Base Stats (Wild Lv150)
| Stat | Base Value | Per Level (Wild) | Per Level (Tamed) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Health | 325 | +55.25 | +5.4% |
| Stamina | 250 | +12.5 | +6% |
| Weight | 280 | +5.6 | +4% |
| Melee Damage | 100% | +5% | +1.7% |
Taming Guide
| Food | Amount (Lv150, 1x) | Time | Effectiveness |
|---|---|---|---|
| Superior Kibble | 11 | ~25 min | 98.6% |
| Raw Mutton | 17 | ~32 min | 94.2% |
| Raw Prime Meat | 21 | ~40 min | 90.8% |
Special Abilities
Ok so the Tapejara is honestly one of the most underrated flyers in the game — it completely changes how you approach aerial taming. The killer feature is the three-seat saddle: you as the pilot plus two passengers who can freely use weapons. That means you can have one guy on a longneck with shocking tranq darts and another on an assault rifle covering your six, all while you hover perfectly still in mid-air. Not even kidding.
The Tapejara can literally strafe sideways and fly backwards, which sounds like a gimmick until you're trying to line up headshots on a fleeing Quetzal and suddenly that lateral movement is the only thing keeping you in range. It also latches onto vertical surfaces — cliffs, redwood trees, even the sides of bases in PvP. When latched, the Tapejara regens stamina like it's landed, and both passengers can still shoot. I've used this to set up sniper perches on cliff faces during raids and it's kind of busted tbh. The Tek saddle adds a plasma cannon which is nice but the real value is in the base saddle's passenger seats.
Taming Strategy
Taming a Tapejara is a special kind of frustrating because these things are skittish as hell — you get within 20 meters and they bolt. Trust me, I've spent way too many hours chasing one across the map on a Pteranodon like an idiot. The easiest method by far is the bola trick: wear a ghillie suit, crouch-walk up behind one that's landed or perched on a tree, and bola it. Once it's stuck you've got about 30 seconds to pump tranq darts into its head before it breaks free.
If it takes off, don't bother chasing it with a slow flyer — you can bola it mid-air if you have a buddy on a fast mount. Another trick I've used is the rare flower strategy: eat a rare flower near it, which aggros it to you, and it'll fly at you instead of away. Then bola it when it gets close. Just make sure nothing else is around or you're going to have a bad time with every carnivore in render distance. Yeah I know.
If you're going for a high level Tapejara, you absolutely need to use a taming pen. Build a 2x2 stone box with doorframes on all sides and a dinosaur gate. Aggro the Tapejara (or use rare flower), let it chase you into the pen, then close the gate. Once it's trapped, it can't flee and you can tranq it at your leisure. Bring narcotics — a level 150 has about 450 base torpor and it drains moderately fast. I usually bring 100+ narcotics just to be safe. Superior Kibble is the way to go, but if you don't have a kibble farm yet, raw mutton from an Ovis works fine. Just don't use raw meat on a high level or you'll be standing there for an hour watching the taming bar crawl.
Best Uses
The Tapejara's number one job in any serious tribe is aerial taming platform. When you're going after a Quetzal, nothing beats having two shooters on the passenger seats while the pilot matches speed and altitude. You can even latch onto terrain to save stamina during long taming sessions. I've tamed dozens of Quetzals this way and it's night and day compared to the old grapple-hook-to-your-own-Argy method. For taming other flyers like Tapejaras themselves or even Griffins, it's the same deal — hover, let your passengers do the work, and you just focus on positioning.
For PvP, the Tapejara is a nightmare when used right. Stick two guys with fabricated sniper rifles or compound bows on the passenger seats, fly high above an enemy base, and rain fire. Because you can strafe and fly backwards, you can dodge turret fire in ways no other flyer can. The wall-latch ability also makes for excellent scouting — latch onto a cliff face near an enemy base, go prone, and you've got a nearly invisible observation post.
A niche trick I discovered: the Tapejara is a fantastic solo taming mount for land creatures too. Fly above a Rex or Spino, latch onto a nearby cliff or tree, and you can tranq it from complete safety. The dino AI can't path to you when you're latched 30 feet up a cliff, so you just sit there plinking away with tranq darts. Way safer than building elaborate taming traps for everything.
Tapejara vs Pteranodon: Which Flyer to Tame First?
Look, the Ptera is your first flyer and it's great for getting airborne fast, but the Tapejara is the upgrade you actually need. The Ptera is faster in a straight line and the barrel roll does solid damage, but it has wet paper towel durability and zero utility beyond getting you from A to B. The Tapejara has substantially more health, carries two passengers, can hover and strafe, and the wall latch alone opens up strategies the Ptera can't touch. The tradeoff is speed — the Tapejara is slower, so if you're just scouting or traveling long distances the Ptera still wins. But for any serious taming, combat, or transport job, the Tapejara is just better. Saddle level 55 versus the Ptera's 38 means you'll get the Ptera first, but I always rush to 55 specifically for the Tapejara unlock.
Breeding Tips
Tapejara breeding is pretty straightforward. Egg incubation temp is 29-32 degrees C (84-90 F), which means you'll need air conditioners or dimetrodons unless you're on Scorched Earth or near a volcano. Total maturation takes about 2 days and 6 hours, which is manageable. The key stat to breed for is stamina — a high base stamina Tapejara can hover and strafe much longer, and that's what makes or breaks this mount in combat. Health is secondary since you shouldn't be tanking hits with it. Don't sleep on weight either — with two passengers carrying gear, you'll hit the weight cap faster than you think.
Pro Tips
First tip: keybind your "switch to passenger seat" action. The Tapejara lets the pilot switch to a passenger seat mid-flight, which means you can fly into position, latch onto a wall, and then switch to a passenger seat to start shooting — all solo. It's a bit janky and the Tapejara will stay latched while you shoot, but your stamina will drain, so don't linger too long.
Second tip: the Tapejara's hitbox is weirdly small for a three-seater. I've dodged turret bullets that would've shredded an Argy, and I'm pretty sure it's because the model is compact. Use that to your advantage in PvP — strafe unpredictably and you're almost impossible to hit. No joke.
Third tip: if you're solo taming another Tapejara, use a rare flower to aggro the wild one to you while you're already mounted on a tamed Tapejara. Fly it into your taming pen, latch onto the wall inside, switch seats, and tranq it. The wild one can't reach you if you're latched high enough.
Fourth tip: don't bother leveling oxygen — these things are terrible swimmers and if you ditch into water you're probably dead anyway. Pump stamina and weight first, then health.