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(customizable shell) Introducing Palaeopagurus, the Giant Hermit Crab Tags: crustacean, PvP, PvE, crafting, usable babies, health regen, climbing, better blueprints, resource farming, structure repair, taming assistant Common Name: Giant Hermit Crab Species: Palaeopagurus artis Time: Late Cretaceous Diet: Carrion-Feeder Temperament: Opportunistic Wild: “Palaeopagurus artis is a curious crustacean to say the least. Many people call them “Giant Hermit Crabs”, which is true… for the most part. They vary in sizes based on age, ranging from the height of a Dodo to that of a Tyrannosaurus. They never stop growing, a trait which forces them out of their shells when they get too large for them. They display intelligence I have never seen in crustaceans before, crafting shells out of various parts left over from dead animals and other materials in their environment. This is likely in part due to their nature as obligate scavengers, combing coastlines for any carcasses that may have washed up from the sea.” Domesticated: “Palaeopagurus appears to be too stubborn for a conventional tranq-and-feed method, so survivors need to get creative. Considering how much they enjoy crafting their shells, one may be able to gain the trust of a shellless individual by lending them the desired materials they wish to use. Once tamed, the hermit crab becomes the perfect engineer. Its knack for creating things is a characteristic tribes can use to gain improved equipment from blueprints that they collect. Blueprints themselves can also be improved by the crustacean, though there is a chance it may end up being a failure. It should also be noted that their saliva has the consistency of industrial glue, which is used to make their shells. Some survivors are aware of this, using it as an alternative to cementing paste or to repair damaged buildings.” Introduction: Greetings, survivors! I introduce to you the Palaeopagurus, otherwise known as the Giant Hermit Crab! Art by Nix Illustration The foundational ideas and selling points for this crustacean include: Changing roles from shoulder pet to mount based on age (never stops growing) Fully Customizable Saddle for different playstyles The ability to craft better equipment from blueprints The ability to improve the quality of blueprints Glue-like spit that can be used as a substitute for cementing paste or repair buildings Currently, the only crustacean in the game right now is the Karkinos. This is such an interesting group of invertebrate animals that are sorely lacking major representation in ARK. Palaeopagurus here is set to fix that issue with its inclusion on The Center, the closest thing we have to an official ocean map. Its swath of unique abilities also sets it apart from much of the existing roster, and will become a must have tame because of them. Tamed: Growth Mechanic: Unlike any other creature in the game, the Palaeopagurus doesn’t have defined life stages, rather being one life stage as soon as it is born. From here, it will never stop growing. This means it is usable as a shoulder pet while it's little and can be ridden when large enough, their stats increasing as well. However, its rate of growth will slow after a certain period of time, preventing it from reaching ridiculous sizes within unreasonable time. Shoulder Pet Actions: Thrown: When thrown off the shoulder, the crab deals damage and inflicts torpor on a target. Imagine chucking it like a dodgeball. Mount Actions: Primary Attack (, , ): The Giant Hermit Crab snips with its pincers as a basic attack. It harvests resources off of live targets. Secondary Attack (, , ): The Palaeopagurus performs a shoulder bash with high knockback, damage, and even torpor. Grab (C, , ): The Giant Hermit Crab can grab unconscious creatures and drag them, allowing for the taming process to be easier for certain creatures. The larger the crab, the larger the creatures it is able to grab. Climb / Guard (Space, , ): Tap: When near a vertical surface, the Giant Hermit Crab is able to scale them with ease. However, this drains stamina, and the larger the crab, the faster stamina drains. Hold: The Palaeopagurus retreats into its shell, entering a fortified state, which heavily reduces all incoming damage and reduces the duration of status effects. Passive Abilities: (All Phases) Harvesting: Giant Hermit Crabs can mine minerals with their bare claws, also getting 50% weight reduction on stone, metal, obsidian, & crystal. Crafting Effectiveness Stat: Like the Gacha, these hermit crabs have an upgradeable Crafting Effectiveness stat that takes the place of the Movement Speed stat. Rapid Regeneration: This crustacean gets the Argentavis’ Rapid Regeneration buff from eating corpses. Advanced Crafting: The Palaeopagurus’ inventory somewhat functions like a smithy, though instead of having learned engrams available, it requires blueprints. Said blueprints, when crafted in its inventory, cost less to make, are made faster, and are higher quality. All of this is affected by the previously mentioned Crafting Effectiveness stat. Blueprint Enhancement: Blueprints in the Palaeopagurus’ inventory can be converted into a higher quality form in a process akin to the ARK Additions Helicoprion, where the Crafting Effectiveness determines the success of the enhancement. This process requires the resources used to craft the item in its current state, just being redirected to upgrading instead. Failing the upgrade just means not receiving the product since you’ve already invested resources. You can also only upgrade a blueprint a certain amount of times based on the item quality. Primitive: 3 times Ramshackle: 3 times Apprentice: 3 times Journeyman: 2 times Mastercraft: 2 times Ascendant: 1 time Hermit Crab Glue: The crab’s sticky saliva, called Hermit Crab Glue, is passively produced in its inventory. It can be used as a substitute for Cementing Paste or can repair damaged structures, more being required for the level of damage. It is a mandatory ingredient for crafting the shell. Craftable Shell: Palaeopagurus don’t have saddles. Instead, they have a shell that can be crafted in their inventory. The cost of the shell scales with the age & size of the crab, the more resources the larger it gets. The shell’s armor stat scales with both level and Crafting Effectiveness. The best part about all of this is that it is completely customizable! 4 resource types are required for the shell, and which resource types you choose to mix & match are completely up to you. Thatch: 🠝Movement Speed, Fire Weakness Wood: 🠝Insulation, Fire Weakness Keratin: 🠝Physical Resistance, 🠟Insulation Chitin: 🠝Physical Resistance, 🠟Electricity & Element Resistance Flint: 🠝Movement Speed, 🠟Melee Damage Stone: 🠝Melee Damage, 🠟Movement Speed Metal: 🠝Electricity & Element Resistance, 🠟Movement Speed Obsidian: 🠝Insulation, 🠟Melee Damage Crystal: 🠝Electricity & Element Resistance, 🠟Insulation Element: 🠝Melee Damage, 🠟Physical Resistance Should also be noted that the shells have limited durability like a Roll Rat’s saddle, so be careful. Shell Concept inspired by: Utility & Scenarios: PvE: The Giant Hermit Crab is great for getting the best loot crafted from blueprints. With its Crafting Effectiveness stat, it will improve the quality of said blueprints before making the best out of the resources they have for the item. They are also generally good at harvesting and transporting resources, with weight reduction on minerals and the ability to climb. When out taming for creatures, the ability to drag unconscious bodies away from places of danger can be a real lifesaver. PvP: A wide range of attacks grants Palaeopagurus utility on the battlefield. A shoulder bash provides a way to provide distance between the crab’s tribe and the enemy. The ability to hunker down and hide in its shell for damage reduction makes it an excellent soaker to raid bases. If defending a base, the Hermit Crab Glue can be used to repair damaged structures and increase the longevity of the facility. The fully customizable shell also allows for experimentation and unique builds, allowing for the hermit crabs to adapt to any playstyle their masters desire. However, outside of these few things, the crab isn’t the best in terms of actually fighting and defending itself head on, more so acting in the support role to assist its allies. A limited lifetime on a crab’s shell also poses its own problems. Wild: Palaeopagurus spawn in the wild with a wide range of sizes depending on their age. They like to inhabit coastlines and shallow waters, especially in The Center’s central floating island and the underworld. They also spawn with different shells made of different materials, which is completely dependent on the environment. They are strict scavengers that search for carcasses in the surrounding area. Depending on their size, they may either hide away or fight other creatures that approach the carcass they’re eating from, including survivors. Taming Process: The Giant Hermit Crab loves to craft things with its claws since it makes its own shells, so lending it the resources to do so will allow you to tame it. Either find a crab that doesn’t possess a shell or destroy the shell of one that does by attacking it. From there, the crab will desire certain materials that go on rotation akin to a Moschops, and survivors must provide them with such. Once they’ve fully completed their shell, they’ll be tamed! Conclusion: In the end, Palaeopagurus is a creature that would bring a lot to ARK and fits well within the realm of The Center. A relatively balanced out crustacean with abilities leaning into the side of PvE, but still having a clear role with the PvP metagame. Hope you all enjoy it! Have fun, survivors! References (Accurate & Inaccurate):