Noglin Guide

Ark Survival Evolved: Mind Controlling Noglin Guide

What is a Noglin?

Noglin’s were introduced to Ark Survival Evolved in the Genesis Part 2 DLC. They look like lizards, a strange combination of a lizard and bug to make a cute but horrifying little creature.

Many creatures in Ark Survival Evolved are based on real creatures such as Dinosaurs and extinct mammals. However, creatures have become more whimsical and extraterrestrial looking in new expansions.

Reading Explorer Notes, I learned that the creatures that inhabit the Abberation Ark and Genesis Ark have adapted to live in this unstable artificial habitat with help from their creator Rockwell.

A mad scientist survivor of Ark, the Noglin has big black eyes allowing it to see in the dimly lit Ark. Its bioluminescent antennae and tongue will enable it to attract prey as well as light up its surroundings.

Other creatures such as the Shadowmane that inhabit this Ark emit bioluminescent lights from its large mane. However, the Noglin does not get its name merely for its goblin-like features. At first, encountering a Noglin, I thought it looked cute but soon realized that this creature hides dark powers and terrifying jaws hidden within.

This little guy is fun to use in Ark and makes for hilarious moments with your friends and rival tribes. Using Noglins, my tribe could fight off an attacking tribe using its mind control abilities.

The Noglin is small but swift and possesses unique mind-controlling abilities. With a speedy leap, the Noglin can jump on top of creatures and survivors’ heads and take control of them in any way it seems fit, attacking and manically moving around. As a result, this makes the Noglin a fantastic tame for raiding bases and fleeing from large predators. Let’s begin our Noglin Guide by looking at some of the key details you need to know about Noglin.

Noglin Key Information

  • Noglin’s will damage the mind-controlled creature or survivor they are attached to over time.
  • Although very dangerous, Noglins have poor health and stats, making them easily killed. However, their speed, size, and leaping ability make them hard to hit.
  • Noglins can only be encountered on the Genesis Part 2 expansion and can be found at Rockwell’s Gardens and Rockwell’s Innards.
  • Noglins cannot be targeted by turrets allowing you to infiltrate heavily defended bases.
  • Noglins won’t take damage when a mind-controlled survivor is taking damage. However, they will take Torpor damage enabling you to knock out the Noglin and the survivor making for an easy kill.
  • You can enter Brain Hunt mode with a tamed Noglin to control its movements.
  • Noglins cannot be bred or cloned, which can only be acquired through taming.
  • Parasaurs cannot detect Noglins with their radar ability. Making Noglins perfect for raiding low-level survivors.
  • You can quickly kill a Giga with a Noglin by removing the Noglin before its mind-controlling is over.

How to Tame a Noglin Step by Step Guide

noglin genesis part 2 dlc

Taming the Noglin unprepared can be a nightmare. Believe me, I and my friends, learned this the hard way. However, you can easily tame one of these little guys with a bit of planning.

Whatever you do, do not let your damage-dealing tames anywhere near this mind-stealing gremlin, as you will most likely end up as lunch by your pet Rex. You must approach Noglins with caution as they can mind control you and make you attack yourself.

The Noglin is tamed through rather unconventional taming methods unique to the Noglin. You cannot knock a Noglin out and feed it food to tame it; instead, you must let its mind control your tames.

This can pose many problems, such as killing weak nearby tames or the targetted mind-controlled tame. The unpredictable movement can also leave your dinosaur in obscure and dangerous places.

Do not, whatever you do, allow a Noglin to mind control a flying creature as this can be incredibly infuriating as the Noglin can joyride your flyer away from your base if you have not contained the wild Noglin in a cage to tame it.

The Noglin can also be easily killed if you have not set your tames to passive, so ensure that you do this before letting the Noglin near them.

To tame the Noglin bring low damaging tames. As this will prevent the noglin from killing you through your own tames. I recommend that you build an arena with high walls around the Noglin and place your tames within it. You can trap Noglins with bolas or nets giving you a short window to build your arena.

100% Tame Efficiency Method

To tame the Noglin to 100% tame efficiency, it must latch onto no more than five creatures. The Noglin will get a maximum of 20% for each creature it jumps on. To get 100% efficiency, I suggest you use five Brontosaurus or five Void Wyverns, as these give the most amount of taming percentage.

In most cases, the Noglin will make the controlled tame attack; however, Void Wyverns will usually just fly around the vicinity, rarely attacking. This makes it a lot easier to tame.

Note that taming a Noglin in the wild is easier using Void Wyverns as they can fly and are fast movers. This will allow you to locate a Noglin faster than roaming with five Brontosaurus.

Alternatively, you could store your Brontos in Cryopods while searching for a Noglin. To get maximum taming efficiency, you must ensure that the tames you are offering the Noglin are either the same or higher level than the Noglin.

I found the process easier by noting down which tame has been mind-controlled as a tame can only be latched onto once. Therefore you don’t want to mix up which tames you’ve already mind-controlled as this will prolong the taming process lowering the Noglin’s taming efficiency.

Noglin Strengths and Weaknesses

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Noglins are powerful creatures that I recommend you tame. Their mind-controlling powers allow you to temporarily control powerful creatures while exploring, allowing you to either defeat an attacker or evade a predator.

Using Noglins, you can also tactically control wild creatures to utilize their support abilities. For example, I’ve temporarily taken control of Snow Owls to heal my tames when they’ve had low health while exploring.

Noglins are very fast and can jump great distances, making them excellent at evading attacks and catching their prey.

Furthermore, because they are so small, you can carry Noglins on your shoulder, allowing you to safely transport them around the map to deploy from above on the back of a Snow Owl. Allowing you to target creatures and survivors to mind control.

Noglins work very effectively in packs. A large tribe of fewer than 5 members can cause havoc on a rival tribe or base. Simply letting the Noglins loose or targeting the enemies’ strongest creatures can be hilarious.

This also gives you a small window to deal some damage to the target base or kill enemy survivors. Furthermore, Noglins cannot be targeted by turrets, making them perfect for infiltrating heavily guarded bases.

However, you cannot just throw your Noglins into incoming fire or danger, while their mind-controlling solid abilities will allow them to deal with deadly tames. They will not be able to mind control machine gun fire or a blast from a shotgun. They are easily countered due to their low health.

The noglin is relatively easy to look after. It does not feed on food like most creatures to stay nourished but actually requires mind control creatures periodically to stay alive.

Remember that Noglins will damage any creature they mind control; therefore, I recommend that you tame yourself some Snow Owls or Daeodon to heal your tames.

Creatures such as the aggressive Kentrosaurus and creepy Anthropluera can easily counter the Noglin as they inflict recoil damage when the Noglin is mind-controlling them.

Noglins are quickly put down with a blast from a shotgun or harpoon. A net is also very effective at taking restricting their movement, allowing you to quickly finish them off with an attack.

Companion to Explore and Resource to Gather

Noglin

The Noglin is not only good for taking control of creatures and survivors but is also capable of inflicting severe damage to wild creatures.

Pulling your Noglin off a wild creature will kill the creature instantly, giving you a killing machine. Note that the Noglin will have to rest before it can take control of another creature.

As a result, the Noglin is an extraordinary creature to bring along with you while you collect resources or explore, as it can provide a distraction, and if you manage to get close enough to the affected creature, you can instantly kill it by removing the Noglin.

However, this is dangerous depending on the creature. Noglins’ small size makes them very easy to transport around as they can sit on your shoulder. 

The Noglin is a great pet that has saved my life many times when out in the wild. I’ll usually gather resources with either a flying creature or the creature specializing in collecting the target resource.

This can be dangerous, and I’ve lost many tames when caught off guard while mining. Usually, I’ll die and respawn and panic my way back to my tame corpse. However, a Noglin completely negates the threat of a singular creature, especially if it is wild. 

Note that you cannot use the Noglin to tame creatures as it will always kill the wild creature that it is attached to if removed. The damage that the Noglin inflicts while connected to a creature inflicts is a percentile, and therefore creatures with high health are still vulnerable to Noglins attacks.

Perfect Ambush Creatures

In Ark Survival Evolved, you are no longer at the top of the food chain, and you will need to constantly stay alert to your surroundings. The Ark of Genesis Part 2 is no exception. It’s incredibly easy to be ambushed by these little goblins due to their small size and speed.

Noglins are easily lost in the landscape and flora and fauna. As a result, this has led to many jump scares when I’ve been exploring their habitat.

You can easily wind up dead when you are being mind-controlled by a Noglin as you will not be able to control your movements or attacks, leaving you open to getting eaten by a large predator or the Noglin itself.

Noglin Brain Hunt Mechanic

Noglin

Noglins are great in packs due to their Brain Hunt ability, which allows survivors to control the Noglins movements and attacks. However, note that this will leave you vulnerable in this mode as you won’t be able to manage your character or see your character’s surroundings when far away from your Noglin. It does, however, allow you to coordinate attacks with your tribe.

This is one of the main features that make Noglins so much fun to have as a tame. It’s hilarious to watch your tribe Brain Hunt with their Noglins and see a group of Noglins sneak into a base.

Their fast speed and size allow you to easily dodge slow attacks from large predators. Enabling you to counter prominent tribes that have a lot of firepowers. It can be equally funny and scary to be attacked by a group of Noglins, resembling something out of the movie Aliens.

You’ll panic and laugh with your friends as these little guys’ swarm is controlled by a rival tribe. Note that once you have controlled a creature, there is a long cooldown wait time before you can mind control them again.

Sometimes you’re better off mind-controlling a survivor instead of a creature, as you’ll be able to control the survivor in some small functions like opening doors and turning off generators.

This is a great way to get passed a base’s defenses. For example, my tribe used this technique to turn off turrets to make the siege of the enemy’s base easier.

Best Noglin Brain Hunt Counter

When a Noglin attaches to a creature, it cannot jump off for two minutes unless it is pulled off by a survivor. As a result, it can be a gamble to latch on to a creature as survivors can counter this Brain Hunt mechanic by over encumbering the creature with items.

The Noglin will be able to still attack while mind-controlling the creature, but it will not be able to move the creature leaving the Noglin open to attacks.

Therefore I recommend that you observe your target before jumping on its head. Wait and see if the creature is able to move, and then mind control it to make sure it’s not a trap. Note that the creature’s inventory can still be accessed by its owner regardless of whether it is being mind-controlled by a Noglin.

Allowing you to be overweight your tames that have a Noglin attached to them is one of the best counters to a Noglin, as you can set your surrounding dinosaurs to aggressive and remove the Noglin instantly killing it when it’s removed.

Noglin Counters

The Velonasaur is a mighty dinosaur that was introduced in the Extinction expansion of Ark Survival Evolved and also featured in the Genesis Part 2 expansion. The Velonasaur is a larger than average dinosaur that is equipped with an expanding frill that can fire deadly spines at its prey.

As a result, it’s a great alternative to turrets and Species X plants and is brilliant for defending cave and base entrances. The Velonasaur easily counters Noglins and will quickly kill them with a short barrage of spines.

A prepared tribe can counter Noglins if one of their members gets mind-controlled. You can knock out the mind-controlled survivor by increasing their torpor. Alternatively, you can trap a Noglin by baiting it to mind control a survivor that is over encombered, making it unable to move, making it very easy to knock out or trapped within a quickly built structure.

Reapers are immune to Noglins and cannot be mind-controlled, making them a strong counter to the Noglin. However, the Reaper is considerably slower than a Noglin, making it harder for it to land an attack. The Basilisk is another creature that is immune to the Noglin. 

Bear Traps and Species Y

Noglin

Noglins can be trapped by Bear Traps and Species Y plants, making them easily killed while trapped and unable to move. However, to trap them effectively, you will need to cover the traps over a large space of land as Noglins can jump very far distances, potentially over all your traps.

I recommend opting for Specie Y plants to defend the vicinity of your base as they are harder to spot than Bear Traps.

Although Noglins can be countered by this method, it’s not that effective at trapping them due to their fast speed and jumps. They can easily dodge these traps as well as make contact with Species Y and still avoid getting caught.

As a result, you are more likely to catch Noglin in a trap that is well hidden in bushes. As players will easily recognize the traps on the ground that are out in the open.

Noglin Leveling Guide

The Noglin is a very small creature and, as a result, isn’t a robust creature. It relies heavily on its speed and maneuverability. It has low stats compared to most creatures.

However, for what it lacks in health, it makes up for in speed; therefore, I recommend that you level this creature’s speed and stamina foremost and then health thirdly just to give it a buffer while in combat.

Note that if the Noglin gets caught or stunned, its game is over, and it will die quickly. I find it very fun leveling the Noglin’s speed as Ark physics allows you to generate momentum with your speed, allowing you to jump further distances.

If a Noglin runs out of stamina, it will no longer be able to attack or mind control until it has a rest and regained stamina back; therefore, I recommend you level its stamina.

FAQs

Question: How to Acquire the Genesis Part 2 DLC for Ark: Survival Evolved?

Answer: Genesis Part 2 is the final expansion for Ark: Survival Evolved and part of the Ark Genesis Season Pass. The Genesis Season Pass can be purchased for $29.87 or £23.79 from the Xbox store, Steam marketplace, Epic Games Store, and PlayStation Store.

You will need the Ark Survival Evolved base game. The Genesis Pass adds new creatures, items, missions, and the largest Ark map to date.

Question: Is Ark Survival Evolved Still Updated?

Answer: Yes, while there are no more official expansion packs coming to Ark: Survival Evolved. Studio Wildcard is still adding a ton of new content, such as community-made maps like Fjordur, as well as new creatures and events.

Studio Wildcard is very active with their community hosting competitions for modders and fan art competitions.

Question: How to Acquire Chibi-Noglin in Ark: Survival Evolved?

Answer: Chibi pets were introduced in the Ark: Survival Evolved Winter Wonderland 4 event. Chibi pets are primarily cosmetic items. Chibi-Noglins can only be acquired if you have the Genesis Season Pass installed. 

Conclusion

In conclusion, Noglins can be tricky to tame but are a fantastic creature to add to your roster of tames, their strong mind control ability gives it powerful utility, and base raiding capabilities make it an extremely useful tame for tribes to both defend and attack bases.

Their small size and fast speed make them great for stealthy operations infiltrating people’s bases.

I find these little gremlins a ton of fun. Noglins are a testament to how Studio Wildcard has raised the bar with new creatures each time they add a new expansion.

Ark Survival Evolved is one of my favorite games, and collectively my friends and I have accumulated thousands of hours of game time together. The Noglin stands as one of the most annoying but fun creatures to be added to Ark Survival Evolved.

As it’s very easy to get griefed by these little monsters, remember that a Noglin is easily counted by Velonasaur and can only be removed from a creature once its two minutes is up or it is pulled off by a survivor.

Noglins don’t have much health, and you can easily lose them to enemy attacks. I recommend you don’t get too attached to these little guys and remember that you are left vulnerable when in the Brain Hunt mode.

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