The Andrewsarchus is one of the creatures in ARK: Survival Evolved, being introduced in the Fjordur expansion map. It is a medium-sized, omnivorousmammal known for its ability to rapidly run underwater and its minigun-equipped saddle that it can use to attack foes from a distance.
This section is intended to be an exact copy of what the survivor Helena Walker, the author of the dossiers, has written. There may be some discrepancies between this text and the in-game creature.
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Species
Andrewsarchus mongoliensis
Time
Middle Eocene
Diet
Omnivore
Temperament
Opportunistic
Wild
Andrewsarchus is a beast that's full of surprises. These ungainly creatures might seem sluggish while foraging for a meal, but they can move unexpectedly fast when provoked. Like certain other whippomorphs, Andrewsarchus will aggressively defend its territory against interlopers. With some distance between you, it may be possible to dodge a charging Andrewsarchus -- they don't exactly turn on a dime. Just don't expect a river or lake to protect you from one. As long as its feet can reach bottom, Andrewsarchus will plow its way right through deep water. These scavengers will tear into just about anything if hungry, but they've got a bit of a sweet tooth. I've seen many an agitated Andrewsarchus pacified by some honey.
Domesticated
Once tamed, Andrewsarchus is a reliably fast beast of burden, as long as you don't need it to take any corners at full speed. Its density in water also makes Andrewsarchus ideal for searching ocean floors for pearls, since it sinks so readily to the bottom. The preferred saddle design includes a mounted minigun to target foes, while the driver stays safe inside their airtight armored enclosure. Though a fully-armored Andrewsarchus can't absorb as much damage as some of the ARK's larger creatures, it still excels at harassing them.
The temperament of an Andrewsarchus is comparable to a Dire Bear. In the wild, they can be found alone or in pairs (multiple pairs seem to be able to spawn within a short radius of each other) and only aggro onto players and tamed creatures when close to them. When very close to an Andrewsarchus it does take the creature a few seconds to notice your presence and start attacking however you still should be cautious around it.
Appearance
The Andrewsarchus is a rather large mammal with a hunched back and a mane of fur. With a similar appearance to a pig, hyena, or Daeodon it has a very large head hiding a vicious array of teeth along with hooves similar to that of a pig or hippo.
Color Scheme and Regions
This section displays the Andrewsarchus's natural colors and regions. For demonstration, the regions below are colored red over an albino Andrewsarchus. The colored squares shown underneath each region's description are the colors that the Andrewsarchus will randomly spawn with to provide an overall range of its natural color scheme. Hover your cursor over a color to display its name and ID.
This information can be used to alter the Andrewsarchus's regions by entering cheat SetTargetDinoColor <ColorRegion> <ColorID> in the cheat console. For instance, cheat SetTargetDinoColor 0 6 would color the Andrewsarchus's "main" magenta.
Type in values of a wild creature to see on which stats it's emphasized. Green values on a high-level creature are very good for breeding. If you have already tamed your creature you can try to recover the breeding stats with an external tool.[1]
Andrewsarchus
The stat-calculator does not work in the mobile-view, see here for alternatives: Apps
Note that after the creature is tamed it gets bonuses on some stats depending on the taming effectiveness. This makes it hard to retrieve the levels on a tamed creature, so this tool is only for wild ones, but gives a first impression, how well the stats are distributed.
Also the rider cannot be damaged by most of the weaponary like Flamethrower, explosives or any projectile, he is also not a valid target for the turrets that only shoots enemy players while he is mounted on the Andrew.
Combat
This section describes how to fight against the Andrewsarchus.
General
The Andrewsarchus is fast and strong in battle, a player with 130% into Movement Speed is still slower than it, however it has a similar aggro range to that of the Therizinosaurus, so you can avoid its aggro sometimes.
Strategy
Taking the highground while the player shoots at it with arrows or bullets is a good option.
Weaponry
Bringing with you a Harpoon Launcher with Net Projectile is a good option in case the Andrewsarchus gets too close to you.
Dangers
Though not exactly quick to aggro it can be extremely dangerous if provoked. Easily capable of running down survivors it has surprisingly high health for its size and its bites can dish out a high amount of damage. Also when taming if it enrages it will kick you off which could potentially send you off a cliff or into something even more dangerous like a Giganotosaurus.
Weakness
Although powerful it turns very slowly allowing you to potentially lose it if you zig zag or just kiting it.
Taming
Andrewsarchus' can only be tamed non-violently rather than through the knockout methods. To be able to tame the creature, you need to throw the Giant Bee Honey (from your hot bar and not directly from your inventory) near it. This can be done without the need for anything to reduce the player's detection by wild creatures because of the Andrewsarchus's low aggro range. While it is eating the honey quickly approach and mount it. Clearing out any other Andrewsarchus and hostile creatures is recommended for its taming method to prevent any problems when throwing the honey and riding it. Giganotosaurus can also spawn alongside Andrewsarchus, and the Gigas will kill the Andrewsarchus'.
If successful, this will prompt a mini-game, showing two arrows between itself. Hold the directional button in the prompted direction (left or right) when the arrow glows green, and immediately release it when it glows red.
If the button held is not done properly, or after some time, it will buck you off from a distance and within a distance where it can see you, it will immediately become aggressive. To prevent this from happening pay attention to the red bar underneath the taming bar and hop off right before it is full then run away for a few seconds to prevent it from aggroing onto you. Repeat the above method until fully tamed.
Do not attempt to trap Andrewsarchus when trying to tame it. If it can't find a pathway in front of it after a few seconds, it will immediately kick you out and attempt to attack both you and if any, man-made structures that got in its way, including ones under Offline Protection or simply can't be destroyed by it. This makes it impossible to tame unless said structure is out of its way.
Utility
The Andrewsarchus makes an excellent early-game tame for starting on Fjordur, as the honey required to tame it can easily be harvested from certain rock nodes near its territories, without incurring the wrath of a defending hive of bees. Boasting a beefy stat spread, an Andrewsarchus can easily provide some peace, safety, and security for your starting adventures on its native map, and it is rideable even before you have the means to craft a saddle for it. Once a saddle has been crafted, however, this is when the Andrewsarchus goes from just another beefy mammal tame to something far more extraordinary. Much like the army tank design it emulates, the saddle functions almost like a direct upgrade to a Stegosaurus, providing increased utility and protecting the rider from nearly any threat imaginable; be it from the environment or hostile attackers. As part of this design, it also functions as an unlimited Oxygen source for the rider, though the Andrewsarchus itself still needs to surface for a breath from time to time. Finally, when Advanced Rifle Bullets are placed in the Andrewsarchus' inventory, the turret rigged to the capsule can be operated and fired by its rider for numerous combat purposes. Unlike most other firearms, this turret works even while submerged in water!
While saddled, the Andrewsarchus provides the following benefits:
Rider Stun/Dismount Immunity: The dismounting effects and grapples of Raptors, Kaprosuchus, Thylacoleo, Karkinos, Microraptor swoops, Giant Bee stings, Bloodstalker webbing, and so on are all protected against. Though the Andrewsarchus itself is not immune to the stuns of creatures like Purlovia, Baryonyx, and Cnidaria, the rider is however still immune to the dismounting effects imposed by these creatures, which would often be a death sentence. So long as the Andrewsarchus still has bullets in its inventory, the rider can pilot the gun and dispose of these threats while the Andrewsarchus is stunned.
Environmental Protection: This applies specifically to the rider and not the Andrewsarchus, and although the saddle doesn't guard against fluctuations in temperature, it does guard against most forms of environmental hazards. The air-tight construction of the tank capsule protects the rider from oxygen deprivation and certain airborne hazards, such as the poisonous gas in the Swamp Cave, and can even provide immunity from lava damage.
Roles
Unsaddled Roles: These roles can be fulfilled by an Andrewsarchus that is either saddled or unsaddled.
Early Guardian: Relatively easy to tame on its home map of Fjordur, the Andrewsarchus easily provides the benefits of a mid-game carnivore early in a survivor's journey on its ARK, giving you a leg up in your more vulnerable beginning stage. While the damage from the Andrewsarchus' bite is nothing to write home about, it is still tanky enough to out-damage most threats to its safety and yours over a prolonged engagement, so long as you have tamed or high-levelled one or levelled up one appropriately. For opponents it can't deal with, it can easily fall back on its terrestrial speed and excellent swimming capabilities to ferry you out of danger.
Amphibious Mount: The Andrewsarchus is perfectly adapted for hoofing it on land, and sea; literally, as the beast can sink to the ocean floor or the bottom of a river or lakebed and run along it like a hippopotamus. When needed to push off the bottom, it is still a strong and capable swimmer to take you back up to the surface for a breath. On land, the Andrewsarchus may not be the fastest mount, having a momentum-based sprint mechanic, but it is certainly up there; capable of covering long distances quickly over open ground, it runs rather similarly to a Dire Bear, but with an increased ability to make sharper turns by sliding, and immediately breaking back into top speed with a charge. It also has the added ability to smash through breakable nodes like rocks and trees, without losing speed or momentum. As long as your travel plan doesn't include climbing vertical cliffs or flying, the Andrewsarchus is a capable mount for traversing most maps.
Saddled Roles: These roles are only able to be performed, either exclusively or effectively, by Andrewsarchus that have had their saddle equipped.
Submersible: The unlimited oxygen afforded to the rider in the tank capsule turns the Andrewsarchus into a perfect diving buddy; capable of keeping its rider alive when the next breath of fresh air might be too far away.
Battle Tank: While not quite boasting the Health pool of creatures that perform traditional tank roles like Rexes, the Andrewsarchus can get almost as close on health, but the true utility they provide in this role is how their saddle specifically protects the rider. If you're worried about being dismounted, stunned, gunned down, or killed in a warfare situation, the Andrewsarchus makes the perfect choice to carry you onto the battlefield for commanding your troops, without risking you to death so long as your fuzzy mount stays alive.
Spelunker: For Caves the Andrewsarchus can access and complete, or at least mostly complete, either ridden in or forced in with a Cryopod, the sarchus makes an excellent choice to delve for Artifacts. The oxygen the saddle provides protects riders from drowning in underwater segments or suffocating from gas damage. Likewise the tank capsule keeps riders safe from the armor-damaging effects of Arthropluera spit, prevents the contraction of Mega Rabies, and even provides immunity to the devastating effects of magma damage (though you'll want to get your Andrewsarchus out from the molten rock quickly!). The turret on the saddle also allows you to kill Arthropluera without damaging your Andrewsarchus in the process, as well as snipe down hidden threats like Megalania clinging to the cavern ceilings.
Bossing Mount: Although other tames are far more effective for combatting Bosses, the Andrewsarchus functions specifically as the mount you ride to keep yourself alive. This works to great effect in boss encounters where they have attacks or minions that target riders, such as when you fight the Dragon, and provided you're willing to spend the bullets, the turret on the saddle provides decent damage to supplement your actual fighters.
Long-Range Gunner: While advanced rifle bullets might not be cheap to make if you have the means to mass-produce them, the Andrewsarchus makes a beautifully effective ranged combatant for dealing with threats at a distance. Coupled with its speed and aquatic escape options, this can make the Andrewsarchus a hilarious choice for PvP harassment.
For information pertaining specifically to the real-world Andrewsarchus, see the relevant Wikipedia article.
As a member of the order Artiodactyla, Andrewsarchus is a relative of other even-toed hoofed animals like deer, swine, or cattle. Though specifically part of the Whippomorpha suborder, it is more closely related to Whales and Hippos. Its closest relatives, however; are Entelodonts, one of which is also in ARK: the Daeodon, who is also a member of Whippomorpha. As some of the very few hoofed animals that were known to regularly kill and eat meat that have ever lived, both Andrewsarchus and Daeodon are quite literally "Sheep in wolves' clothing".
Although its dossier mentions that the Andrewsarchus is good at collecting Silica Pearls, in the gameplay it does not have the ability to collect them.
Yes
No
Region 0:
Region 2:
Region 3:
Region 4:
Region 5:
Daeodon it has a very large head hiding a vicious array of teeth along with hooves similar to that of a pig or hippo.
Health
Stamina
Oxygen
Food
Weight
Melee Damage
Movement Speed
Torpidity
Andrewsarchus Saddle equiped, this protection includes 
Bear Traps, 
Whip, 
Net Projectile, 
Plant Species Z Fruit, 
Stuns, etc. Also it protects the rider from being grabbed by other creatures.
Flamethrower, explosives or any projectile, he is also not a valid target for the turrets that only shoots enemy players while he is mounted on the Andrew.
Movement Speed is still slower than it, however it has a similar aggro range to that of the 
Therizinosaurus, so you can avoid its aggro sometimes.
Harpoon Launcher with 
Giganotosaurus.
Giant Bee Honey (from your hot bar and not directly from your inventory) near it. This can be done without the need for anything to reduce the player's detection by wild creatures because of the Andrewsarchus's low aggro range. While it is eating the honey quickly approach and mount it. Clearing out any other Andrewsarchus and hostile creatures is recommended for its taming method to prevent any problems when throwing the honey and riding it. Giganotosaurus can also spawn alongside Andrewsarchus, and the Gigas will kill the Andrewsarchus'.
Stegosaurus, providing increased utility and protecting the rider from nearly any threat imaginable; be it from the environment or hostile attackers. As part of this design, it also functions as an unlimited 
Oxygen source for the rider, though the Andrewsarchus itself still needs to surface for a breath from time to time. Finally, when 
Advanced Rifle Bullets are placed in the Andrewsarchus' inventory, the turret rigged to the capsule can be operated and fired by its rider for numerous combat purposes. Unlike most other firearms, this turret works even while submerged in water!
Dimorphodon, projectiles from Ranged Weaponry (including Turrets) and Explosives, the armor-damaging spit of an 
Arthropluera, the poison spit of a 
Wyvern or 
Basilisk, the acidic death cloud of a 
Reaper, etc is all negated for the rider.
Raptors, 
Kaprosuchus, 
Thylacoleo, 
Karkinos, 
Microraptor swoops, 
Giant Bee stings, 
Bloodstalker webbing, and so on are all protected against. Though the Andrewsarchus itself is not immune to the stuns of creatures like 
Purlovia, 
Baryonyx, and 
Cnidaria, the rider is however still immune to the dismounting effects imposed by these creatures, which would often be a death sentence. So long as the Andrewsarchus still has bullets in its inventory, the rider can pilot the gun and dispose of these threats while the Andrewsarchus is stunned.
Dire Bear, but with an increased ability to make sharper turns by sliding, and immediately breaking back into top speed with a charge. It also has the added ability to smash through breakable nodes like rocks and trees, without losing speed or momentum. As long as your travel plan doesn't include climbing vertical cliffs or flying, the Andrewsarchus is a capable mount for traversing most maps.
Health pool of creatures that perform traditional tank roles like 
Rexes, the Andrewsarchus can get almost as close on health, but the true utility they provide in this role is how their saddle specifically protects the rider. If you're worried about being dismounted, stunned, gunned down, or killed in a warfare situation, the Andrewsarchus makes the perfect choice to carry you onto the battlefield for commanding your troops, without risking you to death so long as your fuzzy mount stays alive.
Cryopod, the sarchus makes an excellent choice to delve for 
Artifacts. The oxygen the saddle provides protects riders from drowning in underwater segments or suffocating from gas damage. Likewise the tank capsule keeps riders safe from the armor-damaging effects of Arthropluera spit, prevents the contraction of 
Mega Rabies, and even provides immunity to the devastating effects of magma damage (though you'll want to get your Andrewsarchus out from the molten rock quickly!). The turret on the saddle also allows you to kill Arthropluera without damaging your Andrewsarchus in the process, as well as snipe down hidden threats like 
Megalania clinging to the cavern ceilings.
Bosses, the Andrewsarchus functions specifically as the mount you ride to keep yourself alive. This works to great effect in boss encounters where they have attacks or minions that target riders, such as when you fight the 
Dragon, and provided you're willing to spend the bullets, the turret on the saddle provides decent damage to supplement your actual fighters.
Silica Pearls, in the gameplay it does not have the ability to collect them.
ARK: Survival Evolved Changes
