Valguero's remaster is one of the most feature-dense free maps in ASA. It folds a full Aberration zone and an underground ocean into a single world, which means Reapers, Rock Drakes and Aberration resources are all available without owning that DLC map. This guide covers the parts that actually change how you play it - the hidden regions, the tames worth rushing, the best loot farms, and the Grendel fight.
The Map and Where to Start
Valguero is a patchwork of biomes: the white cliffs in the southeast (metal, crystal, obsidian and Deinonychus), the redwoods in the southwest, a cold tundra in the west, a warm snow biome in the north, jungles and swamp in the east, and a huge boreal forest through the center. The beaches are the friendly part; head inland and it gets hostile fast.
Note: The best starter spot is the small island in the redwoods lake - "herbivore island." No aggressive creatures spawn on it at all, so it is a safe launch point while you find your feet.
The Hidden Regions: Aberration Zone and Abyss
These two areas are the reason to play Valguero over the base maps.
Aberration zone - a no-fly area with a green zone and a radiated red zone. Main entrance in the map center at 38.3/58 (marked by big purple crystals); a second water entrance in the eastern jungles at 32.3/92.6. It has aberrant creatures, a Rock Drake nesting ground and full Aberration resources.- The Abyss - a large underground ocean for deep-sea tames. Easiest entrance is at 63.6/73.2, just below the white cliffs; a second sits behind a waterfall in the tundra at 34.6/9.1.
Warning: The red zone is fully irradiated - a full Hazard suit is required. Aberrant Ankylosaurus are ideal there since they are immune to radiation, and nearly every rock in the red zone yields large amounts of Metal.
Early Tames Worth Rushing
The Deinonychus is the standout early carnivore and stays useful all game. It nests around the white cliffs, glides great distances with zero fall damage, and stacks a bleed up to five times that drains 1.5% of a target's max health - and it is the only bleed that still works on bosses. Steal an egg with a Pteranodon, incubate with standing torches, and you have a traversal and combat mount in one.
For the new Megaraptor, bring high-quality torches to the taming altar, keep your torch out, and circle the altar so its attacks land from the side; swing when you hear the attack cue and it takes torpor almost every hit. For Wyverns, steal an ice Wyvern egg from the northern trench and raise it on Wyvern milk (tranq a wild female with a fast mount like a Procoptodon) - the ice Wyvern's inventory also doubles as a portable refrigerator.
Note: Valguero is a non-story map, so the Scorched Earth and Aberration DLC must be installed or the engrams stay blacked out. Deinonychus saddles and blueprints only drop from Valguero purple beacons; Megaraptor saddles only from Valguero yellow and red beacons, which are most common in the northern snow biome and redwoods.
Team - a bleed-focused Deinonychus plus a squad of Ferox with strong saddles (110-120 armor) and sweet veggie cakes to self-heal. Add a Yutyrannus and Daeodon if you have riders for them.
Wyvern milk - force-feed it for two minutes of bleed immunity, which directly counters the boss's main damage.
The real threat is the vultures - they spawn at level 500 and target riders, not mounts. Never fight them yourself; round them up and run them past your Ferox on aggressive.