Ark: Survival Evolved has multiple flying dinosaurs for players to tame and use while exploring the sprawling lands. The Tropeognathus is an important flyer tame to have for tribes as it gives players the opportunity to dominate the skies with its unique saddle.
The Tropeognathus is a unique tame, however, much like the Equus and Unicorn, as players will need to down this bird without drawing its aggression for a passive tame. Further, only a specific bola-type can be used to proc the taming chance of this bird.
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Preparing a Tropeognathus for tame
On PC, these unique birds can only be found in the Crystal Isles. For console players, these birds can be found on any map that allows dinosaurs that fly. Players will need to have the chain bola and a turret to fire the projectile onto the Tropeognathus in-flight. A standard bola can still down the bird, but will not allow for passive-taming to begin.
The chain bola must be used with the ballista turret, but this can be mounted onto a platform saddle for ease of trapping. Try taming a Quetz first, and using a platform saddle for it to bring the ballista turret close to a Tropeognathus while airborne.
The player that engages the Tropeognathus with the chain bola will be marked as aggressive toward the animal — if attempting to solo tame this creature, having two players working in tandem could be beneficial, although not necessary.
Taming the Tropeognathus
Once this bird has been downed with a chain bola, it’s time to begin the passive tame. Players can use exceptional kibble, or meat (this bird prefers raw mutton) to tame this creature. Place the foodstuffs in the last slot on your hot bar, and begin feeding the trapped Tropeognathus.
Depending on its level, and the quality of food offered to the tame, the Tropeognathus can take a while. If players cannot complete the tame while the chain bola is active, they’ll need to hit the bird with another chain bola to feed it another piece of food. This, with the possibility of the bird falling onto contested areas near predators, can make this bird a difficult tame. The results, however, are worth it.
Using the Tropeognathus
The primary joy of having a tamed Tropeognathus is when using its saddle, it can turn into a type of fighter jet. Players will need to give the bird both gasoline and grenades (placed into the inventory of the tame) once saddled. Pressing CTRL while riding this bird activates the thrusters, and places a crosshair on the screen for firing the Mk 19 mounted above the bird’s head.
With this bird, tribes can control the skies on PvP servers, stopping rival faction metal runs with Quetzal’s and destroying fortifications. Users should note that, while the thrusters are active, the bird does continue to lose stamina in flight.
