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‘ARK: Survival Evolved’ Guide: Terror Bird Taming And Use

By Scott Grill
Published on: 11:28 PST, Mar 3, 2016

That’s not a giant Dodo you are looking at, but a Terror Bird in ARK: Survival Evolve. The towering carnivorous bird was added to the PC with the 235.0 patch for the PC and is also coming soon to the Xbox One in the 732 update. They are a fun and speedy addition to the open-world survival game and here is how to tame and what to do with them.

Where to Find the Terror Bird

Terror Birds are commonly found in the areas around the Grand Peak and the Volcano in ARK. They can also be found in the Frost Fangs, the region just to the east of the snowy Whitesky Peak area. They are less commonly found in nearly every other part of The Island including the Southern Isles, Northeast Shore, and Western Approach. Just about the only spot on the map where you are guaranteed not to find them is in areas with snow.

Expect to find Terror Birds traveling together in packs of two or more. They are extremely aggressive and will spot survivors to attack from ranges that exceed the majority of the carnivores in ARK: Survival Evolved. It’s important to remember that they are extremely fast and thus are not something to tackle in open terrain at low levels.

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

Taming

Terror Birds are a fairly straight-forward knockout tame in ARK. There’s no special trick other than to put them to sleep before they can chew your face off. For this reason, shooting Tranq Darts from atop a rock or cliff is your best bet to achieve a knockout as they require less shots than a Crossbow and more than half as many as a bow and arrow.

The preferred taming food for the Terror Bird is Galimimus Kibble (see taming guide), followed by Raw Prime Meat, Cooked Prime Meat, and Raw Meat. Kibble is obviously highly recommended for high-level Terror Birds, but Raw Prime Meat only adds about 40 to 50 minutes to the taming time at level 80 and above. Cooked Prime Meat and Raw meat should not even be attempted unless you have plenty of time, meat, and Narcotics to spare.

Refer to the taming calculators at Survive Ark or Crumplecorn for the exact amount of food needed for the level of Terror Bird you are attempting to tame.

Note that the Terror Bird can be picked up by an Argentavis or Quetzal to carry back to your base to tame. This only works on ARK: Survival Evolved PVP servers, of course.

Usage

The Terror Bird’s two biggest assets are its speed and the ability to glide, or fall gracefully, by flapping its wings furiously. It’s also amusing.

The creatures make excellent scouts for these reasons as they are able to dash across land quickly, turn on a dime, and essentially jump large distances. Think of the PVP possibilities of jumping into an opponent’s base from a nearby hill or leaping off a cliff to avoid attackers whether it be man or dinosaur.

Terror Birds are strong fighters for their size too with a slightly higher damage rating than the Raptor.

Leveling

Those interested in using the Terror Bird as a traveling buddy in ARK: Survival Evolved should focus on Speed, Stamina, and Health. It wouldn’t hurt to level up Melee Damage as well if you are planning on getting into fights with it.

The question of upgrading Weight is a tricky one with the Terror Bird as it is not built to be a beast of burden. Still, it needs to be able to carry you plus all of your gear, so upgrade as appropriate.

Dossier

Wild: Ranging from eight to 12 feet tall, Phorusrhacidae rapidesultor is a highly aggressive avian that is just barely capable of very brief “flight.” Instead, it uses its wings primarily for balance during its high-speed sprints. Phorusrhacidae flight is actually closer to an impressive sustained leap or glide that is assisted and lengthened by flapping its wings.

Domesticated: Phorusrhacidae is an excellent combat mount, particularly for harassing and scouting. Riders of Phorusrhacidae gain most of the benefits of a fast, mobile, ground-based theropod, while also gaining some of the freedom of movement from a flyer — assuming the rider can coax Phorusrhacidae into staying in the air over a long leap.

Known Information: Phorusrhacidae shows interesting traits related to theropods such as Utahraptor, Carnotaurus, and Tyrannosaurus. It has many similar traits, such as general shape and predation patterns, but its attacks tend towards lightning dashes and leaping slashes.

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