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‘ARK: Survival Evolved’ Guide: Direbear Taming And Use

By Scott Grill
Published on: 14:52 PST, May 14, 2016

If you are looking for all-around beasts in ARK: Survival Evolved that can travel fast, carry lots of stuff, and dish out healthy amount of damage, then you’ll want to consider a Direbear. The fuzzy, rideable creature was released to the PC version of the game in patch 239.0 and is coming to the Xbox One in the 734.0 update.

Where to Find the Direbear

There really isn’t very many areas on The Island where you won’t find the Direbear. It’s most common along the southern half of the map, but can also be found in the snowy Whitesky Peak and other areas in the northern half.

You will need to give the Direbear a wide berth when not hunting or attempting to tame as they are extremely territorial. They will attack ARK Survivors that get too close, and they are surprisingly fast despite their bulk. They are also capable of dishing out a tremendous amount of damage.

Taming

You will need to knock the Direbear out to tame it. Fortunately, it can be picked up by a Quetzal and dropped in a taming pen, if you have both available.

If neither are available, luring a Direbear into a pen or standing on rocks out of the beast’s reach and shooting it with Tranq Darts is the best option.

Be careful when using Tranq Arrows to knock a bear out. They have a very high Torpor rating, which means it will take a number of arrows to make it unconscious. Too many arrows and you will kill it instead.

Refer to the taming calculators at Survive Ark, DodoDex, or Crumplecorn for the exact amount of food and narcotics needed for the level of Direbear you are attempting to tame.

Usage

ARK: Survival Evolved Direbear (PC, Xbox One) — [Image via Studio Wildcard]

The Direbear makes a wonderful all-purpose mount. It can sprint for long distances and has a very high stamina and carry weight. Additionally, it does excellent damage with its primary attack and a devastating alternate attack.

Since the Direbear is an omnivore, it does a decent job of harvesting as well. It can gather a solid amount of Ram Meat and Prime Meat from dead animals along with Fiber from bushes. The amount of berries it can harvest is decent, but it is not that great at getting Chitin.

A welcome ability of the large furry mammal is its ability to gain speed the longer it sprints. Combine that with an extremely high stamina and carry weight and you have an excellent mount for travelling.

A Direbear makes an excellent companion to ARK: Survival Evolved players as well. It has a passive ability to provide Hypothermic and Hyperthermic insulation when being around one. Every little bit helps when trying to survive the colder areas.

Leveling

Leveling up a Direbear depends on how you want to use him. If your primary purpose is as a war mount, load up on health and damage. If you are looking for a more utility role, focus on movement speed, weight, and stamina.

Dossier

Wild: Found primarily among the Island’s mountain and tundra regions, Arctodus Dirus is an imposing creature. Like most of the creatures that inhabit this island’s colder areas, it is a mammal, and this particular mammal is either at or near the top of that region’s food chain.
Domesticated: Once tamed, the Direbear is a strong and reliable mount. It can carry vast quantities of goods, and can sprint for extremely long, nearly infinite periods. It is not the fastest creature from a hard stop, but after building up momentum, its sustained overland speed builds to among the best on the Island. Of course, being able to feed a Direbear both meat and plant life makes keeping one fairly convenient regardless of the environment.
Known Information: Many on the Island have started calling it a Direbear, a name which is appropriate both due to its enormity and its territorial nature. The Direbear ignores most non-hostile creatures while going about its daily routine of scavenging for meat and edible plant life — that is, until intruders enter the territory it considers its own, at which point it viciously attacks. Most often, it is smartest to just run from an angry Direbear.

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