Qwertymine

I can't find any references to a species called Tenebrisaurus, where is this from?

Yeah, such a small thing but so damn annoying.

Not much can go wrong, any Argy can probably carry it just fine. Just make a small trap n shoot it, pretty straight forward. If it curls up before you KO it, just keep shooting unless it looks REALLY hurt or your running out of Tranqs, in which case wait for it to unball.

Nah, the moment I saw a raptor pathfind up a cliff was the moment this game's AI became 100x better than ASE's. Yeah, is it a bit strange sometimes? Sure. But this game also JUST released, I'd wait to see if they specialize the AI more. The game has bigger issues than Rexes not going to sleep.

Can't say I do. Maybe I just don't spend enough time around them, but I've never really been compelled to have many (if any) anyways.

Ok, let's talk about Jug Bugs, just as an example. Genuinely tell me how long you'd use a Water Jug Bug on Scorched for? Because the only times I've ever used them is when I'm starting out and away from water sources. That's such a small tame window for a creature that serves the same function tamed as it does wild. Snails and Bees are used through multiple stages of the game on multiple maps, Water Jug Bugs are only really useful on Scorched because the other maps they're on have way more water and the deserts are usually accessed at later stages of gameplay. Oil Jug Bugs are such a nothing creature too, you get enough oil from them to make Gasoline (Which you could also kill an Elemental for) and make an Oil Pump, then never worry about oil again. And this is again only on Scorched, every other map they're on has Oil Nodes and Oil Veins that are in better locations and give you far more oil.

Hmmmmm No to Coels, Ammonites, Eurypterids, and Cnidaria. I don't think every creature in the game needs to be tameable, and they'd serve little to no purpose outside of resource farming, which is a bit lame. Lios need a crazy rework but should definitely be breedable, and Leeds have always been something I wish could be tamed. No to all of these. Unless the ASA mutation changes are significant, Rock Golems would be way too strong when bred up. Jug Bugs, Deathworms, and Rubble Golems are more examples of creatures that simply don't need to be tameable. Jug Bug stats are beyond pathetic, and Deathworms/Rubble Golems are more obstacles than actual creatures. No to Glowbugs for the same reason as Jug Bugs and no to Lampreys as having unlimited Lampreys would diminish the usefulness of HAZ gear for most occasions. Basilisks could probably use it, but would probably need some stat nerfs to make up for it. Karkinos would be alright. This is what Enforcer Blueprints are for. Defense Units and Attack Drones are again more obstacle than they are actual tame, and them being tameable was once a bug that was thankfully fixed. Astrocetus would be fine for breeding, Parakeet Fish Schools are another "creature" that just doesn't really need to be tameable for any reason. Griffins fine, Fenrir no. You get Fenrir as a reward for completing the boss fight, making it breedable invalidates that. They do deserve to be stronger though, they're not much more than a trophy tame.

Ehhhh, having tameable creatures in a boss fight sounds like a hassle. It kinda works for Zomdodos and Zombie Wyverns because they're part of overworld boss fights. A tameable dragon on the Center or something would work better overall.

Creature like this is better suited to upper ocean levels as opposed to the depths, keeps it out of competition with the Mosasaur as well.

Maybe something rarer in the lake and more common in the ocean. Perhaps Kronosaurus? Tylosaurus?

What does this mean? The meta of the game won't shift because of human AI, they'll get stomped even harder than actual people will.

I kinda agree, as there are better picks like the Theri, but Rexes are generally easier to get than most boss creatures (Aside from Megatherium for the Broodmother). If you want to do a fight optimally, then yeah, Rexes are outclassed nowadays, but if you just want to do the fight, then Rexes are fine. A bit clunky compared to the more compact options, but still useable.

Can't bring the Carchar into the arena sorry to say, so leave it out. I'd go with Rexes personally, you'll probably want to tame a decent Yuty for the Courage too. The Direbear, Deinonychus, and Daeodon probably won't last long if they're around level 100, so leave them out too. Megatheriums could be alright, but Rexes are probably a better tame to use as there's no bugs in the Arena to boost their damage. If you can make a Dinopithecus army and give them good helmets those could work too, and as always Therizinos are pretty good picks, especially with Veggie Cakes. If you're worried about the groundpound dismounting, bring a Stego as a personal tame, as it will prevent dismounting.

Could work, but there'd have to be values for climbers and fliers too, who are only allowed in some arenas.

I actually got this idea from our discussion about Paracer's being allowed into boss arenas. This would allow for that without making it more vulnerable to things like Nets and Yutys, which is my hang-up on your suggestion.

As it is now, Drag Weight is too general and inconsistent, and creates quite a few problems within balancing as it's tied to a bunch of in-game interactions like Yuty/Mammoth effects, creature carrying, boss fight eligibility, the ability to be affected by net projectiles (And I would think Bolas, Chain Bolas, and Bear Traps, but I'm unsure as I can't find any data on this). I think these values should be separated so that they can be changed without affecting other aspects of a creature. This could look like: A(ffect)Weight: Used for things like Yuty and Mammoth Roars, could also allow Rex roars to not be based off level B(oss)Weight: Used to determine a creature's viability for boss arena inclusion C(arry)Weight: Used to determine what creatures can pick up the creature and what platforms they can stand on (Could be seperated into P(latform)Weight as well) T(rap)Weight: Used to determine what kinds of traps are effective on the creature I think this would allow for more targeted changes and allow for creatures to truly be differentiated from each other, as Drag Weight changes right now often have unintended effects like making some creatures immune to traps when the intention was to make it harder to carry them.

Do people FIGHT the Dragon at 55 though? They've gotten the Artifacts of the Immune, Skylord, Strong, and Cunning? And the Hati and Skoll Relics if they're on Fjordur? They've done that without Rexes, Theris, or Spinos? Have they also set up the infrastructure needed to make Veggie Cakes, the only thing that would actually make Paracer's decently viable for said fight? Are they also not going to bring a Yuty for roars? And found a decent Paracer saddle blueprint? All before or at level 55? Even then, they then have to decide the Paracer is a better pick than: Mammoths, Megatherium (Who they may already have from fighting the Broodmother if they're fighting bosses this early), Megalosaurs, as well as Deinonychus and Shadowmanes (If they're on Fjordur). The ability to fight bosses doesn't inherently make creatures more useful, because there will always be competition for that role. Unless the Paracer was given some kind of X-Factor that made it a must-have boss fight tank, it just won't be worth the added weakness to Yutys, Mammoths, and the Net Gun.

The Magmasaur is entirely immune to the Dragon's breath attack... and if you're fighting the Dragon you're probably above level 90 anyways. Again, the Paracer's health is bunk compared to actual utility. Once the Magma is in, it immediately becomes a better tank.

Which is all well and good, but the meta will immediately switch to the Magmasaur when it is added, as it really isn't hard to get some, breed them, and transfer them. The Mammoth can be brought into Boss Arenas (Faster, better maneuverability, ability to put itself out once to help with health drain, higher damage, can buff allies) and the Stego is probably a better damage sponge overall anyways (Easier to find/tame/breed, saddles are easier to craft, better abilities, more maneuverable). Again, it'll end up just being a net nerf for the Paracer, a creature which doesn't see a ton of use anyways. In a world of mutations and abilities, the higher health of Paracers really isn't enough to make them a better overall pick.

I could see this being useful for ASA until the Magmasaur comes back, after which it'll just be a nerf for the Paracer.

Honestly, it's more an issue with mutations than it is individual creature balance. Was hoping ASA would cap them around 20 or 40, but they didn't... We'll just have to see how Reapers perform once they're reintroduced into ASA.

Rexes. I know they aren't exactly meta for boss fights anymore, and late game they're outclassed on most maps by tames like Wyverns, Manas, Shadows, etc. etc. But I'm from a time before the Island had a Swamp and Snow biome, and the biggest things you could tame were Spinos, Brontos, and Rexes. And getting my first Rex (Which was like level 18) was a HUGE breaking point for me. I wasn't running home at night to wait it out or leaving Alpha Raptors alone anymore, I was trekking through the map and challenging anything that stood in my way. The moment I got my Rex, I really felt like I had "beaten the game" and become unstoppable. Sure, other creatures nowadays have the Rex beat in all departments, but even when I get my hands on Manas, Carchars, Rhynio, or the million other crazy creatures we have now, I don't get that feeling. I think it's because those creatures were "made" to be powerful if that makes sense, and it steals a bit of authenticity from them. They're all trying to 1Up the last release, but the Rex was powerful from the start.

I'm not sure if I'm the only person who does this, but I love making ideas for Ark content. None of these ever see the light of day or get added to the Creature Vote (I make whole new stuff for that) but I just love doing this in my spare time. Here's a brief overview of what I've got going on. Does anyone else do anything like this?

The Phoenix doesn't land because in Phoenix lore they never touch the Earth. Despite that, why don't we just have a work around where there's a "Phoenix Perch" structure or something that allows them to land. Even better, make it a "Tek Gravity Chamber" that can hold the various other "always flying" tames in place like the Queen Bee, Onyc, Astrodelphis, and Astrocetus. That way we get a couple birds with one stone. A Phoenix saddle would be nice too, my butt gets toasty ridding them for too long. Make the Lio a permanent tame and either 1. Introduce a "Magical Lio" variant to act like the one we have now or 2. Nerf the loot buff and allow us to trigger it by feeding the Lio something like Golden Hesperornis Eggs. The Lio was a HUGE letdown, especially as they changed the dossier before its release.

That's where the disconnect is occurring. This has never been a prehistoric survival game, its a survival game that involves prehistoric creatures on spaceships orbiting the Earth after a planet-destroying event set in the future. Ark's setting is inherently futuristic and sci-fi, and even at the beginning of the game this was easily evidenced by the dome surrounding the map, the giant floating obelisks, the numerous chronologically misplaced creatures in environments unlike those they resided in (There wasn't always a snow, swamp, or redwoods biome), and the lootcrates that came from the sky.