Updated:
19 Oct 2023
One of the most valuable ways to travel in ARK is through the various options of flying creatures; each flyer possesses unique abilities that will undoubtedly enhance your gaming experience in numerous ways. I am beyond excited to introduce the top 5 best flying mounts ARK has to offer!
5. Crystal Wyvern
One of the most beautiful flyers in all of ARK.
Without a doubt, Wyverns in general deserve a spot on any top flying mounts list, but Crystal Wyverns are special. These Wyverns in particular are the easiest to acquire and can be found in a wide range of beautiful color patterns. Crystal Wyverns not only provide the same popular features found with every element of Wyvern but they also possess some unique abilities that truly make them worthy of the #5 spot.
Crystal Wyvern Abilities and Traits:
- A popular feature of these incredible flyers has to be their ability to glow in the dark; not only making them easy to spot when taming at night but also adding a magical element to the Wyverns themselves.
- There are 3 different variants to the Crystal Wyverns, Tropical, Ember, and Blood. All variants are equally as easy to tame, possessing slight differences in abilities.
- Ember Crystal Wyverns breathe long-ranged fire which does more overall damage that increases the more the fire breath is used. The fire breath also turns more blue as it gets stronger.
- Blood Crystal Wyverns fire a mid-range blood stream which not only deals decent damage but can also siphon health over time to all targets hit. The Blood Wyvern is also capable of healing itself by eating corpses, similar to Argentavis.
- Tropical Crystal Wyverns fire a long-range jet of water with high knockback and mediocre damage. The Tropical Wyverns also receive a temporary stat buff by water similar to Spinos.
Crystal Wyvern Details: https://ark.wiki.gg/wiki/Crystal_Wyvern
How To Get Crystal Wyvern:
- Crystal Wyverns are a passive tame that do not require a saddle in order to ride them.
- First, you will need to be level 60 in order to acquire any variant of Crystal Wyvern.
- You will need to gather a decent amount of crystals, I would personally recommend having a stack of 50-100 for higher level Wyverns.
- Finding a Crystal Wyvern is relatively easy, there are 3-4 spots you will find them flying around on Crystal Isles. The first spot is the bottom left side of the Crystal Isles map where aqua colored crystals reside, this is where you will commonly find the Tropical variant. To the right of this region you will begin to find orange crystals and purple crystals scattered between a swamp and a desert, this is the location where you can sometimes spot all 3 variants flying around but more commonly the Ember Crystal Wyverns. Lastly the most common location for the Blood variant will be in the red glowing forest that surrounds the volcano closer to the top-middle region of Crystal Isles.
- Once you have found the Wyvern you desire to tame, place your crystals in the last slot of your hot bar.
- You will need to wait for your desired Wyvern to land, once it does, the best way to tame one is to crawl on top of the Wyvern on it’s back. The easiest way to get on the creatures back is by using it’s wings as a staircase of sorts.
- Once you are on the Wyverns back, crouch as quickly as possible. This will prevent you from falling off when the Wyvern takes flight. Then, you can begin to feed your Wyvern crystals and hang on until it is completely tamed.
4. Snow Owl
My personal favorite, the mystical Snow Owl.
Found on maps such as; Extinction, Genesis: Part 2, and Lost Island. Snow Owls are unique flyers that not only capture the hearts of many by being adorable but also by possessing special abilities that no other flyer in ARK has. I personally believe having one of these beauties by your side will come in handy whether you prefer playing PVP or PVE.
Snow Owl Abilities and Traits:
- Arguably one of the coolest features that come with owning a Snow Owl is its capability of freezing nearby creatures. This process also heals nearby creatures including survivors, which means enemies as well. Most importantly this ability can be paired with tames to deal damage while not taking any.
- The speed can be enhanced as the Snow Owl can glide much like a Griffin. Imprinted Snow Owls have increased movement speed which gives them yet another advantage over their flying competitors.
- The Snow Owl has a special ability that allows it to sense any target with its infrared vision. This is especially useful for PVP if you are chasing enemy survivors through rough terrain and need to retain vision.
- The Dive-Bomber ability. When diving straight to the ground, all enemies around the point of impact will be slowed for 5 seconds, and will be granted damage resistance, an added bonus is the Snow Owl dives completely silently allowing stealthy attacks.
- Snow Owls can spew out Snow Owl Pellets which provide 50,000 units of nitrogen, slightly lower than Fertilizer. The Pellets also act as food for the Gacha allowing players to obtain valuable loot from Gacha Crystals.
Snow Owl Details: https://ark.wiki.gg/wiki/Snow_Owl
How To Get Snow Owl:
- First things first; The Snow Owl Saddle is able to be unlocked at level 61, it is available to craft in the smithy and you will need 150 Chitin or Keratin, 185 Fiber, and 350 Hide.
- On Extinction you are able to find Snow Owls in the snow biome, for any other map where the Snow Owl is available, the details link above shows pictures pointing out the exact locations.
- I believe the best method for taming a Snow Owl is to build a trap. This trap also works for many other creatures, so it is a helpful trap to memorize. First you will need to gather a decent amount of Stone, Wood, and Thatch. You will then need to craft 6 Stone Dinosaur Gateways and 2 Dinosaur Gates.
- Near a Snow Owl spawn, place all 6 of the Stone Dinosaur Gateways close together in a row, make sure to leave enough space for your player to escape through the gaps but not too much space where the Owl can escape. Next, you will need to place 1 Dinosaur Gate on both ends making a tunnel of sorts.
- After the trap is built you will want to leave one of the end gates open, then you will need to bait your Snow Owl by prompting it to attack you. Run the Owl into the trap then escape through one of the gaps, before the Owl escapes you will want to close the open gate to lock the Owl in.
- Once you have the Owl trapped, feel free to use tranq darts or arrows on the Owl until it's asleep.
- The best food choices to feed the Owl while it's asleep is; Superior Kibble, if you are unable to acquire Superior Kibble you can also use Raw Mutton, Raw Prime Meat, and Raw Meat.
3. Griffin
The fan-favorite mythological flyer!
Griffins have steadily remained at the top of most ARK creature lists and for good reason. These magnificent flyers are not only considered sky combat warriors but they also have many unique abilities that few flyers possess, the Griffin just does it better! The only downside to Griffins is you cannot breed them as they dont have a specified gender.
Griffin Abilities and Traits:
- This flyer is a land and air predator! The Griffin has a dive bomb attack that thrusts you towards the ground, dealing quite a bit of damage. You can pound the ground up to three times your base damage, or dive and pull horizontally and attack with the Griffins base attack for ten to fifteen times more damage than your landing attack. Leveling Health and Damage will be important to access the full potential of these abilities.
- The Griffin has the unique ability to carry two riders, both riders are able to use their weapons while flying which proves to be extremely useful when chasing down creatures for taming or for battle in PVP.
- With Griffin’s high speed and ability to carry two passengers, this creature is an ideal mount for collecting Wyvern eggs.
Griffin Details:
How To Get Griffin: https://ark.wiki.gg/wiki/Griffin
- Just like the Wyvern, a Griffin does not require a saddle to ride it.
- Griffins can be found on, Ragnarok, Crystal Isles, and Lost Island. For the precise locations, see the details link above.
- The same trap used for the Snow Owl, can be successfully used to also acquire a Griffin. The trap will require you to gather a decent amount of Stone, Wood, and Thatch. In order to build the trap you will need to craft; 6 Stone Dinosaur Gateways and 2 Dinosaur Gates.
- Near a Griffin spawn, place all 6 of the Stone Dinosaur Gateways close together in a row, make sure to leave enough space for your player to escape through the gaps but not too much space where the Griffin can escape. Next, you will need to place 1 Dinosaur Gate on both ends making a tunnel of sorts.
- After the trap is built you will want to leave one of the end gates open, then you will need to bait your Griffin by prompting it to attack you. Run the Griffin into the trap then escape through one of the gaps, before the Griffin escapes you will want to close the open gate to lock the Griffin inside.
- Once you have the Griffin trapped, feel free to use tranq darts or arrows on the Griffin until its asleep.
- The best food choices to feed the Griffin while its asleep is; Extraordinary Kibble, if you are unable to acquire Extraordinary Kibble you can also use Raw Mutton, Raw Prime Meat, and Raw Meat.
2. Astrodelphis
Commonly referred to as the gorgeous Star Dolphin.
Another relatively easy creature to acquire, the Astrodelphis is a strong flyer, able to handle its own in battle and in speed proving to be helpful to all survivors seeking the ultimate flying companion. The personalities of these creatures are also quite charming as they are very friendly and curious, often “swimming” towards and around survivors.
Astrodelphis Abilities and Traits:
- The Astrodelphis Starwing Saddle is the most valuable feature when acquiring one of these cosmic creatures. The saddle comes equipped with thrusters, allowing it to shift between different modes of flight.
- The Starwing Saddle comes with laser cannons that instantly hit any targets in front of it, the saddle can also fire homing energy blasts. If grenades are in the creature’s inventory, players are also able to fire an explosive shell that explodes when the attack is used for a second time.
- When underwater, a sonar ability can be used which reveals nearby creatures.
- Killing a creature will cause a glowing buff to drop which can be flown into to gain bonus damage, damage resistance, and movement speed for 60 seconds.
- Another perk that comes with the Starwing Saddle is the ability to do a barrel roll movement that can do a quick burst of damage if your tame is right next to the target. Increasing melee damage can increase the barrel roll attack damage.
- While above water, the sonar ability triggers an E.M.P effect causing some Tek dinos to freeze momentarily.
Astrodelphis Details: https://ark.wiki.gg/wiki/Astrodelphis
How To Get Astrodelphis:
- The Starwing Saddle can be found in supply crates on Genesis: Part 2, this is the only method in obtaining this saddle by unascended survivors.
- Astrodelphis can be found in the space biome on Genesis 2. To get to the space biome, I recommend taking a flyer and flying towards the side of the map towards the metal separations in the wall, as you get closer you will see black holes that act as the entrance to the space biome. Keep in mind; the space biome changes depending which planet the Genesis ship lands on, Astrodelphis wont always be flying around the space biome so you will need to wait till you are on the correct planet.
- The first thing you will need to do before taming an Astrodelphis, is to gather a decent amount of Element. The best way of getting Element on Genesis 2 is to go into the space biome and mine the asteroids floating around; keep in mind, not every asteroid will provide the same resource as the main resource changes depending which planet the Genesis ship lands on. Eventually with patience, you will find rocks that will give you Element.
- Once you have acquired Element, you will want to place the Element in the last slot of your hot bar.
- When you find the Astrodelphis you desire to tame, simply fly up to it and feed it the Element. Keep in mind Astrodelphis are relatively friendly but they may hit you from time to time, these hits act as a warning shot only dealing 1 damage but their hits can knock you back quite a bit.
1. Argentavis
The old but extremely reliable flying mount!
Found on almost every map, players can never go wrong with acquiring an Argentavis. Despite being slower than most flyers this creature is truly a jack-of-all-trades type of tame. Every survivor will rely on one of these when traveling with heavy materials and gathering even heavier resources. Argentavis also make decent battle companions, offering players the perfect amount of protection when needed.
Argentavis Abilities and Traits:
- Devouring the corpses of any creature including survivors will heal the Argentavis over time.
- Most animals can be picked up which proves to be helpful for taming, traveling, or raiding purposes.
- The Argentavis is one of the best options for long-distance transport with its weight reductions and high weight stats.
- Though this creature may be slower than most other flyers, few dinos can stay in the air as much as an Argentavis can as its stamina stats lets it fly for very long periods of time.
- Argentavis is capable of grabbing players both off of their mounts and off the ground. Once captured they can be dropped from great heights or dispatched with their talons.
Argentavis Details: https://ark.wiki.gg/wiki/Argentavis
How To Get Argentavis:
- At level 62 you can unlock the Argentavis saddle. The saddle can be crafted in your inventory and these are the resources you will need in order to craft the saddle; 350 Hide, 185 Fiber, and 150 Chitin or Keratin.
- The Argentavis can be found on almost every map in multiple locations, I suggest taking a look at the details link above to find the exact locations on each map.
- The same trap used for the Snow Owl and the Griffin is the best trap option for taming yourself your first Argentavis! The trap will require you to gather a decent amount of Stone, Wood, and Thatch. In order to build the trap you will need to craft; 6 Stone Dinosaur Gateways and 2 Dinosaur Gates.
- Near an Argentavis spawn, place all 6 of the Stone Dinosaur Gateways close together in a row, make sure to leave enough space for your player to escape through the gaps but not too much space where the Argentavis can escape. Next, you will need to place 1 Dinosaur Gate on both ends making a tunnel of sorts.
- After the trap is built you will want to leave one of the end gates open, then you will need to bait your Argentavis by prompting it to attack you. Run the Argentavis into the trap then escape through one of the gaps, before the Argentavis escapes you will want to close the open gate to lock the Argentavis inside.
- Once you have the Argentavis trapped, feel free to use tranq darts or arrows on the Argentavis until its asleep.
- The best food choices to feed the Argentavis while its asleep is; Superior Kibble, if you are unable to acquire Superior Kibble you can also use Raw Mutton, Raw Prime Meat, and Raw Meat.
