🔥 Trending Finding the Perfect Mate for Argentavis in ARK Survival Evolved

Finding a perfect mate for your Argentavis in ARK: Survival Evolved (and by extension, ARK: Survival Ascended, as the mechanics are largely similar) involves understanding the game's breeding mechanics, particularly stat inheritance and mutation breeding. The goal is to produce offspring with superior stats to their parents.

Understanding Stat Inheritance

When breeding two Argentavis, the offspring inherits stats from both parents. Each stat (Health, Stamina, Oxygen, Food, Weight, Melee Damage, Movement Speed) has a 55% chance to inherit the higher of the two parents' base stats (the stats they had when they were tamed, before any level-ups) ⁴. Movement Speed is an exception; it generally does not increase through breeding.

To find a "perfect mate," you should look for another Argentavis that excels in the stats where your current Argentavis is weaker, or one that has high base stats in areas you want to improve. For example, if your Argentavis has high health but low stamina, you'd want a mate with high stamina.

Steps to Finding a Perfect Mate

1. Identify Desired Stats: Before you start, decide which stats are most important for your Argentavis's role. For an Argentavis, common desired stats include:

• Weight: For carrying resources ⁸.
• Stamina: For extended flights ⁸.
• Melee Damage: For combat and harvesting.
• Health: For survivability.

1. Tame Multiple Argentavis: Don't settle for just one. Tame several Argentavis, focusing on high-level ones, as they tend to have better base stats. Use a taming calculator like Dododex or Guild Order to estimate food and time needed ⁹⁵.

1. Check Base Stats: After taming, before leveling them up, check their base stats. You can do this by using a spyglass or a mod that displays stats. Compare the "wild" or "tamed" stats to see their natural strengths.

• For example, one Argentavis might have 30 points in health and 10 in stamina, while another has 10 in health and 30 in stamina. These would be good candidates for breeding to combine those high stats.

1. Pair for Complementary Strengths: Look for a male and a female Argentavis whose high stats complement each other. The ideal scenario is to have one parent with a very high stat in one area (e.g., Health) and the other parent with a very high stat in another area (e.g., Stamina). This maximizes the chance of the offspring inheriting both high stats.

1. Mutation Breeding (Advanced): Once you have a pair with good base stats, you can start mutation breeding. This involves repeatedly breeding the best offspring back into your breeding line to accumulate mutations, which add two levels to a random stat and can change the creature's color ⁴. This is how players achieve creatures with extremely high stats.

• Process:
• Breed your initial "perfect stat" pair.
• Hatch the eggs (incubation takes around 2 hours 56 minutes at 1x rates in ASA) ².
• Raise the offspring (full maturation takes about 2 days, 6 hours, 27 minutes at 1x rates in ASA) ²³.
• Check the offspring for mutations. If an offspring inherits a mutation in a desired stat, replace one of the parents with this mutated offspring (if it's of the correct gender) to pass on the mutation.
• Continue this process, always aiming to replace parents with offspring that have better stat combinations or new mutations.

By systematically taming, evaluating base stats, and strategically pairing your Argentavis, you can develop a breeding line that consistently produces "perfect" mates with superior stats for any task in ARK: Survival Evolved or Ascended.