Cretophasmomima (Giant Stick Insect) - PVP/PVE Jack of all Trades

[LeDonkaConka]

Hello survivors! For the Aberration creature vote I’d like to introduce to you the PVP/PVE jack of all trades Cretophasmomima! (Pictures at the bottom)

With how outlandish a lot of aberration creatures are, I’ve decided to submit a creature that’d be as equally weird. Yes, we just got the Rhyniognatha for the Island, but I feel like if there was any creature that’d fit Aberrations aesthetic it’d be a giant stick bug. Like the Rhyniognatha, the real-life Cretophasmomima was not very big. Yet seeing that this is ARK many creative liberties can be taken with its creatures, which is why I imagine that this bug would be way bigger than it was in reality. Serving as a mid to late game tame, this creature would function like a hybrid between a Stego/Theri in terms of usefulness, but it’d also have some additional abilities to make it stick out from the rest of the Aberration creatures. Being an herbivore, the Cretophasmomima would be useful as a gatherer like the Stego and Igua. This doesn’t mean it’d be a pushover because like the Theri this creature would be able to hold its own in a fight just as well. Below is a list of suggestions that I think would fit this creature (this isn’t to say that this creature would be capable of doing ALL of these abilities, these ideas are just ones I think would work well with this creature). 

 

Some of the possible ideas/abilities behind this creature include:

· Able to harvest a variety of resources such as berries, fungal wood, element ore, Aberrant exclusive plants, rare flowers/mushrooms, biotoxin, nameless venom, reaper pheromones, etc. (can harvest a wide range, but some creatures can harvest a specific resource better than it can)

· Invisibility and wall climbing like the Rock Drake

· Immunity/Resistance to certain status effects like torpor, Cnidaria shocks, and the Basilisk poison breath.

·Immunity to radiation (its saddle would also protect the rider from radiation without the need of a hazmat suit)

·Acidic projectiles that bypass armor, damage structures, and slow enemy targets

·An AOE gas cloud that effects enemies based on what kinds of mushrooms you feed it

·Venomous spikes that apply torpor to small enemies (does not work on creatures larger than a Ravager)

·Pick up and move structures like the Exo-Mek/Rhyniognatha 

·Can be passively harvested for some exclusive items

 

Dossier Info:

Common Name: Cretophasmomima

Species: Cretophasmomima Invisibilis 

Time: Early Cretaceous

Diet: Herbivore

Temperament: Defensive

 

Wild: A creature that’s as bizarre as its name, the Cretophasmomima or giant stick insect is a reclusive herbivore that makes its home in some of the most hostile areas of Aberration. Scaling the sides of cliffs, the Cretophasmomima prefers to forage for food way up high and out of reach of most predators. Due to its shy nature, most survivors may not even encounter one, and when they do, they might have already walked right past one without even realizing it! True to its name, this big bug is surprisingly good at camouflaging itself from danger.

 

            If you do manage to somehow provoke one, it’ll be more than happy to respond with violence. Feeding on mostly toxic mushrooms and fungus, the Cretophasmomima can expel a noxious gas from its body that contains trace elements from its diet onto those unfortunate enough to provoke it. If that wasn’t enough, if truly riled up it may even retaliate with acidic globs launched from its mandibles. 

 

Domesticated: If one were somehow able to find one of these, or even tame it for that matter, they may find themselves with a creature that can go almost anywhere. Being adapted to the harsh environments of Aberration this bug does not seem to be affected by radiation, making it a great choice for traversing some of this ARKs more dangerous areas. If attacked, there’s little to fear thanks to the Cretophasmomima’s highly advanced chemical warfare. The wax and spikes produced by its body can be harvested for multiple uses, and the range of materials it can harvest are nigh unmatched.  With a creature like this one, a survivor would be lucky to have a tame as reliable as this.

 

Taming Process:

·A passive tame, the Cretophasmomima can be found scaling the cliffs and ceilings of the Fertile (rarely), Bioluminescent, and Molten Element regions. They can be a bit tricky to find, however, because on occasion they might have their active camouflage on so make sure to look out for any unusual movements. When you do manage to find one, you will have to access its inventory and feed its preferred food like most other passive tames. However, there is a catch. Depending on where you find one, that Cretophasmomima will want a specific kind of mushroom found in that region. So, if you find one in the Bioluminescent region it’ll want cold mushrooms (you’ll still be able to tame it with other kinds of mushrooms, but its preferred kind will have the most taming effectiveness). Outside of mushrooms, it can also be fed plant species z seeds (this will take longer than feeding it any kind of mushroom however, so this is only preferred if you don’t have any mushrooms on you). Generally, the harsher and more dangerous the environment is, the more likely you’ll be able to find higher level Cretophasmomima.

 

Cretophasmomima Saddle:

· A saddle that can be crafted at a mid-level, this saddle would have the ability to protect the rider from radiation and from being dismounted by other creatures. By itself the Cretophasmomima would have a natural weight reduction of 50% on resources, but with the addition of its saddle this would be increased to 90%. Its saddle could also possibly serve as an Aberrant version of the Argys smithy saddle letting you to use it on the go during your travels.

 

Attacks/Abilities:

· Claw/Tail Attack (Left Click): A standard claw swipe that deals moderate damage and applies short knockback to small creatures. This attack can be aimed with a multidirectional crosshair depending on where you’re facing. If aimed behind, the Cretophasmomima will slam its coiled tail into the ground that deals around the same damage as its claw swipe. Useful for harvesting resources as well. As a bonus, the claw attack can be used to move structures (even when climbing a wall or upside down). The claw attack cannot pick up creatures.

 

· Acidic Projectile (Right Click): The Cretophasmomima will launch two sticky globs of caustic acid from its face at opponents. This attack works like the Arthropleura’s and ignores armor (in addition to slowing enemies). This attack can be aimed with a crosshair by holding down right click, but it will not auto target enemy creatures like the Rhyniognatha’s resin shot. Deals low damage but can be applied for a small duration of time. Uses a small amount of stamina with every shot and has a short cooldown. 

 

·Gas Cloud (Space): The dangerous mushrooms that produce poisonous spores can now be harvested to feed your Ceratophasmomima. Depending on what kinds you feed your Cretophasmomima it can apply their status effects to enemies via an AOE gas cloud around its body. Once fed, a small bar will appear at the bottom of the screen that you’ll have to fill up (once you feed it a certain mushroom, this bar can only be filled with that specific kind). When full you cannot feed the Cretophasmomima any more mushrooms until you deplete this bar. There will be a long cooldown on this attack for every time you use it. The status effects that can be applied to other survivors and creatures are as follows: 

 

-Standard: If not fed mushrooms, the Cretophasmomima can still release a gas cloud from its body that can drain stamina and blind enemy survivors/creatures for a short period of time. Be careful though because this attack will drain a large amount of its own stamina with every use.

 

-Red Mushroom: If fed poisonous red mushrooms until its bar is full, the Cretophasmomima will release a gas cloud from its body that will distort the vision, cause extreme defecation, and suffocate enemy survivors/creatures for a short period of time.

 

-Cold Mushroom: If fed poisonous blue mushrooms until its bar is full, the Cretophasmomima will release a gas cloud from its body that will inflict hypothermia with rapid health loss onto enemy survivors/creatures for a short period of time (regardless of whether they have hypothermia protection).

 

- Element Mushroom: If fed poisonous element mushrooms until its bar is full, the Cretophasmomima will release a gas cloud from its body that will force extreme defecation and rapid hunger loss onto enemy survivors/creatures for a short period of time (can work on knocked out creatures too to speed up the taming process).

 

·Invisibility Cloak (X): Can be toggled on and off by pressing X. The Cretophasmomima cloaks itself and its rider like a Rock Drake. Hostile creatures will ignore you as long as you’re cloaked. However, creatures that have already aggroed onto you will not be affected by this ability. 

 

·Venomous Spines: A passive ability, the spines that cover the Cretophasmomima’s body have the power to apply small amounts of torpor to creatures attacking it. This ability does not work on creatures larger than a Ravager who’ll just outright ignore it. This ability also does not work on creatures that have ranged attacks or survivors who have weapons besides their fists.

 

 

Purposes in PVE: 

· Harvester: Like most herbivores, the Cretophasmomima would have the ability to harvest resources like fiber, thatch, fungal wood, berries etc. It could also possibly be able to mine other resources like ores or gems. However, being a jack of all trades, it’s mostly good at harvesting many KINDS of resources, but not so much in large amounts like a few other creatures. Even if it can’t harvest some resources in the same quantities as other creatures can, it can also harvest resources like rare flowers, rare mushrooms, and Aberration exclusive plants (like aggeravic mushrooms, ascerbic mushrooms, aquatic mushrooms, etc.). Due to its affinity with poisons and status effects, it may be useful in harvesting copious amounts of resources like bio toxin and nameless venom too. With its high weight reduction, the Cretophasmomima would be the best for harvesting resources on the fly during your travels through Aberration.

 

· All Terrain Creature: Able to climb anything with no stamina cost and immune to radiation, there’s almost nowhere you won’t be able to go with a Cretophasmomima. While it can’t travel as fast as say a Rock Drake, its ability to climb walls and harvest a variety of resources make it a good choice for those hard-to-reach areas of the map. Being a bad swimmer, this creature would instead be able to walk on the bottom of lakes and rivers akin to the Karkinos, allowing you to harvest underwater resources at your leisure (just remember to keep track of your oxygen, because unlike the Karkinos this creature can still drown if you’re not careful).

 

· Base Helper: Being able to pick up structures (but not creatures) the Cretophasmomima would be of great use around your base. Its claw attack in tandem with its climbing abilities means you can place structures wherever you please. The Cretophasmomima can even carry structures while upside down. With Aberrations difficult and hazardous layout, placing structures would be made a whole lot easier with the help of your Cretophasmomima.

 

·Taming Aid: With its ability to apply special status effects and its special camouflage, this creature would be the perfect choice for taming creatures. Its element gas attack can be used to rapidly increase the hunger of knocked out creatures, letting you constantly refill their inventories with food. The torpor inducing spines can be used to knock out smaller tames like Ravagers and Raptors. Its camo ability is also useful for stealing Rock Drake eggs (for taming Rock Drakes/Basilisks) or the ores dug up by Rollrats without being detected by them.

 

· Exclusive Items: Tamed Cretophasmomima can be passively harvested for some exclusive items, which are as follows: 

 

-Cretophasmomima Spines: A resource passively produced by a tamed Cretophasmomima that can be harvested for a variety of uses. Collected spines can be grinded down into narcotics or used for crafting tranq arrows needed to tame other creatures. Has a short cooldown before it can be harvested again.

 

-Cretophasmomima Wax: A resource passively produced by a tamed Cretophasmomima that can be harvested for a variety of uses. Serves as a more efficient combination of organic polymer/cementing paste that can be used in identical ways. It may also be used in place of wood as fuel for fires, torches, fireplaces, and forges to greater effect than most other resources (lasts for a longer period of time). Has a long cooldown before it can be harvested again.

 

Purposes in PVP:

· Status Immunity: With its exceptionally high immunity to torpor, poison, and other status effects the Cretophasmomima has little to fear. Its rider is also protected by its saddle and cannot be harmed by all status effects. They are also immune to the status effects applied by other Cretophasmomima (except for their acid shot), as are their riders (riders are still completely immune). Note though that the Cretophasmomima itself is not immune to all status effects, like being set aflame or being hit with Reaper/Basilisk projectiles (it will take reduced damage from these attacks however). 

 

· Ranged Fighter: Able to climb any surface, the Cretophasmomima can attack from afar with its acidic projectile, allowing it to splash enemy structures and creatures in a corrosive acid that bypasses armor. Its damage is low, but it can be stacked if you keep track of your stamina. Be careful though as enemy Cretophasmomima can do the same thing to you too.

 

· High Health/Defense: While not as combat oriented as the Reaper, Megalo, or Rock Drake in a straightforward fight, this creature would compensate with an extremely high health pool and strong defenses. It’d be able to shrug off most attacks by smaller creatures with relative ease, and its status effects would be ideal for disorienting/confusing enemy riders to allow your other tames to gain the advantage.

 

· Raids & Boss Battles: A creature that’s great for use in raids, its status applying abilities and ranged attacks make this creature a good alternative to the more physical brawlers like Reapers and Rock Drakes. If forced into close ranged combat this creature is not completely defenseless, as its high health and decent damage makes it more than capable of holding its own long enough for you to get away or for backup to arrive. It also can be used in the Rockwell battle too; its status effects can be applied to Rockwell’s minions and its acid shot can be used to damage Rockwell’s tentacles (or his heart) from a safe distance. Being an herbivore like the Theri, its inventory can be packed with veggie cakes to keep them going for the rest of the fight.

 

Weaknesses:

· Master of None: Being a jack of all trades, this creature can do a lot of things. However, this does not mean it would render every other creature worthless. Despite its long list of abilities, it is not intended to be an overpowered death machine. It has high health and good attack, but creatures like the Reaper, Rock Drake, and Megalo can fit this role just as well if you want them too. It can harvest an absurd number of resources to great efficiency, but creatures like the Stego and Anky will generally harvest more resources of the same category. It can climb walls and crawl fast thanks to its high weight reduction, but a Rock Drake will always cross the map faster than a Cretophasmomima will. Its AOE is large but has a long cooldown and it can’t apply any status effects unless you fill the bar first. This doesn’t mean the Cretophasmomima would be useless itself either, as the point is that it is able to all the fill all roles that other creatures can’t. It can fight, harvest, help tame creatures, and move structures, it may not be exceptional at one thing but it’s great at filling all the roles you’ll need it for. 

 

Bonus Pictures (for reference of what it’s design might look like if implemented):

Edited July 8, 2023 by LeDonkaConka

[Romuluas]

Like the creature!

[MaximusPM]

I think it's fitting, but we just had the Rhyniognatha added to the game. Looks too similar.

[Araru13]

Don't so bad