ARK: How To Tame Palaeoctopus (Giant Squid)
You can tame a Palaeoctopus in ARK Survival Ascended by finding one that's currently camouflaged, letting it grab and bite you, then feeding it Biotoxin the instant it delivers its real bite. Keep repeating that feed until it's knocked out, then treat it like a normal unconscious tame from there.
The single biggest time sink in this whole process isn't a mistimed feed, it's going after a Palaeoctopus that was never catchable to begin with. If it isn't camouflaged when you spot it, it swims or bolts off the second you get close, no matter how careful your approach is. Stop chasing the visible ones and start scanning specifically for the camouflaged kind, and this fight gets a lot less frustrating.
Jump To
- Where To Find A Camouflaged Palaeoctopus
- What To Bring Before You Engage It
- How To Tame Palaeoctopus Step By Step
- What To Feed Palaeoctopus While Taming
- How To Time The Feed Correctly
- How Much Torpor Does Palaeoctopus Need?
- Can You Tame Palaeoctopus Underwater?
- What Food To Use After It Knocks Out
- Palaeoctopus Saddle Level And Crafting
- All Palaeoctopus Abilities
- Is Palaeoctopus Worth Taming?
Where To Find A Camouflaged Palaeoctopus
Palaeoctopus turns up along coastal water, shorelines, and around underwater structures like rock pillars, but location matters a lot less than its current state. Only a camouflaged, invisible Palaeoctopus will actually let you tame it. One that's out in the open, visibly moving around, will run or swim off the moment it notices you, and there's no catching it once it does.
One tell worth watching for: individuals sitting near large underwater pillars often appear flipped upside down while camouflaged. If you spot one like that, it's usually worth swimming over to check. If you approach a Palaeoctopus and it immediately reacts and flees, don't bother chasing, just move on and look for a different one.
What To Bring Before You Engage It
| Item | Why |
|---|---|
| Biotoxin (or Narcotics as backup) | Fed directly during the grab; Biotoxin gains roughly 800 torpor per feed based on tested runs |
| Spare scuba tank | You're being suffocated the entire time you're grabbed |
| Lazarus Chowder | Boosts health regeneration; a single dose appears to last long enough to cover an entire tame |
| High base health (500+, ideally 700+) | The grab drains oxygen and health at the same time |
| Weapon or mount | Clear nearby predators before you commit to the grab |
| Black Pearls, Extraordinary Kibble, or Prime Meat | For feeding after it's knocked out |
How To Tame Palaeoctopus Step By Step
- Clear every hostile creature in the area first. Everything in deep water tends to out-level you and will aggro regardless of what you're doing.
- Drink a Lazarus Chowder before engaging, for the health regen boost.
- Find a Palaeoctopus that is currently camouflaged.
- Approach and let it grab you. Do not struggle free right away.
- Wait through the small warning bites, these don't count toward anything.
- Feed Biotoxin the instant it lands its real bite.
- Repeat the feed cycle until its torpor maxes out and it goes unconscious.
- Once it drops, usually to the seafloor or the nearest ledge, place food in its inventory to finish the tame.
None of these steps are individually difficult. What makes this tame rough is doing all of them back to back while your air and health are both draining at once.
What To Feed Palaeoctopus While Taming
Biotoxin appears to be the strongest option for the grab-feeding phase, and it's the item multiple independent tests point to specifically over generic Narcotics, at roughly 800 torpor per feed. Plain Narcotics still work if that's what you've got on hand, they just mean more feed cycles, which means more time spent taking damage.
Don't confuse this with the food you use later. Black Pearls and kibble come into play only after it's already unconscious, they don't do anything during the grab-feeding stage itself.
How To Time The Feed Correctly
Once it's grabbed you, a Palaeoctopus nibbles a few times first, these are a false cue and don't register a feed. What you're actually waiting for is the stronger bite, the one where it visibly pulls you in tighter and the screen shakes. That's your window. Feed during a nibble and nothing happens. Feed too late after the real bite and you just take extra damage for no reason.
One practical snag: your spyglass won't show torpor progress while you're grabbed. Tap your interact or use key periodically instead to manually check the torpor readout, rather than guessing how close you are to a knockout.
How Much Torpor Does Palaeoctopus Need?
| Approx. Wild Level | Approx. Torpor Needed | Approx. Biotoxin Feeds (~800 each) |
|---|---|---|
| ~20 | ~4,000 | ~5 |
| ~95 | ~13,000 | ~16 |
| ~140-150 | ~13,000-14,000 | ~17 |
These numbers come from separate tested runs, so treat them as a practical range rather than an exact formula. What stands out to me is that the jump from a low-level target to a mid-level one costs you far more extra time than the jump from mid-level to a near-max one does. If you can find literally any lower-level Palaeoctopus for your first attempt, that alone saves you more time than anything you could optimize about your feed item.
Worth knowing going in: one tester's account of a high-level attempt described roughly 15 to 20 minutes of feeding with several near-death moments along the way. This isn't a tame you want to treat as a repeatable farming loop, it's a one-off, and it's worth budgeting real time and attention for.
Can You Tame Palaeoctopus Underwater?
Yes. The most detailed testing available for this creature happens entirely in open water, often right next to underwater pillars, with a scuba tank as required gear rather than optional. The idea that you need to drag it to shore to tame it doesn't really hold up, what actually matters is finding a camouflaged individual, not the depth of water it's sitting in.
That said, if you'd rather not deal with megalodons and other deep-water aggressors circling while you're mid-grab, shallow coastal water is still a reasonable, lower-stress option, mainly because there's usually less wildlife to clear out first.
What Food To Use After It Knocks Out
| Food | Notes |
|---|---|
| Black Pearls | Its preferred food based on available testing |
| Extraordinary Kibble | Works fine as a substitute if Black Pearls are scarce |
| Prime Meat, Mutton, or regular Meat | Also usable, likely at lower effectiveness than the two above |
Once it goes down, it typically sinks to the seafloor or drops onto the nearest ledge. If it suddenly disappears from view right after the knockout, that's normal, not a bug, just swim down and you'll find it.
Palaeoctopus Saddle Level And Crafting
The Palaeoctopus Saddle unlocks at level 65 and is crafted at a Smithy.
That's solidly mid-game, not a day-one unlock, so don't expect to saddle one up right after your first tame unless you're already well past that engram level. Given how much of this creature's value comes from mobility, it's worth prioritizing the saddle as soon as you hit 65 rather than letting a tamed one sit around unused.
All Palaeoctopus Abilities
| Ability | Effect |
|---|---|
| Arm Swipe / Slam (Left and Right) | Basic melee attack from either arm |
| Grab (Left and Right) | Grabs a small to medium creature or player with that arm; grabbed targets can't use weapons |
| Suffocate | Land only. Damages and drains oxygen from anything held in both arms |
| Pressure Pulse | Swimming only. AoE hit with a slow effect, on a cooldown |
| Super Swim | High-speed underwater dash, damages anything it collides with |
| Throw | Land only. Launches whatever it's holding in the direction you aim |
| Camouflage | Land only. Hides it from wild creature aggro and makes it hard to spot from a distance |
| Climb | Land only. Lets it scale surfaces instead of just walking |
| Prismatic Ink Producer | Passively generates ink in its inventory over time |
If I had to pick the one ability that justifies putting up with the taming process, it's Super Swim, not because it's flashy, but because it's the only thing on this list that actually gets you out of trouble in open water instead of into it.
Is Palaeoctopus Worth Taming?
Yes, with one caveat on strategy: don't go looking for the highest-level Palaeoctopus you can find for your first attempt. Grab whichever camouflaged one is nearest regardless of level, get through the process once, and go after a stronger individual later if you want a better stat spread on the saddle bonus.
The ability kit earns its spot on your roster either way, fast water travel, grab control, cliff climbing, and a passive ink supply is a lot of utility from one creature. There's just no reason to make your very first attempt at this the hardest possible version of it.
