Narcotics are a vital part of any imaginable playthroughs in ARK: Survival Evolved. Today’s guide will walk you through how to efficiently gather the required items for making Narcotics.
Taming is one of the major aspects of the game, and Narcotics simplify that process by allowing you to put Dinosaurs to sleep. Now, given how essential this drug is, you’re probably going to need a lot of it no matter what stage of the game you’re at.
How to Make Narcotics in Ark
In order to craft a Narcotic, you need to place at least 5 Narcoberries or 1 Ascerbic Mushroom, and 1 piece of Spoiled Meat into a suitable crafting station. These crafting stations are the Mortar & Pestle, Chemistry Bench, Handmill, or whilst riding an Equus (Equus Saddle).
Now, during the earlier stages of a playthrough, you generally gather items slower. So, gathering them alone can take up a lot of your time, especially if you’re looking to put a larger creature to sleep.
It’s always important to have a reliable source of Narcotics. Chemistry Benches alone produce way more Narcotics, so we recommend crafting it as soon as you can.
Best Dinosaurs in Ark for Gathering Narcoberries
As we mentioned before, the process of gathering Narcoberries alone is tedious. Luckily, there are ways to streamline it and make it more bearable.
There are a couple of great creatures that once tamed can gather a lot of berries in a short amount of time. If you’re still in the very beginning stages of the game, herbivores like the Equus, Triceratops, or Stegosaurus are the best for gathering berries. However, if you’re in the later stages of the game, dinos like the Therizinosaurus or Brontosaurus will grant you an extraordinary amount of berries.
Ascerbic Mushrooms are an alternative to Narcoberries, but fewer of them can be harvested at once. They are found in brown, blue, or red mushroom patches.
How to Gather Spoiled Meat in Ark
With Narcoberries covered, we’re left with Spoiled Meat. The production of Spoiled Meat can be improved by clicking “Split All” on a full stack of Raw Meat. This will split all of the 40 pieces into one inventory slot, thus making it spoil individually (and faster).
There’s another way of gathering Spoiled Meat if you don’t want to wait. You can head over to any desert region and find yourself a Vulture to kill. Vultures drop a decent amount of Spoiled Meat and Hide.
What to Craft With Narcotics
Right off the bat, the most useful items that are crafted with just Narcotics are the Tranquilizer Arrow and Tranquilizer Dart. The arrow is fired by a Bow or Crossbow, and the dart is fired by a Longneck Rifle.
Both of these have their uses. But darts are generally better due to the fact that they won’t kill as easily and are more potent. They are harder to craft though, so pick your poison accordingly.
You can also use Narcotics to craft items such as:
- Bug Repellant
- Lesser Antidote
- Tripwire Narcotic Trap
- Poison Grenade
Not only can you craft things with it but you can also use it in cooking recipes. These recipes are as follows:
- Fria Curry
- Lazarus Chowder
- Medical Brew
- Mindwipe Tonic
- Shadow Steak Saute
The Effects of Narcotics
Although it’s mainly used for crafting Tranquilizer ammo, it’s also advertised in-game as something that “Increases your health, but puts you to sleep.” Meaning that it can be consumed.
It does regenerate your health for a short amount of time but it also raises torpor, which slowly puts you to sleep. In spite of this, players with higher Fortitude can stay awake longer.
This process is somewhat similar for creatures and Dinos. Once unconscious, you can interact with the sleeping dino and add either Narcotics or Narcoberries to keep it from waking up.
