The Footpaw

Overview
The Footpaw is a small island located in the south, bordered by two rivers on the east and west, the sea to the south and the Swamp Biome to the North. Due the fact that there are not many aggressive dinos around and that the Southern spawn points are near The Footpaw, it makes for a well populated area in which many beginners set up their first base. The many hills, small cliffs and closely packed stands of palm trees cause skittish herbivores to get stuck very easily, making hunting relatively easy. In the middle of The Footpaw you can find the Weathertop, a plateau. Watch out, because sometimes a Carnotaurus will wander down from Weathertop! While poor in Metal aside from the smooth rocks along the rivers, The Footpaw is lush with vegetation, making gathering berries easy, and has plentiful trees and rocks for Thatch, Wood, Stone and Flint. In addition, there are Castoroides typically in the stream separating the area on the east, making for abundant Cementing Paste at an early stage. The small peninsula on the south side is a defensible location for PvP, as the peninsula is narrow. This allows for a small wall or spike wall and behemoth gate to discourage raiders.

Surroundings
Situated south of The Redwood Forests and north-east of Craggs Island. Further, the Writhing Swamps connects to The Footpaw Isle, which makes some parts dangerous! It is separated from the westernmost of the Southern Islets to the east by a wide, deep river, and from the Southern Jungle to the west by a shallower one. This area boasts the best crossing point across the Swamps and into the Redwoods, around the middle-north of the The Footpaw there is a sandy bridge across the Swamp waters that is only around 30 foundations long, it can be crossed in mere seconds without the fear of leeches or hidden predators. Fortify this area, and you will be able to cross between the south and the Redwoods whenever you feel like it in complete safety, which is normally a difficult task. Also, it is much quicker to travel from the swamps to the ocean (in case you live in the redwoods and want oil or silica) through the The Footpaw than through the Southern Islets, which gives this route to the ocean another great reason to travel.

Resources

 * - the raised southwestern peninsula at 78.5/28.4 with the beacon spawn point near Cragg's Island is densely packed with stone or others resources.
 * - trees are plentiful on The Footpaw, both on the beaches and in the highland forests.
 * - there are two oil nodes relatively close to The Footpaw in the deep eastern river - one is at 80.6 / 37.7, and the other is at 78.7 / 39.4.
 * - while lacking metal nodes the rivers along the edges of The Footpaw has many smooth stones which occasionally drop some metal.
 * and berries
 * - while lacking metal nodes the rivers along the edges of The Footpaw has many smooth stones which occasionally drop some metal.
 * and berries

Location/Resource Notes

 * The area is home to multiple Beacon Locations, with three of Green to Yellow quality in the lagoon and in the northern highland areas, and four of White to Blue quality in the south. Several other White to Blue Supply Crates on Cragg's Island to the southwest can be reached easily with a Wooden Raft.
 * Be careful exploring the highlands near Weathertop on The Footpaw while on foot, especially when chasing beacons at night - at low level, you can easily be killed falling off a steep cliff.
 * Three Oil nodes can be reached by swimming in the deep eastern river between The Footpaw's southeastern finger peninsula and the westernmost of the Southern Islets. One is deep in the center of the river at 78.7 / 39.4; another is southeast off the tip of the peninsula, at the end of the shelf at 80.6 / 37.7.  The third is deeper still, at the bottom of the mouth of the river where it meets the ocean at 81.3/38.4.  If you are swimming to these nodes unassisted, with a slow water mount, or attempting to dive from a raft, be prepared to aggro every Piranha in the river (unless a wild Spino has already cleared them out).  Megalodons are less likely to come up the eastern river, but have plenty of room when they do.  There are two more on shallow shelves off the southern coast of the westernmost of the Southern Islets at 83.3/40.6 and 85.2/41.8.
 * Five Oil nodes on top of seamounts can be reached using a Wooden Raft in the ocean south of The Footpaw. A very shallow node can be reached at 85.4/34.4; four others can be found at 85.0/39.2, 83.2/33.8, 84.6/32.5.
 * A divided bed of Silica Pearls can be found in the ocean south of the westernmost of the Southern Islets at 86.7/39.4 and 87.6/41.0. The bed is separated by a large rock formation.
 * For an early source of Chitin, your best bet is hunting the Trilobites that spawn on the beaches - the southern portion of The Footpaw is nearly entirely bug-free. You may encounter a few Dragonfly and Titanomyrma in the Weathertop area, though.  On the other hand, the northern portion of the island bordering the Writhing Swamps is swarming with Dragonflies!
 * Plant Species X Seeds can be harvested by a tamed herbivore such as a Trike, Stego, or Castoroides from the grey weeds on the northern part of the island near the edge of the Writhing Swamps. Be on the lookout for Sarcos and Titanoboas!

Creature/Taming Notes

 * While Spinos can be seen in the rivers around The Footpaw, the lack of large carnivore spawns means the The Footpaw is very safe for beginning players. The safest locations for beginners are along the southern shores, away from the deep eastern river where the Spinos usually spawn.  The northern and northwestern sides border the Writhing Swamps: as such, you will often encounter Titanoboas and Sarcos here.  However, the abundance of Paracers makes the northern end of the island an attractive location for hunting Raw Prime Meat.
 * Spinos usually tend to spawn in the deep eastern river separating The Footpaw from the westernmost of the Southern Islets, and rarely in the pond at the far end of the small creek on the other side of the peninsula. They usually spend more time in the water dueling with Piranha (and the occasional Megalodon) and hunting Coelacanths than they do on the shores - look for their telltale fins circling in the river.
 * Carnotaurus and Scorpions usually spawn in the upland areas near Weathertop and the Writhing Swamps, but occasionally wander down to the beaches.
 * Small groups of Castoroides spawn in the waters in and around the little sandy island to the northeast at the border to the Writhing Swamps, and may leave Giant Beaver Dams in the water and on the nearby shores, assuming they survive long enough. Beavers tend to be tough, though, so it's likely they'll make some dams if they're not overwhelmed by Sarcos and/or Titanoboa.  If a pen can be built in their spawning area and the local beavers moved into it for protection, the beavers will continually spawn dams.  Relocate the beavers to a second pen far away from the first to harvest the dams without aggroing them.
 * Paracers, Sarcos, Titanoboas and Beelzebufos generally only spawn in the northern part of the island near the swamps, though one may wander further south. If you're attempting to tame a Sarco near the little northeastern island near the swamp, where the beavers spawn, you may want to clear out the beavers first, as they may very well kill your Sarco before you can tame it.  You can also sometimes find a Sarco on the southernmost tip of the westernmost of the Southern Islets, across the big river from the eastern shore of The Footpaw.
 * The shallow southern river on the western side of the finger peninsula which ends in a lagoon is a great place to tame an Ichthyosaurus. Ichthyosaurus occasionally will swim halfway up this shallow river and sometimes get stuck on the smooth metal-bearing stones that form a natural "fish trap" in the river.  If one gets stuck on a rock, it a simple matter to hand-feed it and then mine the rock out from under it to free it.
 * The rocky area at the mouth of the shallow river near (where it reaches the sea) is just deep enough to admit wild Megalodons and Mantas while being shallow enough to restrict their movement. Meanwhile, an Ichthyosaurus can make it much further upriver where a Megalodon cannot go (note: kiting strategy untested with Mantas). With care, one can kite a Megalodon into the mouth of the river and tame it in a relatively safe spot from other Megalodons or Spinos, while also keeping one's Ichthyosaurus out of trouble.
 * Plesiosaurs can be found in the deeps off the eastern coast of Cragg's Island to the south of The Footpaw. Beware when searching for Oil and Silica Pearls in this area!

Trivia

 * The Footpaw is actually shaped like a dinosaur claw.
 * The Footpaw is featured in the official Ark: Survival Evolved PS4 announcement trailer from 0:55 to 1:33 - the player spawns at the South 1 Spawn Point and runs north along the shore with other players, past a Bronto, several Dodos, and a Trike.
 * There are two small sets of ruins in the upland jungles south of Weathertop, located at 79.1/32.2 and 77.0/31.6, respectively.
 * The Weathertop region is entirely within The Footpaw.

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