Enhydriodon Syreni- The Dire Otter

[Oreloki]

The overall idea is to provide players with a jack of all trades water mount that opens up many doors for early game. It will have features of the Basi, Diplocaulus, Otter, and Anglerfish, but each of those creatures will far outclass it in their respective uses. This creature is meant to be an early-midgame tame, one that is for opening up new routes in your playthrough that are normally locked behind either later game gear or having to combine multiple other tames together to get the same easy access to the ocean.

• Early oxygen tank- The Dire Otter will give an oxygen boost underwater. It will NOT be a free oxygen tank like the Diplocaulus, but instead provide the same extended dive period that the Genesis 1 ocean has. This is based on the air-trapping properties of beaver fur, which normally insulates its skin underwater. The bubbles trapped in the Dire Otter's mane are easy access for its rider.
• Cold water insulation- The Dire otter makes it easier to dip your toes into the frigid oceans of the Arks. Perhaps not as well as having its miniature relative tucked around your neck, but enough to get you by!
• Pearl gatherer- The Dire Otter can harvest more pearls than the player can by hand, but less than an anglerfish.
• Stun immune- The Dire Otter can't be stunned by Jellyfish or slowed by Eels, but it isn't as tanky or hard-hitting as a Basi. This stun immunity is again thanks to the insulating properties of the otter's fur.

On top of this, the Dire Otter will be decent on land, probably equatable to a sabertooth, if not a bit slower. The real Enhydriodon omoensis, on which this creature was based, was theorized to be a formidable hunter on both land and in water, so Ark's version should at least be able to manage an ambush sprint on land.

As far as the design goes, it's actually a little nod to how a few other Ark creatures are based on cryptids! The Dire Otter is based on a cryptid called the Dobhar-chú, hence the scaly appearance. This is also what sparked the idea for the name Syreni, for both its mermaid appearance and being both a land and water creature.
The fins are optional lmao
If Wildcard decides to disclude them in the final design, so be it. In my personal opinion, an otter with fish traits is just as in-line with Ark's genetically modified creature designs as an elephant-sized insect, but I also trust the devs to adapt the design to something that looks like it belongs in the game, as they have done with all the previous creature vote winners.

The Dire Otter will spawn rarely in areas with access to both land and deep water (On Ragnarok specifically, Casun Islets comes to mind first). It will be aggressive and have the ability to grab players who are on foot and drag them to the water, attempting to drown them. They cannot grab a player off of a mount. I don't intend to make another Kapro.

Taming them is the fun part! You tame them by playing Simon Says with your emote wheel! So for example the otter will wave at you, and you'll have a few seconds to wave back. If you mess up by missing the time window or using the wrong emote, the otter will try to drown you (they have to be near water to be tame-able) I'm thinking to initiate the tame, you must first offer them a fish corpse above a certain size, that way you don't just have a bunch of otters waving at you all the time, cute as that would be. It also puts a small barrier on an otherwise ridiculously easy tame. They're meant to be early game, but they shouldn't be free.

The Dire otter is an extremely intelligent and social creature, and this carries over to the bond with the person who tames them! Using emotes to interact with a tamed otter strengthens this bond, giving special perks! (A wave emote could give a short harvesting bonus, a fist bump gives a damage bonus, etc.)

Attacks:

• Torpedo attack. Basically a Pteranodon spin attack but underwater
• Tail Slap. Could possibly do a knockback or a short stun
• Drag. Can grab creatures smaller than itself and maintain the grab status when becoming submerged, quickly draining oxygen from the victim in the grab state and drowning them.

As for the saddle, I did put some thought into that and I think it would be cool if the saddle had inflatable canisters on it, perhaps fueled with something like gas or sulphur, that could allow a player to very rapidly rise to the surface of the water in emergency situations. On land, the canisters could be punctured in a pinch to release a cloud of gas, either to let you make an unseen escape or send smaller creatures packing.

Please let me know your thoughts and ideas for interesting mechanics to add or balance this cutie out.



Ideas from the comments!

• Able to passively scare off Seagulls and Piranha
• Able to catch and transport live fish while underwater
• Saddle gives perks but isn't needed to be ridden. Possibly faster without it, at the sacrifice of armor
• Some kind of sea crate buff?
• Finite Oxygen underwater, but oxygen refills if it eats fish, making it viable to remain underwater for longer periods of time but still not quite as good as a scuba tank
• Tamed otters are able to rescue you and pull you to the surface if you're drowning

Edited June 12, 2023 by Oreloki
Adding ideas from the comments!

[Kripted]

I really love this idea. It makes the beginning beaches and lakes... that much more terrifying.

There's nothing I love in ark more than suffering! I hope to see this in game

[DarkEdgeTV]

Beautiful artwork! And such an epic concept

[Abaddon23]

I found a interestin old Creature submission from  NeoVanilluxe and would post it here!

 

Enhydriodon dikikae, the specific species I chose, lived in modern-day Ethiopia ~3-5MYA, in the Pliocene. It is an extremely large otter, estimated to be around the size of a lion or bear. 

Common Name: GIANT BEAR-OTTER

Species: Enhydriodon morsus

Time: Pliocene

Diet: Carnivore

Temperament: Aggressive

Wild
Enhydriodon look extremely similar to  the common river otter, but with one major difference- they're huge! Their large, interlocking front teeth aren't only ideal for dealing a killing blow, but dragging corpses to their feeding grounds, along with stealing small creatures from the surface and drowning them.

I've often seen Enhydriodon that live in the swamp actively seek out Sarcosuchus as well as Kaprosuchus just to fight them. They stalk them for hours on end and seem so much angrier when fighting a croc compared to anything else threatening its territory and dinner.

Ichthyornis and Megapiranha seem to be terrified of Enhydriodon. Maybe this could prove useful at times.

Domesticated
Enhydriodon make excellent travel mounts. Their webbed hands barely impede its ability to walk on solid ground. Its whiskers allow it to detect predators- and prey in even the darkest depths of the ocean. With the right materials, some survivors have managed to turn this beast into a hulking submarine! Their saddles have a built-in shield to protect the rider. Now i can get up close and personal with those nasty Cnidaria.

Abilities

Enhydriodon would obviously have a simple primary bite/swipe and possibly a secondary tail slap. It would have a number of abilities, including a gnash similar to Allosaurus. It would keep the insulation buff that the regular otter provides. While within a certain range of a Sarcosuchus or Kaprosuchus, Enhydriodon will gain a "rage" buff, either similar to Megatherium's, or Carcharodontosaurus' bloodrage where their attack and defense are boosted. This applies to both wild and tamed Enhydriodon, as well as wild and tamed Kapro/Sarco. Their saddle is similar to the Roll Rat saddle, where the dome-shield is furled up until the player mounts Enhydriodon. Then, it unfolds and completely encases the player, protecting it from firearms, creatures that dismount the player (Cnidaria, Microraptor, Kaprosuchus, etc.) Underwater, the dome makes it so that the player will not lose oxygen while mounted, but will not replenish oxygen should the player dismount underwater, similar to the Andrewsarchus minigun saddle. While mounted on Enhydriodon, it has a toggle-able ability that outlines wild and tamed creatures, similar to the Bloodstalker. While active, the Otter's whiskers will have an ocassional twitching animation. At all times, Piranha and Ichthyornis (or potentially, also Cnidaria) are scared of Enhydriodon, as if they have the Yutyrannus fear debuff applied while it's nearby. Enhydriodon would have a pack bonus, that caps at +4. Leaving Enhydriodon on wander in the water would allow it to passively farm silica and black pearls at a high rate. Alternatively, it could have harvesting levels, including bio toxin (because of the dismount immunity), ammonite bile, oil, and pearls. If you two or more Enhydriodon near each other in the water, they should have a radial menu option that allows them to hold hands, a behavior found in otters today! Lastly, Enhydriodon will be able to drag corpses, and small living creatures around in its mouth. 

Taming

Enhydriodon's taming method would be a mix of Carcharodontosaurus and the regular Otter. You would need to drag corpses of either Megalodon, Salmon, Kaprosuchus, or Sarcosuchus towards it and the otter will start eating it. This would only increase the taming % and there would be no period to ride Enhydriodon, UNLIKE Carcharodontosaurus. Sarcosuchus and Kaprosuchus are better to tame it with. Sarcosuchus is equivalent to the Otter's "Kibble."

 

[Romuluas]

Love this idea!

Edited June 4, 2023 by Romuluas

[Abaddon23]

Any ideas from the Fjördur creature submission from the "Giant Bear Otter" 

 

Domesticated
Enhydriodon make excellent travel mounts. Their webbed hands barely impede its ability to walk on solid ground. Its whiskers allow it to detect predators- and prey in even the darkest depths of the ocean. With the right materials, some survivors have managed to turn this beast into a hulking submarine! Their saddles have a built-in shield to protect the rider. Now i can get up close and personal with those nasty Cnidaria.

Abilities

Enhydriodon would obviously have a simple primary bite/swipe and possibly a secondary tail slap. It would have a number of abilities, including a gnash similar to Allosaurus. It would keep the insulation buff that the regular otter provides. While within a certain range of a Sarcosuchus or Kaprosuchus, Enhydriodon will gain a "rage" buff, either similar to Megatherium's, or Carcharodontosaurus' bloodrage where their attack and defense are boosted. This applies to both wild and tamed Enhydriodon, as well as wild and tamed Kapro/Sarco. Their saddle is similar to the Roll Rat saddle, where the dome-shield is furled up until the player mounts Enhydriodon. Then, it unfolds and completely encases the player, protecting it from firearms, creatures that dismount the player (Cnidaria, Microraptor, Kaprosuchus, etc.) Underwater, the dome makes it so that the player will not lose oxygen while mounted, but will not replenish oxygen should the player dismount underwater, similar to the Andrewsarchus minigun saddle. While mounted on Enhydriodon, it has a toggle-able ability that outlines wild and tamed creatures, similar to the Bloodstalker. While active, the Otter's whiskers will have an ocassional twitching animation. At all times, Piranha and Ichthyornis (or potentially, also Cnidaria) are scared of Enhydriodon, as if they have the Yutyrannus fear debuff applied while it's nearby. Enhydriodon would have a pack bonus, that caps at +4. Leaving Enhydriodon on wander in the water would allow it to passively farm silica and black pearls at a high rate. Alternatively, it could have harvesting levels, including bio toxin (because of the dismount immunity), ammonite bile, oil, and pearls. If you two or more Enhydriodon near each other in the water, they should have a radial menu option that allows them to hold hands, a behavior found in otters today! Lastly, Enhydriodon will be able to drag corpses, and small living creatures around in its mouth. 

[Oreloki]

Ohhh I do like the idea of it being able to scare off seagulls and piranha! And I didn't put much thought into what kinds of attacks it would have, admittedly, so that's a good thing to get some input on as well, though I definitely don't want to go stepping on anyone's toes if this is all ideas from a past submission.

As for the saddle, I did put some thought into that and I think it would be cool if the saddle had inflatable canisters on it, perhaps fueled with something like gas or sulphur, that could allow a player to very rapidly rise to the surface of the water in emergency situations.

[Abaddon23]

I don't think that's a bad thing if you get ideas from other older posts.

After all, it was also an otter and we want a big rideable otter to come into the game ❤️

And I like the look a lot ❤️

 

 

Edited June 4, 2023 by Abaddon23

[imahuntya]

I like this submission, though i do think that the fins may be a bit much.

[imahuntya]

Also, a mammal version of diplocaulus would make a good addition to my collection.

[Jclar371]

Love the idea, thought on an additional ability where it can catch fish in its paws so you can tame & pod them and use them for otter/mane taming or just fish food for troughs at a later date.

[Cosequin]

Um, yes please. Otters are life.

[KrystalWulf]

I love this idea, a LOT. I appreciate greatly you didn't make it OP like a lot of people do. It's fun to have strong dinos, but it gets boring when they're all so powerful with a million different abilities. They're just too strong and that's no fun.

I don't like the fins too much, but beyond that I like the design a lot. It's cute. The taming method is also very unique and exciting. Knock-out and passive taming are great, but I like a variety of passive taming. There are some creatures I think are better suited to passive tames, tbh... Jerboa (especially since it's so easy to kill them), dodo (because what's the point of having to punch a small bird but not the lystro?!) and others I can't think of atm.

I hope this gets added. I look forward to riding a giant otter. 

Some ideas I've got to further add on:

1. Faster in the water than on land, like the otter. It's got short legs and a long draggy tail, after all. So it could have a speed to rival sarcos or other faster water tames in the water, BUT to counterbalance the water speed, it's slower on land. Maybe it's walking speed is similar to a dodo's run, and the running speed is similar to a stego's run? Swimming both regular and "sprinting" is not only faster, but it uses no stamina like the quadrupedal iguanodon. It's designed perfectly for water, so it can go through it easy peezy. Walking on land, however, DOES use stamina as it's more difficult for the giant otter. 

2. You (or a comment) mentioned a saddle. I think it's silly that wolves don't get a saddle (not even optional!!!) but saberteeth need one. Maybe the otter can have an optional one? The armor isn't great as it would provide a large drag, especially if used to carry oxygen to extend your underwater visit. It can trade extended oxygen for slower travel OR little armor protection to make things even. 

[PatoMalibu]

Just add that it can retrieve high quality blueprints from ocean crates and it'll win the vote.

[a1ien]

Nothosaurus >

[mikoLXD]

On 6/4/2023 at 7:27 AM, Oreloki said:

The overall idea is to provide players with a jack of all trades water mount that opens up many doors for early game. It will have features of the Basi, Diplocaulus, Otter, and Anglerfish, but each of those respective creatures will far outclass it in their respective uses. This creature is meant to be an early-midgame tame, one that is for opening up new routes in your playthrough that are normally locked behind either later game gear or having to combine multiple other tames together to get the same easy access to the ocean.

Early oxygen tank- The Dire Otter will give an oxygen boost underwater. It will NOT be a free oxygen tank like the Diplocaulus, but instead provide the same extended dive period that the Genesis 1 ocean has. This is based on the air-trapping properties of beaver fur, which normally insulates its skin underwater. The bubbles trapped in the Dire Otter's mane are easy access for its rider.
Cold water insulation- The Dire otter makes it easier to dip your toes into the frigid oceans of the Arks. Perhaps not as well as having its miniature relative tucked around your neck, but enough to get you by!
Pearl gatherer- The Dire Otter can harvest more pearls than the player can by hand, but less than an anglerfish.
Stun immune- The Dire Otter can't be stunned by Jellyfish or slowed by Eels, but it isn't as tanky or hard-hitting as a Basi. This stun immunity is again thanks to the insulating properties of the otter's fur.
On top of this, the Dire Otter will be decent on land, probably equitable to a sabertooth. Enhydriodon was likely a formidable hunter on both land and in water.

As far as the design goes, it's actually a little nod to how a few other Ark creatures are based on cryptids! The Dire Otter is based on a cryptid called the Dhober-Chu, hence the scaly appearance. This is also what sparked the idea for the name Syreni, for both its mermaid appearance and being both a land and water creature.

The Dire Otter will spawn rarely in areas with access to both land and deep water. It will be aggressive and have the ability to grab players who are on foot and drag them to the water, attempting to drown them. They cannot grab a player off of a mount. I don't intend to make another Kapro.

Taming them is the fun part! You tame them by playing Simon Says with your emote wheel! So for example the otter will wave at you, and you'll have a few seconds to wave back. If you mess up by missing the time window or using the wrong emote, the otter will try to drown you (they have to be near water to be tame-able) I'm thinking to initiate the tame, you must first offer them a fish corpse above a certain size, that way you don't just have a bunch of otters waving at you all the time, cute as that would be. It also puts a small barrier on an otherwise ridiculously easy tame. They're meant to be early game, but they shouldn't be free.

As for the saddle, I did put some thought into that and I think it would be cool if the saddle had inflatable canisters on it, perhaps fueled with something like gas or sulphur, that could allow a player to very rapidly rise to the surface of the water in emergency situations.

Please let me know your thoughts and ideas for interesting mechanics to add or balance this cutie out.

Ideas from the comments!
Able to passively scare off Seagulls and Piranha
Able to catch and transport live fish while underwater

 

 

I NEEE this Time be in ASA, and if It doesn't win in this map, I hope It does in any other map, obviously a map with water, aberration, Valguero, Crystal Isles (would be actually a great map) ... 

 

[mikoLXD]

need*

[Oreloki]

1 minute ago, mikoLXD said:

 

 

I NEEE this Time be in ASA, and if It doesn't win in this map, I hope It does in any other map, obviously a map with water, aberration, Valguero, Crystal Isles (would be actually a great map) ... 

 

Yes, I'm THRILLED that they're doing the other non-official DLC maps. I was super afraid that my chances for maps with big enough water areas were already dwindling.

[kage13ofmordor]

Dont like the last new otter suggestion, but your art is amazing and is a so good concept we need more dangers in the lakes

[Normandem]

What if it has a high oxygen stat, but to reduce risk of drowning, the oxygen resets every time it gets an underwater kill? This can even be used to reset air bubbles to allow the player to breathe.

This means that despite being semi-aquatic/ for earlier sea travel, that it can in theory still stay underwater indefinitely if it keeps getting kills. As well as reducing the need for scuba gear without fully outclassing it. That would make it useful in a few other situations-

1) artefract running for the underwater artefact on Rag

2) once Genesis is out, can be used for missions that involve going in/out of water lots

3) once Crystal Isles is out would be amazing at traversing the map

4) Upper South Cave

Edited June 6, 2023 by Normandem

[AmanaTishala]

On 6/4/2023 at 6:36 AM, Abaddon23 said:

I found a interestin old Creature submission from  NeoVanilluxe and would post it here!

 

Enhydriodon dikikae, the specific species I chose, lived in modern-day Ethiopia ~3-5MYA, in the Pliocene. It is an extremely large otter, estimated to be around the size of a lion or bear. 

Common Name: GIANT BEAR-OTTER

Species: Enhydriodon morsus

Time: Pliocene

Diet: Carnivore

Temperament: Aggressive

Wild
Enhydriodon look extremely similar to  the common river otter, but with one major difference- they're huge! Their large, interlocking front teeth aren't only ideal for dealing a killing blow, but dragging corpses to their feeding grounds, along with stealing small creatures from the surface and drowning them.

I've often seen Enhydriodon that live in the swamp actively seek out Sarcosuchus as well as Kaprosuchus just to fight them. They stalk them for hours on end and seem so much angrier when fighting a croc compared to anything else threatening its territory and dinner.

Ichthyornis and Megapiranha seem to be terrified of Enhydriodon. Maybe this could prove useful at times.

Domesticated
Enhydriodon make excellent travel mounts. Their webbed hands barely impede its ability to walk on solid ground. Its whiskers allow it to detect predators- and prey in even the darkest depths of the ocean. With the right materials, some survivors have managed to turn this beast into a hulking submarine! Their saddles have a built-in shield to protect the rider. Now i can get up close and personal with those nasty Cnidaria.

Abilities

Enhydriodon would obviously have a simple primary bite/swipe and possibly a secondary tail slap. It would have a number of abilities, including a gnash similar to Allosaurus. It would keep the insulation buff that the regular otter provides. While within a certain range of a Sarcosuchus or Kaprosuchus, Enhydriodon will gain a "rage" buff, either similar to Megatherium's, or Carcharodontosaurus' bloodrage where their attack and defense are boosted. This applies to both wild and tamed Enhydriodon, as well as wild and tamed Kapro/Sarco. Their saddle is similar to the Roll Rat saddle, where the dome-shield is furled up until the player mounts Enhydriodon. Then, it unfolds and completely encases the player, protecting it from firearms, creatures that dismount the player (Cnidaria, Microraptor, Kaprosuchus, etc.) Underwater, the dome makes it so that the player will not lose oxygen while mounted, but will not replenish oxygen should the player dismount underwater, similar to the Andrewsarchus minigun saddle. While mounted on Enhydriodon, it has a toggle-able ability that outlines wild and tamed creatures, similar to the Bloodstalker. While active, the Otter's whiskers will have an ocassional twitching animation. At all times, Piranha and Ichthyornis (or potentially, also Cnidaria) are scared of Enhydriodon, as if they have the Yutyrannus fear debuff applied while it's nearby. Enhydriodon would have a pack bonus, that caps at +4. Leaving Enhydriodon on wander in the water would allow it to passively farm silica and black pearls at a high rate. Alternatively, it could have harvesting levels, including bio toxin (because of the dismount immunity), ammonite bile, oil, and pearls. If you two or more Enhydriodon near each other in the water, they should have a radial menu option that allows them to hold hands, a behavior found in otters today! Lastly, Enhydriodon will be able to drag corpses, and small living creatures around in its mouth. 

Taming

Enhydriodon's taming method would be a mix of Carcharodontosaurus and the regular Otter. You would need to drag corpses of either Megalodon, Salmon, Kaprosuchus, or Sarcosuchus towards it and the otter will start eating it. This would only increase the taming % and there would be no period to ride Enhydriodon, UNLIKE Carcharodontosaurus. Sarcosuchus and Kaprosuchus are better to tame it with. Sarcosuchus is equivalent to the Otter's "Kibble."

 

THIS is a post I remember from before and thought "heck yeah, I'd ride that guy!!!"

[Abaddon23]

24 minutes ago, AmanaTishala said:

THIS is a post I remember from before and thought "heck yeah, I'd ride that guy!!!"

is this new that the post goes to a other post, i have not post it here  😮

can put a Admin in it? 😮

[Somes]

I really don't understand this entry...giant otters are already currently an easy resize for modders. Did we all forget that mods will be in all versions of ASA? I am not saying I hate the idea but there are better options imo.

Edited June 7, 2023 by Somes

[Joebl0w13]

34 minutes ago, Somes said:

I really don't understand this entry...giant otters are already currently an easy resize for modders. Did we all forget that mods will be in all versions of ASA? I am not saying I hate the idea but there are better options imo.

Well by that logic, none of these creatures really matter since a mod could recreate any of them in ASA.

[Somes]

13 hours ago, Joebl0w13 said:

Well by that logic, none of these creatures really matter since a mod could recreate any of them in ASA.

You are not getting what I meant. Sure any modder can make a model and animations to just make their own creature BUT...this is literally the same creature we have already just big with aggression. I literally had one in my mod when it was live. 
I just really think something more original should be voted on...granted this creature fits the map more than most of the "otters" that are voted at the top. lol See what I did there