How to defeat the Manticore?

manticore arena switch

The Manticore is a mystical creature that was introduced into ARK Survival Evolved through Scorched Earth. The Manticore is probably one of the most annoying bosses in the game, because he loves to stay in the air not being able to be hit with land dinos.

On which map does the Manticore spawn?

  • Scorched Earth – as the final boss
  • Ragnarok – Together with the Dragon
  • Valguero – Together with the Dragon and the Megapithecus

Group size recommendation: 

Solo Player Boss: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Group Player Boss: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

 

Dangers of the Manticore:

Like mentioned above, the Manticore loves to stay in the air unwilling to land. Especially on Valguero it is really annoying because the Arena has some edge at the top of the restricted ceiling, that can get the Manticore stuck mid-air and neither reacting to players not to his own AI.

Another danger is that the Manticore has a poison attack, which will not only apply torpor to players but even to the strongest tames. I have seen the strongest Rexes falling asleep after being attacked from the Manticore. When taking a Yuty to the Arena, the Yuty will be the main target of the Manticore.

Weakness of the Manticore:

The weakness of the Manticore is that he has a slow attack when on the ground and can easily rush with land animals and even get stuck once on the ground.

The Manticore also has a lot of attachment points for the Deinonychus which makes the Deinonychus a very nice choice for Valguero where both creatures are native.

The torpor attack of the Manticore can be easily countered with a Gas Mask. Just bring 1-2 with you and make sure to also have some stimulant for your creatures and for you in case your Gas Mask might break.

When you bring a strong shotgun, you can even defeat him when he doesn’t choose to land on the ground. This makes his strongest ability to avoid damage useless.

Minions in the Scorched Earth Arena:

In the Scorched Earth Arena you will face Death Worms and Rock Elementals. While the Death Worms are not a problem for good mutated animals, the Rock Elementals can be a little painful. Most of the time it is worth to just ignore them and change the position when they come too close.

Best tames to bring against the Manticore?

YutyrannusRex

  • 1 Yutyrannosaurus
  • 19 Rexes

Alternative Tames that would also work:

You can basically use every damage dealer as a substitute for the Rexes. We did the fight with mutated Carnotaurus, I see people using Shadowmanes as well. Make sure them being tanky and having the ability to reduce damage through saddles or buffs.

Stat recommendation for the Manticore fight:

Gamma:

  • Rex – Does not need to be mutated decent saddles and imprint will do.
  • Yuty – Imprinted and good saddle, all level points into health

Beta: 

  • Rex – Around 14.3k Health (60 points) around 470% Melee (60 points) birth stats
    • Level evenly to Health and Melee
  • Yuty – Imprinted and good saddle, all level points into health

Alpha: 

  • Rex – Around 23k Health (100 points) around 713% Melee (100 points) birth stats
    • Level Health to 45k – rest into Melee, provide very GOOD saddles
  • Yuty – Imprinted and good saddle, all level points into health

You can try it with lower stats but expect losses. If you just want to unlock the Tek Engrams, go for it! 

 

Ascension Manticore:

Scorched Earth used to be the only map that did not have an Ascension, this will change this year. It might not be implemented now, but with the November 2022 update, Scorched Earth will get one. This means you want to put your valuables into a tames inventory before being dragged into the cinematic. If you plan on doing the Manticore Boss, I would consider doing it when the Ascension is implemented, so you don’t have to repeat the boss fight.

 

Further information: 

TiiaAurora

Tiia is a bilingual Content Creator for the game ARK: Survival Evolved. She has over 12k hours experience in the game and her main interest is the complex breeding mechanic in ARK.

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