How to tame a Spino in ARK: Survival Ascended with an easy stone pit

Why a pit works on a Spino

A Spinosaurus is big, fast, and hits hard, and it has a habit that ruins many pen-style traps: the wiki notes that it can step over walls two high, including Metal Billboards, so a simple walled pen is unreliable. Raconin’s trap avoids the problem by not being a pen at all. It is a raised ring of stone foundations around an open hole. The Spino follows you up a ramp, reaches the top and drops into the open middle, from where it cannot get out. It is built from stone and cheap enough to rebuild if a tame goes wrong.

It also keeps the Spino on dry ground. The wiki records that a Spino flees at about 75 percent torpor and usually heads for water, where it can fall asleep and drown, so it advises taming it away from water. A pit on land means the knocked-out Spino stays where you put it.

Materials for the trap

A 5x5 ring of foundations with an empty centre uses exactly 16 foundations, which matches the list in the video.

Build the stone pit

1. Place the foundation ring. Make a 5x5 square using foundations on the outer edge only. Leave the whole middle empty, and place the ring as high above the ground as you can. Height is what makes the drop.
2. Add the doorways. Build stone doorways around the outside of the ring. Do not close the whole square: the doorways cover four rows, and one full row of foundations on one side stays open. That open side is the entrance of the ramp.
3. Build the ramp. From the end of the doorways at that open side, place stone roofs sloping down to the ground. You should be able to run up it comfortably.
4. Check it. Walk the route yourself: ground, up the ramp, across the open row, then out the far side. That is the same route you will run with the Spino behind you.

Gear and supplies

• Armour: a flak set (the video recommends it) because one Spino bite hurts.
• Weapon: a crossbow with tranq arrows, or a Longneck Rifle with tranq or shocking darts.
• Healing: Medical Brews in case the Spino hits you while you trap or knock it out.
• Binoculars (or a modded spyglass that shows torpor) to read torpor.
• Food: Raconin uses raw mutton or Exceptional Kibble. The wiki lists Raw Prime Fish Meat as its preferred food and Exceptional Kibble as its preferred kibble, so kibble is the best use of limited supplies.
• Narcotics: see the rates section below.

The tame, in order

1. Get its attention. Shoot the Spino once so it aggros and charges you.
2. Run the ramp. Sprint up the ramp and across the top, then out through the far side of the trap.
3. Let it drop. The Spino follows, runs up the ramp and falls into the open middle. It cannot climb back out.
4. Retry if needed. Not every Spino commits to the ramp on the first run. Some get stuck on it or refuse to climb. Lure it a little farther from the trap and try again; a few attempts are normal.
5. Knock it out. Shoot it from above with your crossbow or Longneck and watch torpor on the binoculars.
6. Feed it. Once it is unconscious, open its inventory and add raw mutton or Exceptional Kibble. Add narcotics as needed.
7. Guard the pit. Keep the area clear while the taming bar fills. Raconin stresses that no wild creature should get near the Spino during the tame.

Narcotics and server rates

This is the part that changes between servers. In the video Raconin says that on higher taming rates, around 5x and above, you may not need narcotics at all; on lower rates, bring some in case torpor falls too fast. The wiki’s own (ASE) numbers show why: torpor on a wild Spino drains quickly, about 2.1 per second at level 1 and about 7.4 per second at level 150, so the creature wakes sooner as its level goes up.

Two practical points from the wiki: five Narcoberries are listed as more effective against a Spino than one Narcotic because they give less torpor but over a longer time, and in optimal conditions a level 1 Spino needs only about four tranq darts to go down. Higher levels need many more, so bring extra ammunition.

Dry-run checklist before you lure

Most failed Spino tames fail before the creature arrives. Spend two minutes on this list:

1. Walk the lure route twice with nothing chasing you: ground, ramp, top, far side. Make sure you do not catch on a roof edge.
2. Stand at the top and check you can hit the pit from at least one safe spot.
3. Hotbar order: weapon first, then your healing, then the food and narcotics you will need after the drop.
4. Confirm no other predators are nearby. A second creature in the area will interrupt the tame.
5. Check the position of water. The farther the pit is from a river or the shore, the safer the tame.

Reading the tame

While it is unconscious, glance at torpor every so often rather than staring at it. If it slides steadily toward zero, add narcotics before it is critical. If it holds, leave it and feed. Raconin does exactly this: checks, adjusts, and otherwise waits.

Other ways to hold a Spino

The wiki notes that a Spino is immobilised by Chain Bolas and by Large Bear Traps, which makes both usable in other trap designs. Raconin’s own comment is that this pit is the simple, cheap choice, and that other methods exist depending on the map, your server rates and which trap you prefer.

Common mistakes and how to fix them

• Foundations too low. A shallow pit is easier to escape and easier to climb. Build the ring as high as possible.
• Closing the ramp side. One full row must stay open or the Spino has nowhere to enter.
• Running the wrong way. Run up the ramp and out the other side. Stop on top and you take the bite.
• Tamed near water. If it flees into the water at 75 percent torpor it can drown. Build the trap away from rivers and the shore.
• Assuming narcotics are optional. They are on 5x and above; below that, keep some.
• Leaving it unguarded. Even a safe pit is no defence against a roaming predator. Stand by with a weapon.

What to do with a Spino

The Spino saddle is unlocked at level 71 according to the wiki. In water, the Spino’s Hydration ability adds about 15 percent attack damage, 20 percent movement speed and 25 percent health regeneration, which lingers for a short time after it leaves the water. That makes it good for raiding, for defence, for fast transport and for fighting Broodmother Lysrix, whose arena has pools that trigger the buff. For a related big-predator tame that also relies on a headshot, compare our Rex bear-trap guide or our Rock Elemental funnel guide.

Raconin points out that this is only one of several ways to tame a Spino. If you play a different map or prefer another style, see the taming traps compared page.

Frequently asked questions