Dino Overhaul X 2 (DOX 2) Mod For ARK: Survival Ascended

Taming, breeding, and leveling creatures on your ARK: Survival Ascended server can feel routine once you know the vanilla rules by heart. The DOX 2 mod, built by equillizer04, resets those expectations by reworking creature attributes, taming, and breeding into a tougher, more layered system. In this Nitrado guide, we’ll show you how DOX 2 changes each of these mechanics so you know what to expect before you install it.

Attributes

In DOX 2, creatures carry attributes and traits that modify their stats, gained from the wild or earned through combat. The mod adds new traits and rebalances existing ones as it grows, so the current list and its exact bonus values live in the mod’s own in-game item list rather than in this guide.

Taming

DOX 2 replaces the standard torpor-and-food loop with two taming methods: passive feeding or fertilized eggs. Taming a high-level creature also depends on your own character’s level, and Alpha-tier creatures carry their own minimum character level before you can tame them.

To tame a creature:

1. Approach carefully until a green star appears above its head.
2. Feed it immediately once the star shows.
3. If it isn’t tamed, retreat for 10 seconds to avoid an attack.
4. Repeat the approach and feed cycle until it’s tamed.

Herbivores

Tame herbivores by feeding them passively while staying close. This doesn’t always succeed on the first attempt, and herbivores can still turn aggressive and deal real damage, so approach with the same caution you’d use on a carnivore.

Carnivores

Carnivores need a fertilized egg from a creature close to their own level. Eggs from a much smaller creature work too, but taming takes longer, and the creature can temporarily stop accepting food.

Breeding

In DOX 2, how many times a female can breed depends on her creature’s size, with smaller creatures able to breed more often than larger ones.

Once a female hits her breeding cap, DOX 2 tags her as sterile.

A breeding formation is capped at 5 females, each spaced at least 25 meters apart, rather than a mixed-gender group of 5. Plan your breeding pens around female count and spacing, not total dino count. Baby creatures, whether from tamed or wild parents, don’t inherit permanent traits until they’re fully grown.

Evolve Your Herd

You now know how DOX 2 reworks attributes, taming, and breeding on your ARK: Survival Ascended server. Install the mod, watch for green stars during taming, and check the mod’s item list for the latest attribute values as you build up your herd.