While Ark: Survival Ascended is home to many appealing dinosaurs, some modded options are so cool they warrant a spot in the base game. Ascended is the upgraded version of the original game created to improve performance and incorporate many quality-of-life changes. However, the upgrade has not come without its fair share of issues, like requiring newer PC hardware to run properly and some other issues that have made it less popular than ASE.

Ark has included modded dinosaurs in the game before, but those are few and far between. Usually, they are voted in by the community, and only one is included at any time. The Ceratosaurus, which was added to the base game from Ark Additions, is arguably one of the coolest creatures to tame in Ark: Survival Ascended. This dinosaur is an amazing support option that utilizes its poison to debuff enemies and allows friendly dinosaurs to heal. This was an excellent example of how modded dinosaurs provide fresh experiences in the game while showcasing the community’s talent.

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Thorax Spider

Thorax Spider, the Agile Hunter

From CyrusCreates’ Cyrus’ Critters: Jumping Spider comes the creepy but colorful Thorax Spider. Ark is known to have many different spider enemies, but the majority of them are not tameable. This mod fixes that issue while incorporating fresh abilities. Attacking-wise, the Thorax Spider can leap onto enemies from afar for powerful attacks, or bite the target and inject deadly venom. This mount is also great for exploration, as it can scale cliffs effortlessly.

Though a bit tricky to tame, as players must passively tame a female with meat before using the female to tame males, the effort is worth it. Despite being cool, the Thorax Spider presents a great early-to-midgame mount for most playthroughs. A pack of these spiders can even take down anything short of bosses with their combination of damage over time and agility.

9

Deinosuchus

Deinosuchus, the Fracturing Behemoth

Deinosuchus is one of the many cool dinosaurs found in Ark Additions. This prehistoric crocodile is similar to a Sarcosuchus but has a larger frame. Besides being a good tank, the Deinosuchus’ best feature is the fracture debuff it can apply to enemies. This debuff will cause the target to bleed heavily and drastically weaken them. To tame a Deinosuchus, players must wait for them to open their mouths and then put food into their mouths. This is a process that requires patience and the ability not to trigger the creatures’ aggression.

Though not an endgame mount, the Deinosuchus still serves a great purpose early on. The combination of good damage and the ability to tank makes them excel in exploring the ever-dangerous swamps. Though the Deinosuchus will fall short of many stronger dinosaurs, what it does well makes it an asset in certain situations.

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Monolophosaurus

Monolophosaurus, the Cave Specialist

The Monolophosaurus is a niche but excellent addition to the Forgotten Fauna mod by Schmitto. The Monolophosaurus is a smaller dinosaur, but that does not dissuade its usage. Not only does it have a bite that will inflict an acid burn, but a passive which gives it a massive damage boost upon killing an insect. Players must first craft a Bile from other poisonous creatures to tame one of these. This bile will keep a Monolophosaurus passive while taming.

The Monolophosaurus has one purpose, but that purpose is extremely helpful. Caves are important for gathering resources throughout Ark but are often filled with swarms of fragile but dangerous insects. Thus, having even one of these insect-killing specialists can make cave exploration much easier.

7

Archelon

Archelon, the Immune Ocean Guardian

The prehistoric turtle Archelon is another carefully crafted dinosaur from Ark Additions. Archelons don’t have any standout attacks, but this is countered by an enormous health pool and immunity to being knocked unconscious. Due to this immunity, they can only be tamed by hand-feeding them Bio Toxins. Archelons suffer somewhat against the fastest ocean creatures, but player involvement can improve this.

Overall, these prehistoric turtles have two purposes. First, since they are immune to torpor gain, they are great for farming jellyfish. This will produce massive amounts of Bio Toxin for further taming or crafting. Second, an Archelon makes for a great aquatic mount, combining its large carrying capacity with the ability to hold four players.

6

Xiphactinus

Xiphactinus, the Agile Ocean Predator

Another fantastic aquatic dinosaur from Ark Additions is the Xiphactinus. This barracuda/piranha hybrid is one of the most dominant ocean dwellers. What it lacks in health, it more than makes up for in agility and attack power. The special ability of the Xiphactinus is its ability to grab and gnash most creatures. This gnash will make them bleed and create a blood cloud underwater. Any Xiphactinus that enters the cloud will get Blood Frenzy, increasing their health, stamina regeneration, and attack speed.

This combines to make the Xiphactinus one of the best offensive ocean tames. A pack of these can easily kill anything players will run into underwater, even Alphas. While it is much harder, they can also be used to take on land and air dinosaurs if they can be led to the water.

5

Colossuscorpius

Colossuscorpius, the Mighty Giant Scorpion

The Colussuscorpius by GryphePadar is a simple but fun addition. Essentially, it is just a giant version of the Scorpion, but with buffed-up stats. The pinchers will deal good damage, and the tail attack will inflict a heavy amount of torpor. Colossuscorpius also has a large amount of health, can be built on, and can pick up most medium-sized or smaller creatures.

Alone or in packs, Colossuscorpius are fantastic options for taking on Ark‘s strongest creatures. The combination of health, torpor infliction, and ability to carry heavy weapons makes them great foundation mounts. The same can be applied to those who want to take them into PvP. Overall, while the Colossuscorpius may not have the flashiest abilities, its baseline strength makes it one of the best mounts for combat and travel in Ascended.

4

Deinotherium

Mighty Attacks and Supportive Roar

Deinotherium is a prehistoric elephant from Ark Additions. Deinotherium has two powerful attacks available. One is a stomp that knocks back enemies, while the other is a trunk strike. These behemoths also have a supportive roar ability that will give ally creatures a buff depending on the Deinotherium’s gender. Males will give an attack buff, while females will provide a stacking defense buff.

Deinotherium is easily one of the most versatile dinosaurs, especially for boss fights. They can tank and dish out good damage while buffing all the other dinosaurs around it. However, to balance this out, they are extremely hard to tame. They can only be tamed while alone and must be passively fed a large amount of beer.

3

Acrocanthosaurus

The Acro’s Shield Stance and Adrenaline State

The Acro is another Ark Additions dinosaur, but one that specializes in defense. Acro’s can switch into a shield stance, and in this stance, they take reduced damage. While in shield stance, all damage taken will build up the Acro’s adrenaline meter. At max, it will enter the adrenaline state and gain health regeneration, damage, resistance, and movement buffs. The final key to the Acro is its stomp ability, which will do damage based on the weight of the target when compared to the Acro.

Acrocanthosauris is arguably one of the best defensive options for boss fights. Though it won’t be as supportive as other options, solo survivability and the capability to deal significant damage is a great trade-off. Like with other powerful options, Acros are not easy to tame. They will be immune to tranquilizers, so players must force-feed them narcotics when they roar.

2

Cryolophosaurus

Freezing Breath and Torpor-Inducing Projectiles

Cryolophosaurus is an Ark Additions dino and arguably the coolest one it adds. This large raptor-like creature boasts moderate stats, but abilities that are unlike anything else in the game. The Cryo can absorb water or snow to fill the pouch on its neck. Once in its firing stance, the Cryo can launch a freezing breath attack that freezes other dinos or a slowing projectile that inflicts torpor. This freeze breath can also be used on friendly dinosaurs, granting them extra armor in return for a loss of movement speed.

The Cryo will fall short in boss battles, but anything short of that makes it an excellent tame. The ability to freeze or induce unconsciousness at will makes it great for taming other dinosaurs. Overall, the Cryolophosaurus is one of the most creative modded dinosaurs and is rewarded with massive amounts of usefulness.

1

Godzillark

The Ultimate Dinosaur Mod

Though this modded dinosaur is completely fictional, Godzillark by Pepezilla is the coolest one to add. Godzillark has many powerful abilities that apply fire, bleeding, and movement impairment debuffs on enemies. It is equally fast on land or sea and paired with a large carry weight. Lastly, Godzillark can spawn juvenile versions of it for future use. However, they will not grow past the juvenile stage.

To balance this out, Godzillark is immensely hard to tame. To lure it out, players must drop a nuclear bomb somewhere on the map. After it appears, it must be killed, and then the newt will be “reborn” as can be tamed by the player. This fight will arguably be as difficult as boss fights, so it is best to be prepared with other dinosaurs and strong weapons to take this monster.

Overall, more dinosaurs being added to the base game of Ark is never bad. It does seem like the developers try to keep things realistic with their prehistoric creatures, but a little creative stretching wouldn’t be a bad thing. Especially since each of these dinosaurs either fulfills a beneficial purpose or helps push the power fantasy of Ark: Survival Ascended.

Source: Curseforge/GryphePadar, Steam/Pepezilla