πŸ¦– Raptor

ARK 2 Raptor - Early-Game Pack Hunter Guide

Honestly I both love and hate raptors because they've killed me more times than I can count when I was a noob but once you tame a few of them the pack buff is kind of insane and tbh a group of raptors can take down stuff way bigger than them and the pounce is awesome for dismounting people in PvP and the speed is pretty much the best for early game scouting and honestly I'm not 100% sure but I think a raptor pack was my first real power spike in ARK and maybe it'll be yours too or whatever

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Species
Raptor Efferus
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Diet
Carnivore
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Tame Method
Knockout (Bola first)
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Saddle Level
18

Base Stats (Wild Lv150)

StatBase ValuePer Level (Wild)Per Level (Tamed)
Health200+40+5.4%
Stamina150+15+10%
Weight120+2.4+4%
Melee Damage100% (15 base)+5%+1.7%

Taming Guide

FoodAmount (Lv150, 1x)TimeEffectiveness
Regular Kibble6~10min+99%
Raw Mutton10~15min+90%
Raw Meat25~25min+70%

Key Features

Okay so the pack buff is honestly the whole reason you tame raptors in groups and not just one because each nearby raptor gives you up to plus 30 percent damage and plus 20 percent speed with a max of 5 in the pack and solo raptors are kind of weak honestly so always run with at least 2 or 3 and stuff like that. And the pounce is pretty fun too you can leap onto small and medium creatures and riders and dismount them by holding space bar to charge it and aiming for enemy mounts and I've pulled off some ridiculous pounces in PvP that I'm still proud of ngl. But also the jump height on these things is insane you can scale cliffs and jump over spikes and use terrain to your advantage in PvP chases and I've escaped so many situations just by jumping up a cliff that the enemy couldn't follow. And the bleed attack stacks up to 5 times on bigger targets and it's essential for bringing down things bigger than you because the damage adds up fast and you get the idea about why bleed matters against brontos and stuff. Also as a scout mount it's literally the fastest early game land mount for map exploration resource scouting and quick getaways and honestly I use raptors for scouting even into mid game because they're just so fast and maneuverable and they don't use much stamina compared to bigger mounts.

Strategy Guide

For early game taming you basically craft a bola at level 6 find a lone raptor around level 5 to 30 bola it and then tranq it with a slingshot or tranq arrows and Regular Kibble gives the best efficiency but honestly even raw meat works fine for low levels and I've tamed dozens of raptors this way and the bola is key because raptors are fast and they hurt so if you miss the bola you're probably dead or at least running away like an idiot. And for pack composition you want 3 to 5 raptors with melee damage and health leveled up and you ride one while the rest follow on aggressive or attack my target and keep them within like 20 meters to maintain the pack buff and I've taken down alpha raptors and carnos with just a pack of 4 decent raptors and it's honestly one of the most satisfying things in the game. But for boss fights raptor packs are viable against easy bosses like the Broodmother on Beta difficulty and that's about it and don't try Alpha bosses or end game stuff with raptors because you'll get wiped and you'll be sad and I've seen people try this and it's just painful to watch so upgrade to Rexes or Spinos for the real boss fights. And in PvP the pounce is your best weapon because you can dismount enemy riders and the high speed makes raptors really hard to hit and the bleed stack forces enemies to retreat and heal and honestly a coordinated raptor pack in PvP is terrifying if you're on the receiving end of it.

Data sources: Studio Wildcard and Snail Games official ARK 2 announcements trailers and developer updates and ARK Survival Evolved community blog and Xbox Wire and Microsoft console exclusivity details and IGN GameSpot PC Gamer gaming press coverage and previews