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Anzu regalimaia returns for another creature contest! Hopefully this round will be the one that brings this battle babysitter to the game! Table of Contents: 1. Dossier 2. Artwork 3. Potential Base Stats and Spawning 4. Taming 5. Abilities and Controls 6. Supplementary links Dossier Common Name : Anzu Species : Anzu regalimaia Time : Late Cretaceous Diet : Omnivore Temperament : Loyal Wild Anzu is quite the peculiar theropod. Standing at a height that rivals Allosaurus, one would expect that its formidable claws and strong kicking legs would place it firmly as an apex predator! However, in most cases, it ignores other creatures around it, instead investing its time caring for a clutch of eggs with its mate. The bond shared by this pair seems to run far deeper than any other species I’ve observed! In addition to the typical “mate boost”, Anzu seem to undergo a rush of adrenaline colloquially dubbed “Mother’s Fury”. This seems to occur whenever they perceive their young to be in danger, and it allows them to grapple with threats far larger than other animals their size! I guess there’s nothing more powerful than a mother’s love! Funnily enough, this devoted mother’s closest relative is the egg stealing Oviraptor! While the egg thief can get its claws on almost any egg, Anzu seem to be immune to their pacifying pheromones, and I’ve seen them send their thieving cousins flying with a powerful kick! This treatment extends to any other creature, or survivor, foolish enough to disturb the nest! Domesticated Short of the incredibly dangerous task of stealing an egg from the nest, it seems the best way to gain the trust of these parents is to lend a hand! Anzu don’t eat when they sit on the nest, taking turns with their mate to keep their eggs as safe as possible. This means that a seated Anzu tends to be quite hungry, and will happily accept food from humans. However, when their backs are turned to the easy meal, predators will take their chance to steal an egg. One must defend the nest from these pesky foes, but once these are dispelled, your efforts will be rewarded! Both parents will happily follow you home, trusting someone who cares just as much about their young. Tamed Anzu make for the perfect nursery aid, as their naturally protective nature extends to any egg or newborn, even of vastly different species! I’ve even noticed Anzu playing with all manner of babies, imprinting them with the scent of their owners! I’ve even heard of some tribes utilising teams of Procoptodons to carry babies into the battlefield in the prescence of Anzu, turning a mother’s love into a powerful weapon! Artwork Anzu would join the Yutyrannus in being a fully feathered medium-large theropod! It would also have dramatic sexual dimorphism, males sporting huge display feathers on their shoulders and elaborate patterns on their tail fans. This would make it really stand out among the other theropods in the game, bringing something new to a group of dinosaurs usually shown as mostly scaly, combat oriented creatures in ARK. Its colour palette is based off of the Forest Red Tailed Black Cockatoo! I might consider finishing off other patterns I have lying around. Potential Base Stats and Spawning Base Stats: Health: 750 Stamina: 275 Oxygen: 150 Food: 3000 Weight: 380 Melee Damage: See "Abilities and Controls" section for base damage values Torpidity: 950 Anzu would always spawn in mate boosted pairs, with both individuals being the same level. One of these would randomly be assigned to sit on top of a nest structure, while the other moves freely about nearby. They'd be able to fit in jungles, deserts, or even snowy areas! With their thick coat of feathers, they'd be insulated from the temperatures of a variety of environments. Obviously colour palettes and patterns could change depending on where they were found. Taming Anzu has two taming methods, each offering its own advantages and disadvantages: - Mostly conventional egg steal (boooring!) - OSD styled nest defence! OSD Style Nest Defence: This unique taming method would require you to offer a meal to the hungry parent sitting on the nest. This would be, in order of preference, Superior Kibble, Raw Mutton, Raw Prime Meat, Crops, etc etc. While you are passive taming the parent however, pesky predators will start to appear. Small creatures like Oviraptors, Troodons and Dilos will frequently be spawning in to try to break into the nest and steal the eggs inside. Similar to Megachelon taming, you'll have to dispatch of these predators before they get a chance to attack the nest. Very rarely, comparatively larger predators like Raptors may appear to try their luck! Thankfully, the wandering member of the pair of Anzu will assist you in protecting its mate! The damage from these predators won't only ruin your taming effectiveness though. If the seated Anzu takes enough damage, it'll turn on you. The distraction of food took its attention away from its nest for too long, and it doesn't take kindly to anything threatening its brood! The advantage of such a difficult taming method is that, after all is said and done, you'll be getting two tamed Anzu! Both individuals will become tamed to you after you successfully protect and tame the seated Anzu, giving you instant access to a (hopefully) well statted breeding pair! The nest will be destroyed after successful taming in this way though, so you won't get the egg* Egg Steal: Unlike most other egg steal tames, Anzu eggs are not found in the overworld. Instead, they must be directly looted from a nest structure, like looting a beaver dam. You'll have to steal the egg from inside this structure, but be warned, these angry parents will stop at nothing to see you dead, staying aggressive even after they've killed you! This unique egg mechanic is to prevent the egg from simply being taken after taming the parents OSD style. *For handwavy lore reasons, this nest is a bit of a shrodinger's nest. Why would such devoted parents leave behind their baby to follow this human? Obvious it's because there wasn't actually an egg in the nest yet, this couple only just got some roots down. At least that's how I'd explain this balancing in non-game-mechanic terms. Abilities and Controls I've considered applications for both PvP and PvE play with the Anzu. Please note these are only potential ideas, and the Anzu’s mechanics could always be balanced according to what would fit official play. Firstly, it would join the Maewing as a valuable nursery aid, functioning like a blend of an Air Conditioner and the S+ Nanny, incubating eggs dropped near it, feeding babies too young to eat from troughs and helping to imprint on growing dinosaurs over time. Of course, it would require the relevant food and imprinting comfort foods for these respective actions. In addition, both wild and tamed Anzu will receive a buff when near eggs and babies of all species, Mother’s Fury. This buff will increase their damage resistance and damage output by 20%, and increase their speed and decrease their stamina usage by 10%. Not only will this help in the defence of nurseries from enemy factions trying to kill or steal babies, but it could also synergise with Procoptodons, by bringing baby creatures into the battlefield, the Anzu could gain an increase to their combat abilities as long as there are living babies nearby. In terms of controls: - Left Click : A claw swipe. Slow, but will hit twice and has a base damage of 30 for each hit. Great for dealing with larger targets or small groups! This can harvest meat. - Right Click : A powerful kick that deals heavy knockback, the lower the drag weight of the target is compared to the Anzu, the further it gets knocked back. 25 base damage. - C : A simple peck attack, that hits much faster than the claw swipe and is better suited to dealing with singular targets. 35 base damage. Harvests berries - Spacebar : Basic Jump - X : Roar/Taunt, the Anzu will flare its tail feathers and give a shrill cry In terms of abilities: - Tamed Anzu can be told to sit via the radial menu, when sitting down, a short animation of it digging a nest plays, and once seated it functions like an air conditioner and incubates eggs. - Sitting Anzu can also imprint on babies in range. Imprinting will require the necessary comfort foods, if babies ask for them, while walk/cuddle imprint events will automatically be considered complete. - Anzu are the only creature attentive enough to notice when a Maewing is swooping in to steal babies! Babies nearby an Anzu will be completely immune to being stolen by Maewings, offering some counterplay to the kidnapping marsupial/monotreme/hybrid thing! (thank you to Nateman for the suggestion!) Supplementary Links - Real world Anzu: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anzu_wyliei - More information on Forest Red Tails: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-tailed_black_cockatoo

Arizonasaurus would be able to act as a portable egg incubator by heating up its body. Its saddle has slots on it to hold the eggs for incubation. It would be rideable and provide insulation like a dimetrodon. It would also be tamed using eggs like the Titanoboa. Also, like the dimetrodon, it would be semi-aquatic. It would basically be a better, rideable dimetrodon. It would also act like a portable oven, being able to cook meat and burn wood into charcoal passively. It would also be a good choice for farming wood, having a weight reduction for wood and meat! However, it gets a severe debuff in any areas with extreme climates, like desert or arctic, because it will either begin to over heat in the former or lose its heat production in the latter. feel free to complete the dossier and post it in the comments as it would be greatly appreciated! (I know my drawing is terrible but I tried my best) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arizonasaurus