Spino

The Spinosaur (SPY-no-SAWR), or simply Spino, is one of the dinosaurs in ARK: Survival Evolved.

Behavior
Spinosaurus is a deadly predator that is usually found roaming the rivers and swamp areas of the island. However, it has a fairly small aggro range when compared to other large carnivores; a territorial creature than a truly predatory one. It spends most of its time romping around and hunting fish and any other creature in or near the water that venture too close, killing prey with their conical teeth and jaws, as well as their hooked claws and strong arms. For those new players who would consider a base along the riverside beaches, assuming them to be safe like ocean beaches, think again. You might end up face-to-face with a 14 metre hypercarnivore.

Spinosaurus are the apex predator of their semi-aquatic environment, mainly due to the fact that they have a water buff. Spinosaurus have lower stamina than many animals within the game, however their all-around versatility make them an excellent mount. They can walk on two legs or on all fours, and swim akin to that of a crocodile. In the water, few creatures can threaten the animal, as they're as fast as the they share the island rivers with. Additionally, they can fight just as well with their claws as with their teeth, allowing for a flurry of devastating attacks that come far faster than any other creature their size. Handy for an ambush.

However, in comparison to other apex predators, they will not go too far out of their way to chase down prey, preferring to wait until it comes within easy striking distance. This makes it relatively easy to avoid a conflict, as their massive size and occasionally colorful sails make them easy to spot on the open river banks and shallow waters. Additionally, they prefer to stay close to the rivers, and will actually stop chasing a prey item if they travel too far from a water source. They also tend to retreat when low on health, in order to survive. Giving it a wide berth will ensure safety for both the player and the Spino.

Appearance
An enormous amphibious theropod, the Spinosaurus is one of the island's largest predators, although far smaller than a Giga. Distinctive thanks to their huge dorsal sail, small fin-like structures adorning the the body, legs, and tail, elongated snout, uniquely quadrupedal stance, and the ability to rise up on its back legs as well as walk on all fours, these animals are adapted for a semi-aquatic life, being primarily fish-eaters, patrolling the rivers and lakes in search of food. Their size also allows them to hunt bigger game, sometimes taking on crocodiles, other dinosaurs, and occasionally even marine reptiles and sharks that venture too far inland.

Drops
Spino, Aberrant Spino=


 * Guaranteed Special Loot

Corrupted Spino=


 * Guaranteed Special Loot


 * Random Special Loot

Breeding
Spinosaurus is probably one of hardest dinosaurs around to breed. Their eggs,, are extremely sensitive to temperatures outside the incubation range, meaning if you don't have a way of regulating the temperature, you will have to spend the entire two or three hours of the incubation process constantly checking if the egg is too hot or cold. For more primitive means of hatching the eggs, fire from and  can be used for heating; to cool it, very shallow water is usable, but be careful to not place the egg too deep in the water or it will die. The best methods for incubating Spino eggs, however, is using, , or as they can all provide heat and cooling when necessary at any time.

Base Stats and Growth
Spino=

Aberrant Spino=

Corrupted Spino=

Note that, although they have a lot of, Spinosaurus are still capable of drowning.

Combat
This section describes how to fight against the Spino.

General
Spinosaurs live near water-areas and will also stay there. You can use this to make a quick escape by running from their water-source, sufficient speed and some luck (such as the Spino getting caught on trees and rocks) will save you easily. Other than that engage from range and you should be safe.

Strategy
Avoid a direct confrontation unless you have a strong battle-mount. It's better to attack it from a ledge or flying mount. Melee attacks are generally futile as the Spino has large reach, knockback, speed, and damage to quickly deal with any interlopers caught near its mouth. Ranged attacks, like from a, are all but necessary to bring it down.

If you want to kill one for food or hide using melee weapons, construct a and attack it while it's on top of it while moving in and out to strike. This will deal major damage. A is recommended. If it runs away, chase it or use a ranged weapon before it can get food.

Perhaps the best strategy would be the simple. With a properly trained Argy, and a skilled pilot riding it, you can simply peck at the Spino's sail without it being able to hit you. Obviously, don't let your Argy run out of stamina and force-land- this could plop you right into the water, leaving you at the wrath of the Spino and any other predators around.

Another good yet risky strategy is to bring a high level, as their attack can drain Spino's stamina, eventually rendering them unable to sprint toward you at extreme speed, allowing you to easily kite them, be careful though, Kapro can be trampled to death by Spino.

Weaponry
Ranged weaponry or a strong mount is recommended. If you find yourself in melee, a shield can save your life if well timed as most melee weapons will be ineffective. If you are caught in close range and you don't have any defense, run and hope you have teammates or mounts to cover your escape.

Dangers
Spinosaurs are very strong, fast (especially in water) and have a fair amount of health. Do not attempt to escape one by running into water, as their height advantage and swift swim speed make this usually successful strategy foolhardy in the extreme. If in water against a Spino, pray you can get to shore or sink out of its reach and hope you can escape it on land. They can also climb over 2 height walls. When fighting a spinosaurus, they are at their most dangerous in their bipedal state because the stance has damage equivalent to a Rex but has more attack speed, making it capable of easily killing your tames in a short time.

Weakness
They will not go very far from their water-area, so running away is a good option. They are large targets that can be hit easily even by grossly inaccurate from quite a range. They also have a habit of getting stuck on tall rocks and trees; use this to escape or get the creature stuck. Be warned they will likely not remain stuck for long and will charge as soon as they escape. The Spino can also lead to aggro nearby large creatures that it can become occupied and possibly killed by. After the new TLC patch, Spinosaurs can now easily win in a battle with creatures like the Rex. This is due to its new Bipedal Mode and water buff, which increases its damage. Don't let the Spino get knocked out in water if you're taming it, it drowns fast for a semi-aquatic creature.

Taming Strategy
Taming a Spinosaurus takes a considerable amount of time, even greater than that of a. is depleted rapidly, at just over two per second at level one, whilst its hunger is generated slowly. This requires players to constantly check on the Torpor level, unlike many other long-wait dinosaurs, as the torpor level will drop to below 50% for a level 20 Spino in around five minutes. Take care when knocking them out as well, Spinosaurs are excellent climbers and can scale cliffs or rock piles you might not consider them capable of. However, they cannot scale especially steep cliffs. And since there are usually steep cliffs around Spinosaur habitats, a good way to tranquilize it is by shooting it from the top of a cliff until it starts running away. When it does, just recklessly charge at it until it gets stuck. Once it is stuck, finish it off. Also, spinosaurs usually prioritize attacking over humans, even if the human is attacking it. Just try not to tranquilize it while it is being attacked by or.

When it is knocked out, it also loses torpor considerably fast, so be prepared with a lot of. Given how fast its torpor drops and that torpor in all creatures cannot decrease while it is increasing, 5 are actually more effective against a spino than one Narcotic, since they give less torpor but over more time. If you are going to use this tactic, be prepared to have a or a different dino that can farm berries quickly, since it will require hundreds of narcoberries. Force-feeding a stack of 100 narcoberries will increase its torpor by 750 over 5 minutes, meaning it will not drop in that time. Feeding multiple stacks will stack the effect.

The easiest way to tame a Spino is to prepare a decent leveled, as this creature has a draining property to its attacks which makes a creature no longer be able to run, and a Spino's walk speed is slower than even a Rex, so a Kaprosuchus is recommended if you don't want it run away that often, or just don't let it run at all.

Uses
The Spino is very versatile and is perhaps one of the best all-round carnivorous dinosaurs in the game.


 * Diver: High makes the Spinosaurus an exceptional choice of guardian for short dives. With higher damage and health than the average, they are more than capable of fending them off, make sure to watch oxygen however. The great swimming capabilities of the Spino allows it to go to great depths in search for resources and underwater creatures. It can even be used to reach to a  As of Patch 243.0, Spinosaurus (and all tamed dinos) will not surface if following a player that is swimming, remaining underwater until they run out of oxygen and begin to drown. As well as that, as of the Dino TLC Phase 2, the Spinosaurus gets a hydration buff when it comes into contact with water that increases its  by 20%,  by 15% and  regeneration by 25% and decreases the turning radius by just standing in water and for an additional time of 30 seconds after leaving the water. (Level Oxygen, Melee Damage, and Health)
 * Amphibious Combatant: Being a gigantic carnivorous dinosaur, its great size and power is only rivaled by other carnivores like the or . It has less  and  than the Rex, but deals more DPS with quicker attack speeds, drains less stamina over time, and runs faster. It also has good knockback in all of its attacks. The spino is also much more comfortable in water than other comparable militant mounts ( it can even regain  in water, making it a sort of all-terrain mount, enabling it to be useful in both aquatic and terrestrial assault. As of the Dino TLC Phase 2, the Spinosaur is granted the ability to change stances from quadrupedal to bipedal. While the bipedal stance makes its movement speed slower, it can use its claws to deal more damage to foes. Keep in mind that the Spinosaur has a faster attack speed than a Rex. The bipedal stance also allows it to have very small turn radius by simply angling the camera accordingly, allowing it to attack from all directions. The spino can also be useful for fighting bosses, especially against the  as her arena has pools of water, allowing the Spino to make use of its Hydration buff. These attributes allow the Spino to be a force to be reckoned with and is often used in war and raiding both on land and at sea. (Level Health, Stamina, and Melee Damage)
 * Guardian: As well as being good in combat as stated above, the Spino can also be useful as a defensive unit and protection. They can be especially useful if you have a direct source of water in or around your base as the Spino can get the Hydrated buff. The Spino also has great agility when walking on 2 legs and can easily hit, kite, and knock back any enemies. (Level Health and Melee Damage)
 * Tank: With lower than most other large class dinosaurs, the only noteworthy advantage the Spino has over more traditional tanks is the aforementioned range and speed, though the  can also serve this purpose, arguably to a greater degree. Can be useful for kiting large enemies and bosses as well. (Level Health, Stamina, and Movement Speed if used to kite)
 * Transportation: With reasonable health, good damage-per-second, modest stamina, decent carrying capacity, the ability to swim quickly while never draining stamina, and having a great boost to its on land when the Hydration buff is applied, the Spino proves to be an effective all-around method of locomotion. In fact, the Spino is significantly faster than other swift carnivorous dinos like the  or  is faster on land even if the Hydration buff isn't applied and a Spino will be hindered by far fewer obstacles and can challenge many other species in combat. This makes the Spino a great option for transport. (Level Stamina, Damage, and Speed or Weight)
 * Hunter/Fish and Jellyfish Mount: Being a swift semi-aquatic predator and wielding great power, the Spino can be great for killing and harvesting prey of all sorts, from oceanic beasts like the to land dwelling giants like the  and everything in between, and is great at harvesting meat. However, the Spino is often outclassed in its gathering capabilities by many other predators in regards to harvesting resources like  and ; what it truly excels in harvesting is fish meat and biotoxin. Once tamed, the Spino can be a highly effective and fearsome fish and jellyfish hunter, being a great way to kill and harvest, , and larger fish like  and  for  , and . However beware of  as they can easily chain stun your tame until it dies. You can either have your Spino run loose into the water, and it will attack the nearest small marine life to it or have to be signaled to attack larger marine life. you can craft a  and ride it into an/a ocean or lake, using its melee attack to kill fish.
 * Aberration All-Around Predator: In Aberration, the Spino is the top carnivorous dinosaur, followed by the and is a common battle, transport, and hunting mount on the map. There are not many creatures on the map that can attack a tamed Spino and succeed, and with its high attack speed and decent knock back, it is capable of kiting almost all creatures. It being a semi-aquatic mount, having immunity to radiation, and with the absence of flyers, it can cross almost everything on the map and crush enemies without fear, being rivaled only by the, ,  in power and deadliness. (Level Weight, Stamina, Melee Damage, and Health)
 * Experience Farm: Of all the breedable/hatchable dinos in the game, Spinos provide the 4th highest amount of base experience (120 at level 1) so they are commonly sought and killed for the faster leveling of players and tames. (They are surpassed by the Tusoteuthis (200), Wyvern (240), and Giganotosaurus (400).) In PvP servers you can hatch baby creatures and kill them for full experience which makes creating "experience farms" a quick and easy way to level up players and tames since babies pose no threat. Try to obtain a pair of optimal offspring from two parents to get a higher level, mate those, and bathe in the large amounts of experience. Shared experience is also received for this which can boost the whole tribe!
 * Amphibious Battle Mount: Due to the fact that the Spinosaurus has gains when in water that increases its regeneration,, and  which stays for a short amount of time when out of water too. (Level Stamina, Melee Damage, and Health)
 * Boss Killer: Many survivors love to use the Spinosaur to defeat bosses, with it having less than a  but way better  and DPS making it one of the best boss killers in the game especially against the  or even the  due to water in the Arena, Not very recommended against the  ( Carnivores are weak against it), or   ( Too big and doesn't deal enough damage to it)

Notes/Trivia

 * Spinosaurus is technically the first creature to be effected by its environment as it becomes stronger when around water and is weaker when not around it
 * The "aquareliga" part of the Spinosaurus's scientific name in the game literally translates to "Water ruler".
 * It should be noted that Spinosaurids were proposed to have been bipedal, though capable of quadrupedal resting or crouching. The idea of the Spinosaurus being quadrupedal came from the discovery of a new spinosaurid described in 1986,, as well as proposed fatty humps around the sail. However, this hypothesis has since fallen out of favor. In 2014 a new study seemed to indicate Spinosaurus had much shorter hindlimbs than previously thought, bringing back the quadrupedal theory for a time; however the results have since been disputed (the 2014 study that proposed the spino to have been capable of quadrapedal movement had some problems, as the reconstruction was done with 4 specimens of different sizes, which probably caused the leg size to be miscalculated) and the theory and subject at hand continues to cause great debate.
 * It should also be noted that if the Spinosaurus was capable of quadrapedal movement, it definitly was not by placing the palms of it hands flat on the ground as shown in Ark, as such a hand position would have been impossible for Spinosaurus or most other theropods. Rather, it has been proposed that it would walk on the knuckles of the hands, similarly to a gorilla or in-game chalicotherium.
 * The TLC Phase 2 however, overhauled Spinosaur entirely, brought by the previously stated debate and introducing its bipedal state, which allows the Spino to run or walk on two legs, and throw punches. The TLC also gave the Hydrated buff to the spino when it is in or touching water, granting increased (15%),  (20%),  regeneration (25%) and a sharper turning radius.
 * The Spino was the first new creature to be added to the game after Ark went live in its alpha stage, being added in v173.0 back in 2015.
 * In terms of overall damage per second, a ridden Spino and are extremely comparable with the Spino attacking faster and hitting harder while the Rex has more base health and stamina. Keep this in mind while choosing which to ride into battle and which to keep on AI follow commands because ridden animals have a boosted attack speed.
 * Although many players prefer the Rex over the Spino, the Spino has many advantages over the Rex that are often overlooked by some survivors. One reason why the Spino is often overlooked is due to its large turning radius. However, the Spino's turning radius is actually significantly smaller than that of the Rex, especially when in a bipedal stance and/or affected by the Hydrated buff. A larger attack range makes it even more effective at defending its flanks in case of an attack. In addition to this, the Spino seems to be able to navigate over obstacles better than the Rex, as the Rex often gets stuck on rocks more than the Spino, which can climb over them. Secondly, many players prefer the Rex because the Rex has more than the Spino. However, although the Spino does have less Stamina than the Rex, the Spino loses Stamina significantly slower, allowing it to sprint for much longer periods than the Rex. Finally, the Spino is far more maneuverable, as it is fast when in both land and water, whereas the Rex is significantly slower in water.
 * As of now, Spinosaurus is the largest theropod to have ever been discovered, being even larger in real life than the and.
 * The is innacuratly portrayed in its shape, looking very similar to the sail of . This semi-circle shape is an old interpretation due to the lack of bones known of the creature. As more bones have been found recently, it is now understood that the Spino's sail had a more square shape, with a down curve in the middle of the sail.
 * Predators smaller than Spinosaurus will ignore it and will only fight back in self-defense. This effect also applies to tamed Spinosaurus mounted by players, who can make use of this fact by riding through dangerous areas undisturbed. The only carnivores which will aggro a ridden Spinosaurus are wild Spinosaurus, Tyrannosaurus, and . Do keep in mind a ridden Spinosaurus might accidentally aggro smaller creatures it tries to run past via trample damage.
 * Wild Spinosaurus frequently kill themselves by aggravating too many nearby creatures with its territorial behavior. In addition, many herbivores have a herd mentality, making them gang up on Spinosaur, increasing the chance of it dying. One or a whole group of can be especially deadly in the water, as the Spino endlessly spins around trying to reach and attack while the Baryonyx kills the Spino.
 * Spinosaurs use no Stamina while swimming, and in fact regenerate it more quickly than normal in the water regardless of speed.
 * The is one of the few creatures that spawn in all different zones of the map: green, blue, and red. This makes it available to tame for any survivor, anywhere on the map that is near water or is in the red zone.
 * Spinosaurus is most effective near the edge of deep water; it can break action with land opponents by entering the water to speed away and recover stamina, and shake aquatic opponents by stepping on land to use its tighter land turning radius to turn around.
 * If you plan on taming a Spino make sure to not tranq it near water, as once the Spino hits 75% it will begin to flee, which usually involves it fleeing into water; falling asleep and drowning. You may have to drag the spino quite far from water before you attempt to tranq it as their fast movement speed on land can cause them to cover large distances in a short time.
 * The Spinosaurus' sail interacts oddly with being held by its rider, lighting up like a gigantic lamp. This can be beneficial to trying to see at night, but can give away their location easily if trying to hide.
 * Interestingly, when a Spino defecates, it will make the old sound.
 * Theoretically the Spinosaurus in-game is actually stronger than the Rex in-game, it has many things that can allow it to be stronger than the Rex, such as faster attacking speed, quicker movement speed, the hydrated buff, etc.
 * Despite the fact that the Spino's close relative, the, doesn't use underwater since it lacks an oxygen stat, the Spino does consume oxygen and thus can drown if underwater too long, though this does not happen for quite a while as a Spino's oxygen stats are very high.
 * There's a bug involving the Spino, which can be preformed when is pressed while clicking the  rapidly. This can cause the Spino to attack faster than usual, being comparable to the quick attacks of the . However it is very stamina consuming, yet it is pretty useful if you're cornered by a horde of dangerous creatures like multiple.
 * Riderless Spino can throw punches like in their bipedal stance whilst swimming.