The Doedicurus is the creature you tame once and then wonder how you built anything without it.
It looks like a armored armadillo with a bad attitude. In practice it is the single best stone gatherer in the game, and stone is what every base is made of.
Why you want it
Stone. A Doedicurus harvests stone on a completely different scale from any other early tame. One roll through a rock field fills its inventory faster than you can empty it.
Rolling travel. It curls into a ball and rolls, which covers ground quickly and knocks back anything small in its path. It is a surprisingly mobile gatherer.
Shell. The armored back takes reduced damage, so it survives the junk that would wreck a parade of dilos.
Breeding. It is breedable, which means a steady supply of eggs and a way to stack up higher-level babies for even better gathering stats.
The numbers
| Stat | Value |
|---|---|
| Group | Mammals |
| Diet | Herbivore |
| Temperament | Docile |
| Preferred Kibble | Regular (Medium Egg) |
| Preferred Food | Crops |
| Saddle | Level 34 |
| Drag Weight | 160 |
Docile means it will not hunt you. The catch is the roll: a startled Doedicurus curls up and bowls itself off a cliff or into a swamp, and you lose the tame.
Where to find them
Doedicurus spawn near rocky outcrops, hills and the edges of stone-rich areas. They are often in small groups, which is convenient for picking a clean target.
Because they are slow and calm, you usually get a good look before committing.
How to knock it out
Enclose it fully. A Doedicurus that gets spooked rolls, and a rolling herbivore ignores your commands and your terrain. A closed trap or a behemoth-gate pen stops the escape before it starts.
Tranquiliser arrows. It is not tanky, but the shell blunts torpor gain a little, so bring a reasonable stack rather than a handful.
Pick the loner. In a group, knock out one that has drifted from the rest so the others do not panic and roll away mid-tame.
Watch the surroundings. Docile does not mean safe. A carnivore will happily eat your unconscious gatherer, so tame somewhere quiet or wall it in.
What to feed it
| Food | Type |
|---|---|
| Regular Kibble | Preferred, made from a Medium Egg |
| Crops | Fallback |
| Crops | Fallback |
Regular Kibble is the efficient choice and you can usually make it well before level 34. Crops work if the kibble is not there yet; the tame just takes longer and lands at a lower level.
The saddle gate
The Doedicurus saddle unlocks at level 34.
That is early, which is the whole appeal. You can have a stone factory running not long after you have a secure base.
After the tame
Roll it into a rock field and let it work. It fills up fast, so either make trips or pair it with a hauler for big builds.
Breed a pair if you can. Higher-level Doedicurus gather more per swing, and eggs give you a backup if one dies.
Common mistakes
- Letting it roll free. A spooked Doedicurus escapes on its own.
- Taming in a pack. The group scatters and you lose your target.
- Taming before level 34. You cannot ride it.
- Using it for metal. It is a stone specialist; take an Ankylo for metal.
Related guides
- Best tames guide — where the Doedicurus ranks for building.
- Best resources tier list — why stone throughput matters.
- How to tame an Ankylosaurus — the metal counterpart to this tame.