The Megalosaurus is the one tame that has a schedule. Everything else in Ark can be knocked out whenever you find it. This creature sleeps through the day and wakes at night, and a tame that crosses sunset fails no matter how well you prepared.
That single behaviour is why it has a reputation as a hard tame. It is not. It is a timing problem.
Why you want it
Bite damage that doubles at night. The Megalosaurus hits noticeably harder after dark, which makes it one of the few tames that gets stronger in the environment where most creatures get dangerous.
Weight and carry. It hauls a serious load for a mid-game tame, which makes it a good bridge between a Pteranodon and a Quetzal.
Cave value. It fights well in the confined spaces where its size is not a disadvantage, and it harvests meat and hide at a good rate.
The numbers
| Stat | Value |
|---|---|
| Diet | Carnivore |
| Temperament | Aggressive at night, passive by day |
| Taming method | Knockout |
| Torpor (level 150) | 7,704 |
| Tranq arrows (level 150) | varies by weapon — use a taming calculator |
| Narcotics for the tame | 29 Narcotic + 15 Bio Toxin on the Cooked Lamb Chop path |
| Best food | Exceptional / Superior Kibble, raw mutton |
Those numbers assume official 1x rates. On a boosted server everything shrinks, and the timing constraint matters even more, because a faster tame is easier to fit inside a single day.
The one rule: start in the morning
Find it sleeping. In daylight the Megalosaurus is slow and will not chase you, so you can approach, tranq it, and let it collapse without a fight.
The failure mode is starting in the afternoon. A long tame at 1x rates takes hours, and if the sun sets while it is still unconscious it wakes up and your kibble is gone. There is no narcotic count that overrides this.
Plan the tame around the clock, not the damage.
Step by step
- Find a sleeping one. Daylight only. If it is awake and moving, it is night somewhere in your session, so wait.
- Tranq it while it is slow. Crossbow tranquiliser arrows to the head. About 87 for a level 150, fewer for lower levels.
- Let it starve first if it is high level. Community tames consistently report that feeding immediately wastes food. Let the food bar drop, then place the mutton or kibble.
- Keep torpor up during the day. Narcotics as needed, and watch for the sunset warning rather than the torpor bar.
- Feed before dusk. Raw mutton is the reliable option; kibble is faster with better effectiveness.
- If night falls mid-tame, accept it. It will wake. Re-tranq it the next morning and start the feeding again.
The food trap
Raw meat and prime meat are the first thing most players try, and they are the most common reason a first Megalosaurus tame takes two in-game days. Mutton and kibble are what it actually eats well. Bring the right food and the tame is routine; bring the wrong food and you are feeding it for twenty hours.
The three ways this tame goes wrong
- Starting in the afternoon. The single most common failure. A 1x tame does not fit between noon and dusk unless you get lucky with a low level.
- Feeding raw meat. Slow at best, refused at worst. Mutton or kibble.
- Taming in the open. It can pick you up, and a held player near an unconscious Megalosaurus is a dead player.
A quick checklist
- Morning start, no exceptions.
- Mutton or kibble in your inventory, not raw meat.
- Crossbow with arrows plus a spare.
- A trap or an enclosed cave section if it is a high level.
For the general knockout method this shares with other large carnivores, see the taming guide. For the food economy behind kibble tames, see how to make kibble.