Does Weapon Damage Affect Tranq in Ark? A Comprehensive Guide

Yes, weapon damage significantly affects torpor when using tranquilizing methods in Ark: Survival Evolved. This impact is crucial for effectively taming creatures, and understanding its mechanics can greatly improve your taming success. The relationship between damage and torpor isn’t always straightforward, so let’s dive into the specifics.

How Damage Translates to Torpor

The core principle is that the more damage a tranquilizing weapon inflicts, the more torpor it applies. However, it’s not a simple one-to-one correlation. The way this works differs between weapon types, mainly between tranq darts and tranq arrows.

Tranq Darts: Quality Matters Most

• Base Damage: Tranq darts have a base damage of 26.
• Weapon Quality: The damage, and consequently the torpor, scales significantly based on the quality of the rifle used to fire them. This means an ascendant longneck rifle will deliver substantially more torpor than a primitive one, even with the same type of dart.
• Instant Torpor: Upon impact, the dart applies 600% of the damage as immediate torpor.
• Delayed Torpor: In addition to the instant torpor, there’s a delayed torpor effect, applying another 250% of the damage over the next 5 seconds.

This means that a higher-quality longneck rifle not only deals more base damage but also multiplies that damage’s effect on torpor, making darts incredibly potent for taming.

Tranq Arrows: Simpler, But Less Effective

• Less Emphasis on Weapon Quality: While the damage and torpor of tranq arrows are still affected by the weapon’s quality, the impact is less pronounced than it is with tranq darts. This means you’ll notice less variability between a primitive and an ascendant bow with tranq arrows.
• More Damage, More Torpor: Like tranq darts, more damage done with tranq arrows still leads to more torpor applied.
• Cost-Effective Taming: Tranq arrows are often favored for their cost-effectiveness and can be used more rapidly, making them the preferred method for many tames. However, they deliver lower overall torpor per shot than darts fired from a high quality weapon.

Melee Damage vs. Ranged Damage

It’s crucial to understand the difference between melee damage and ranged weapon damage.

• Ranged Weapon Damage: As discussed, this directly impacts the effectiveness of tranq darts and arrows. A higher damage percentage on your weapon means you apply more base damage, which translates directly to more torpor application.
• Melee Damage: Melee damage is increased via stat allocation. Melee damage does impact torpor when using melee attacks that inflict torpor. However, it does not affect the torpor output of ranged tranquilizing weapons. This is an important distinction for those who assume that a character with high melee damage will apply more torpor through ranged attacks.

Headshots and Damage Modifiers

Headshots significantly amplify damage and torpor. For most creatures, a headshot deals 3 times the damage and torpor compared to a body shot. However, only a subset of creatures (around 22.9%) have head hitboxes that allow for these increased effects. If you can reliably hit a creature’s head, the additional torpor will result in a faster and more efficient tame.

Additional Notes on Torpor Application

• Excess Torpor: If you apply more torpor than a creature requires to be knocked out, that excess torpor will not cause it to become more deeply unconscious. Instead, you’ll simply have wasted a bit of ammunition or material. It’s better to try to inflict the correct amount of torpor than go overboard.
• Weapon Damage Modifiers: Weapon damage modifiers affect both the base damage and torpor applied. Higher damage percentages translate to higher torpor values.
• Dino Resistance: Some creatures have a higher resistance to torpor than others. A creature with high resistance will require more torpor to knock out compared to a creature with less resistance.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. Does the quality of my rifle impact tranq dart effectiveness?

Yes, significantly. A higher quality rifle will increase the base damage of the tranq dart, resulting in substantially more torpor applied per shot. The damage increase is multiplicative not additive, so the benefits stack up quickly.

2. Are tranq darts or arrows better for taming in Ark?

Tranq darts, when used with a high-quality longneck rifle, generally deliver more torpor per shot than tranq arrows. However, tranq arrows are more cost effective, faster to fire and therefore a good choice for most common tames. Tranq Darts are preferred for taming higher health and torpor targets, and creatures that cannot be tamed with arrows.

3. Do headshots increase torpor?

Yes, for creatures with head hitboxes, headshots deal significantly more torpor (usually 3x), resulting in a much quicker knock-out. Always aim for the head when possible, but be aware of which creatures have headshot multipliers.

4. Does melee damage affect the torpor from my tranq darts?

No. Melee damage only affects torpor output when inflicting torpor via melee attacks. Ranged weapons, like the longneck rifle, are not affected by the user’s melee damage stat.

5. Can I use a melee weapon to knock out a dino?

Yes, some melee weapons like the club inflict torpor. However, they typically have shorter range, lower damage and less precision than ranged tranq methods, so are not generally preferred for taming. Increasing your melee damage stat will increase the amount of torpor applied via melee.

6. How does fortitude impact torpor?

Fortitude reduces the rate at which your player receives torpor. High fortitude helps you stay conscious longer under pressure. Fortitude does not affect how much torpor you inflict.

7. What is the best weapon for taming in Ark?

The longneck rifle with high-quality tranq darts is often considered the best for quickly and effectively taming creatures. However, a crossbow or bow using tranq arrows are good alternatives, depending on cost and accessibility.

8. Do some creatures have torpor resistance?

Yes, some creatures have a higher resistance to torpor than others, requiring more tranquilizer shots or torpor inducing attacks. Higher resistance will mean more resources spent on each tame.

9. Do tranq darts do actual damage?

Yes, tranq darts do a base damage of 26. This damage is increased with higher quality weapons. The primary purpose of the dart is to inflict torpor, though, not damage.

10. How do I calculate torpor damage?

Torpor damage can be estimated by multiplying the base damage by the weapon quality multiplier and then applying a further 600% multiplier for the instant torpor and 250% multiplier for delayed torpor effect.

11. What reduces torpor?

Stimberries and Stimulants are the most common ways to reduce torpor. Eating them reduces the torpor build-up. They are invaluable when dealing with torpor inducing attacks from enemies.

12. Do different types of bows/crossbows have different torpor potential?

Yes. While the difference is not as pronounced as with longneck rifles and tranq darts, better quality bows/crossbows will apply more damage and, therefore, more torpor.

13. Is it possible to apply “too much” torpor?

Yes, if a creature requires 100 torpor to be knocked out, and you apply 150, the additional 50 torpor is essentially wasted. Torpor past the point of unconciousness does not stack.

14. Does Dino Resistance affect Torpor?

Yes, reducing the Tamed Wild Resistance setting on a server will reduce the amount of torpor required to knock out a creature. The opposite is also true.

15. How do melee weapon’s torpor damage compare to ranged?

Melee weapons generally apply less torpor damage than ranged attacks. However, there are exceptions. Generally, ranged attacks are preferred due to the accuracy, range and efficiency offered by tranquilizing ranged weapons.