The Shastasaurus is the biggest creature in the water, and it cannot be knocked out at all — no trap, no tranq arrows, no torpor window. The only way in is to let it socialise with your Ichthyornis, cut the leeches off it, and feed it by hand. Tame one and you get a mount that outclasses the Mosasaurus on raw presence.
The numbers
| Stat | Value |
|---|---|
| Taming type | Passive — Ichthyornis socialising, sickle, then hand feeding |
| Health | 4,500 |
| Food | 8,000 |
| Weight | 3,000 |
| Melee Damage | 100 |
| Torpor | 3,000 |
| Preferred food | Extraordinary Kibble (64 for a level 150) |
| Found on | The Center, Genesis: Part 1, Astraeos |
Its preferred taming food is Extraordinary Kibble — 64 of them for a level 150 at a 1x taming rate. Raw fish meat is the alternative, but it takes 400 or more raw prime fish to match that, so the kibble is the real answer. The base stats above are from the same wiki entry.
The method, in one sentence
Ride a tamed Ichthyornis in front of it to draw its attention, surface so the taming progress starts, cut three leeches off it with a sickle inside a tight timer, then feed it Extraordinary Kibble at its mouth and repeat.
That is the whole tame. Everything hard about it is in the execution.
Step by step
- Bring 1–3 tamed Ichthyornis, a sickle and the kibble. You also want a SCUBA Tank, and SCUBA Flippers are highly recommended — you will be doing this over and over. Keep a combat mount or a tribemate on standby.
- Clear hostiles first. The process takes a long time even with kibble, and a Megalodon wandering in during a feeding cycle turns a slow tame into a lost one.
- Ride a tamed Ichthy in front of the Shasta to get its attention. It starts following you, and you take it to the surface — that is when the taming progress begins.
- Remove the leeches. Once it surfaces, a prompt appears to remove 3 leeches as it socialises with your Ichthy, each with its own visual indicator. Attack each leech with the sickle to remove it.
- Beat the timer. You have 30 seconds, plus 30 more seconds for each domesticated Ichthy nearby — up to 3 Ichthys, so 90 seconds in total. With three Ichthys the limit is effectively a non-issue. Do not hit the Shasta itself with the sickle.
- Feed it at its mouth. Put your taming food in the last slot of your hotbar, approach its mouth and feed it like any other passive tame. The Shasta wanders off afterwards, but the process is repeatable within 30 seconds.
- Repeat the cycle until it is tamed. In most cases it sees your Ichthys nearby and comes back on its own — you do not have to be mounted on the Ichthy. If it does not, mount up and gain its attention manually.
Why the method is what it is
The creatures that break the knockout rule are the ones players search for by name, because the standard trap does not apply to them. This one follows its own rule, and the guides that treat it like a Rex are the ones that waste the attempt.
The three ways this goes wrong
- Going for a knockout. There is no tranq phase on this creature at all; a trap and a tranq spear are wasted supplies.
- Showing up with one Ichthy. Thirty seconds per leech is tight. Three Ichthys give you ninety, which is the difference between a smooth cycle and a reset.
- Letting a Megalodon in. The tame takes long enough for the area to fill with things that want you dead.
A quick checklist
- 1–3 tamed Ichthyornis, with a saddle.
- A sickle.
- Extraordinary Kibble, 64 per level 150.
- A SCUBA Tank and SCUBA Flippers.
- The area cleared of Megalodons and other hostiles.
For the stats of the other creatures, see the best tames guide. For the commands to place one in front of you, see the spawn commands guide.