Ark: Survival Evolved’s Dino TLC Update Detailed Alongside a New Patch

Following up on previously announced plans to update some of the game’s older creatures, Ark: Survival Evolved has released a new Dino TLC update that improves the visuals and gameplay of several animals and dinos.

The first Dino TLC update is half of a two-part plan that brings the first updates for five different creatures. Whether they didn’t look up to par compared to more recent creatures or just didn’t offer the degree of usefulness that others did, the first half of the TLC update should help bring them up to speed with the more current creatures.

A video seen above shows off the various graphical improvements of the creatures with the full list of changes that’ll be affecting the various animals and dinos found below.

The Procoptodon and the Gigantopithecus (Bigfoot)

The Procoptodon

• Receives a model update, animation update, sound pass, and some new abilities:
• Will take reduced fall damage
• Carry weight will be noticeably increased
• Can carry small creatures and baby dinos in its pouch
• A knockback kick which can affect significantly larger dinos
• Added an aimed jump which can be used by holding down the Jump key
• Carried characters in a pouch have reduced food consumption rate when carried by Mate-Boosted Female Procoptodons.
• Babies imprinted while in a carried Procoptodon pouch receive more affinity

The Gigantopithecus A.K.A Bigfoot

• Receives a model update, animation update, new fur, sound pass and some new abilities:
• The Bigfoot will receive an armour-degrading attack; this means when it fights, it’ll do more damage to your armour’s durability. It is important to note that the armour-degrading attack will not affect the Yeti creatures found in the game.
• Added the capability to climb ziplines (but not jump between them)
• Added a jump
• It can now carry and throw small creatures
• Throwing has been made more accurate, similarly to crabs with targetting cursor

The Direbear, the Direwolf, and the Rex

The Direbear

• Receives a model update, animation update, new fur and some new abilities:
• When riding a Direbear, players will be immune to bees. They won’t be able to knock you off your bear, and they will target focus the bear instead of the player.
• The Direbear will also be able to harvest honey from wild beehives without attracting bees or hurting the hive using it’s alternative attack. Plus the amount of honey it receives will be 3x the standard amount.
• Increased swim speed

The Direwolf

• Receives a model update, animation update, new fur and some new abilities:
• Howl now activates a pack buff for 90 seconds (with a 1.5 minute cooldown). When the Alpha howls, the pack also howls. The pack buff strengthens the Alpha, as well as its pack (reduced amount vs Alpha)
• Hunter’s Instinct passive buff which will allow it to sniff out people/creatures with less than 50% health
• Sniff tertiary ability to indicate nearby explorer notes, or to detect buried/stealth creatures

The Rex

• Receives a model update, animation update, and some new abilities:
• Its roar should receive a CD and make non-allies (under a certain dragweight) poop to act as a small stun/interrupt. There will be a cooldown on victims so that they cannot be pooplocked continuously.
• The roar will not be able to scare anything above its level
• Roar will cause players to poop but not stun them
• Rex’s ability to climb over small rocks and steeper slopes have been improved.

Incoming Update for the Sarcosuchus

Along with the various improvements that have already been detailed for other creatures, another prehistoric animal, he Sarcosuchus, is also receiving a facelift soon along with new abilities.

The Sarcosuchus, a menacing crocodile creature that has its uses when it comes to deterring other creatures, will get three new attack in when its update comes:

• A grab and roll attack, also known as a Death Roll. With smaller creatures the Sarco will be able to grab and roll with them in its mouth while with larger creature it will grab on and spin aggressively.
• A 180 degree attack wherein it can attack something directly behind itself by swinging it’s body around and biting behind itself.
• A short lunge attack where it’ll be able to lunge forward to take its prey by surprise.

Patch 278 Notes

To top off the Dino TLC update, a patch that’s filled to the brim with changes, balance adjustments, and bugfixes was also released, the general changes found below with a list of bugfixes seen in the official patch notes:

Creature Specific Bug Fixes & Balance Balance

• Dragon’s Fire Breath direct impact damage reduced by 50%
• Fixed a bug which caused Rock Drake and Wyvern eggs to sink below their nests over time.
• Added Rock Golem Saddles to Scorched Earth Loot Table
• Added Basilisk and Krakinos Saddles to Aberration Loot Table
• Uploaded Creature stats now display Movement Speed and Melee Damage
• Fixed a case where certain creatures would get stuck under the map/inside the map when colliding with larger creatures (most noticeably seen the Rock Drake and Basilisk)
• Fixed an issue which was causing a desync with the Reaper’s collision
• No longer need pheromone to claim Reaper Kings
• Moschops will no longer flee when told to harvest dino corpses
• Fixed a bug where some creatures would not be able to attack at low server FPS
• Bronto’s and Paracer’s breeding time have increased by 50% (equivalent to Quetz)
• Reduced Bronto HP gain per level by 33%
• Reduced Bronto base HP by 10%
• Reduced Paracaratherium base HP by 10%
• Reduced Paracer HP gain per level by 25%
• Reduced Tuso Base HP by 20%
• Reduced Tuso HP gain per level by 25%
• Reduced Dunky resistance to bullets to 40%
• Reduced Dunky other resistances to 60%
• Stego Plate Resistant reduced to 30%
• TEK Tapejara no longer inflicts raid damage (how you inflict torpor on titan, krab, and golem)
• General AI Option for Dinos to only attack conscious targets
• Skittish Stance added to tamed dinos
• Fixed a case where the Pela could use more weapons than just the fishing rod
• Fixed fishing rod no longer working on the Pela
• Tamed and Wild Karkinos no longer get stuck in a floating state by medium/big sized dinos
• Gigantopithecus can now use the teleporter
• Krakinos can no longer move when encumbered
• Fixed a case which allowed Rock Drakes to Glide infinitely
• Pegomastax can no longer steal Artifacts
• Fortitude now provides some resistance versus the effects of the Rex Roar, and this resistance carries onto player-ridden dinos too. Enough fortitude can prevent player-ridden dinos from being poopstunned.
• Increased the amount of food Achatina receives from cake to 500.
• Direbear and Gigantopithecus have been added to Aberration
• Removed the ability to place Plant Y and Bear Traps while riding a dino
• Reduced Titanosaur walk speed by 5% and run speed by 20%
• Corrected bigfoot’s socket for Desert Goggle headgear
• For creatures with targetted jumps, pressing jump again in midair will result in the tame falling straight down (to prevent erroneous cases where the dino may unintentionally bounce awkwardly)
• Basilisks now damage foliage on movement to prevent them from getting stuck in trees, and the accuracy of their poision shot has been improved.
• The Giga is no longer raged by fall damage
• The Giga’s rage mechanic is now based on damage taken before reduction from external sources (saddles, yuty)
• Reduced the respawn rate of Basilisk and lowered the Nearby Player check
• Fixed a case where the Rock Drake would not correctly uncloak
• Increased the Phoenix’s health, stamina and weight.
• Adjusted The Center’s Gorilla boss so it now matches The Island