Piranha

The Piranha (previously also named Megapiranha) is one of the creatures in ARK: Survival Evolved.

Behavior
Very aggressive to anything that is in their immediate vicinity, they will even conjure out of thin air to attack the mighty Tyrannosaurus, although these attacks usually prove futile. Megapiranha tend to stay in groups of 4-5. In such numbers, they can tear through weak armor in a matter of seconds. Players who cross large bodies of water often find multiple schools converging on them, which can prove a problem even for the most advanced of players.

Appearance
Traversing the island's freshwater rivers and lakes can be a dangerous proposition, especially when the fearsome Megapiranha is in the area. As large as a coelacanth and far more aggressive, these fish usually travel in small groups to hunt, swarming weak and wounded animals in a flurry of snapping jaws and cutting teeth. The Megapiranha's rough skin and violent behavior make it unmistakable for any other fish species.

Taming
The Piranha can be 'tamed' using a. However, their level are affixed, thus cannot earn any experience, and they do not eat from the trough. The engram for the basket can only be learned on Aberration and you need amongst other things. You can also transfer tamed piranhas or pre built fish baskets to the desired map via a or an Obelisk.

Combat
This section describes how to fight against the Piranha.

General
Any melee weapon will suffice to kill them off, as they have relatively low health. Make sure that you do not stay nearby them for so long, as others will swim over and pile themselves on. At that point, it becomes dangerous. Stepping away from the water removes them as a threat entirely. Tamed mounts such as are sufficiently easier to kill them on instead of a  or, this is because of their stun.

Strategy
Use the range provided by a or  to poke at the Megapiranha from a distance. If possible, lure them to the shore and get them stuck in the shallows. It is not practical to use a ranged weapon, as they swerve often, and only s work underwater. Before crossing a river just get deep enough to see underwater and look around for piranha, wait there long enough for any that are around to come to you, if nothing comes you are safe to cross, if they do come try to stand knee deep until they are pretty close and they may get stuck in the shallows. It is also wise to take a running leap across a river after you have checked it, this will help to clear the distance just in case.

Weaponry
The best weapons to use are s and s because they can hit the piranha without getting close enough for it to fight back. If the piranha is exposed you can hit it with ranged weapons like a or.

Dangers
Piranha employ swarm tactics to kill their prey. Make sure you stay as far away from them as possible, or if you feel confident, let them gather so you can hit them all at once.

Weakness
They have a small health pool, so they do not take a while to be killed if they are singled out and separated.

Roles
Food Source: You can tame piranhas to slaughter them later for.

Damage: They do a moderate of damage, but they attack incredibly quickly and may be helpful as underwater guard dogs.

Pet: Although rather useful in combat, some consider keeping them as pets.

Swarmers: They are possibly the best underwater swarmers besides the, as they are fast, do medium damage, and attack very quickly.

Escort: Their speed allows them to keep up with all but the fastest of aquatic mounts, and their easy taming method allows a survivor to field enough of these creatures to deter most attackers, and tear anything insane enough to attack someone with several dozen of these to shreds.

Notes/Trivia

 * Piranhas can make crossing rivers difficult for survivors starting off in the game. It is recommended to try to find a shallow place to cross or avoid crossing altogether until you get some gear to protect yourself. If you have a corpse you can drag it into the water to potentially lure piranhas in either to find out if there are any and/or eliminate them.
 * The Piranha's design is similar to that of the titular fish in "Piranha 3D", a 2010 horror-comedy film.
 * The Piranha used to be named Megapiranha in game. They are still named that way in ARK: Survival Evolved Mobile.
 * The Piranha was not tamable until Aberration was released.
 * The Piranha are cloned by the to maintain their presence in the ecosystem, because they are either completely unable to breed or their population is unable to recover manually.
 * The game does not assign any genders to the Piranhas, making players unable to breed them.
 * Piranha do not produce.
 * Real Piranhas are social animals that live in schools. 's Piranhas can be found together but mostly found on their own.
 * The Piranha along with, , and  became tamable with the  introduced in Aberration.
 * They sometimes get beached when chasing targets that are close but no longer in water, causing them to die instantly. This mechanics can be utilized by players to get free fish meat.

Gallery
Piranha Piraña Piranha Пиранья