Deinonychus

The Deinonychus (Di-NON-ih-kus) is a Creature in 's Valguero DLC.

Behavior
The Deinonychus is fiercely territorial in the wild. They will protect their nests against any who dare to trespass.

Appearance
The Deinonychus has a similar appearance to its close relative, the, but has plumage similar to that of the. The Deinonychus has razor sharp claws useful for climbing and attacking.

Combat
This section describes how to fight against the Deinonychus.

Strategy
The best way to take down a Deinonychus is to use a long ranged weapon such as a or . Bring powerful attackers like Wyverns or Spinos, or lure Deinonychus off cliffs with a flier. If you don’t have a ranged weapon and they latch on to your mount, just smack it away as they have relatively low health.

If you are stealing eggs, then you definitely need to be prepared with a good mount because there is most likely going to be a pack of Deinonychus. It’s suggested to use a flyer so you’ll be safe. Make sure to steal the egg and then QUICKLY escape because the Deinonychus can pounce riders, which can pose a great threat as it gives time for the rest of the pack to arrive.

Deinonychus can deal a percentage damage bleed effect that scales with how big a pack is, thus high health tames may lose thousands of health instantaneously. They also have the ability to climb, but its not nearly as good as the or the.

Dangers
It is able to latch onto large creatures such as a or, making them hard to hit via conventional means. To make it even more dangerous, they are able to glide upwards to latch onto a nearby ledge similar to the, and pounce and attack much like the (It can't dismount you though). They also cause a bleed effect that stacks and makes them even more dangerous. They tend to be found in groups of at least 2 or more which can make killing/getting away much harder.

Weakness
While latched onto a large Creature, it can mostly only attack the said creature until it releases itself out, making it extremely vulnerable to any attacks from other Creatures or ranged weapons.

The Deinonychus is weak on knockbacks like s. Using a with a decent amount of  can easilly kill a pack or two at once. While latched they can still get hit by attacks from the one they are riding

Taming
Similar to the ,, and, wild Deinonychus cannot be tamed, but a fertilized can be stolen from a nest and hatched to obtain a tamed Deinonychus. Likewise similar to the Wyvern, Rock Drake, and Magmasaur, a typical player would need to be cautious, as these theropods react very aggressively to anything stealing their eggs. Unlike the Wyvern, Rock Drake, and Magmasaur however, Deinonychus are not initially aggressive to large-class predators such as Rexes or Spinos, and these tames may be walked directly up to the nests without conflict until an egg is stolen, making them excellent options for egg theft. Deinonychus nests can be found almost everywhere the dinosaurs spawn, but perhaps the most reliable place to find and farm eggs is the small canyon region in the White Cliffs called The Paradise, which is located in the flat plains area of the cliffs, near to The Lake region. Once an egg has been acquired, the incubation temperature is between 176 and 194 degrees Fahrenheit, or 80 to 90 degrees Celsius, which can be reached through the use of various fires (14 Campfires for example), Air Conditioners, or a Dimetrodon. Once you've hatched your first Deinonychus, unlike the Wyvern, Rock Drake, and Magmasaur, the hatchlings do not require any special food source, and can be fed a standard carnivore diet straight out of the egg. Finally, similarly to the Wyverns and Magmasaurs, successive generations can be bred from tamed individuals, and mutations for higher stats may be acquired.

Stealing an Egg
The nests spawn all around The Paradise in The White Cliffs, and stealing an won't be very hard with some these tames:


 * A is very recommended, with its ability to fly and poison you can run away easily. They are easy to tame and spawn all around The Paradise near the . Their  also has a low level requirement (35).


 * A high level is recommended because of its ability to fly: you can take the egg and fly away easily, or lure the pack off of a cliff.


 * A  can easily outrun the, making it highly recommended for the quest as well.


 * A fast can be a good choice either, since they can be tamed easily and their spawn area isn't very far from the Chalk Hills.


 * You, a, can also do the job. Place a or a  near the nesting area, steal the egg and run away. If you happen to die, respawn at the bed and get your stuff back along with the egg. Watch out for the  and the s.

Utility
The following creatures can be latched on to by the Deinonychus:

They can be seen with the Gnashed icon near them.

The following creatures can get pinned down by Deinonychus:

Roles

 * Combat Specialist: The Deinonychus may be small compared to the giant combatants of the ARKs like Rexes and Spinos, but appearances can be deceiving. Despite its size, the Deinonychus can be one of the most lethal fighters available, enough to rival, and even one-up, their larger competitors in some situations. On its own or in a group, what gives Deinonychus its edge is not its meager health pool or average amount of base damage, but in fact, its access to Bleeding!; a status effect that drains 0.3% of a victim's health over 7 seconds, bypassing armor (but not innate resistances). It can also stack up to 5 times, and can be used with other creatures' bleeds, allowing for increased bleed damage. A single Deinonychus, provided it attacks relentlessly, can apply all 5 stacks of Bleeding on its own, but pack mates should be brought along for maximum effectiveness. For this role, level and  to all Deinonychus, and add  and  to any you intend to ride.
 * Pack Fighter: Whether it involves simple hunting, traveling, or intensive combat, a pack of three to five Deinonychus comes with benefits. The highest level Deinonychus will be designated the alpha, which provides a constant bonus to damage, along with access to a vocalization ability that grants a 45-second pack buff to other allied Deinonychus in its vicinity (up to 4); which boosts movement speed, damage, and resistance to all pack members. One thing to note for this role is that non-ridden Deinonychus will not climb, even if they follow their pack leader; they require a rider to command those precise movements. This means if you intend to travel over difficult terrain, it may be best to leave non-riding pack mates at home.
 * Slayer Companion: The Deinonychus can be paired with another creature that deals bleeding damage (like or ), as their bleeds will work together.
 * Alpha-Slayer: Whether it's for getting rid of them as mere pests, killing them for the massive amount of Raw Prime Meat they're worth, collecting their relevant Trophies, or leveling your Chibi-Pets; Deinonychus makes slaughtering Alpha Creatures a walk in the park... avoid alpha t-rexes and above.
 * Deathworm-Slayer: While not a role that Deinonychus are specifically required for, they do indeed make the task of felling the dangerous Deathworms much easier, particularly the Alpha worms. The worms themselves are not as dangerous as Gigas or Titanosaurs and certainly don't have the same armor as Elementals, but they have a high health pool and deal a good amount of damage. A small pack of saddled and armored Deinonychus will do just fine for normal worms, though for alpha worms, a larger pack, or a small pack used alongside other large-class predators, would be a good idea. Yutyrannus and support is optional for this role; unrequired for single Deathworm battles, but they are invaluable if you intend to hunt multiple worms. Keep in mind, however, that this is a role that, although the Deinonychus are capable of performing, they are still not the best choice for doing so. The average Deinonychus' lower levels in health and weight can make the fights costly and hauling the heavy loot the worms drop problematic. A far better choice for this role, if you have one at your disposal, would be the native Lightning Wyvern (the higher the level, the better), which can push the worms back out of melee range with their wing attack and pelt them with highly damaging lightning bolts, as well has haul off the loot.
 * Boss-Slayer: Among all the tames that inflict bleeding effects on their targets, the Deinonychus is unique among them in the fact that its bleed is the only bleed that works on Bosses. A single pack of five Deinonychus, used alongside dinosaurs in a boss' "Large Creature" priority like the convenient Yutyrannus, will allow a cheese that requires minimal resource nor effort. Without a doubt, Deinonychus is a must-have for this role, and make farming Element and collecting Tek Engrams a breeze.
 * Aberration PvP Specialist: With its various abilities; stacking bleed damage, latching on to larger targets, and pinning smaller targets: the Deinonychus was born for harassment. Coupled with its speed, sharp turning radius, rider weaponry and climbing abilities, the Deinonychus makes an ideal choice for the Aberration map, as fliers are (mostly) disabled and climbing is well-preferred.
 * Travel Mount: Possessing speed, stamina, jumping prowess, climbing capabilities, and a unique immunity to fall damage; the Deinonychus makes for a useful and entertaining means of travel. Compared to the other climbing mounts; the leaping Thylacoleo, the crawling Megalania, and the gliding Rock Drake, the Deinonychus has its own unique method for navigating steep terrains. Best described as a 'jumper,' the Deinonychus cannot climb stably and smoothly in one direction once latched onto a surface. Rather, the Deinonychus shimmies using the jump button, in whichever direction the camera is facing; be it up, down, left, or right. As it climbs, the jump button can be pressed slowly or rapidly, allowing the rider to control the speed at which their mount moves across the climbable surface. In terms of travel versatility, the Deinonychus can be categorized as something of a cross between the Thylacoleo and the Megalania; able to move with speed and jump like the Thylacoleo, and move in any direction while climbing like the Megalania; functioning, perhaps, more akin to a tamed and mounted version of Climbing Picks. Unlike the Drake, Megalania, and Climbing Picks, however, the Deinonychus cannot go 'upside down' and climb across ceilings; limited in that regard to a similar manner as the Thylacoleo. As impressive as the Deinonychus is, in terms of traversal, the Rock Drake remains the undisputed king; as the Deinonychus, while it can jump an impressive distance, is not capable of sustained glides, nor can it launch itself across large gaps to latch onto opposing, unconnected surfaces once it is climbing. Furthermore, once more falling short of the Rock Drake, the Deinonychus handles water very poorly, with a considerably slow swim speed. However, unlike any other climber in the game, the Deinonychus can climb on harvestable nodes, such as trees chopped down for wood. This, in turn, increases the hiding and ambush potential of the Deinonychus compared to the other climbers.
 * Cave Delver: With both its combat and traveling skills taken into consideration, the Deinonychus makes a prime candidate for tackling most artifact caves. However, caverns that require traversal through water are best left to stronger swimmers than the Deinonychus, unless the swimmable section can be skipped by climbing. Caves that have magma, on the other hand, can end up causing some very unfortunate deaths if you make a wrong move with the Deinonychus' jumping and climbing and are best left to delvers that have less room for error with their jumping abilities.
 * Extraordinary Kibble: While tamed female Deinonychus do not lay unfertilized eggs like other tames, their wild counterparts produce vast amounts of them in their nesting grounds. Classified as a Special Egg, wild Deinonychus Eggs can be collected by the bushel and serve as a means to mass-produce Extraordinary Kibble with ease, the finest generalized taming food in the game. This does not mean that tamed deinonychus are not useful for egg production- their eggs will take days to spoil, and are easy to stock up on!
 * Collectors Dino: Due to the variation in colors, and awesome color patterns, this dino is great for collecting every main color, and showing it off.

Notes/Trivia

 * During the first introduction of the creature's dossier, it was hinted that Deinonychus would be breedable by this sentence: "This makes breeding successive generations a hazardous process."
 * This was eventually proven true in Community Crunch 186, making Deinonychus the first raise-only tame to be breedable, unlike the and , but followed by the , , and  (which was made breedable in TLC 3).
 * Deinonychus magna pede roughly translates to "great footed terrible claw".
 * Deinonychus do not take fall damage, see Fall Damage for more info.
 * If you hold jump while on the ground, the Deinonychus will start to crouch. The longer you hold the more powerful the jump will be. Unlike other creatures with a chargeable jump such as the, , or , the jump can not be aimed, and holding jump does not stop the Deinonychus from running.
 * Contrary to popular belief, the Deinonychus is an original Creature and does not come from the Mod ARK Additions, as confirmed by Zen Rowe.
 * Both the and Deinonychus are the only creatures with more than one idle animation.
 * Unlike the and, the Deinonychus will never spawn above a Level increment of 30 (150 is their max level on official).
 * Baby Deinonychus may sometimes hatch from within the nest, and they can then be claimed by anyone, but be wary of nearby wild Deinonychus, for they will treat claimed babies as targets. It may be wise to carry a in case this happens. Although this got fixed within a couple of patches after the Valguero release, hatching temperatures need to be so high, hatching-in-the-wild will no longer occur.
 * Sometimes when aggroed, Baby Deinonychus may pin down survivors and then run off.
 * , Deinonychus and are the only creature that possess an icon different from their dossier/hologram.
 * Deinonychus, and Tropeognathus are the only creatures whose dossiers couldn't be obtained.
 * The Deinonychus is the very first Creature in ARK: Survival Evolved to be classified as a subspecies.
 * Bleed damage caps at 600% melee and does get reduced by saddles.
 * Unlike, its bleed cannot slow down target.
 * The Deinonychus is one of the five species that cannot be tamed, but still can be acquired by the survivor through other means, with the others being, , and.
 * When an egg is stolen, the Deinonychus will become aggravated and will try to kill the player to retrieve the egg back.
 * If a new player encounters a Deinonychus, there are two ways a player and the encountered will react. The first reaction the Deinonychus will do is hit the player. If the player runs away or doesn't attack, then the Deinonychus won't attack (unsure if this works for packs). If the player reacts aggressively, if they think they can take on the Deinonychus, then it is a guarantee kill for the Deinonychus because it has higher speed and intelligence, despite it's level or pack bonus, to kill you. So for mid-tier players and end-tier players who have to deal with a Deinonychus in the wild while roaming around, just make sure you have enough tools and intelligence and tames to take on the Deinonychus, but don't use any creatures that the Deinonychus can pounce on, because it can become easily aggravated, and as a result, can kill your useful tame.

Bugs

 * Rarely afflicted with a bug in which it is unable to latch onto latch-able dinosaurs, climb, call, leap onto smaller dinos, or is unable to jump completely. There is no current fix to this.
 * Has occasional spawn issues on Primitive Plus.
 * For some reason It can drop Raptor Eggs.
 * It can actually latch onto resources, trees, stones etc, if it destroy the resource that it latched on, it will remain latched, but on nothing.
 * 's courage roar can affect Deinonychus, however the effect doesn't show up so its impossible to know whether it is encouraged or not unless you ride it.