Deinonychus Ark Guide

Deinonychus Ark Guide – The Next Level Raptor

A Deinonychus ARK guide is what I needed the first time I played on Valguero. When I first saw a Deinonychus, I lost my entire inventory because I was taken down and couldn’t retrieve my possessions.

While the Deinoynchus is a fast and tricky creature, that also means it is beneficial to own. When I started playing ARK, I was afraid of everything. But when you learn everything there is to know about each creature, that fear dissipates for the most part. Knowledge does replace fear.

What is a Deinonychus in ARK?

  • Base Health: 200
  • Base Stamina: 150
  • Base Weight: 140
  • Base Melee Damage: 30
  • Base Torpidity: 180

A Deinonychus is a small creature that was added with a Valgeuro update. It is fast, dextrous, and one of the best creatures of its size. I always describe it as a Digivolved raptor. In real life, the Deinonychus lived during the Cretaceous Period and could grow up to 10 feet long. They seem slightly smaller in ARK: Survival Evolved. 

Either way, the Deinonychus is a close relative of the Velociraptor. This is relevant because everyone is at least a little bit familiar with the Velociraptor, so it’s easier to get to know the Deinonychus if you know they are similar to Velociraptor – and also the egg-stealing Oviraptor.

What to Know Before Your First Deinonychus Encounter

  • Tameable: No
  • Rideable: Yes
  • Breedable: Yes
  • Temperament: Aggressive

Deinonychus are aggressive creatures that will attack anyone who wanders into their territory. The second you get too close to their nesting area, they will attack you if you are on a small creature or on foot. However, they won’t attack a large creature unless that creature or one of its tribemates attacks a Deinonychus first.

The problem with Deinonychus in the wild is that they aren’t always easy to see. One could sneak up on you and take you down before you have a chance to react. That’s why it’s essential to know where their territory is located.

Where to Find Deinonychus in ARK: Survival Evolved Maps

Deinonychus on Valgeuro

Deinonychus only spawn naturally in two different maps. They do not spawn anywhere else unless you have a mod that makes them spawn. So until then, you have to visit these maps to find them.

Valguero

The only place you can find Deinonychus on Valgeuro is in the White Cliffs area. You can find them wandering around their nests in the valleys that these cliffs create. The area is gorgeous, so you may find yourself lingering.

Genesis: Part 2

Though I haven’t found Deinonychus on Genesis: Part 2, they should spawn in the northwest quadrant of the map. It prefers to hang out near cliffs that it can use to its advantage.

Killing Deinonychus in ARK

You may want to farm Deinonychus for meat or if you want to clear a nesting area before you steal an egg. Either way, there’s a good chance that one day, you will fight a Deinonychus.

From Afar

The easiest way to ensure you won’t suffer any consequences from fighting a Deinonychus is to shoot it from far away. You can knock it out – which is easy due to the low torpor of the creature – or take it down. I prefer using a mount I can shoot from and either kite it or choose a flyer.

With An Argie or Griffin

This can work either with a mounted attack or a creature attack. The Argie can use a standard attack as long as you have a place to gain stamina. The Griffin can dive attack a couple of times for an easy victory.

Here’s our complete Griffin Ark Guide.

Large Dino – and a Friend

Wild Deinonychus

Wild Deinonychus will latch onto large creatures. So if you bring a large creature, you can taunt the Deinonychus and get it to latch on. Then, hop onto another dino or have a friend attack the Deinonychus while it is latched onto the large creature.

How to Tame a Deinonychus – Plot Twist, You Can’t

Like Rock Drakes and Wyverns, Deinonychus cannot be tamed. Instead, you have to steal their eggs if you want one of your own. This isn’t as stressful as it seems as long as you come prepared.

Stealing Deinonychus Eggs

There are a few ways to steal Deinonychus eggs, and they all work out well. While you can use any method that you choose, these are the methods that I have found to be the most successful.

  • Flyers – this is by far the easiest way to steal eggs. Find a nest where there aren’t any Deinonychus right by it. Then, fly down, steal the egg and then hop back on your flyer and escape. Super easy.
  • Roll Rat – this is a strange but effective way to steal the egg. You can steal the egg and then roll away quickly. A Doedicurus can also do this, but the Roll Rat is a better option.
  • Combat – if you bring a strong pack of dinos with you and clear the area, you can grab every egg in the Deinonychus spawn and get away with them before any of the dinos spawn back.
  • Die – this is a method that can be used from day one. All you have to do is place a bed near the spawn where you can easily walk to the nests. Then, run in, die, and then grab the egg again. You can do this as many times as you need to until you get the egg to safety.

Breeding Deinonychus

Unlike other creatures that are raise-only tames, the Deinonychus can be bred after they are raised. Breeding them is just like breeding anything else. Put a male and female together and turn mating on.

You can have an egg hatched and raised in about two days. This is perfect because that’s about how long the breeding interval is – allowing you to always have a baby growing up or an egg being hatched.

Deinonychus Abilities

Deinonychus

The Deinonychus has some abilities that are just like many other creatures, but they also have some abilities that are unique to them. Each ability is special because the Deinonychus uses it differently.

Screech

The Deinonychus is more powerful when it is with other Deinonychus from its pack. It can use its screech attack – when it is the highest level in the pack – to give a buff to the others. This buff gives a boost to speed and damage.

Big Jump

This jump is insane. You can use it by charging the jump attack and letting go. It can then stay in the air for longer and sort of glide across the terrain. This is perfect for large gaps; however, even if you miss the jump, it’s okay because the Deinonychus doesn’t take fall damage.

Climb

The Deinonychus can climb similar to the Thylacoleo; however, the Deinonychus climbs by jumping rather than by moving. It feels like using climbing picks – only much more fun.

Pin Attack

Like the raptor, the Deinonychus can pin small targets down and latch only large targets. A tamed Deinonychus can also let go of the targets at any time, so you won’t get stuck on one.

Utilizing Deinonychus

The Deinonychus is a fun dino to keep around. Once I tame one, they are usually my go-to land mount, especially when I have friends online who also have Deinonychus. Did someone say pack bonus?

Traverse the Map

Deinonychus Ark

The Deinonychus is amazing at traversing the map because they are fast and they can climb. So there’s nowhere they can’t go aside from the aberration area. Everywhere else is free game.

I love that Deinonychus is on Valguero because the map is so diverse and has so many ruins. This makes traversing the terrain with them even more fun. It also makes exploring the map a lot easier.

Getaway Creature

Because it is good at traversing difficult terrain, the Deinonychus is perfect for a getaway land mount. While a flyer will always be better at getting away, the Deinonychus can scurry off after you steal eggs or pick a fight you shouldn’t have picked.

While their movement on flat land isn’t any different than other creatures, they are quite fast, and they can get away from anything that can’t climb or fly. Just hop onto a wall, and you have escaped.

Cave Expert

Because you can’t take flyers into caves, the Deinonychus is by far my favorite mount for caves. They don’t take fall damage, they can climb cave walls, and they are strong enough to take on most cave enemies.

I love jumping off cave cliffs and climbing back up them with the Deinonychus. It’s so easy and feels so natural. While there are other climbers in the game, there are none that are better at cave climbing.

Bleed Away

ark

The bleed damage from Deinonychus is amazing. You can stack this damage up to five times with bleed from other creatures that do bleed damage or with other Deinonychus in the pack. If you stack with other Deinonychus, it will do extra damage with the alpha screech buff.

The bleed effect for the Deinonychus is unique and is called Bleeding. It drains 0.3% of health over 7 seconds and can be stacked with itself up to 5 times for a total of 1.5%. The damage scales with melee.

Boss Fights

The bleed damage that Deinonychus do makes them great for boss fights. In fact, other bleeds are disabled in boss fights, but the Deinonychus still does bleed damage in boss fights.

While you can only gain the pack effect with up to four companions, you can bring eight Deinonychus in for two pack effects. This is an amazing way to shred dinos. Just make sure you have a tank to take all of the damage, as the Deinonychus is a bit squishy.

PvP Master

The fact that Deinonychus are strong, versatile, and easy to control makes them perfect for PvP play. You can get away from other players or take them on. Since they can latch on and pin, you can be prepared for whatever other players throw at you.

I have a hard time attacking other players first in PvP; I only counterattack. When I see an enemy player, I just wave and wait for them to either make the first move or carry on. So when I have a Deinonychus, I feel a bit safer as they have multiple options for counterattacking.

FAQs

Question: Do Deinonychus Spawn on Any Other Map?

Answer: The Deinonychus spawn naturally on Valgeuro and Genesis: Part 2. They don’t spawn on any other map. However, mods such as Simple Spawners can let moderators spawn the Deinonychus on any map.

Question: What Does the Deinoynchus Eat?

Answer: The Deinonychus eats meat. While they aren’t picky, they do eat a lot, so you will have to ensure that you keep your tamed Deinonychus fed with plenty of extra and don’t let it go to waste.

Question: Are Deinonychus in the Jurassic Park Movies?

Answer: The raptors in the movies are more similar to the Deinonychus than Velociprators. An actual Deinonychus appearance was also planned for Jurassic World: Dominion, but it was replaced with the Atrociraptor.

Question: What Is Another Name for Deinonychus?

Answer: I have seen the Deinonychus be called Cliff Chicken, Fluffy Raptor, and Deino. However, when called Deino, it’s easy to confuse them for the Deinosuchus – a modded creature – or the word “dino.”

The Power of The Deinonychus

The Deinonychus is one of my favorite small creatures in the game. It can take on almost any other creature in its weight class alone or any creature at all with a large enough pack. But what’s even better – it can run away from anything due to its maneuverability.

If you haven’t used a Deinonychus yet, then I suggest hopping over to Valguero and trying them out. Spend a few days gathering eggs, hatching them, and raising the babies. Then, the real fun can begin when you have adult Deinonychus.

I strongly suggest that you breed the Deinonychus before you take them for a spin. There is a learning curve, and it would be tragic were the only Deinonychus you have to meet their end with a simple misstep. Always be prepared in ARK: Survival Evolved. 

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