How to Tame Ossidon in ARK

Ossidon is a Lost Colony mammal that ark.wiki.gg describes as "a monstrous, demonic-looking primate of raw endurance and cryogenic elemental might adapted to survive in the frozen wastes of Arat Prime." It's tameable, rideable, and breedable, carries a 550 drag weight, eats a Carnivore diet, and — per the infobox — has an Aggressive temperament (its in-game Dossier calls it "Relentless" instead; the source doesn't reconcile the two labels, so this guide reports both). This guide covers Ossidon's appearance and lore, its Claw/Icicle Rain/Bolus abilities, its base stats and passive Monstrous Affection buff, and the ride-and-capture taming procedure — with every gap the source leaves blank called out instead of guessed.
What Is Ossidon?
Ossidon arrived with the Lost Colony DLC on Arat Prime. The infobox dates its release to November 18, 2025 on version 75.9 (Xbox and PlayStation list the same date on version 75.6). The changelog table, however, credits patch 75.7 with "Ossidon is added to the game" — the source doesn't reconcile that version gap, so this guide reports both instead of assuming one is a typo.
Its Dossier gives it the species name Cryopithecus dominus from a period called the Necrocene, calling it an engineered "apex protector" born from "experimentation with the infusion of Red Element into creatures engineered for hardiness," built "should the day come when they may be needed to defend against a Titan." Its signature weapon, quoted directly: it was "engineered to produce excessive quantities of cryogenic mucus... whether rolled into an icy wrecking ball or spit in a shower of bone-chilling slush."
Physically, it's "a huge, frost-adapted ape-like creature with a bulky gorilla build, thick pale fur, and icy blue accents," with "powerful arms end[ing] in long, curved claws" and "a skull-like head with moose antler-style horns." Two named variants exist — Alpha Ossidon and Revenant Ossidon — but the source lists no stat differences for either, so none are invented here. A Notes entry adds that Community Crunch 480 once called Ossidon "a mutation gone wrong" before its "Apex Protector" role was apparently refined, and that it was the third creature (after Tropeognathus and Veilwyn) made available on other maps before its actual debut map released.
Combat Abilities: Claws, Icicle Rain, and Bolus

Ossidon's kit, quoted from the attack table: Claw Swipe deals 95 damage (0.67s interval, 10 stamina), and Claw Clap deals 190 damage — exactly double the Swipe — and "replaces the third consecutive Claw Swipe execution" (1.15s interval). Icicle Rain (hold right-click + left-click, 30 stamina, 30s interval) "throws destroyable Icicles to its front that last for 60 seconds," with throw distance scaling off Oxygen and icicle count per round scaling off Food; icicles apply a Frostbite debuff for 10 seconds within "~6 meters." Bolus (special-1, 18 stamina/second, 90s interval) "creates a mud/snowball with the terrain," must be charged with terrain material first, then deals 100 damage; carried-creature capacity scales with Health, carried-creature size with Weight. The Damage Multipliers table lists a head multiplier of 0.75.
The wiki recommends "a strong tame such as Thylacoleo or Rex," since "smaller tames can be quickly integrated into the rolling goo ball and rendered effectively useless." Icicle Rain "can ignore armor and create a 'mini-blizzard' effect that slows you down," and Lost or Revenant Ossidons "always have backup." For direct engagement, a Rex, Giganotosaurus, or Carcharodontosaurus is named as large enough to dodge the Bolus and survive the three-hit claw combo. Harvesting yields Raw Meat, Hide, and Pelt.
Base Stats, Passive Buff, and Utility Roles

Base stats: Health 1430 (+20% wild/level, +27% domesticated/level), Stamina 420 (+10%/+10%), Oxygen 150 (+10%/+10%), Food 3000 (+10%/+10%), Weight 500 (+2%/+4%), Melee Damage 95 base / 190 alt (+5%/+10%), Speed 100 (0%/+1%), Torpidity 1550 (+6%/level). Base walk speed is 515; sprinting reaches 736.4 wild or 1104.7 domesticated; swim speed is 501.01, with no sprint value listed (the field reads "N/A").
The passive Monstrous Affection buff builds per rider: "every 90 seconds of being ridden by the same rider" adds one stack, up to a cap of 20, and "each stack increases some but not all levellable stats and movement speed by 0.5%" — at the cap that's 20 × 0.5% = 10% to those stats and speed for that rider. Each levelable stat also drives a visible/functional change: Health grows overall size and Bolus victim capacity, Stamina grows the head crest and roll duration, Oxygen grows fur and Icicle Rain range, Food grows the icicle count per volley, Weight grows the max Bolus-absorbed creature size, and Melee Damage grows claw size. Ossidon also "can freely move in all directions." Utility roles listed on the page: Tank, Crowd Control (Icicle Rain), Rider Synergy (Monstrous Affection over long fights), and Boss Killer.
How to Tame Ossidon

The infobox marks Ossidon nonviolenttame: Yes and leaves the specific Taming Method field blank — consistent with the procedure described, which isn't a straight knockout-and-feed tame. Per the source: tranq an Ossidon "to 50% torpor," at which point it "will become sleepy," then ride it "a minimum of 4 times." Once mounted, right-click forms the Bolus; inside it, you capture "a certain number of icicles... and wild creatures." The wiki's own tip is to "get 5 creatures in and then prioritise icicles," since released creatures can be recaptured immediately. Every icicle captured raises taming efficiency, which "drops by 25% every time you mount the Ossidon" — capturing the specified icicle count refills it to 100%. Sanguine Elixir speeds the tame, but only "after the 3rd rolling minigame, to keep full effectiveness."
The exact icicle/creature quota per Bolus round isn't given beyond that "5 creatures" tip, so this guide doesn't invent a hard number. The source also doesn't give the Ossidon Saddle's crafting requirements or unlock level, nor any breeding-timer figures despite Ossidon being marked breedable — all undocumented, not guessed.
Bring a Thylacoleo or Rex, not a light scout mount — the wiki is explicit that "smaller tames can be quickly integrated into the rolling goo ball and rendered effectively useless" against the Bolus. Save Sanguine Elixir for after the third rolling minigame, and budget for at least four full mounts before the Bolus minigame even starts.
Running your own ARK server
An Ossidon tame is a multi-stage commitment: tranquilizing, four separate mounts, and repeated Bolus rounds against a creature the wiki calls "highly dangerous" and "not to be taken lightly." A private, always-on ARK server keeps your tranq darts, backup tame, and half-finished Ossidon exactly where you left the fight if you log off mid-tame, with no risk of another tribe interfering with your Bolus rounds or looting the kill.
Conclusion
Taming an Ossidon comes down to what ark.wiki.gg actually documents: a Lost Colony apex predator built around a ride-then-Bolus taming loop rather than a standard knockout, a Claw Clap that hits for exactly double its Claw Swipe, a Monstrous Affection buff that adds up to 10% to select stats and speed at max stacks, and a Rex, Giganotosaurus, or Carcharodontosaurus as the wiki's own recommendation for fighting one directly. What the source doesn't spell out — the exact icicle/creature quota per Bolus round, the saddle's unlock level, breeding timers, and any Alpha/Revenant stat differences — is left undocumented rather than guessed.
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