ARK Survival Ascended Ichthyosaur taming guide

Simply dubbed "dolphin" by the community, Ichthyosaur is a popular tame to get through the early-game aquatic activities in Ark Survival Ascended. Unlike some bigger underwater creatures, it does not require elaborate planning or the use of traps to be pinned down and domesticated.

However, taming a dolphin in this survival MMO can still be challenging if you are not well-versed in creature temperaments and nuances in the taming mechanic. If you are new to the game, this guide will give you all the pointers, including the location, behavior, and step-by-step taming method for Ichthyosaurs.

---

How to find and tame Ichthyosaurus in Ark Survival Ascended

Ichthyosaurus can be found even in shallow waters in the ocean of Ark Survival Ascended (Image via Studio Wildcard)

Those who have played Ark Survival Evolved, the original title, will find that the Ichthyosaur is almost a one-to-one recreation of its legacy version. They can be found coasting along the ocean around The Island in Ark Survival Ascended.

You will be likely to run into an Ichthyosaur within a few minutes if you ride the waves on a raft for a while. If you cannot get them to spawn or have not found any within your preferred level range, a solution is to use console commands to reset the server. Note that this is only possible if you are playing solo or hosting your private server.

These Triassic predecessors still retain a modern dolphin's curiosity. It will spontaneously swim towards the player or player-tamed creatures.

Unlike larger sea dwellers, the dolphins in Ark Survival Ascended can only be befriended in a non-hostile method. You have to simply give it food items until its taming bar fills up.

The Ichthyosaurus' preferred dietary choice is Simple Kibble, which will fasten the taming process. However, if you do not have it on you, you can use any carnivore food item to domesticate it. This includes meat, mutton, prime meat, and fish meat, either raw or cooked.

This ease of taming Ichthyosaurs is part of what makes these dolphins excellent as early-game tames. You have to simply equip the preferred food item on your hotbar and then use the item to feed one of these creatures when it is near you.

However, you have one challenge to get through to fully tame it: the feeding intervals. An Ichthyosaur will take only a fragment of food items required to fill the taming meter before it swims away. The creature will eventually come back once it is hungry again, letting you continue to tame it.

A taming pen makes it easier to tame an Ichthyosaur safely (Image via Studio Wildcard)

The seas can be as dangerous as the land in this game, as you may run the risk of running into hostile creatures like Megalodon and Manta. The safest way to tame an Ichthyosaur is to build an underwater enclosure with wooden walls near the coast.

You may then lure the creature into the enclosure and seal it. This way, you can simply wait out its feeding intervals and tame it without the dangers of delving deeper into the sea.