Mutations are random stat boosts and color changes applied to offspring when breeding tamed creatures. For further insights see the External links section.
The chances of one mutation for 2 dinos, both of whose mutation counter is below 20, are 7.31%.
There can be a total of 3 new mutations on an offspring.
These chances are reduced by 45% or 55% (depending on which parent has the higher stat) if one of the parents has its mutation counter above 20.
The chances are reduced by 55% if the total counter value of the parent with the higher stat value (of the stat that is to be mutated) is above 20, or 45% if the counter of the parent with the lower stat value is above 20.
There is no chance of a mutation if both parents have their mutation counter above 20.
A mutation can be in any stat, and each mutation adds 2 wild points to that stat.
Note: because speed gets no increase from wild points, it is effectively a "wasted mutation" as a mutation in speed causes no change to the stat itself, only the counter. (Evolved only it seems)
Counter
The mutation counter is NOT an accurate representation of the number of mutations on a creature.
The total counter value that a parent passes down to a baby is the sum of its paternal and maternal counter values.
So, a baby's paternal counter value is its father's total counter value, and maternal counter value is its mother’s total counter value.
If a baby gets a mutation(s), then either the maternal or paternal counter value is increased by one for each mutation (not related to which parent the stat with the mutation was inherited from).
So, if a father has a paternal counter value of 10 and its maternal counter value is 5, then in total it has 15 mutations (10+5). If it then has an offspring/child with a mutation from its paternal side, then the offspring's paternal counter value will be 16 (10+5+1).
Probability of Mutation
For each offspring up to three mutations can occur, each with a 2.5% chance, assuming both parents are eligible to receive a mutation. If multiple mutations occur, they may affect the same or different stats.
The probability for at least one mutation in an offspring whose parents both have less than 20 matrilineal and patrilineal mutations is 7.31%, for at least two mutations it is 0.184%, and for three mutations the probability is 0.00156%.[1]
The probability for at least one mutation when the parent that provides the higher stat has 20 mutations or higher is 3.337% because the game prefers the "stronger" of both parents to provide the mutation increase in the ancestry by 55%.
The probability for at least one mutation in an offspring whose "worse stat" parent has 20 or more mutations is 4.07%. because the game prefers the "stronger" parent as the carrier of the mutation increase in the ancestry. Since the "stronger" parent is already above 20 mutations, the game disregards the mutation. This will end in a lower mutation probability than the previous case.
The probability for at least one mutation in an offspring whose parents each have more than 20 mutations is 0%.[1]
Mutation Mechanics
Stat mutations are determined and applied in the following steps (from the code at [1]):
Initial stat selection from parents (not technically part of mutations)
Select a stat for mutation
Assign a parent as source of potential mutation
Random roll for mutation (2.5% chance)
Apply mutation and color change
Repeat #2-5 two more times
Many write-ups regarding mutations will mention "mutating a stat on a parent" or similar language, which may be confusing if you are new to breeding. To be clear, only the offspring's stats are ever actually modified/mutated, after they are initially set in step #1 above. The mutation mechanic assigns one of the parents as the source of a mutation, but it is not actually mutating the parent creature.
When you read "parent has 20/20" or similar below, this is referring to the total mutations on the parent - its Matrilineal+Patrilineal mutation Counters. See the Mutation Counters section for more details and also the code at.[1]
1. Initial Stat Selection from Parents (Evolved)
The initial stat values are selected from either the mother or the father, with a 55% chance that the stronger stat will be selected. For example if the mother has 20 wild levels in melee and the father has 30 levels, it is 55% likely that the offspring's melee value will initially (before mutations) be set at +30 levels.
1. Initial Stat Selection from Parents (Ascended)
The initial stat values are selected from either the mother or the father, with a 55% chance that the stronger wild stat and mutated stat will be selected, and a 45% chance that the weaker wild stat and the weaker mutated stat will be selected. Note that it in Ascended, it is impossible to pass on the stronger wild stat with the weaker mutated stat, and to pass on the weaker wild stat with the stronger mutated stat.
Example 1
Speaking strictly levels in melee for simplicity, if the mother has 30 wild levels and 15 mutated levels while the father has 40 wild and 10 mutated levels, there is a 55% chance that the offspring's melee value will initially (before further mutations) be set at 40 wild and 15 mutated levels.
On the contrary, there will be a 45% chance for the baby to inherit 30 wild and 10 mutated levels.
Example 2
If the mother instead has 30 wild and 15 mutated levels while the father also has 30 wild but 10 mutated levels, there is a 55% chance for the baby to inherit 30 wild and 15 mutated levels, and a 45% chance for 30 wild and 10 mutated levels.
2. Selecting a Stat for Mutation
(This step along with the next three are repeated for three iterations.)
A single stat is selected for possible Mutation. Only stats which can be leveled up for the species will be selected.
3. Assigning a Parent as Source of Mutation
One of the parents is chosen as the source of the mutation, this is based on the stat picked from the parent, with a 55% chance that the stronger parent (in that stat) is chosen. This is a completely independent check from the initial stat assignment, meaning that the father might have provided the offspring's initial melee stat, but the mother is the source of a mutation to it.
If the source of the mutation has reached the 20 mutation limit, then this mutation chance is lost and a new iteration (if any are left) begins at #2. This means that the combined number of mutations for either the father or the mother must be <20, because the check is performed with the baby's mutation counter (see next section).
For example, if you breed a 20/20 father and a 0/20 mother and on mutation iteration #1 (of 3) the father is chosen as the source for a mutation, the mutation does not happen (the 2.5% chance is not even evaluated) and the iteration is complete. This of course reduces (by approximately 50%) the already-slim chances of a mutation actually occurring so if you want the full 7.31% chance of at least one mutation, both parents must be <20. See the section below on mutation Stacking for more information about breeding maximum stats.
4. Random Roll for Mutation
If the "source" parent is valid, then the 2.5% chance is evaluated. If this check fails, this mutation iteration is complete and a new iteration (if any are left) begins at #2.
5. Apply Mutation and Color Change
If the mutation check succeeds, then the offspring's stat is evaluated; if it's determined less than (Evolved: 255 levels combined between wild and mutated) (Ascended: 255 mutated levels) it is then given 2 (Evolved: wild/mutated levels) (Ascended: mutated levels) and the mutation counter on the side (Matrilineal/Patrilineal) of the source of the mutation (not the source of the initial stat) is increased by 1. Additionally, a random mutation to a color region will occur. This color mutation may not be obvious due to it resulting in a very similar color to one of the parents, or due to the algorithm choosing a color region not used by the species.
Any color (including dyes) can be selected for the resulting color mutation, with around a 10% chance to select a dye and 90% chance to select a normal color. Also note that the invalid color IDs 0 and 227 can rarely be rolled. ID 0 shows only the creature base texture, while ID 227 shows as white.
6. Repeat #2-5 Twice More
Regardless of whether or not a mutation occurred, the process is repeated twice more. The same stat may be affected twice (+4) or even three times (+6) if you are especially lucky!
Mutation Counters
The Ancestry screen for each creature shows a mutation counter on both the Matrilineal (mother's) and Patrilineal (father's) side. These numbers do not show the actual mutations on the creature. Rather, they are a combination of the parents' mutation counters plus any actual mutations expressed when the baby was hatched. Without knowing details of the ancestry of a particular creature, it is impossible to tell how many actual mutations have been a) carried forward from a parent or b) expressed at birth (though with some reverse-engineering it is possible to make some guesses). The reason the numbers are given as X/20 is explained below.
Wild creatures begin with zero mutations on both sides. Baby tame creatures (from breeding, not from stolen eggs e.g. Wyvern) inherit a base mutation counter value from each parent. This base value is equal to the parent's own matrilineal + patrilineal counters.
Additionally, if Step 4 above results in a mutation on a baby's stat, the mutation counter for the source of the mutation is increased. If mother was the source of the mutation (not necessarily the source of the initial stat), the Matrilineal counter gets +1. If the father was the source of the mutation, then baby's Patrilineal counter gets +1.
When considering creatures as potential parents, if the creature's combined mutation counters (Matrilineal + Patrilineal) is greater than 20, then any potential mutations which have that parent as the source (Step 3 above) will automatically fail.
Here is an example showing some possible mutation counter results for Mutated and non-Mutated babies:
Matrilineal/20
Patrilineal/20
New Mutations
Description
Mother
1
4
N/A
N/A
Father
10
5
N/A
N/A
Baby 1
5
15
0
No successful mutations; baby inherits M+P counters from each side
Baby 2
5
16
1 (+2 levels to a stat)
Father was the source of the mutation; +1 to P counter
Baby 3
6
15
1 (+2 levels to a stat)
Mother was the source of the mutation; +1 to M counter
Baby 4
6
16
2 (+2 levels to 2 stats/+4 to one stat)
Both parents were the source of a mutation; +1 to both M & P counters
Because the mutation count is stored as a signed 32-bit integer it's possible that mutation counters will be expressed as a negative number. This happens when the count would have exceeded 2,147,483,647. The signing bit is then reversed and a negative number is observed. The inverse is also true, when two extremely small numbers are added together and exceed -2,147,483,648 the signing bit will flip producing a positive number. For all intents and purposes these negative numbers are still less than the maximum of 20, therefore a male with a negative mutation count can be bred with a female with a < 20 mutation count and be eligible for the 7.31% chance of a mutation occurring.
Combined and Separated stat lines
Note: A suitable baby refers to a baby that both retained all desired mutated stats and got a new mutation in any of the desireable stats, regardless if it is male or female.
Combined stat lines
Combined stat lines is a method of accepting either of two stats, but needing to retain both at each male swap. The largest upside of this method is that you can accept mutations in more than 1 stat. For example, attempting to mutate either Health or Melee instead of just Health will double the odds for a suitable baby. The tradeoff is that for each following attempt at a suitable baby, all desired stats need to be retained rather than just one. For example, if all 6 stats had mutations, the odds of retaining all 6 needed is .55^6, or 2.7%. If however, only two need to be retained, the odds are .55^2, or 30.25%. This is because the odds of retaining a mutation in an ideal scenario is 55% as opposed to 45%.
This method is only viable when breeding a line that combines 2 stats at once. Combining 3 or more at once is strictly inferior to the separated stat line method.
Separated stat lines
Separated stat lines (the more traditional and recommended route) is a method of accepting only 1 specific stat, and only needing to retain 1 stat at each male swap. Then, merging separated stat lines after the mutation process. The main downside of this method is that if breeding a Health line, you will need to discard all new Melee mutations, and if there's a new Health mutation in a Melee line it will also need to be discarded. In most cases, the extra step of needing to merge the lines isn't a large downside when compared to the total time spent breeding for mutations.
Probabilities
The odds of a new suitable baby can be represented as:
= Chance of a mutation in any desired stat * Chance of all desired stat mutations to be retained
= Chance of a mutation * (# of desired stats / # possible stats) * (chance to retain mutation in a stat)^(# of desired stats)
Variables:
Chance of a mutation is .0731, or 7.31%.
# of possible stats is 6 for more creatures, but is 5 for some, like the Baryonyx, as they cannot get stat points in Oxygen.
Chance to retain a mutation in a stat is 55% in both the average scenario and the ideal breeding process, as the stronger parent also has the mutations that want to be retained.
# of desired stats is 1 for Separated stat lines, and 2 for Combined stat lines. Desiring 3 or more stats at once is suboptimal and it is strictly better to run 2 or more at once and merge the lines later.
Assuming 6 possible stats, for Combined stat lines the odds are: .0731 * (2/6) * .55^2 = .0074 = .74%, or 1 in 136 eggs, 10% greater odds than Separated stat lines which is .0731 * (1/6) * .55^1 = .0067 = .67%, or 1 in 150 eggs.
From here, there is a 50% chance that the suitable baby is a male, after which it can replace the current male right away. If it is instead a female, it will need to be bred over to a male. Since no new mutation is needed, only the past ones retained, the odds are much greater:
Chance of all desired stat mutations to be retained * Chance of a male
= .55^(# of desired stats) * .5
For Combined stat lines the odds are:
= .55^2 * .5 = .15125 = 15.125%, nearly half that of Separated stat line which is
= .55^1 * .5 = .275 = 27.5%
If the mutated stats were retained but it resulted in a female, simply wait for the baby to grow up and make another attempt to move it over to a male
If the mutated stats weren't retained, there are two ways to proceed
Wait a full mating cooldown to make another attempt
Wait for all original females with the current male to make another suitable baby with a new mutation and re-attempt to move it to a male if it isn't already
Which method is best?
There is another large downside to the Combined stat line method - if the new suitable baby is a female instead of a male, the chance to successfully move it over to a male also decreases by 45% as it needs to retain an additional stat. This downside can be minimized, however. The effect to which this is minimized dictates the difference in effectiveness between the two methods.
The following trends make waiting for a new mutation, independent from the other that is on a female, much more viable as opposed to waiting for the already mutated female's cooldown as discussed in Probabilities:
Longer baby growth speed: Baby growth speed impacts the time (albeit not by as much) to move a mutation from a female to a male, while the main breeding females are already grown and aren't impacted
More breeding mothers: Having more mothers to breed with the current male means you may get an entirely new male quicker than trying to move the last female mutation over to a male
Females per male: Although it is beneficial to have more breeding females, it is less beneficial to have more males. If there is more than 1 breeding father that possesses all current mutations, then regardless of the gender of each new suitable baby, they will need to be bred further to get a duplicate male
Combined stat lines become more appealing with these trends as it takes roughly twice as long to move a mutated stat from a female to a male. The opposite trends make Separated stat lines more appealing.
Additionally, if you were at the maximum number of females per male for your, say, Health line, and wanted to add another set of females & males, you can add the Melee line when using Separated stat lines. For Combined stat lines, however, this would require adding a duplicate male which, as discussed above, requires more breeding cycles for each new suitable baby.
Both methods are viable, but larger breeding facilities, layouts/creatures that fit more females per male, quicker mating rates, and slower baby growth speeds tend to favor the Combined stat line method as opposed to the Separated stat lines method. For the average breeder on Official servers using standard rates, Separated stat lines is likely better and is much simpler, especially for those learning the mutation process.
How to Breed Super Creatures on Official (Evolved)
Selective mutation breeding / mutation stacking
Note: The goal of this process is to obtain a level 449 creature that has NO levels in any stat except the ones you explicitly want. That's why we're starting with a level one-ish dino in step 2. This is because Official servers limit a dino to level 449.
Breed a creature that has the best stats that you can find. – the creature has to have less than a combined mutation counter of 20
Get a low level creature that has 0 levels in each of the stats you aren't interested in, e.g. Oxygen, Food, Weight, and Speed. All creatures are limited on Official Servers to level 449 or less so every level counts.
Get a breeding pair of 1 male and as many females as you can (the more the faster the whole process gets) all with equal stats to the creature from step 1 with the best desired stats. Ideally, they (especially the females) should all have the same stats and 0 on their combined mutation counters.
Breed… a lot.
Get a mutation in the stat you are looking for (e.g. Health) that also retains all previous mutations from the current male
on a baby that inherited the lower stat of both parents
on a baby that inherited the higher stat of both parents
Breed your new mutation to a male creature.
Swap your original male from step 3 with the new mutated (e.g. Health) male creature.
Repeat point 5.2 - 7.
Stop far before reaching level 450, and level 500 for x- and r- creatures. – The Official Server common creature level cap is level 450, and 500 for x- and r- creatures (Voidwyrm included). Any creature that reaches those levels will be not able to level up. It is easier to level up the last 73 or so points than to get 73 more mutations. You should stop many levels before these limits, especially considering how the stats value can rise on level ups. Actual level up limit on Official servers is 88; you may want to stop before that value (like 73 levels), since getting the last level ups with experience points may be difficult, especially on non-boss fights designated creatures. If you intend to take advantage of all possible 88 level ups, you may want to target level 362, and 412 for x- and -r creatures.
Stop if you reach 253 or 254 levels in specific stat – Ark will prevent a stat from being levelled if the wild level count for that stat is 255 but not if it is lower and not if the stat's wild levels plus the stat's domestic levels meet or exceed 255.[2]
Note: The male creature's mutation counter will exceed 20. This isn't an issue as long as you continue to use females with a combined mutation counter less than 20. The male's will continue to contribute their high stat levels while the females will continue to offer mutation chances, even if the total chance to get a suitable baby is roughly halved.
Example:
Breeding a god Rex using a combined stat line of Health and Melee.
Starting Rex stats bred from all best Rex's you have.
Starting stats
Family tree
Getting a level 1 Rex. (May require taming a few low level Rex's and breeding them together to get 0's in all of the stats)
Breeding a Rex that has no points in undesirable stats, e.g. Oxygen, Food, Weight, and Speed.
Selective mutations breeding – for a very long time
In this case the goal was to get high levels for health and melee, so every health or melee mutation was used.
Final stats
Final levels
Family tree
Breeding for color – such an OP creature needs to look nice too
Color mutations
Every new color mutation that appeared in the process was kept, so in the end there were around 200+ Rex's of every color imaginable on each color region.
The Rex in the example was bred a little different, all levels in movement speed were eliminated in the end.
How to Breed Super Creatures (Ascended)
Selective mutation breeding / mutation stacking
Note: The goal of this process is to obtain a creature with a high mutation count in a specific stat (e.g. Health), regardless of how many wild levels are in it. On Official servers, this goal is specifically level 450 or 500 for x- and r- creatures.
Breed a creature that has the best stats that you can currently find for the stats that matter to you, e.g. Health and Melee. – the creature has to have less than a combined mutation counter of 20. In Ascended, moving the best wild stats to the mutated dino can be done before, after, or even during the mutation process.
On Official servers, also get a low level creature that has 0 wild levels in each of the stats you aren't interested in, e.g. Oxygen, Food, Weight, and Speed. All creatures are limited to level 449 or less so every level counts. Breed the creatures together until you arrive at one that has both the high wild stats for stats like Health and Melee, and 0 for the others.
Get a breeding pair of 1 male and as many females as you can (the more the faster the whole process gets) all with equal stats to the creature from step 1. Ideally, they (especially the females) should all have a 0 on their combined mutation counters. For ease of determining if a creature has a mutation or not, ensure the male and all females have the same stats, even if they all have bad stats for now instead of all high stats.
Breed… a lot.
Get a mutation in the stat you are looking for (e.g. Health) that also retains all previous mutations from the current male. It does not matter if the baby inherits the lower or higher wild stat, as this can either be bred over before the mutation process was started, or it can be bred over at the end.
If all parents have equal stats, check if the baby has a higher level than their parents, if so, then it is mutated in a stat. Check if the dino's Health is higher than your current male's Health, if so, it is mutated in the stat you desire.
If the parents do not have equal stats, use Tek Binoculars or external programs like Ark Smart Breeding to determine if it is mutated in the stat you desire.
Breed your new mutation over to a male creature
If the baby is already a male, continue
If the baby is a female, breed with a male that has less than 20 combined mutation counter and confirm the new baby both retains the mutation and is a male. Ideally, keep the first male with the lowest (ideally 0) combined mutation counter for this purpose.
Swap your original male from step 3 with the new mutated (e.g. Health) male creature.
Repeat point 5 - 7.
For Official servers, Stop far before reaching level 450, and level 500 for x- and r- creatures. – The Official Server common creature level cap is level 450, and 500 for x- and r- creatures (Voidwyrm included). Any creature that reaches those levels will be not able to level up. It is easier to level up the last 73 or so points than to get 73 more mutations. You should stop many levels before these limits, especially considering how a stats value can rise on level ups. Actual level up limit on Official servers is 88; you may want to stop before that value (like 73 levels), since getting the last level ups with experience points may be difficult, especially on non-boss fights designated creatures. If you intend to take advantage of all possible 88 level ups, you may want to target level 362, and 412 for x- and -r creatures. For Singleplayer/Unofficial, there is no overall level cap to manage
Stop if you reach 253 or 254 mutated levels in a specific stat – Ark will prevent a stat from being levelled if the mutation count for that stat is 255.
Breed the mutations over to a dino that has also has the best desired wild stats if not already done before the mutation process (e.g. all females already had the best stats you desired)
Note: The male creature's mutation counter will exceed 20. This isn't an issue as long as you continue to use females with a combined mutation counter less than 20. The male's will continue to contribute their stat levels while the females will continue to offer mutation chances, even if the total chance to get a suitable baby is roughly halved.
Examples:
Mutating a Rex that has the maximum number of mutations in Health and Melee. For simplicity, the starting Rex already has the best wild-stats you want, although this can be done before, during, or after. On Official, you may need to breed the undesirable stats that should have 0 levels during the mutation process to remain below the level cap (e.g. Oxygen).
Combined stat lines
The following example is the start of a combined stat line of Health and Melee.
Using a starting level 100 Rex with 50 points in Health and 50 in damage, with 0 in all others.
Bred until there is one 0-0 male (which is to say, 0 mutation counter from the father's side and 0 from the mother's) and as many 0-0 females as can be fit/afforded to feed all with identical stats. The current male that is used with all females with be noted and boldened as Father
Breed a new suitable male to replace current 0-0 Father, no mutations need to be retained for the first mutation
Bred a level 100 0-0 baby, no new mutation, discarded
Bred a level 102 0-1 baby, but it increased Oxygen (mutation), discarded
Bred a level 102 1-0 baby, but it increased Weight (mutation), discarded
Bred a level 102 1-0 baby, and it increased Health (mutation), continued
Move the 1 Health mutation from the 0-1 baby to a male
Was female, so it was bred with the original 0-0 male:
The resulting 0-1 baby was the same level as Father (below level of the 1-0 mother in step 4.1, 102), discarded
The resulting 0-1 baby was 2 levels higher than Father (same level as the 1-0 mother in step 4.1, 102) and is a male, continued
Swapped the new 0-1 male with the 0-0 Father and is the new Father to breed with all 0-0 females
Breed a new suitable male to replace current 1 Health mutation 0-1 level 102 Father
Bred a level 100 1-0, no new mutation occurred and Health mutation wasn't retained, discarded
Bred a level 102 1-1, new mutation in Melee, but mutation in Health wasn't retained, discarded
Bred a level 102 2-0, new mutation in Health, but first mutation in Health wasn't retained, discarded
Bred a level 104 2-0, no new mutation occurred and Health mutation was retained, discarded
Bred a level 104 1-1, new mutation in Melee, and Health mutation was retained
Move the 1 Melee 1 Health level 104 to a male
Already male
Swapped the new 1-1 male with the 0-1 Father
Breed a new suitable male to replace current 1 Health 1 Melee mutation 1-1 level 104 Father
Bred a level 100 1-1, no new mutation, Health & Melee mutations weren't retained, discarded
Bred a level 102 1-2, new mutation in Oxygen, Health & Melee mutations weren't retained, discarded
Bred a level 104 2-1, new mutation in Melee, Health mutations were retained but Melee mutations weren't, discarded
Bred a level 104 1-1, no new mutation, Health & Melee were retained, discarded
Bred a level 106 1-2, new mutation in Melee, Health & Melee were retained, continued
Move the 2 Melee 1 Health level 106 to a male
Was female, so it was bred with the original 0-0 male:
The resulting 0-3 baby was level 100 as it didn't retain Health nor Melee mutations, discarded
The resulting 0-3 baby was level 104 as it retained Melee mutations but not Health, discarded
The resulting 0-3 baby was level 102 as it retained Health mutations but not Melee, discarded
The resulting 0-3 baby was level 106 as it retained both Health and Melee mutations, but was on a female, discarded (but bred with 0-0 male for a free cooldown as its a duplicate to its mother)
The resulting 0-3 baby was a level 106 as it retained both Health and Melee mutations, and was on a male
Swapped the new 0-3 male with the 1-1 Father
Breed a new suitable male to replace current 1 Health 2 Melee mutation 0-3 level 106 Father
Continue the pattern
Separated stat lines
The following example is a Health line and a Melee line run completely separately, with the final results of each merged at the end.
Health line
Using a starting level 100 Rex with 50 points in Health and 50 in damage, with 0 in all others.
Bred until there is one 0-0 male (which is to say, 0 mutation counter from the father's side and 0 from the mother's) and as many 0-0 females as can be fit/afforded to feed all with identical stats. The current male that is used with all females with be noted and boldened as Father
Breed a new suitable male to replace current 0-0 Father, no mutations need to be retained for the first mutation
Bred a level 100 0-0 baby, no new mutation, discarded
Bred a level 102 0-1 baby, but it increased Oxygen (mutation), discarded
Bred a level 102 1-0 baby, but it increased Weight (mutation), discarded
Bred a level 102 1-0 baby, and it increased Health (mutation), continued
Move the 1 Health mutation from the 0-1 baby to a male
Was female, so it was bred with the original 0-0 male:
The resulting 0-1 baby was the same level as Father (below level of the 1-0 mother in step 4.1, 102), discarded
The resulting 0-1 baby was 2 levels higher than Father (same level as the 1-0 mother in step 4.1, 102) and is a male, continued
Swapped the new 0-1 male with the 0-0 Father and is the new Father to breed with all 0-0 females
Breed a new suitable male to replace current 1 Health mutation 0-1 level 102 Father
Bred a level 100 1-0, no new mutation occurred and Health mutation wasn't retained, discarded
Bred a level 102 1-1, new mutation in Melee, but mutation in Health wasn't retained, discarded
Bred a level 102 2-0, new mutation in Health, but first mutation in Health wasn't retained, discarded
Bred a level 104 2-0, no new mutation occurred and Health mutation was retained, discarded
Bred a level 104 1-1, new mutation in Melee, and Health mutation was retained, discarded
Bred a level 104 1-1, new mutation in Health, and Health mutation was retained, continued
Move the 2 Health mutation level 104 to a male
Already male
Swapped the new 1-1 male with the 0-1 Father
Continue the pattern
This is then done exactly the same for the Melee line.
Then the two lines must be merged. Breed the current Health Father to a female and then breed it with the current Melee Father until both the Health mutations and the Melee mutations are retained.
FAQ
Why did my baby creature get +2 levels in a stat, but the colors seem to be the same?
The color mutation can target any of the six color regions, however not all creatures use all regions, so it is possible that the color mutation is invisible. For example, if color regions 1, 2, or 3 are targeted for mutation on a Sabertooth, you will not see any visible color change.
Another reason for not seeing a color mutation is that the mutated color is the same or very similar to the original color.
Why did my baby creature get a color mutation, but no visible stat mutation?
Either a) the stat mutation targeted Movement Speed, which will not result in a visible increase in the stat value or b) the source of the base stat was the weaker parent, who was exactly two wild levels below its mate and so, after mutation, the baby ends up with exactly the same stat levels as the stronger parent. It looks to you like the baby just inherited from the stronger parent when it actually has [weaker parent +2].
Note that a stat mutation is always detectable through a higher Torpor value and higher total level. That is, if you see that Torpor & total level are higher than expected, it is certain that a stat mutation occurred even if it is not obvious.
Why did none of my stats increase when the Matrilineal counter increased?
The Matrilineal/Patrilineal counters don't represent the number of mutations the baby has. For example, a Mother with a Matrilineal/Patrilineal counter of 40|20, and a Father with 5|10 will result in a baby with 45|30, regardless of the number of mutations the Mother/Father actually had.
Why did total level go up, but there is no visible stat increase and no color change?
This can happen as a combination of the first two cases. The only thing that visibly changes is the Torpor and the total level.
Can the mutated color be the same as the original color?
Yes, the mutation color is chosen randomly.
Can a creature mutate twice at the same time?
Yes, up to three mutations can happen for an offspring, with +2 wild levels on a stat one color change for each mutation. Multiple mutations can target the same stat, so you could see +4 or +6 wild levels on a single stat.
Can creatures be bred infinitely to increase their stats?
No, there is a level cap of 450 on official servers. Any tamed/bred dinos that reach levels above 450 on birth are deleted by the game after server restart and once you hit the 450 Levels on your adult dino you won't be able to level your creature anymore. Note that selective mutation breeding is a very long process and it’s going to take months of real time, until that limit is hit. Keep this in mind that the level cap ONLY applies to Official Servers and both Singleplayer and Unofficial aren't affected by level caps. (Unless they set one up themeselves)
Could a low level creature with 3 mutation in a stat used to transfer these mutations on a high level creature to increase its stat-values?
No, mutations cannot be transferred to other creatures. Only offspring can get new mutations. As well, the game does not record which stats on a creature are mutated or by how much. Once the mutation algorithm is finished and the baby is hatched/born, the only data recorded is the current levels in each stat and the total Matrilineal and Patrilineal mutation counters. The game does not record whether the current stat levels are naturally inherited or mutated.
Can the offspring of parents with total mutations (Matrilineal + Patrilineal) of greater than 20 have mutations?
No, at least one parent with a total mutation counter of less than 20 is needed to have an offspring with a mutation. If only one parent meets this requirement, the chance for a mutation is approximately halved..
Can the offspring of a parent with more than 20 total mutations have inherit a stat of this parent and have a mutation on this stat?
Yes, if the other parent has a mutation counter of less than 20.[3] This method is used in selective mutation breeding. See the detailed mechanics above regarding the source of the initial stat vs. the source of the mutation. Either parent can be the source of the initial stat, but only a <20 parent can be the source of a mutation.
Does a high mutation counter imply a good creature?
No. The mutation counter doesn't reflect the stats of the creature and is independent of them, so a creature with 0 mutations can have very high levels and a creature with a high mutation-counter can have 0 levels in each stat. For more information watch one of tagbacktv’s videos on mutations.
↑This was verified by admin spawning a creature and checking it's stat levels with the Admin Rifle. The raptor had 252 melee and 255 speed. Speed levelup was disabled in the creature's inventory, but melee was leveled an additional 11 times without issue.
Wyvern) inherit a base mutation counter value from each parent. This base value is equal to the parent's own matrilineal + patrilineal counters.
