All Shoulder Pets in ARK Survival Ascended

A pivotal aspect of ARK Survival Ascended lies in its taming mechanic, allowing you to seek assistance from the island's creatures while navigating the perilous environment. Although the focus may often be on taming larger dinosaurs or creatures, it's crucial not to underestimate the significance of smaller ones, referred to as "shoulder pets," as they can prove just as valuable as their larger counterparts on the island.

There is a diverse selection of shoulder pets available, each with its unique abilities and drawbacks to consider. Therefore, if you intend to enhance your chances of survival on the island with these pets, you're in luck. In the following sections, we will delve into and provide details about each of the shoulder pets in ARK Survival Ascended, offering you comprehensive insights to help you select the most suitable one for your needs.

All ARK Survival Ascended Shoulder Pets Listed

At present, ARK Survival Ascended features only 8 shoulder pets. This limited number is a result of the exclusivity of certain pets in the previous version, Evolved, where additional pets were part of downloadable content (DLCs) and were specific to other ARK maps. Given that Ascended focuses solely on The Island map currently, our coverage will be centered around these 8 shoulder pets.

Compy (Compsognathus):

• Health (Base): 50
• Stamina (Base): 100
• Weight (Base): 25
• Melee Damage (Base): 100
• Utility:
  • Only half their weight is placed on your shoulder, allowing you to carry extra weight.

Dimorphodon:

• Health (Base): 375
• Stamina (Base): 150
• Weight (Base): 365
• Melee Damage (Base): 100
• Utility:
  • Only half their weight is put on your shoulder, enabling you to carry additional weight.
  • Dimorphodons make excellent companions in caves, providing distraction and assistance in dealing with cave creatures.
  • Whistling the Dimorphodon to attack a dinosaur not only harms the dinosaur but also damages the rider.

Hesperornis:

• Health (Base): 95
• Stamina (Base): 200
• Weight (Base): 70
• Melee Damage (Base): 100
• Utility:
  • Female Hesperornis can lay Golden Hesperornis Eggs and Hesperornis Eggs when brought out of water after consuming 5 fish.
  • The Hesperornis can instantly kill small fish.

Ichthyornis:

• Health (Base): (Not specified)
• Stamina (Base): 150
• Weight (Base): 55
• Melee Damage (Base): 100
• Utility:
  • Only half their weight is put on your shoulder, allowing you to carry extra weight.
  • Setting the Ichthyornis to "hunt and retrieve" and commanding it to attack a fish results in the retrieval of a dead fish that can be harvested for Raw Fish Meat or Raw Prime Fish Meat, with larger fish yielding more meat.

Mesopithecus:

• Health (Base): 115
• Stamina (Base): 100
• Weight (Base): 70
• Melee Damage (Base): 100
• Utility:
  • Only half their weight is placed on your shoulder, granting you the ability to carry additional weight.
  • While on your shoulder, the Mesopithecus can throw feces to slow down enemies.
  • It autonomously gathers berries when wandering, making it useful for quick snack collection or ingredient gathering.
  • When thrown into a base, the Mesopithecus can open thatch and wooden doors from the inside using the "Whistle Attack THIS Target" command.

Microraptor:

• Health (Base): 130
• Stamina (Base): 100
• Weight (Base): 45
• Melee Damage (Base): 100
• Utility:
  • In PvP servers, the Microraptor is highly valuable in battle for its ability to dismount players and stun them.

Otter:

• Health (Base): 40
• Stamina (Base): 180
• Weight (Base): 30
• Melee Damage (Base): 100
• Utility:
  • Only half their weight is put on your shoulder, allowing you to carry extra weight.
  • Easily tamed Otters provide early survivors with a reliable food source, retrieving fish for cooking.
  • Similar to the Dimetrodon, the Otter provides a stacking insulation effect to nearby survivors. Being shoulder-mounted, it offers passive insulation while on the move.
  • The Otter's capability to collect Silica Pearls and occasionally Black Pearls from fish provides access to these resources even for survivors without ocean presence until they can dive for larger concentrations themselves.

Pegomastax:

• Health (Base): 120
• Stamina (Base): 100
• Weight (Base): 55
• Melee Damage (Base): 100
• Utility:
  • Only half their weight is placed on your shoulder, allowing you to carry extra weight.
  • Pegomastax steals items from players and attempts to flee, with a chance of taming.
  • Throwing Pegomastax at berry bushes allows it to collect random seeds for farming.
  • A Pegomastax army can be strategically placed in an enemy base, set to wander in fast theft mode, and turned aggressive for silent theft on different floors.

There you have it—a brief overview of every shoulder pet currently available in ARK Survival Ascended. It's important to note that each of these creatures serves a unique purpose, and attempting to rank them seems futile, as the player's specific needs at any given time will determine the most useful one.

With this information in mind, selecting the right pet for your requirements ensures a sound decision. Just remember to provide them with appropriate food and level them up accordingly once tamed, based on your reliance on specific pets. As mentioned earlier, should new additions or reintroductions occur in the game, we will promptly update this list. So check back soon for more information on the adorable and useful shoulder pets in ARK Survival Ascended.