More notes on taming Dinos...
A Level 150 Dire Bear is a problematic capture. Since my debacle with the Spinosaurus (unexpected rapid Torpor regen) I've been more cautious and planned ahead. In tackling a Direbear, I read that they have extremely high torpor but relatively low health - meaning traditional Crossbow headshot hunting will simply result in a kill. The plan I devised then involved using Narcotic Tripwire Traps to drug the bear prior to KO'ing it. I calculated, based on the
creature stats, that it probably had about 10,000 Torpor. That's a lot. In looking at it's health, I figured it might have 2200-2800 HP. I hoped. The crossbow does 35 damage with Tranq arrows - 87.5 with a 2.5x Headshot modifier. If I wait 5 or 6 seconds between shots, I get 394 torpor out of it. I really didn't want to screw it up, and the online guide basically said any Direbear over level 16 is highly likely to die before being Tranq'd. So - I made
30 Narcotics traps, just to be safe. 15 pairs of 2. That's an additional 3,600 Torpor with no additional damage if they all hit.
I took my (now Level 21) Quetzal and flew down to the Redwood forest, where I've seen Bears a-plenty. It took a long while, but I finally discovered a Level 150 Male fighting a Carnotaur and scooped him up... which he thanked me for by mauling my Quetzal. I had to drop him twice to realign him and transport him home. I plopped him safely out of the way and then lined the floor of my capture pen with the 30 Narcotics traps. I picked him up again and dropped him in, then parked the Quetzal. I kept a Sabertooth on standby right next to the pen in case I needed to flee or give chase. The bear had triggered some of the traps, and was enraged - clawing at the walls. I clambered up the ladder and started poking him in the head. Wall segments, flooring, doors, windows ... he ripped it all up in fury. I couldn't help but think that maybe this wasn't such a good idea and that a wooden capture pen was just bad planning. With 20 or so arrows in the back and top of his head and all but three segments of walls shredded, the bear had enough and pushed out into the wild. I jumped down onto the Sabertooth and gave chase - thankful for the new Shoot from Small Mounts mechanics. My Crossbow worked great as I rode, but it was more than a little awkward trying to ride, steer, and shoot a running Direbear. I did manage to corral it into a mountain alcove - and it jammed it's head into the wall. I could only cringe and shoot arrow after arrow into it's fat bear rump, giving 5-6 seconds between shots. The bear got bloodier and bloodier until it looked like it was on the verge of death - and then it suddenly collapsed after a shot. I ran up and found it was unconscious!
With about 300 health left.
This is where hoarding Carno eggs came in useful. I deployed my 10 Kibble; the very first time using it. Each one he ate filled his taming bar by about 1/6th or so (8x Tame Speed on my server) - and after a short while, I had a +74 level Direbear! The Kibble only knocked off 0.0% to 0.1% per use, and when he was done he was still at like 99.7% effectiveness.
My list of Level 150 captures is now... Direbear (Fiber), Parasaur, Trike (Berries), Pteranodon (Air Superiority), Argentavis (Medium Air Hauling), Mammoth (Wood), and Megalodon (Ocean travel). I think I've got all the basic resources covered pretty well, and just need to find some critters from the deep to help me get rarer resources from that area.
I did have a setback over the weekend, too. I got a little cocky while trying to capture a Doedicurus and it knocked me off a cliff. I was amused until I realized the fall was going to be lethal. I figured I'd be able to fly back quick enough and wasn't too worried until I watched my corpse slide down into the ocean. When I came back I discovered that particular spot was a sheer drop down into an abyss filled with Megalodons. I lost a blue Pick, a green Hatchet, and a more powerful Crossbow - along with a good assortment of armor, 100 Tranq arrows, 50 Narcotics, and a Canteen.
I think my next adventure is going to be moving to a more 'central' location closer to the middle of The Center and establish a strong base there. I've got the Dinos to harvest a lot of materials pretty easily, so construction should be smooth. I'd love to build a really nice looking base with a large perimeter fence and safe places for dino breeding.