Baryonyx ARK Guide – The Stunning Pescatarian

A Baryonyx ARK guide is a great tool for most ARK maps. If you’ve been playing ARK: Survival Evolved for a while and haven’t seen a Baryonyx, you’re not alone. They seem to slip through the cracks, especially since they hang out with other dinos like the Kapro and Spino.

Kapros and Spinos are nearly impossible to mix. The Spinos are large and obnoxious, while Kaprosuchus (my least favorite swamp-dweller) jump out and attack you like a wildman.

So don’t feel bad if you haven’t noticed the Baryonyx is a simple creature compared to his comrades. I usually tame one for water adventures, but they aren’t one of my favorite dinos.

Quick Guide for Baryonyx in ARK

  • The Baryonyx can breathe underwater
  • While swimming, the Baryonyx can stun medium-sized creatures
  • Regular Kibble (<12) and Shocking Tranq Darts (<10) are the best way to tame a Baryonyx 
  • Whether tamed or wild, Baryonyx only eat fish
  • Baryonyx attack when you get near them
  • Baryonyx do 20% extra damage to some creatures, like Spinos

What is a Baryonyx in ARK: Survival Evolved?

  • Base Health: 440
  • Base Stamina: 325
  • Base Weight: 325
  • Base Torpor: 400

The Baryonyx lives near the water and loves to swim. I think of it like an alligator as it spends plenty of time on land, but it thrives in the water. The journal describes it as a large carnivore, but it’s technically medium.

The journal also says that the Baryonyx rarely attacks land animals, but this isn’t true. While it may not be super aggressive to other wild animals, it will always attack players and their dinos.

ark survival Baryonyx

What to Know Before You Encounter a Baryonyx

  • Tameable: Yes
  • Rideable: Yes
  • Breedable: Yes
  • Temperament: Territorial

I haven’t had much trouble when facing a Baryonyx. As long as you’re on land, you should do okay because they can only stun when in the water. They also heal a ton when in water because they can eat fish to heal.

Where to Find a Baryonyx on Each ARK Map

The Baryonyx appears on most ARK maps. It is even a common to uncommon spawn in player-made maps. They always spawn near water but rarely near the ocean. Find them near rivers and swamps.

The island baryonyx
Image from Ark Fandom

The Island

Baryonyx spawn near all of the rivers of the Island. The most common spawn is the Writhing Swamps, but if you walk along any of the rivers on The Island, you will eventually find a Baryonyx.

The Center

The Baryonyx spawns in the Swamp and jungles on The Center. They are quite a bit more common in the Swamp and horizontal rivers than they are around the islands in the jungle area.

Ragnarok

The best place to find Baryonyx is in the Northern Swamp and The Dark Waters. However, they can also spawn near the Burning Mists, west of Thunderpeak, and the Southwest Tropics.

Extinction

Untamable Baryonyx spawn in caves on Extinction, leaving only one spawn for them. Sanctuary Park, which is near the center of Sanctuary, is the only place where Baryonyx spawn on this map.

Valguero

The best place for Baryonyx on Valguero is the Boreal Forest and the Urwald Swamp. But you can also find them uncommonly in the jungle as well as the lake just west of Paradise.

Genesis: Part 1

On Genesis: Part 1, Baryonyx exclusively spawn in the bottom right biome, the Swamp. They can spawn anywhere here, but the two hot spots are the Fetid Pools and Toxic Mire.

Crystal Isles

Baryonyx spawn almost everywhere on the Crystal Isles, so you’ll probably see one soon. As long as you stray from the snowy mountains and desert, you’ll find one. However, the best place to look is Bloodfalls Hollow.

Genesis: Part 2

It’s a little harder to pin down where Baryoynx spawn on Genesis: Part 2. you won’t find them in the bottom left biome but they spawn everywhere else. The best place to find them is Isolation Valley, Gravemore Reserve, and Fractured Lake.

Lost Island

Lost Island has a few terrific Baryonyx spawns. The south gulf west of the Kortez Coast and Boskar Mangroves are the two best places. But the swamps around Bin Da Island and Spirit Falls also spawn them uncommonly.

Where to Find Aberrant Baryonyx

The Aberrant Baryonyx can be found in Aberration caves. If you’re not playing on an official mal, chances are, there’s still an Aberrant Baryonx that you can find in the Aberrant cave on the map.

Aberrant Baryonyx

Aberration

The Aberrant Baryonyx is most common in the Luminous Marshlands and the valleys of the Overlook on Aberration. This is the map that introduced the Aberrant creatures, including the Baryonx.

Valguero

The Aberrant Baryonyx can be found in the aberration trench cave, which spans across this map. The region where they spawn is directly under the Boreal Forest. They will be near the rivers of the aberration cave.

Crystal Isles

On Crystal Isles, Aberrant creatures, like the Aberrant Baryonyx, spawn on the Eldritch Isle. You can find it near the water around the edges. They don’t spawn anywhere else on the Crystal Isles.

How to Fight a Baryonyx

To fight a Baryonyx, my number one tip is to keep your distance when in water. The Baryonyx can stun creatures in ten-second increments only when in water, which gives it plenty of time to kill you.

However, the stun only works on medium creatures. So if you have a non-medium-creature that can take it out quickly or if you are only fighting on land, it’s a good bet to go melee. The Baryonyx will not give up the chase, so you must take it out if it sees you.

How to Tame a Baryonyx

Taming a Baryonyx is like taming almost any other carnivore, except it will only eat fish or Regular Kibble. Otherwise, it’s a relatively easy tame, so stay on land and go for it.

Make a Trap

This isn’t necessary, but making a simple stone trap will save on darts/arrows. For this type of dino, I usually place two stone foundations with six pillars around them. Then place a ramp leading up to the top of two of the pillars.

When you do this, you can lead the Baryonyx up the ramp, jump down, and it will fall. As it does, make your way through the pillars. This is easy to do on foot as long as you make sure you have a head start.

I prefer to stand at the bottom of the ramp and then shoot the Baryonyx. Just before the dino reaches me, I run up the ramp and stop at the top before jumping down into the cage and running out as the Baryonyx falls into it.

Knock It Out

Max Level

  • Shocking Tranq Darts: 8-10
  • Tranq Darts: 15-20
  • Tranq Arrows with Crossbow: 25-30
  • Tranq Arrows with Bow: 45-50
  • Slingshot: 160-170
  • Club: 380-410

If the Baryonyx is in a cage, ensure you’re close enough to hit it without the whole thing rumbling and glitching. Only hit it again whenever the torpor stops going up but hasn’t started going down yet for ultimate results.

Feed it

Max Level

  • Regular Kibble (0 narcotics): 10-12
  • Raw Prime Fish Meat (0 narcotics): 70-75
  • Cooked Prime Fish Meat (0 narcotics): 145-150
  • Raw Fish Meat (30-40 narcotics): 215-220
  • Cooked Fish Meat (30-40 narcotics): 430-440

By far, the best bet for food is Regular Kibble. But if you kill a lot of Sabertooth Salmon or a handful of Megalodon, you can get the Raw Prime Fish Meat you need and still not need narcotics.

How to Make Regular Kibble

I often take for granted what I’ve learned in ARK: Survival Evolved. But when I think back, I can remember a time when I didn’t know how to make kibble. A Baryonyx needs Regular Kibble. The ingredients are simple.

Cooked Meat Jerky – 1

  • Cooked Meat – 1
  • Oil – 1
  • Sparkpowder – 3

To make Cooked Meat Jerky, you have to cook meat. The easiest way is at a campfire. When you have it, put one of it Cooked Meat, one Oil, and three Sparkpowder in a Preserving Bin. Then after 30 minutes, you will have one jerky.

This long process is why I always keep jerky making in my Preserving Bin. To make kibble.

Medium Egg – 1

  • Ankylo Egg
  • Baryonyx Egg
  • Carbonemys Egg
  • Carno Egg
  • Dimetrodon Egg
  • Diplo Egg
  • Ichthyornis Egg
  • Iguanodon Egg
  • Kaprosuchus Egg
  • Kentro Egg
  • Pachyrhino Egg
  • Pelagornis Egg
  • Pulmonoscorpius Egg
  • Sarco Egg
  • Stego Egg
  • Tek Stego Egg
  • Terror Bird Egg
  • Thorny Dragon Egg (Scorched Earth)
  • Troodon Egg
  • Velonasaur Egg (Extinction)

I hate getting eggs. You can find them laying out in the wild, but you can get a lot more if you tame a female creature that lays the eggs you need ahead of time so you have them ready in the Preserving Bin with the jerky.

Fiber – 5

This is so easy. Go out in the yard and grab some fiber. You can find it almost anywhere and you only need a handful. One sickle swipe and you’ll have more than enough for kibble.

Longrass – 2

Longrass is a crop that you have to plant most of the time to get. You should build a greenhouse for best results and plant Longrass Seeds you’ve gathered with berries. Find the seeds in warm mountains.

Savoroot – 2

Savoroots are potatoes. You can find the seeds in the same areas that you find Longrass seeds. If you’ve gathered many berries, you’ve probably got some already. Plant them as soon as possible.

Water – 2

You can probably figure this out, but if you’re new, you may not know that you can put water in a cooking pot in a jar or bag. The recipe will use that water. Otherwise, you can hook water up to some cooking stations.

What to Do With Your Baryonyx

The Baryonyx is a useful creature, but many other dinos are better than it in some way. The way that the Baryonyx shines is that it can disable enemies in the water.

ark survival tamed dinosaurs

Water Battle Mount

Baryonyx make good battle mounts in the water because they can stun when in the water. This gives them enough time to either get away from strong enemies or take them out.

When it comes to certain other dinos in the water, the Baryonyx does an extra 20% damage, which stacks up fast. Some of the dinos it does extra damage to are Spinos and Sarcos.

Raptor Upgrade

Raptors are one of the best early-game land mounts. Once you begin to outgrow your Raptors, the Baryonyx is a good choice because they are easy to tame and are a decent step up.

Water Tamer

If you have to go underwater or on the surface to tame dinos, the Baryonyx can be a huge help. You can use it to reach the dino as it doesn’t need oxygen, to kite it, or to have it guard you as you feed it.

Artifact Hunter

Because artifacts are in caves or underwater, the Baryonyx is a good choice to take with you. It’s small and spry enough to weave through caves and doesn’t need air, so you can take it underwater.

PvP Fighter

When you see another player in PvP roaming around the water, you can easily take them down with a Baryonyx. You will get a lot of hate from this move but if you’re worried about being attacked, it’s a good way to prevent it.

FAQs

Question: Will Tamed Baryonyx Eat Raw Meat?

Answer: No. While other dinos will eat a larger variety of food after they are tamed, the Baryonyx will still only eat fish after it is tamed. But you can leave it on roaming near the water, and it will feed itself.

Question: Is Taming a Baryonyx Worth It?

Answer: Yes. There aren’t many good water mounts that are easy to tame. Because you can tame this water mount on land, it’s a good choice when you’re not well-equipped for ocean taming.

Question: Is a Baryonyx Stronger Than a Spino in the Water?

Answer: No. The Spino does take extra damage from the Baryonyx, but it cannot be stunned by the tailspin. The Spino has higher base stats but if it were against two Baryonyx of the same level as it, then the Spino would most likely lose.

Baryonyx, Inaccurate But a Great In-Game Choice

The Baryonyx has so many inaccuracies in ARK. The real Baryonyx could not breathe underwater. While it was a fish-eating dino, it probably would have eaten other meats if it needed to.

Though the Baryonyx never stood out to me, I consider it a great tame. If you can get a male and female at max level, you can get an imprinted one that will probably last you the entire game.

In fact, I may start using a Baryonyx instead of Megalodon and Basilosaurus. You never know, I may find that I like the playstyle of the smaller Baryonyx that can hit and run most sea creatures.

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