Dilophosaur

The Dilophosaurus (dye-LA-fuh-SAWR-us), also shortened to Dilophosaur or even more so Dilo, is one of the dinosaurs in ARK: Survival Evolved. They were medium-sized theropod dinosaurs and aggressive, fast-moving predators that lived in North American jungles during the Jurassic period.

Behavior
Dilophosaurus has a very small aggravation range, but if provoked, it can produce deadly strikes in a very short time, as well as blinding you with a ranged poison that it will initially use before biting. Unlike other predators, the Dilophosaurus sometimes chooses to flee the player, making a relatively easy kill. They also do not live in packs but can be found with 2-3 others. Dilophosaurus do not attack many other species of dinosaurs, except for, (which they usually can't catch), , Moschops, Lystrosaurus, and other creatures which are smaller than themselves, or will not hurt them if attacked. Otherwise, they will scavenge dinosaurs that have already been killed and consume the meat of the corpse. (There is a bug where Dilophosaur will attack tamed Argentavis, along with all other aggressive creatures.) The Dilophosaur is a highly adaptable animal seen in many environments, including beaches, plains, riverbanks, jungles, swamps, and the Redwood Forest.

Appearance
Dilophosaurus is a small opportunistic predator best distinguished by the twin crests on its head and the membranous frill surrounding its neck. They are found alone or in small groups throughout the island and prey upon anything smaller than themselves. However, these dinosaurs are also frequent scavengers. If threatened, a Dilophosaurus will erect its frill, hiss, and spit a greenish venom that stuns and blinds its target.

Drops
Dilophosaur =


 * Random Special Loot

Corrupted Dilophosaur =


 * Random Special Loot

Base Stats and Growth
Dilophosaur =

Corrupted Dilophosaur =

General
Dilos are common on the beaches and are often one of the first carnivores to be seen by a survivor. Though relatively small, their vision-impairing spitting attack makes it difficult to fight them in the beginning. With a bit of practice of dodging and a, it becomes easy and almost natural. By midgame, they provide an easy source of meat and hide. Occasionally, they group up in forests. Be sure to dodge their spitting attack, or the tide of battle can turn!

Strategy
Early survivors caught off guard and unprepared for a fight can easily outrun a Dilo and live to fight another day.

Players can tell they are about to spit (See Dangers) when they stand still and pull their heads back. If you time it right, you can jump to the side to avoid the shot and continue your beat down. After spitting, there appears to be a cool-down during which the Dilo cannot spit again while engaging in melee combat. However, after some time, the Dilo will typically stop, pull their head back, and spit again.

Alternatively, you can block it with a shield instead of side jumping.

Any survivor easily kills it with even a. Simply approach from in front and strike the head, rinse-repeat until dead. For and, shoot the head while backpedaling. If possible, dispatch it with a mount.

Weaponry
/, since they give the ability to keep them away with the long range and knock-back. /, for the range.

Dangers
The dilos are found nearly everywhere, especially on beaches and in jungles. Their danger is to attack unconscious dinos that you're taming and lower their taming effectiveness, especially if you're taming small beach dinos like the or a.

They have the ability to spit a blob of green venom, which slows you and decreases your visibility. This venom can also be shot at a player's dinos, with the same effect.

Due to how prevalent they are, players often get mobbed by packs of Dilos on beaches, meaning more Dilos can enter the fray when the player is blinded and unaware. The effect lasts for four seconds and can stack.

Weakness
They are pretty slow, not able to keep pace with an unencumbered survivor. They have relatively low and, and become midday snacks for larger animals and aggressive players.

KO Strategy
When taming the Dilophosaur, a is preferred for knocking it unconscious. Two to three hits on a lower level Dilophosaur will knock it out and leave just over half its health remaining. You can also punch it 5-10 times and leave almost all its.

Roles

 * Combatant: Although the Dilophosaur is weaker than most enemies out there, it can still save you from a critical situation. For example, in very early game, acting as a decoy — in worst-scenario cases, keeping the enemy occupied as you run away. Its venomous spit blinds and slows enemies, as well as dealing a little bit of extra damage. A single Dilo is unlikely to be a threat to an experienced survivor. However, it can be an annoyance while more powerful tames do real damage. A pack of higher-level Dilos can be a significant threat on its own.
 * Egg Farm: Dilophosaur eggs are one of the earliest eggs that can be acquired easily for lower-level kibble.
 * Hunter: Dilophosaurs are easy to tame for new survivors, making them a good starting hunting-pack dino that can easily incapacitate parasaurs and raptors alike.
 * Pet: Dilos are basically tail-wagging dinosaur dogs. During downtime, you can have hours of fun playing Fetch the on the beach (with slightly less living s)!
 * Damage: Dilos can be great for hunting creatures like Dodos and Lystrosaurus early game to keep a sustainable Meat source.
 * Swarmers: When in large packs, Dilos can easily overwhelm an opponent due to their spit attack, which will slow down prey so they can keep dealing damage.
 * Defenders: Dilos can be used as great defenders, put them on turret mode and aggressive and pair them with a fast mount such as a Raptor.
 * Prime fish meat gatherer: Dilos can gather prime fish meat early game. This ability is useful if you don’t have a sickle.
 * Turret: Due to their ranged attack, like most other ranged creatures, can be set into turret mode. While their projectile attacks may not do much direct damage, the lingering effect can confuse and frustrate enemies, leaving them open for their allies to follow up.
 * With this Turret Mode, they can be used as a taming assistant in Large Taming Pens; the bare minimum for their tower is three pillars high for small creatures and eight pillars for large creatures

Notes/Trivia

 * Dilos will rarely drop, a reference to Dennis Nedry from the movie Jurassic Park, who wore these glasses while being killed and eaten by a Dilophosaurus.
 * Ark: Survival Evolved utilizes the pop-culture version of this dinosaur, a small venom-spitting theropod dinosaur, when in reality, the Dilophosaurus was a theropod capable of reaching twenty feet (6 meters) in length. Further, there is no scientific evidence that Dilophosaurs had a neck frill or that they could spit venom (or were venomous at all). This discrepancy is noted in the dossier.


 * The name of the Dilophosaur is derived from the Greek words di (δι), meaning "two," lophos (λόφος) meaning "crest," and sauros (σαυρος) meaning "lizard." This meaning "two-crested lizard."
 * In Helena's notes, she added a collar to the Dilophosaurus to let people know it can be tamed. However, unlike her other notes, Helena added an arrow pointing to the collar instead of a checkmark.
 * In addition to lacking the exaggerated anatomy, real Dilophosaurus was also as large as the game's Utahraptors and were speedy hunters in real life. Since they lacked supreme jaw strength, they would have hunted in packs just like in the game.
 * Dilophosaurus might have been one of the dinosaurs that lived in the Aberration ARK before it became damaged. While other creatures evolved to survive the radiation leak that changed the environment, the Dilophosaurus couldn't adapt to change. So while other creatures became mutated, Dilophosaurus probably died out rather than mutated.