or
cheat SpawnDino "Blueprint'/Game/EndGame/Dinos/Tank/EndTank_Character_BP.EndTank_Character_BP'" 500 0 0 35
Variant Defense Unit - Beta Overseer Arena
cheat summon EndTank_Character_BP_Med_C
or
cheat SpawnDino "Blueprint'/Game/EndGame/Dinos/Tank/EndTank_Character_BP_Med.EndTank_Character_BP_Med'" 500 0 0 35
Variant Defense Unit - Alpha Overseer Arena
cheat summon EndTank_Character_BP_Hard_C
or
cheat SpawnDino "Blueprint'/Game/EndGame/Dinos/Tank/EndTank_Character_BP_Hard.EndTank_Character_BP_Hard'" 500 0 0 35
Variant Defense Unit - Sanctuary
cheat summon Defender_Character_BP_C
or
cheat SpawnDino "Blueprint'/Game/Extinction/Dinos/Tank/Defender_Character_BP.Defender_Character_BP'" 500 0 0 35
Overseer Arena, accesible via the Ascension Panel in the Tek Cave on The Island.
Common
Rare
Untameable
Cave
   
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This article is about content exclusively available in the version on Steam, Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch. |
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This page may contain spoilers related to the background-story of ARK: Survival Evolved. If you want to experience the story ingame, you probably shouldn't continue reading on this page. |
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This article is a stub. You can help the ARK: Survival Evolved Wiki by expanding it. |
The Defense Unit is a creature in ARK: Survival Evolved, and one of the two minions that defend the 
Overseer. They are also found within the Sanctuary on Extinction.
Basic Info
Defense Units are mostly found only as summoned minions for Overseer and in the Sanctuary in the Extinction DLC.
Behavior
Defense Units will enter a rolling form to approach enemies before uncurling and slicing at them with their claws. When not attacking a target, they slowly mill around in an almost patrol-like fashion. In Extinction, they help defend players by attacking various Creatures, but will ALSO attack you and your tames.
Appearance
The Defense Units are fairly large and have metal shells and seem to have insect-like limbs and body. They do not tend to have special colors beyond the various metallic colors they have.
Defense Unit - Overseer Arena (Variant)
The Defense Unit - Overseer Arena is a variant of the Defense Unit that are summoned by Overseer, along with 
Attack Drone as minions. They drop 
Element upon death, which will disintegrate after the fight when the survivor Ascends. This variant will explode on death, inflicting damage to anything around itself other than Overseer and the minions.
The following are variants of the Defense Unit that are summoned by the Overseer. The variant summoned is dependent on the difficulty of the Overseer.
Defense Unit - Sanctuary (Variant)
The Defense Unit - Sanctuary is a variant of the Defense Unit that can be found in the Sanctuary on Extinction. Unlike the Defense Unit - Overseer Arena, the Defense Unit - Sanctuary drops 
Electronics, 
Element Dust, 
Oil, and 
Scrap Metal. The Defense Unit - Sanctuary does not explode on death.
Drops
Base Stats and Growth
| Attribute | Base Value | Level Increase | Taming Bonus | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wild | Tamed | Additive | Multiplicative | ||
 Health |
924.0001 | +184.80002 | +0% | ||
 Stamina |
2000 | +200 | +0% | ||
 Oxygen |
150 | +15 | +0% | ||
 Food |
3000 | +300 | +0% | ||
 Weight |
1500 | +30 | +0% | ||
 Melee Damage |
35 | +1.75 | +0% | ||
 Movement Speed |
100% | N/A | +0% | ||
 Torpidity |
420 | +25.2 | N/A | ||
- For a comparison of the stats of all creatures, see Base Creature Statistics.
- For an explanation of exactly how the levelup calculation works, see Creature Stats Calculation.
| Movement [u/s] |
Base Speed | Sprinting Speed | Stamina | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wild | Tamed1 | Tamed2 | Wild | Tamed1 | Tamed2 | ||
| Walking | 325 | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| Swimming | 300 | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
- 1These are the base speeds of the creature at 100% Movement Speed.
- 2These are the speeds of the creature tamed and non-imprinted.
- For a comparison of the speeds of all creatures, see Base Creature Speeds.
| Melee | Stamina Cost | Attack Range | Description | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base | Minimum | Activation | |||||||||||
| 0 | 600 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||
| Attack Type | Damage | Projectile Values | Torpor Values | Status Effect: Stamina | Status Effect: Torpidity | ||||||||
| Life | Impulse | Radius | Base | Mult | Duration | Damage Mult | Amount | Duration | Damage Mult | Amount | |||
| Melee | 35 | ||||||||||||
| Melee Slam | Stamina Cost | Attack Range | Description | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base | Minimum | Activation | |||||||||||
| 0 | 600 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||
| Attack Type | Damage | Projectile Values | Torpor Values | Status Effect: Stamina | Status Effect: Torpidity | ||||||||
| Life | Impulse | Radius | Base | Mult | Duration | Damage Mult | Amount | Duration | Damage Mult | Amount | |||
| Melee | 35 | ||||||||||||
| Roll Up | Stamina Cost | Attack Range | Description | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base | Minimum | Activation | |||||||||||
| 0 | 20000 | 3500 | 0 | ||||||||||
| Unroll | Stamina Cost | Attack Range | Description | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base | Minimum | Activation | |||||||||||
| 0 | 1250 | 0 | 1250 | ||||||||||
| Melee Jump Attack | Stamina Cost | Attack Range | Description | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base | Minimum | Activation | |||||||||||
| 0 | 2500 | 1000 | 0 | ||||||||||
| Attack Type | Damage | Projectile Values | Torpor Values | Status Effect: Stamina | Status Effect: Torpidity | ||||||||
| Life | Impulse | Radius | Base | Mult | Duration | Damage Mult | Amount | Duration | Damage Mult | Amount | |||
| Melee | 30 | ||||||||||||
| Attribute | Base Value | Level Increase | Taming Bonus | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wild | Tamed | Additive | Multiplicative | ||
| Health |
1848.0001 | +369.60002 | +0% | ||
| Stamina |
2000 | +200 | +0% | ||
| Oxygen |
150 | +15 | +0% | ||
| Food |
3000 | +300 | +0% | ||
| Weight |
1500 | +30 | +0% | ||
| Melee Damage |
35 | +1.75 | +0% | ||
| Movement Speed |
100% | N/A | +0% | ||
| Torpidity |
420 | +25.2 | N/A | ||
- For a comparison of the stats of all creatures, see Base Creature Statistics.
- For an explanation of exactly how the levelup calculation works, see Creature Stats Calculation.
| Movement [u/s] |
Base Speed | Sprinting Speed | Stamina | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wild | Tamed1 | Tamed2 | Wild | Tamed1 | Tamed2 | ||
| Walking | 325 | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| Swimming | 300 | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
- 1These are the base speeds of the creature at 100% Movement Speed.
- 2These are the speeds of the creature tamed and non-imprinted.
- For a comparison of the speeds of all creatures, see Base Creature Speeds.
| Melee | Stamina Cost | Attack Range | Description | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base | Minimum | Activation | |||||||||||
| 0 | 600 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||
| Attack Type | Damage | Projectile Values | Torpor Values | Status Effect: Stamina | Status Effect: Torpidity | ||||||||
| Life | Impulse | Radius | Base | Mult | Duration | Damage Mult | Amount | Duration | Damage Mult | Amount | |||
| Melee | 35 | ||||||||||||
| Melee Slam | Stamina Cost | Attack Range | Description | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base | Minimum | Activation | |||||||||||
| 0 | 600 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||
| Attack Type | Damage | Projectile Values | Torpor Values | Status Effect: Stamina | Status Effect: Torpidity | ||||||||
| Life | Impulse | Radius | Base | Mult | Duration | Damage Mult | Amount | Duration | Damage Mult | Amount | |||
| Melee | 35 | ||||||||||||
| Roll Up | Stamina Cost | Attack Range | Description | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base | Minimum | Activation | |||||||||||
| 0 | 20000 | 3500 | 0 | ||||||||||
| Unroll | Stamina Cost | Attack Range | Description | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base | Minimum | Activation | |||||||||||
| 0 | 1250 | 0 | 1250 | ||||||||||
| Melee Jump Attack | Stamina Cost | Attack Range | Description | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base | Minimum | Activation | |||||||||||
| 0 | 2500 | 1000 | 0 | ||||||||||
| Attack Type | Damage | Projectile Values | Torpor Values | Status Effect: Stamina | Status Effect: Torpidity | ||||||||
| Life | Impulse | Radius | Base | Mult | Duration | Damage Mult | Amount | Duration | Damage Mult | Amount | |||
| Melee | 30 | ||||||||||||
| Attribute | Base Value | Level Increase | Taming Bonus | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wild | Tamed | Additive | Multiplicative | ||
| Health |
2772 | +554.4 | +0% | ||
| Stamina |
2000 | +200 | +0% | ||
| Oxygen |
150 | +15 | +0% | ||
| Food |
3000 | +300 | +0% | ||
| Weight |
1500 | +30 | +0% | ||
| Melee Damage |
35 | +1.75 | +0% | ||
| Movement Speed |
100% | N/A | +0% | ||
| Torpidity |
420 | +25.2 | N/A | ||
- For a comparison of the stats of all creatures, see Base Creature Statistics.
- For an explanation of exactly how the levelup calculation works, see Creature Stats Calculation.
| Movement [u/s] |
Base Speed | Sprinting Speed | Stamina | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wild | Tamed1 | Tamed2 | Wild | Tamed1 | Tamed2 | ||
| Walking | 325 | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| Swimming | 300 | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
- 1These are the base speeds of the creature at 100% Movement Speed.
- 2These are the speeds of the creature tamed and non-imprinted.
- For a comparison of the speeds of all creatures, see Base Creature Speeds.
| Melee | Stamina Cost | Attack Range | Description | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base | Minimum | Activation | |||||||||||
| 0 | 600 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||
| Attack Type | Damage | Projectile Values | Torpor Values | Status Effect: Stamina | Status Effect: Torpidity | ||||||||
| Life | Impulse | Radius | Base | Mult | Duration | Damage Mult | Amount | Duration | Damage Mult | Amount | |||
| Melee | 35 | ||||||||||||
| Melee Slam | Stamina Cost | Attack Range | Description | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base | Minimum | Activation | |||||||||||
| 0 | 600 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||
| Attack Type | Damage | Projectile Values | Torpor Values | Status Effect: Stamina | Status Effect: Torpidity | ||||||||
| Life | Impulse | Radius | Base | Mult | Duration | Damage Mult | Amount | Duration | Damage Mult | Amount | |||
| Melee | 35 | ||||||||||||
| Roll Up | Stamina Cost | Attack Range | Description | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base | Minimum | Activation | |||||||||||
| 0 | 20000 | 3500 | 0 | ||||||||||
| Unroll | Stamina Cost | Attack Range | Description | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base | Minimum | Activation | |||||||||||
| 0 | 1250 | 0 | 1250 | ||||||||||
| Melee Jump Attack | Stamina Cost | Attack Range | Description | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base | Minimum | Activation | |||||||||||
| 0 | 2500 | 1000 | 0 | ||||||||||
| Attack Type | Damage | Projectile Values | Torpor Values | Status Effect: Stamina | Status Effect: Torpidity | ||||||||
| Life | Impulse | Radius | Base | Mult | Duration | Damage Mult | Amount | Duration | Damage Mult | Amount | |||
| Melee | 30 | ||||||||||||
Wild Stats Level-up
Type in values of a wild creature to see on which stats it's emphasized. Green values on a high-level creature are very good for breeding. If you have already tamed your creature you can try to recover the breeding stats with an external tool.[1]
The stat-calculator does not work in the mobile-view, see here for alternatives: Apps
Note that after the creature is tamed it gets bonuses on some stats depending on the taming effectiveness. This makes it hard to retrieve the levels on a tamed creature, so this tool is only for wild ones, but gives a first impression, how well the stats are distributed.
Combat
This section describes how to fight against the Defense Unit.
General
The Defense Unit has a decent amount of health and melee damage that, and when in large quantities, can quickly chip away at your health bar. To prevent this from happening, it is advised to take them out as soon as they spawn. Due to their attacks' small AOE, ranged weapons (such as rocket launchers, guns, and rifles in general) as well as dinos with large AOE attacks have proven useful.
Strategy
The Defense Unit, when walking, is not very fast by any means (and when rolling it can't attack). This being the case, backing away from them while attacking with the above and below stated ranged weapons will ensure the best chance of survival and success.
Weaponry
Using ranged weapons (i.e. 
Rifles, 
Rocket Launchers, just Guns in general) and dinos with AOE attacks work the best.
Dangers
Along with attacks that do a moderate amount of damage, the Defense Unit is spawned in quantities of 8 to 14 every 48 seconds. Because of this, a player can be easily swarmed and overrun whilst focusing on the boss.
Weakness
While not in their rolling form (in which they cannot attack), the Defense Unit is very slow and thus easily picked off using dinos with AOE attacks (i.e. 
Rex's bite) and ranged weaponry (i.e Rifles, Rocket Launchers etc).
Notes
- Released in patch 267.0.
- The Defense Unit while force tamed can jump.
- Jumping is actually faster than walking when riding a force tamed Defense Unit.
- The roll of a force tamed Defense Unit is set to what seems to be a timer but this can be extended for a longer period of time by jumping while rolling to prevent to Defense Unit from canceling the roll.
- Holding down the "shift" key also extends the roll.
- In the PS4 edition of Ark, (Single Player tested), to summon one, you must first visit the
Overseer, teleporting to a different location (I.e. one of the obelisks) will then allow you to summon one. - In the PS4 edition of Ark, (Single Player tested), after force-taming one and then leaving the world, it will despawn without a trace.
- The Defense Unit greatly resembles the Destroyer Droid (aka Droideka) from Star Wars
- The Defense Unit has many unused animations you can find in the devkit for ARK, some including leaping ground smash and "flurry" attacks, a blocking/guarding stance, and more.
- The Defense Unit can be seen in one of the teaser images for the Extinction DLC.
- However, it has been confirmed that while they would make their appearance in the map, they (still) will not be tameable in any ways possible.
- Forcetamed Defense Units will give a Dermis when harvested with the Taxidermy Tool
- While the Defense Unit in the Overseer Arena drops Element on death, they are not harvestable and the corpse disintegrates quickly on death. This persists even after a patch that made the Defense Unit in Extinction harvestable.
- In Xbox One and PS4, if Forcetamed and mounted, there is a glitch when dismounting. the player will be stuck in the ground and continuously slide backwards.
Gallery
Teaser Promotional Image
Extinction Teaser image.
