Haven’t got enough hands to move your goods from one place to another in Ark: Survival Ascended? Not to worry, for the Quetzal is here to help you soar across the sky with ease. You just need to tame one first.
These winged creatures are as helpful as they are rare in Ark: Survival Ascended. While I won’t get into why flying creatures like these aren’t actually dinosaurs, I will show you how to find them in the wild and tame them.
Ark: Survival Ascended: Where to find a Quetzal
The Quetzal is an incredibly useful creature to tame in Ark. Being the largest flying and tameable animal, capable of withstanding weights that no land creature can, the Quetzal is the go-to Ark animal to carry your goods from one place to another. While most winged animals can only be saddled, the Quetzal is capable of carrying humans, dinosaurs, and cargo on its back. But where can you find these helpful animals?
A Quetzal can appear anywhere on the map, but its appearance is extremely rare. Roughly two Quetzal will spawn into the map at any given time but there is no clear indication of its habitat or flight path. Your only real option is to plot a route across the entire map and keep your eyes to the sky for a Quetzal to make an appearance. Do not reach the sky limit, as you will not find any Quetzal flying at that high an altitude. You can see one of these giant, flying creatures from the ground.
How to catch and tame the Quetzal in Ark: Survival Ascended
The method to capturing a Quetzal is a bit of a tough one. It is best to try and tame a level 130+ Quetzal. While the taming process is much longer, the result is more rewarding, as the tamed Quetzal will be able to carry more than any lower-leveled variation. You will need multiple pieces of equipment to pluck one of these fellas straight out of the sky. Make sure you have:
- Flyer (Argentavis, Pteranodon, Tapejara, and Rhyniognatha)
- Net gun
- Grappling hooks
- Parachute
To catch a flying Quetzal, you first need another flying species to get above the Quetzal. When you are above and in front of the Quetzal, exit out of the Flyer and pop your Parachute. Use the attack whistle command so that the Flyer continues to track the Quetzal in case you miss your Net gun shot.
The next moment is crucial. Stay cool, calm, and collected and make sure that when you dismount the Flyer you plant a Grapple hook into your trusty pet immediately to stay afloat. Switch to the Net gun, aim, and shoot at the moving Quetzal to bring the beast down with a single net. If you miss, don’t worry. Just stay patient and try again.
Once the Quetzal is on the ground, be sure to have the following taming equipment ready to go:
- Tranquilizer
- Raw Mutton or Exceptional Kibble
- Narcotics
- Dino Gateways
After knocking the Quetzal out of the sky, use Tranquilizer Darts to knock the Quetzal out. Once done, use Dino Gateways and plant two archways directly across its body to secure it in place. Now is the time to begin the feast. Be sure to feed it either Raw Mutton or Exceptional Kibble. You will need far more Mutton than Kibble during the taming period.
Make sure that you are watching the Quetzal at all times in case it wakes up and tries to escape the trap you set. Although if it does escape, it won’t be hard to miss it. Having as many Tranquilizers on hand is beneficial to keeping the taming process as easy as possible. You also need a mixture of Narcotics to keep the Quetzal asleep, and food like Kibble to keep the winged-creature happy.
