SlyCapybara

Concept Sauropods in Ark are lacking to say the least and don’t quite live up to their real life counterparts. I am also a firm believer that the game is in desperate need of more powerful herbivores and while I appreciate smaller taxa getting the representation they deserve I believe the game is in dire need of a late game, powerful dino that exemplifies what sauropods are supposed to represent. So I propose Sauroposeidon Wild: With its size, strength and dominion over the ocean, Sauroposeidon lives up to the mythology. While still dwarfed in mass by the titanosaur it exceeds it in height, making it the tallest creature I’ve encountered. A creature this large wouldn’t be expected to thrive in an island ecosystem but Sauroposiden has a plethora of adaptations that make it well at home in the center. Hollow bones and air sacks throughout the body make it a surprisingly proficient swimmer allowing them to travel between islands in search of food to maintain their bulk although this buoyancy makes it difficult for them to dive. Their height makes them immune to most predators with even the mighty megalodon giving it a wide berth as they moves between foraging patches. This relative safety only applies to mature specimens as juveniles are constantly accosted by predators looking for an easy meal with very few reaching adulthood. While largely oblivious to smaller creatures, including humans they have little tolerance for animal life over a certain size entering their vicinity and will meet perceived intruders with extreme prejudice. This hostility extends to their own kind with even juvenile Sauroposeidon being met with hostility. To avoid costly violence, they constantly let out booming calls that travel for miles to communicate their mood, health and position. Tamed: Having no interest in humans and being too large to be tranquilized, mature individuals are impossible to tame with conventional methods but the juveniles are much more receptive to training. In the wild they grow at an accelerated rate, with the constant stress from predation triggering the release of hormones that speed up their metabolism. This allows them to reach maturity quickly but requires a monumental amount of food. Some survivors have found that guiding them to foraging patches while acting as body guard during such a vulnerable time earns their trust. However until that trust is earned they never stay in one spot and become stressed when confined. Ones that are born into the safety of captivity are much more trusting and have a more tempered rate of growth. When tamed they need a massive amount of food but they are a valued addition to any army that can afford to keep them fed. Survivors have trained them to use their complex air chambers for a variety of purposes. Extended exposure to their lower resonating calls can cause dizziness and paranoia, breaking the ranks of enemy units. They can also be trained to focus their infrasonic calls into powerful blasts that can either send smaller adversaries flying and ground volant mounts or be shot off as devastating sonic cannons. Being big enough to support a platform saddle they can function as a living battleship. Attacks rapid sonic attack: low damage, high range, high knockback, grounds fliers Sonic cannon: high damage mid range AOE sonic attack: staying inside aoe circle causes confusion (inverts controller of ridden tames and players, randomly sets unridden tames to passive flee or aggressive) Front stomp Back stomp Passive Abilities Trample Damage Buff around big dinos( i.e. rex, giga, bronto, paracer, titans, bosses, etc) Increased movement speed, and stam Repels megalodons, mantas and eels Immune to cnidaria Debuffing roar: increases damage taken by enemies, remove buffs from other roars

Wild: A dinosaur is still a strange sight in the tundra for me but I suppose it makes sense with its large size facilitating gigantothermy. With a unique nasal chamber it heats the air before it breaths and during the worst storms they hunker down in massive herds making them surprising well adapted to the cold. These large herds split apart to forage and they use their unique nasal chambers to call out and keep in contact with each other over large distances. These booming calls can also be used when fighting predators, using infrasound to disorient and damage aggressors. Tamed: With their large size producing enough heat to keep the rider warm and stamina rivaling that of the iguanadon it makes an excellent travel mount. In battle, their booming cries drown out even the yutyranus and can break the ranks of even the tightest units while keeping tabs on your own troops. They can also focus their sound wave into a blast that deafens targets. Potential abilities: Debuffing call: removes/prevents opposing sound based buffs and debuffs (wolf howl, yuty roar), also temporarily removes pack buffs Herd buff: increased damage resistance, movement speed and sonic attack radius for each herd member Infrasound: aoe attack, prolonged exposure causes confusion (tames run around attacking wildly and riden tame and players have their controls inverted Sonic cannon: long range attack the causes targets to go temporarily deaf, tames will ignore whistles, damage decreases with distance, range increases in a group