and the Tusoteuthis grapple attack.

Adding to its list of features, Basilosaurus rapidly regenerates health while resting on the ocean's surface and provides insulation to keep your player warm while navigating cold waters. They take damage below a certain depth, which is relatively minor. Nonetheless, you'll want to tame a Basilosaurus mainly because it protects you against all the deadly creatures you may encounter while exploring the ocean.

7 Thylacoleo

A Tree Climbing Damage Dealer

Thylacoleo is one of the best and coolest dinosaurs in Ark: Survival Ascended. These massive tree cats can scale walls and climb vertical surfaces like trees, mountains, and cliff edges. This makes them ideal for navigating the map and pouncing on unsuspecting prey from the treetops. While this is undoubtedly an exciting feature of this tame, it is not its best.

In addition to its base 40 melee and base 700 health stats, Thylacoleos bite has a bleed effect that deals 5% of the opponent's maximum health over five seconds. Because of this, it can take on Alpha dinosaurs by kiting them, finding a window to run in and land a bite, then rinse and repeat.

6 Ankylosaurus

A Metal Gathering Master

Due to its metal-gathering abilities, the Ankylosaurus has long been regarded as one of the best dinosaurs in Ark: Survival Ascended and previous editions such as Ark: Survival Evolved. These dinosaurs' spikey boulder-like tails are ideal for smashing metal nodes, yielding more materials than other methods. Furthermore, they reduce the total weight of the carried metal by 85%. So, when it comes to those precious metal runs, the Ankylosaurus remains the best and only option.

5 Rhyniognatha

No Weight Can Squash This Bug

While Rhyniognatha isn't the most visually appealing prehistoric creature in the game, its abilities more than makeup for its style as a gigantic bug. Rhyniognatha is the only tameable creature capable of carrying more than 400 drag weight, making them ideal for relocating your tamed dinosaurs or even full storage lockers from your base.

That alone makes Rhyniognatha a very intriguing tame, but be advised that the taming process for this bug is a bit tricky and quite disturbing; you must breed one of its eggs in your already tamed dinosaurs, which ultimately will kill it.

A few more characteristics of the Rhyniognatha are that it can walk on water and is the only flyable tame that can dive beneath the water's surface.​​​​​​​ When it comes to fighting, Rhyniognatha is more than capable. It can scare dinosaurs away with its scream, and you can use your weapons while riding them. Moreover, it has three resin-based ranged attacks and a resin armor abilitythat halves all incoming damage.

4 Argentavis

Best Overall Air-based Dinosaur

Following the Rhyniognatha is the other air-based time you'll want to seek out, the Argentavis. This is one of the coolest flying dinosaurs in Ark: Survival Ascended, and it more than makes up for the last entry's lack of style. These creatures have many uses, the best of which is that the saddle needed to mount them can be used to craft and repair items, allowing you to do it on the go instead of heading back to base.

On a separate note, these prehistoric birds have an attribute that reduces the weight of carried metals by 50%. Additionally, they feature the ability to pick up medium-sized dinosaurs, such as the Ankylosaurus, fly them over metal nodes,and have them passively gather materials, making them an all-around practical use for resource-gathering runs.

3 Therizinosaur

A Great Harvester and Proficient Fighter

The Therizinosaur makes a name for itself as one of the best harvesting dinosaurs in the game. Its long claws come with three attacks: Bite Harvest, Power Harvest, and Delicate Harvest. Across the board, these three attacks are useful for gathering various items, such as berries, hide, wood, thatch, meat, fiber, and corpse drops.

On the fighting front, the Therizinosaur is one of the few aggressive herbivores who will back you up in battle. It's powerful enough to take on a Rex on its own. It's also an excellent counter to the Dragon boss, as it isn't affected by the boss's special passive, which deals more damage to carnivores.

2 Yutyrannus

A Must for Boss and Team Fights

Although the Yutrannus is a terrifying and capable dinosaur that can fight on its own, its true strength is as a support. Its Fear Roar increases damage taken and decreases damage done by up to 50%. On the other hand, its Courage Roar boosts the attack damage of allied creatures by 25% and reduces all incoming damage by 20%.

As a result, they are extremely valuable to have by your side in boss and team fights. However, due to its fantastic support abilities and being a fierce beast on its own, it's one of the harder dinosaurs to tame in the game.

1 Giganotosaurus

The Rex Killer and King of PvP

When it comes to fighting, no other dinosaur has more wins under its belt and instills fear in the hearts of other players and creatures than the Giganotosaurus. Three times the size of a Rex and posing far superior stats, your enemies will need an army of dinosaurs to tango with the Giganotosaurus.

However, that's precisely what this dinosaur wants to be faced with. After taking a certain amount of damage, the Giganotosaurus will enter rage mode,gaining massive damage and resistance buffs, making it an even greater threat than it was to begin with.

Because the Giganatosaurus is difficult to find and tame, the regular Rex makes an excellent alternative. However, suppose you simply want the best for PvP. In that case, nothing can go toe-to-toe with the Giganotosaurus, and ultimately, why it ranks first among the best dinosaurs in Ark: Survival Ascended.

Platform(s)

PC , PS5 , Xbox Series X , Xbox Series S

Released

October 26, 2023

Developer(s)

Studio Wildcard

Publisher(s)

Studio Wildcard

Genre(s)

Survival , Open-World

ESRB

T For Teen Due To Blood, Crude Humor, Game Experience May Change During Online Play, Use of Alcohol, Violence