Ark: Survival Evolved Top 10 Best Dinos

10. Parasaur

The Parasaur is one of the most overlooked early-game dinosaurs, and because of this many individuals miss the benefits of making this one of their first tames. The Parasaur is an excellent tame for early-game as they can provide you with the ability to carry large amounts of weight and can gather berries and seeds, for farming, much faster than you as a player can. A good Parasaur can mean the difference between struggling through your first day on the ark and dying constantly in your first days.
 

Some of the characteristics that make these such an important early mount are listed below:

• Radar: The Parasaur can alert you when another player or a dangerous animal has entered a certain range of you.
• Endurance: These dinos have a very good stamina range. They can run at a decent enough pace to outrun the smaller carnivores on the island, which can get you out of a lot of scrapes when you are just beginning to explore the island.
• Carrying Capacity: The Parasaur can carry much more weight than your character can, which can help you a lot when you decide it is time to begin building your new home on the Island.

See how to tame a Parasaur in Ark: Survival Evolved here

9. Raptor

The Raptor is probably one of the best tames in-game for the time and effort put into taming one. The process is not long or difficult and can be accomplished by a low-level player on their own. While weak in comparison to the larger carnivores on the island, the raptor is a speedy and deadly mount. They are an excellent tame for some of your early hunts, whether you are trying to do meat runs for food or gathering hide for crafting, for an early player a raptor is a perfect addition to your tribe.

Some characteristics that make these such an outstanding mount are as follows:

• Pounce: This ability allows them to pin down prey and inflict extra damage.
• Pack Buff: Taming several of these Raptors gives your group a “pack” buff, which makes them stronger when they attack together, useful for PVP battles and taking on larger prey.
• Scout: Their speed and versatility make them excellent for scouting out new areas before deciding how best to proceed, rather you are planning a raid or preparing to enter unexplored territory the raptor will be by your side until death do you part.

See how to tame a Raptor here.

8. Castoroides

The Castoroides is exceptionally useful when it is time to start building your home away from home on the island. It has an affinity to wood, so it can harvest more wood from a tree than your character can with hand tools and can then carry vast quantities of it back to base at a time for you. Not only is it a great harvester, but it is capable of defending itself if you run into trouble while you are out gathering supplies.

A few characteristics that make the Castoroides one-man construction crew are as follows:

• Affinity to Wood: the Castoroides is a member of the beaver family, as such it is at home biting down trees and building homes. It can carry more wood than any other creature in the game.
• Portable Crafting Station: The saddle for the Castoroides can craft items. There are very few mounts that have this ability, making it an extremely important mount for early to mid-level players.

See how to tame a Castoroides here.

7. Carnotaurus 

Carnotaurus is one of the most aggressive animals on the island, it will attack you on sight, no matter where it sees you from. A mid-level player can find this mount to be useful for hunting larger game, or for attacking the bases of another player. The Carnotaurus can take a fair amount of damage and can dish it out as well, it makes an excellent guardian for your base.

A few key characteristics of the Carnotaurus are as follows:

• Headbutt: The Carnotaurus can push enemies backward with its headbutt attack. This can come in handy if you are trying to push invading forces back from your base or some other area of interest. 
• Speed: For its size, the Carnotaurus is very fast, and can be helpful with setting up an ambush.
• Balanced: The Carnotaurus is extremely well rounded, it moves quickly like the raptor, but has a significant increase in combat power. This makes the Carnotaurus an amazing mid-level tame and an excellent addition to your tribe.

See how to tame a Carnotaurus here.

6. Doedicurus

As you progress further into the game you will want to upgrade your base from the standard wooden shack, or perhaps you want some walls for your fortress. Either way, the Doedicurus is a stone harvesting maniac. Its affinity to stone makes it a must-have addition to your construction crew.  Beyond this, the Doedicurus has a defense mechanism that will outlast almost anything else on the island.

The most notable abilities of the Doedicurus are as follows:

• Affinity to Stone: The Doedicurus, much like the Castoroides, can harvest and carry large amounts of stone back to base to assist with the construction of bases and concrete.
• Defense: This animal has a defense mechanism that allows it to withstand significant amounts of damage, from falls, attack, or environmental dangers. It rolls into a ball and waits for the threat to get bored with it and move on.

See how to tame a Doedicurus here.

5. Ankylosaurus 

The Ankylosaurus’ value to a tribe cannot be overstated. Its affinity to metal makes it, possibly, the most important farming dinosaur in the game. As you progress beyond mid-game you will find the items you need to craft consist of large quantities of metal, to the point that a character without a mount would spend days trying to gather that much. The Ankylosaurus will take days of work and reduce it to a matter of minutes with the swing of its mighty tail. 

The following is a list of things that the Ankylosaurus can bring to your tribe:

• Harvesting: The Ankylosaurus has a metal affinity, meaning it can harvest it quickly and carry very large quantities of it at any time. Late game the amount of metal needed for new technologies is beyond that which you could gather alone, making this one of the most sought-after tames in the game.
• Defense: Not only can the Ankylosaurus harvest metal, but it also has a knockback attack. Any animal that the Ankylosaurus hits with this attack will be sent flying. Their backs are also heavily armored. These two things combined make the Ankylosaurus extremely useful for thwarting attacks from ferocious carnivores to angry players.
• Attack: Due to the armor plating on the Ankylosaurus, it makes for a great tank. It can soak bullets from enemy turrets better than most of the other dinosaurs in the game, making it a valuable member of any raiding team.

See how to tame an Ankylosaurus here.

4. Rex

The Rex, one of the most iconic dinosaurs in the entire world. Easily one of the most dangerous creatures on the island, it will attack you on sight and it will not be stopped short of death. A group of Rex’s could easily crush an enemy player’s base and level their defenses. Additionally, the Rex is one of the only tames capable of battling the puppet master of the Island, the boss that controls everything on the arks.

Below is a list of reasons why the Rex is an important mount:

• Brute Force: The rex is a powerhouse, second only to the Giganotosaurus in terms of raw power. With a group of them working together there is almost nothing that can stand up to the king of the dinosaurs.
• Roar: The Rex can terrify and even petrify its enemies with its ear-piercing roar. Flyers will land, some animals will run, others will be forced to defecate. 

See how to tame a Rex in Ark: Survival Evolved here.

3. Quetzal 

The Quetzal is one of the heaviest lifters on the island. It is capable of carrying a small base on its back, or an army to your enemy’s base. If you play a more PVE based gaming style the Quetzal can help you transport vast amounts of building materials or a mobile taming trap. The Quetzal is so variable with the builds that you can put on it that it can be almost anything the player needs, it can even carry the monstrous Giganotosaurus.

Below is a list of reasons the Quetzal is considered one back and of the most important tames in the game:

• Taming: By building a cage on the back of your Quetzal you can use it to capture almost anything, from a raptor to even other airborne animals. This alone would make the Quetzal an important member of any tribe.
• Transportation: Due to the ability to carry vast weight the Quetzal is a very useful mount, rather you are building or attacking, it’s weight carrying abilities will have you putting it on your list of tames.

See how to tame a Quetzal in Ark: Survival Evolved here.

2. Wyvern

The Wyvern is number two on this list because it is probably the most versatile mount in the entire game. Depending on which version you choose to mount, you can have a host of elemental abilities at your beck and call. Wyverns cannot be tamed like other animals in the game and must be raised from infancy before you can command the power of these winged warriors.

Below are several reasons why the Wyvern is one of the most important tames in the game:

• Elemental Attacks: The currently known species are fire, poison, lightning, and ice. Each one has its own unique ability, ice freezes your enemies, fire instills a burn effect that continues draining life force even after the attack, lightning does extensive instant damage, and poison slowly chokes the life out of your enemy.
• Raids: Due to their varying attacks these creatures can help a smaller tribe outmatch a larger group. They are swift and strong, and one of the quickest animals in the game.
• Air Superiority: There is no other tame as dangerous as the wyvern while it is in the air. They are some of the fastest flyers and they won't be taken down by anything but another wyvern in a dog fight.

See how to tame a wyvern in Ark: Survival Evolved here.

1. Giganotosaurus

The most monstrous beast on the island, the Giganotosaurus. In terms of sheer power, there is nothing that can stop it, save another Giganotosaurus. If your tribe were to have a few of these in reserve you would surely find yourself at the top of the food chain. Although it is the most powerful tame in the game, it has a weakness, if it takes too much damage it will enter a rage state where it becomes even more powerful. During its rage mode, the Giganotosaurus will attack anything that moves...including its master.

Below is a list of reasons why the Giganotosaurus is number 1: 

• Size: This dinosaur is the biggest thing on the island. Its size alone will deter some players from going near one, tamed or wild.
• Power: When it comes to power 1v1 nothing on the island can beat a Giganotosaurus.
• Health: As with the other stats there is only one thing that has more health than this beast on the island, a herbivore known as the Titanosaurus.  
• Speed: Due to its size the Giganotosaurus’ gate makes it extremely fast for as long as it’s endurance holds out. A lone survivor would not be able to escape this monster. 

See how to tame a Giganotosaurus in Ark: Survival Evolved here.

You May Also Be Interested In:

• [Top 5] Ark Survival Best Character Builds
• [Top 10] Ark Survival Evolved Best Dinos
•  
• [Top 10] Ark Survival Best Base Locations And Why They're So Good
• [Top 15] Ark Survival Evolved Best Mods
•  
• [Top 5] Ark Survival Evolved Best Fishing Baits
• 10 Best Weapons in Ark: Survival Evolved
•  
• Top 5 Best Ark: Survival Evolved Flying Mounts
• 25 Best Ark: Survival Evolved Settings That Give You An Advantage