The Yi Ling is a small feathered flyer with a foul temper — the wiki lists it Extremely Aggressive — and it tames by knockout, except that no tranquilizing weapon in the game can knock it out.
It is one of the few ARK creatures you put down by throwing fruit at it mid-dive, and that single trick is the whole tame.
The numbers
| Stat | Value |
|---|---|
| Taming type | Knockout Taming |
| Temperament | Extremely Aggressive |
| Health | 325 |
| Food | 1,200 |
| Weight | 140 |
| Melee Damage | 23 |
| Torpor | 180 |
| Preferred food | Exceptional Kibble |
| Found on | Aberration, Lost Colony, Genesis: Part 1 |
The base stats above are Dododex-reported and approximate — community-sourced, not officially verified. Its preferred kibble is Exceptional Kibble, but the stun needs Plant Species Z Fruit and the knockout needs narcotics.
The method, in one sentence
Let it attack you, wait for the dive, throw Plant Species Z Fruit at it to stun it, then feed narcotics from your last hotbar slot until it drops.
Seven or eight Bio Toxin feeds finish a wild max level, if you can land the fruit.
Step by step
- Let it come to you. The Yi Ling shoots from the air and runs at you to bite when it lands. Stay in place, keep a shield up, and let it build the habit of attacking you.
- Watch the wings. After about 30 stacks of feathers it gets a faint red glow while gliding. That glow is the only warning you get before the dive.
- Wait for the dive. It can only be stunned while diving — throw Plant Species Z Fruit at it as it comes down. Fruit thrown at a perched bird does nothing.
- Feed narcotics the moment it is stunned. Any narcotics work, but Bio Toxin is the best because it gives 300 torpor per feed. A wild max level needs about seven or eight feeds.
- Build the reverse trap if you can. A 2x2 stone foundation with two-high doorways on the sides traps you safely so the Yi Ling sticks in its dive animation, and the stun becomes easy.
- Finish it as normal. Once it is unconscious, tame it the way you tame anything else, with Exceptional Kibble.
Why the method is what it is
It is a knockout tame that no tranq weapon can knock out, which is why the guides that treat it like a Rex are the ones that waste the attempt.
The three ways this goes wrong
- Filling it with tranq arrows. They do no torpor damage to it at all, so you will empty your quiver and it will still be flying.
- Throwing the fruit too early. It is only stunned during the dive animation, not while it is perched or gliding.
- Standing in the open. It shoots and it bites. Use a shield or the reverse trap so the attempt is not a fight.
A quick checklist
- Plant Species Z Fruit in your hotbar.
- Narcotics for the knockout — Bio Toxin if you have it.
- A shield, or a 2x2 stone foundation with two-high doorways.
- Read the red glow: that is the dive cue.
- Feed only while it is stunned.
The Yi Ling is a knockout tame, but tranquilizing weapons do no torpor to it — the stun comes from Plant Species Z Fruit during its dive. For the general knockout method, see the taming guide. For the stats of the others, see the best tames guide. For the commands to place one in front of you, see the spawn commands guide.