Raiding in ARK: Survival Ascended starts with one thing: getting through the turrets. Every defended base on Small Tribes has Heavy Auto Turrets, and getting past them requires soaker dinos — tames built to absorb thousands of bullets while your tribe pushes forward. Here's how soaking works and what you need.
What Is Soaking?
Soaking is using high-HP dinos with high-armor saddles to absorb turret fire. The goal is to drain the defender's ammo supply or create an opening for your tribe to push in with explosives or combat dinos. A good soaker can take thousands of turret shots before going down.
Best Soaker Dinos
Stegosaurus
The best all-around soaker in ASA. Stegos have a natural damage reduction mechanic and high base HP. With HP mutation stacks and a high-armor saddle, a mutated Stego can absorb an enormous amount of turret fire. They're slow, but that's fine — soaking isn't about speed, it's about tanking damage. HP mutations are everything for Stegos.
Carbonemys
The Carbonemys (turtle) is the tankiest soaker in the game. It's the go-to choice for soaking turrets that are set to target players and dinos — its shell gives it massive damage reduction, and with HP mutation stacks it can absorb an absurd amount of turret fire. Every serious raiding tribe has mutated Carbonemys lines.
Paracer
The Paracer is a large-platform dino that's extremely hard to counter. The key advantage: you can build a structure on the platform saddle to create an enclosed box that protects the rider from turret fire while the Paracer soaks. This makes the Paracer one of the safest soaking options — the rider stays protected inside the box while the Paracer tanks the hits. HP mutations and a high-armor platform saddle are essential.
Saddle Armor Matters
A soaker without a good saddle is a dead soaker. Saddle armor directly reduces incoming damage per shot. The difference between a primitive saddle and a high-armor crafted saddle from a good BP is massive — it can double or triple how long your soaker survives. This is why saddle BPs are some of the most valuable items in the game.
Coordinating a Soak
- Scout first — Know the turret placement, how many turrets, and their range before committing dinos
- Send soakers in from the best angle — Target the side with fewer turrets or the weakest coverage
- Rotate soakers — Don't let one soaker take all the fire until it dies. Pull it back, heal, send another
- Push when turrets drain — Once ammo runs low or a section of turrets is empty, push combat dinos or players with rockets through the gap
- Have backup soakers — Always bring more soakers than you think you need
Getting Raid-Ready
Raising mutated soakers takes weeks of breeding. At Layeh's Market, we carry Stego, Carbonemys, and Paracer lines with high HP mutation stacks, ready for soaking. We also offer raiding assistance if you need hands-on help. Join Discord to check availability.