How to Spawn Dinos in ARK Survival Evolved

Using administrative commands in ARK can transform the world in front of your eyes. There are no limits, and everything is on the table – even spawning rare creatures right in front of your eyes. You have to know the proper commands to summon the creature you want – as well as all the tweaks you can add to have them come out just right.

Using Console Commands in ARK

One important thing to understand about console or admin commands in ARK is that you can’t always use them.

If you’re the admin of a single-player server that you host yourself, you can simply use commands. There are no barriers to using them, and you don’t have to activate them. Commands – including those necessary to summon dinosaurs and other creatures – just work.

If you’re the admin on a hosted server, you might have to enable commands before you can use them. There will be an admin password that you set up on your account. When you play on this setup, you have to use that password to enable cheats before you can use any commands.

If you’re playing on a server you don’t host or have admin rights on, you won’t be able to use commands. This includes spawning dinosaurs. You’re stuck either asking an admin or tracking down creatures the usual ways.

Enabling Cheats

If you need to enable cheats, do that before you start trying to spawn dinosaurs. This should be the first thing you do before using console commands. 

1. Log in to the server that you admin.
2. Press the Tab key to open the admin console.
3. Type “enablecheats password” without quotes. You must replace the word password with your admin password. 
4. Press Enter.

On servers that require an admin password, you may have to type “admincheat” before other commands. If no password is required, this prefix command isn’t needed either. 

If you close the server or log off from a session, you have to repeat these steps to gain access to admin commands. 

Finding Creature IDs

You have to know the ID of the creature you want to spawn. There are many websites online where you can look them up. You will need the character ID or the Blueprint path of that creature to generate it.  

How to Spawn Dinos in ARK

There are two ways to spawn dinosaurs in ARK, and you can use either, depending on your goal. 

First, you can use the summon command to have a dinosaur appear at your location. It will be whatever species you selected, but everything about it, including the level, will be random. It will not be tame unless you specify that it should be.

You can also use the SpawnDino command, which gives you more control over the attributes of the creature it creates. However, it will spawn as wild.

Finally, there’s a SpawnSetupDino command that lets you set attributes, choose a saddle, and spawn a tame creature. You won’t be able to choose a color, but you can remedy that with a paintbrush and some dye. 

Using the Summon Command

You can use the summon command in two ways: to spawn a specific creature at a random level that isn’t tame or to generate a particular creature at a random level that is tame.

This is an example of how to spawn a raptor. 

1. Press Tab to open the console.
2. If necessary, type in “enablecheats password” without quotes and replace the word password with your admin password.
3. Press Enter.
4. Type “admincheat summon Raptor_Character_BP_C” without quotes.
5. Press Enter.

A raptor will appear in front of you. It will not be tame, and you will need to defend yourself right away because it will attack you.

With only a slight difference, you can also use the summon command to call on a tame dinosaur. Here is an example of how to summon a tame t-rex.

1. Press Tab to open the console.
2. Type in “enablecheats password” without quotes and replace the word password with your admin password, if necessary.
3. Press Enter.
4. Type “admincheat summontamed Rex_Character_BP_C” without quotes.
5. Press Enter.

A tame rex will appear in front of you. You will have to rename it via the radial menu because summoned creatures don’t generate the taming pop-up that lets you choose a name. 

Using the Spawndino Command

The SpawnDino command doesn’t only let you set a level for your creature but also a location. You can change the entry to determine where it spawns relative to you.

You don’t have to choose a level for your creature when using this setting. You can also let it be randomly determined just by leaving that option blank.

Here is an example of spawning a level 75 Sarco, approximately two foundations ahead of me and a little to the right.

1. Press Tab to open the console.
2. Type in “enablecheats password” without quotes and replace the word password with your admin password, if necessary.
3. Press Enter.
4. Type “Admincheat SpawnDino "Blueprint'/Game/PrimalEarth/Dinos/Sarco/Sarco_Character_BP.Sarco_Character_BP'" 500 50 0 75” without the external quotes. 
   
5. Press Enter.

Using the SpawnDino command is easier if you understand precisely what each element refers to. Unlike the summon command that uses the dinosaur spawn IDs, this uses the Blueprint path to determine which creature appears. Also, the internal quotation marks and the capitalization matter with this particular command.

• The first entry admincheat is just enabling cheats to be used. If you didn’t have to type an admin password to use cheats, you could omit it.
• SpawnDino is the command to summon a dinosaur. You can type it as spawndino because it isn’t where capitalization matters.
• The “Blueprint'/Game/PrimalEarth/Dinos/Sarco/Sarco_Character_BP.Sarco_Character_BP‘” entry is where capitalization matters. It’s the Blueprint path for the creature you want to spawn. You can usually find it alongside creature IDs in lists of ARK dinosaur IDs.
• 500 is the number that determines how far ahead of you the creature will appear. You can replace it with any number you choose. Plan for about 250 for each foundation ahead of you worth of distance.
• 50 is the number that shows whether the dinosaur spawns to the left or right of your position. Choosing 50 puts it just a little to the right. -50 would move it just a little to the left.
• 0 is the distance up or down that the creature will appear. Consider leaving it at 0 unless you have a reason for spawning it above or below you.
• 75 is the level of the Sarco that will spawn. Change this to set the level of whatever creature you choose to generate.

While this command takes a little more work and doesn’t tame the dinosaur or creature you spawn, it does let you set a level.

If you need a little time to manage the dinosaur so that you can tame it manually, enter the following command.

• LeaveMeAlone

This essentially makes all dinosaurs ignore you, even if they’re aggressive. You’ll be able to tame the dinosaur that you spawned without it attacking you.

Using Spawnsetupdino

If you want the most control over what creature appears – and to have it show up already tame – SpawnSetupDino is the best command. You have the option to define stats for the dinosaur, have it come with a saddle, and choose its level.

Here’s an example of spawning a Snowy Owl at level 250 with its stamina, health, melee, and speed set. It also comes with a high-level saddle. 

1. Press Tab to open the console.
2. Type in “enablecheats password” without quotes and replace the word password with your admin password, if necessary.
3. Press Enter.
4. Type “admincheat SpawnSetupDino "Blueprint'/Game/Extinction/Dinos/Owl/Owl_Character_BP.Owl_Character_BP'" "Blueprint'/Game/Extinction/CoreBlueprints/Items/Saddle/PrimalItemArmor_OwlSaddle.PrimalItemArmor_OwlSaddle‘” 65 250 “Stamina=10,Health=35,MeleeDamageMultiplier=2,SpeedMultiplier=5” 100 100 0” without the external quotes.
5. Press Enter.

The creature will appear tame and wearing a saddle in front of you. 

The elements of the command are how you adjust the creature.

• The first Blueprint entered is the Blueprint path of the creature. Make sure to use internal quotations, spacing, and capitalization.
• The second Blueprint entered is the Blueprint path of the saddle. The number is directly related to the quality of the saddle. If you don’t want to include a saddle, remove the Blueprint path but leave the quotes surrounding it. Set the quality of the saddle to 0 if you’re doing this. 
• 250 is the level of the creature. Adjust it to change what level creature spawns tame for you.
• Each attribute you want to determine in quotes is listed and separated from others with a comma. Do not include spaces between entries.
• 100 is the distance at which the creature will appear in front of you.
• 100 is the distance to the right the creature will appear.
• 0 is how far up or down it will spawn.

There are a variety of attributes you can consider changing. I chose stamina, health, the damage multiplier, and its speed. However, you can use fewer or more to create something that suits you.

So it’s clear that this method gives you the most control and leads to an instant tame. However, it can be a little more complicated. If you choose numbers outside what the server allows or what works for the creature you’re summoning, it might decide not to spawn.