10 Ark: Survival Ascended Dinos Most People Ignore, But Shouldn't

Ark: Survival Ascended has many awesome dinosaurs, animals, and even a few mythological creatures to find, fight, and tame. The title takes the survival adventure genre and throws in some prehistoric fauna and flora. Most of the dinos and critters in Ark can be tamed to play various roles for players, like collecting resources, transporting people and goods, and fighting. Some Ark dinosaurs are obvious must-tames, like the formidable T-Rex, the massive Titanosaur capable of carrying entire mobile bases on its back, and the mighty Therizinosaur, an all-around great tame.

The game also has its share of underrated but useful dinosaurs that are just as useful as their more popular counterparts. There are a few dinosaurs and creatures in Ark that most players simply overlook in favor of the "better" versions of them in the game. These dinos might have some flaws, but each has its own merits and offers some benefits for players if they just give them a chance.

10 Spinosaurus

The Spino Hits Hard And Is Faster Than The T-Rex

The mighty Spino is one of the first big dinosaurs that players first encounter in their adventures. The terrifying carnivore is a difficult fight for beginners, especially since it can chase players into the water, unlike many other carnivorous critters in Ark. However, the large dinosaur is often overlooked in favor of the more popular T-Rex as an offensive partner.

While it's true that the T-Rex does more damage than the Spino per hit, the Spinosaurus is much faster. Sometimes, speed is more important in a fight, and the Spino's quick movement and attack speed can lead to it doing even more damage than the Rex. Spinosaurus also has a hydration buff that lets it move without using stamina when in the water. By making the dino's Oxygen levels, players can turn the Spino into a powerful companion.

9 Equus

All-Around Useful Low-Level Tames

The Equus resembles a mix between a horse and a zebra, so it tends to be overlooked in favor of the more eye-catching dinosaurs that roam the lands of Ark. However, bypassing these herbivorous mammals is a mistake, since this is one of the best all-around mounts, especially in lower levels.

The horse-like Equus is great for travel and mobile storage, and can even be used fairly effectively in battle. Equus are also handy for on-the-go narcotic crafting thanks to the Mortar and Pestle perk, which grinds up gathered resources right in the saddle, while on the go. These quick and strong creatures are also often used by players to lure larger dinos into traps, making them indispensable for large dino taming.

8 Carnotaurus

Better Than Many Dinos In Specific Situations

The Carnotaurus is a mid-sized dinosaur with middle-of-the-road stats across the board. Other dinosaurs hit harder, move faster, or have other outstanding features that make them more popular with players. The Carno isn't too fast and has relatively low HP, so wild ones typically only pose a danger to lower-level players. Carnos are often passed over in favor of the Baryonyx, which can move quickly both on land and in the water, and T-Rexes, which can move about as fast and hit harder.

However, the Carno is a useful dinosaur to have tamed for a few scenarios. Their size and overall strength make them good cave explorers, and their overall sturdiness and attack accuracy mean they can be good guard dinos for home bases. Carnotaurus also make good meat hunters for their strong knockback, especially when employed from uphill, as the attack can send even larger dinosaurs back and out of striking distance from the player.

7 Megalania

Gain A Tactical Advantage By Walking On Ceilings

Resembling Komodo Dragons, the Megalania is venomous and highly aggressive, and bumping into one in a cave system can spell trouble for adventurers. The Megalania is not an easy tame, so many players typically don't bother with the taming process. However, the dino's ability to climb up vertical walls makes this a useful companion to have in any survivor's arsenal.

Once tamed, though, Megalania can act as versatile mounts, capable of scaling walls and even hanging upside down from ceilings over unsuspecting passersby. Players can even shoot from the backs of these mounts, making them fun to use in both PvE and PvP runs. Taming Megalania can be tricky due to their quick torpor loss, but it's worth it for the tactical advantage of attacking unsuspecting dinosaurs and players from above.

6 Procoptodon

Similar To Kangaroos And Jump Just As Well

While some creatures in Arkare must-haves for their usefulness, others are simply fun to have. The often-overlooked Procoptodon belongs to the latter group. Procoptodons are fast and can carry a decent amount for their size. They also pack a punch with their strong knockback attacks and harvest berries at an impressive speed. That said, their best use is as a mount.

These marsupials are the prehistoric version of the kangaroo, which means that they move exactly how players expect them to. Procoptodon can carry players or other dinosaurs in their pouches, and they move around by jumping. These jumps can carry players high and fast, making it fun to maneuver around the Ark world. Although there are objectively "better" mounts in the game, the Procoptodon is definitely one of the most fun ways to get from one place to another.

5 Maewing

An Aquatic And Aerial Mount In One

The Maewing is one of the fantasy creatures in Ark, with no real-life dinosaur counterpart. The creature looks like a very large cross between a platypus and a flying squirrel, and as such, it can be used for both aerial and aquatic travel. Due to their skittish nature, Maewings aren't most players' first choice for mounts, but they have enough to offer to make them worth taming.

Luckily, taming one is fairly easy once the quick creature is immobilized. As a tame, Maewings make excellent mounts, especially for players with water-platform bases. The ability to switch between water and air travel is a huge benefit of this tame, but they're also very effective berry gatherers, able to harvest large amounts of berries with a body slam attack.

4 Dimetrodon

A Better Incubator Than Mechanical Options

ARK: Survival Ascended allows players to incubate eggs to add dinos to their pack. While this is often easier than taming new dinosaurs from the wild, it requires some setup. Players interested in hatching dinosaur eggs generally need to set up incubators or air conditioners, overlooking a much easier way to hatch eggs: the Dimetrodon.

Unlike the mechanical methods of egg hatching, Dimetrodons don't require electricity to power, so there's no special setup needed to use them. The dinosaurs act as live hatcheries for dinosaurs, keeping them at the ideal temperature for hatching. Taming more Dimetrodons increases their effectiveness, and with enough of them, it's even possible to incubate a Rock Drake egg, which typically requires more than 20 AC units to bring the temperature to the necessary level.

3 Compy

Annoying To Encounter But Useful To Tame

The tiny Compys are curious and will often approach players to investigate them. When they travel in packs, though, Compys hit fast and hard. It's too easy to become overwhelmed by a swarm of Compys as they take turns attacking and running away. Most players will be too focused on running away from compys to consider taming them. As tames, the Compy is not most players' choice, since the small dinosaurs require the rarer Prime Meat to tame, and by the time players have access to enough of this resource, there are generally better options to choose from.

The Company is often called the "housecat" of Ark for the way it curiously follows players around the home.

Compys have their benefits, though, and players who have enough Prime Meat should not overlook this small but ferocious companion. Taming a group of Compys means harnessing the very thing that makes them so annoying in the wild: Tamed Compys get a pack boost whenever they're in a group, giving them more attack power the more of them there are (up to 10). For this reason, the Compy makes a good shoulder pet capable of helping out in a pinch and works well as a swarmer that can distract and overpower larger dinosaurs.

2 Moschops

A Docile Creature With Impressive Resource Gathering Prowess

Some creatures in Ark are overlooked simply because they're found in many locations and don't bother players. The Moschops is one of these docile darlings. Moschops are friendly and non-aggressive and will rarely attack players, even when players instigate the fight. Even when tamed, Moschops would rather run away than fight, despite having a fairly strong attack for a passive creature. This may make it seem that Moschops aren't worth taming, leading to them being often overlooked.

However, the Moschops is one of the most efficient harvesters in Ark, able to collect many different types of resources. In fact, Moschops will occasionally gather Prime Meat from dinosaurs that don't normally drop it. Moschops can even be trained to prioritize harvesting certain things by feeding them those items. Taming a Moschops is so easy that the most dangerous part of it is potentially encountering a more aggressive dinosaur in the process. Best of all, Moschops can be ridden without a saddle, making it an excellent beginner mount for low-level players.

1 Dire Bear

Fast Runner And Powerful Fighter

Few creatures want to come face-to-face with a bear in the wild, and the same is true even in the prehistoric times of Ark. The threat is even more pressing when the bear in question is about the size of a modern-day Asian elephant. Luckily, the Dire Bear prefers to keep to itself, leaving players alone unless they get too close to their territory. And, since most players would prefer not to anger an elephant-sized bear, the Dire Bear is often overlooked as a tame.

That's a shame, because the Dire Bear makes a powerful and quick mount once it's tamed. The bear hits as hard as a T-Rex, using an attack with an impressively large area of attack. The Dire Bear has an ability that increases its speed as it runs, and it can attack at any speed, turning it into a swift and hard-hitting tank. It's also an excellent gatherer of fiber and berries. As a bonus, it's very easy to make the Dire Bear saddle, making this one of the best but most overlooked creatures in Ark: Survival Ascended.