How to tame an Argentavis in Ark: Survival Evolved

The Argentavis is a highly agile bird that, much like the rest of the dinosaur bestiary, can be tamed in Ark: Survival Evolved. Highly aggressive to nearby players, even when airborne, the Argentavis is known to dive in on its target with talons exposed, gashing anyone that can’t get out of the way in time. Despite this fast-paced, air-to-ground dynamic, you can still tame the Argentavis if you’re equally as fast and your aim is true.

How to tame the Argentavis

The Argentavis can be found in more mountainous regions, especially those of snowy, frosted peaks. The vertical terrain and sheer cliffs of their habitat can make maneuvering during a fight incredibly difficult, if not dangerous. In the event that you find an Argentavis that you would like to tame — preferably one that is alone, rather than in packs of as many as five — we recommend that you quickly build some form of flat flooring or scaffolding to stand on while subduing the bird.

The process of taming an Argentavis starts with knocking the bird out through non-fatal combat. However, because the Argentavis prefers to stay flying high above any potential threats, most weapons of short or medium-range are completely ineffective at reaching it. Your best bet of engaging with the Argentavis is to fire on it with either a Crossbow or a Longneck Rifle.

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Remember that your goal in this fight is to knock out the Argentavis, not cause it harm. This is best done by increasing its Torpidity using Tranquilizer Arrows in your Crossbow or Tranquilizer Darts in your Longneck Rifle. Successful hits with a Boomerang can also cause Torpidity, though the lower range of this weapon reduces its efficiency against the high-flying birds.

Shooting an Argentavis will draw its aggression, causing the bird to dive bomb you. With decent movement and reaction time, you can strafe around this attack and continue firing on it with Tranquilizer weapons. The Argentavis will try to flee when its Torpidity value grows higher, though landing a few more long-range Tranquilizer shots can be enough to subdue the bird during this phase.

Once the Argentavis has been knocked out, taming it comes down to feeding it meat. Superior Kibble has the highest chance to tame the bird, where successfully taming it involves repeatedly feeding it until its chance to tame rolls true.