The list of creatures that live in the sea in ARK: Survival Ascended may not be as fleshed out as the growing catalog of land dinosaurs. However, Studio Wildcard has managed to do a great job at improving the Ocean Biome since updating the game to Unreal Engine 5.

Related

ARK: Survival Ascended - 8 Fastest Ways To Level Up

The steep XP curve of ARK: Survival Ascended makes levelling increasingly difficult, meaning players must rely on additional ways to gain XP.

Previously, in ARK: Survival Evolved, the ocean was slightly underwhelming, making taming the denizens of the sea unimportant outside of requiring a few to complete the two underwater caverns. Thankfully, in ARK: Survival Ascended, the ocean received plenty of much-needed love that transformed it from a barren biome to a mysterious and whimsical underwater paradise worthy of exploring.

1 Ichthyosaurus

A Reliable And Speedy Early-Game Mount

• Base Health: 275
• Base Melee Damage: 15
• Rideable: Yes

The Ichthyosaurus is a well-loved ocean creature with an inquisitive personality and adorable appearance. Extremely common, spawning across most of The Island’s oceans and rivers, the Ichthyosaur is incredibly easy to tame. As one of the few passive-tames on The Island, players do not need tranqs or narcotics when taming an Ichthyosaurus.

Instead, survivors can peacefully approach a curious Ichthyosaurus with food placed in the last slot on their hot bar. Once next to the Ichthyosaurus, players should be prompted to feed the dolphin-like creature. Players will need to feed the Ichthyo a few times before successfully taming the dino. However, players can make the taming process easier by building a small trap, so the fish cannot swim too far away.

2 Electrophorus

An Electrifying Ocean Companion

• Base Health: 180
• Base Melee Damage: 3
• Rideable: No

Primarily used for PvP, the Electrophorus is a unique sea creature that can electrocute and temporarily slow an affected target's movement speed. As well as reducing the movement speed, the Electrophorus’ shock ability also reduces melee damage. While the electric eel cannot be mounted, it can be whistled ahead of the player to attack and disrupt enemies by applying debuffs.

Related

ARK: Survival Ascended - 7 Best Ranged Weapons, Ranked

From primitive wooden weapons to explosive, steel firearms, ARK: Survival Ascended's ranged weapons are as impressive as they are deadly.

This strategy can make the Electrophorus useful in PvE for slowing down dangerous, wild predators like the Alpha Megalodon, allowing players to take down large threats with greater ease. Furthermore, the player can replicate a similar approach in the underwater caverns to deal with any Alpha Mosasaurus lurking within.

3 Manta

The Living Equivalent Of A Jetski

• Base Health: 320
• Base Melee Damage: 28
• Rideable: Yes

Much faster than the Ichthyosaurus, the Manta is a speedy water mount that excels at traversing the ocean with little fear of being caught by other sea creatures. Great at scouting the ocean biome for loot drops, or other players, the Manta’s primary use is in exploration and surveying the sea.

Underwater drops are significantly better than land drops, typically offering better-tier loot or items of a higher rarity. Due to its speed, the Manta makes finding and gathering beacons quick and efficient, allowing players to locate and retrieve loot at a much higher rate.

4 Anglerfish

Fantastic At Harvesting Rare Materials

• Base Health: 450
• Base Melee Damage: 30
• Rideable: Yes

The Anglerfish, though relatively slow and weak, is a nifty deep-sea creature to tame and use as an exploration mount at the bottom of the ocean. Emitting a bright light, the Anglerfish illuminates even the darkest depths of the ocean.

The Anglerfish’s light has the added benefit of attracting other Anglerfish, making it easier to collect AnglerGel. Additionally, the Anglerfish has a unique ability to harvest Silica Pearls from nodes on the ocean floor with their bite attack. Despite not having a saddle, making the Anglerfish weaker than most other ocean creatures, its use as a utility mount makes it a fantastic dinosaur worthy of taming.

5 Liopleurodon

A Mystical Dino With A Unique Gimmick

• Base Health: 3200
• Base Melee Damage: 40
• Rideable: Yes

The magical Liopleurodon guides the survivor’s way to better loot, rewarding players lucky enough to find it with a huge buff that increases the rarity and value of any lootbox the player interacts with. Only one Liopleurodon spawns on the map at any time, making it extremely difficult to find.

Related

Best Shoulder Pets In ARK: Survival Ascended

ARK: Survival Ascended has plenty of helpful critters that act as cute accessories, each with their own specific uses in both PvE and PvP.

Once found, players can passively tame the Liopleurodon by feeding it Giant Bee Honey. Like the Titanosaur, the Liopleurodon is a temporary tame and will disappear after 30 minutes. Players will have access to the loot buff for 6 hours once out of range of the Liopleurodon, so they should use the buff to their advantage and grab as many beacons as they can.

6 Megalodon

The Infamous Prehistoric Shark

• Base Health: 600
• Base Melee Damage: 40
• Rideable: Yes

One of the easiest underwater combat mounts to tame in ARK: Survival Ascended, the Megalodon is an impressive creature with decent stats. While the Megalodon’s overall health and melee damage may be lower than some other options, the ease of acquiring one makes it incredibly useful. The Megalodon’s Gnash ability also gives it an edge over some options, applying a bleed that deals 5% max health damage to the affected target over five seconds.

An attack pack of several Megalodons makes great company in The Island’s underwater caverns, able to take out dangerous dinosaurs with relative ease. The Megalodon Saddle, unlocked at level 47, is surprisingly cheap to craft, requiring 290 Hide, 155 Fiber, and 30 Cementing Paste. Taming a high-level Megalodon will make exploring the ocean and taking out targets an easy endeavor.

7 Basilosaurus

A Unique Mount With Many Purposes

• Base Health: 2400
• Base Melee Damage: 47
• Rideable: Yes

Decently high base health, fantastic health scaling, and immunity to shocks and grapples, the Basilosaurus is an incredibly safe water mount to traverse the dangerous deep sea with. The Basilosaurus also provides its rider with increased insulation, helping to combat the freezing temperatures of The Island’s icy seas.

Related

ARK: Survival Ascended – 8 Tips For Complete Newcomers

In a world full of gigantic dinosaurs and ferocious predators, simply surviving can be a little tricky.

Due to its immunity, the Basilosaurus excels at clearing underwater caverns, especially if accompanied by a few attack dinosaurs such as the Megalodon. Lastly, the Basilosaurus is an efficient Bio Toxin Gatherer, and will passively generate Oil in its inventory which can be refined into Gasoline. One thing to be mindful of while traversing the ocean depths with the Basilosaurus is that the whale will gradually take damage while in deep water and will not passively regenerate its health.

8 Dunkleosteus

An Efficient And Strong Deep-Sea Fish

• Base Health: 710
• Base Melee Damage: 60
• Rideable: Yes

The Dunkleosteus, while not as impressive looking as the Megalodon or Plesiosaur, is a surprisingly strong ocean beast with fantastic stats. As well as having a higher base health stat than the Megalodon, the Dunkleo has access to natural armor, reducing all incoming damage taken. This natural armor combined with a decent health stat can make the Dunkleosteus a great tank dinosaur.

The Dunkleosteus can be extremely strong in PvP, as it’s the only tameable water animal that can destroy stone buildings and structures, allowing tribes to break into underwater bases without expending expensive materials. Finally, the Dunkleosteus is a fantastic underwater gathering mount, able to harvest Oil, Crystal, Wood, Stone, Metal, and even Black Pearls - and reduce the weight of these materials by 50-75% - extremely efficiently.

9 Tusoteuthis

The Giant Squid Of Legend

• Base Health: 2700
• Base Melee Damage: 65
• Rideable: Yes

The Tusoteuthis is a gigantic underwater squid that can grapple players and dinos with its long tentacles. Even large aquatic creatures, such as the Mosasaurus, are at risk of being grabbed by the Tusoteuthis, and will gradually be inflicted with torpor while in its clutches.

Once tamed, players can use this method to knock out and tame aquatic mounts. The giant squid is also extremely fast. In the wild, once the player becomes the Tuso’s target, the only way to escape it is by swimming as quickly as possible into shallow water, which will cause the Tusoteuthis to de-aggro.

10 Plesiosaur

An Amazing Aquatic War-Mount

• Base Health: 2400
• Base Melee Damage: 75
• Rideable: Yes

Fast and deadly, the Plesiosaur is an extremely strong combat dino. Able to be equipped with a Platform Saddle, the Plesiosaur is also an effective PvP aquatic mount, functioning as an underwater war mount for tribes partaking in naval warfare. The Plesiosaur Platform Saddle can be armed with cannons and siege weapons, making it a great mount for raiding enemy bases.

In PvE, the Plesiosaur is a fantastic aquatic tank with brilliant damage, making it an efficient dinosaur to tame for taking out deep-sea creatures. A single, high-level Plesiosaur can make swift work of the underwater caverns, meaning players should have little issue collecting the deep-sea cave beacons for high-tier loot.

11 Mosasaurus

The Giganotosaurus Of The Sea

• Base Health: 3600
• Base Melee Damage: 100
• Rideable: Yes

The most potent aquatic battle-mount, the Mosasaurus has incredible health and melee damage stats, making it extremely useful in combat. Whether used in PvP or PvE, the Mosasaurus has plenty of uses that make it the best aquatic dinosaur in ARK: Survival Ascended.

In PvP, the Mosasaurus can function as a terrifying war mount when equipped with a Mosasaurus Platform Saddle. The platform saddle can be outfitted with siege weapons and turrets to take down enemy rafts, bases, or dinos from the water. In PvE, despite the Mosasaurus’ poor maneuverability, it can function as a deadly travel mount capable of taking down any threat.

Ark: Survival Ascended

Platform(s)

PC , PS5 , Xbox Series X , Xbox Series S

Released

October 26, 2023

Developer(s)

Studio Wildcard

Genre(s)

Survival , Open-World