You're standing in front of a high-level Rex. It’s knocked out. You’ve got prime meat rotting in your inventory, and the taming bar is moving at the speed of a glacier. We’ve all been there. This is exactly why knowing ARK Survival how to make kibble isn't just a "nice to have" skill—it’s the difference between a perfect tame and a wasted afternoon.
Kibble is weird. It’s basically a high-protein smoothie for dinosaurs. If you're playing Evolved or Ascended, the system has changed over the years, but the core logic remains the same: better eggs make better kibble. Forget the old days of needing specific dino eggs for specific tames. That’s gone. Now, we use a tiered system.
It’s honestly simpler now, but the cooking process still trips people up. One wrong ingredient or an extra charcoal in the pot, and you’ve just made yellow dye instead of a taming powerhouse.
The Cooking Pot vs. The Industrial Cooker
First off, where are you cooking?
If you’re early game, you’re using a Cooking Pot. It’s slow. It’s clunky. You have to manually manage water levels by putting waterskins or jars inside. Pro tip: Use a Sparkpowder or Thatch as fuel. Why? Because Wood creates Charcoal, and Charcoal plus Sparkpowder plus certain berries equals dye. Nothing ruins a taming run like accidentally painting your cooking pot red when you meant to make Superior Kibble.
The Industrial Cooker is the dream. It hooks up to a water pipe, so you never have to refill canteens. It’s fast. You can mass-produce hundreds of kibble in minutes. If you’re serious about a "Mastercraft" level base, get this running as soon as you hit level 89.
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Understanding the Six Tiers of Kibble
There are six types. That’s it. Each one requires a specific egg size and a handful of other ingredients.
Basic Kibble (White)
This is for your Dilos, Parasaur, and those annoying Ichthyornis. You need Extra Small Eggs. Think Dodo or Kairuku. Mix that egg with 5 Mejobberries, 10 Amarberries, 10 Tintoberries, 1 Cooked Meat, 5 Fiber, and Water. It's the bottom of the barrel, but hey, it's better than raw berries for a Phiomia.
Simple Kibble (Green)
Now we’re getting somewhere. This is for Raptors and Giant Bees. You’ll need Small Eggs (Raptor, Compy, Trike). Add 1 Cooked Fish Meat, 2 Rockarrot, 5 Mejobberries, 5 Fiber, and Water. Honestly, once you have a small Raptor farm, you’ll have more Simple Kibble than you know what to do with.
Regular Kibble (Blue)
This is the workhorse. You’ll use this for Ankylo, Doedicurus, and Sarcos. It requires Medium Eggs. Think Anky, Stego, or Baryonyx. The "expensive" part here is the Cooked Meat Jerky. You also need 2 Savroot and 2 Longrass. Don’t forget the fiber.
Superior Kibble (Purple)
This is where things get spicy. You need Large Eggs (Allosaurus, Argentavis, Spino). But here’s the kicker: it requires Prime Meat Jerky. Making jerky takes ages in a Preserving Bin (Oil + Sparkpowder + Cooked Prime Meat). You also need 2 Citronal and 2 Rare Mushrooms. This is the gold standard for taming things like the Megatherium or the Gasbags.
Exceptional Kibble (Yellow)
This is for the big boys. Rexes, Therizinos, Brontos. You need Extra Large Eggs. Think Rex, Giga, Quetzal, or Therizino. The "special" ingredient here is a Focal Chili. Yes, you have to cook a dish to make another dish. You’ll also need 10 Mejobberries and 1 Rare Flower. It's a lot of prep work, but a 150 Rex deserves nothing less.
Extraordinary Kibble (Cyan)
The peak. The GOAT. It tames anything. Literally anything that eats kibble will take this. You need Special Eggs. These come from Wyverns, Rock Drakes, Yutyrannus, or Golden Hesperornis Eggs. You also need Lazarus Chowder and Giant Bee Honey. It’s expensive, but it’s the only way to efficiently tame a Thylacoleo or a Griffin without losing your mind.
The Secret Ingredient: The Egg Farm
You can’t just run around the beach hoping to find eggs. You need a farm.
Tame a bunch of low-level females of the size you need. For Superior, a few female Argies are perfect. For Extraordinary, Yutyrannus are your best bet. Don’t forget the Oviraptor. If you set an Oviraptor to "Enable Wandering" (and weigh it down with stones so it doesn't actually move), it provides a buff that makes your dinos lay eggs way faster. You'll see a little purple egg icon over their heads.
Also, get a male. The "Mate Boosted" status further increases the chance of an egg drop. It's all about math and patience.
Common Mistakes That Kill Your Crafting
I’ve seen people lose hours of farming because of a simple mistake.
- Water: If your Cooking Pot runs out of water mid-cycle, the craft fails. If you're using Waterskins, they leak. Use Glass Jars or Canteens if you haven't moved up to the Industrial Cooker yet.
- The Charcoal Trap: I mentioned this before, but it bears repeating. If you use Wood as fuel, you get Charcoal. If you have berries and water in there, the game might prioritize making Dye over Kibble. Use Thatch, Angler Gel, or Sparkpowder.
- Egg Substitution: You cannot "downgrade" eggs within the same recipe. While a higher-tier kibble will work to tame a lower-tier dino, you cannot use a Small Egg to make Superior Kibble. The recipe is rigid.
- Jerky Confusion: Regular Kibble needs normal Jerky. Superior needs Prime Jerky. They are not interchangeable. Prime Jerky takes a long time to make in the Preserving Bin, so start that process days before you plan to go out taming.
Why Bother With Kibble At All?
You might think, "I have plenty of Prime Meat, why do I care?"
Taming effectiveness. That’s why.
Every time a dino eats during the taming process, its "Taming Effectiveness" drops slightly. If it eats its preferred kibble, that drop is almost non-existent. This means when the dino wakes up, it gets the maximum possible bonus levels. A level 150 Rex tamed with Raw Meat might wake up at level 170. A level 150 Rex tamed with Exceptional Kibble will wake up at level 224.
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That’s a massive difference in HP and Melee Damage. If you’re planning on fighting bosses like the Broodmother or the Overseer, those extra levels are mandatory.
Actionable Steps for Your Next Session
If you want to master ARK Survival how to make kibble, start with these three moves:
- Build a Preserving Bin immediately. Start turning your Cooked Prime Meat into Prime Meat Jerky using Oil and Sparkpowder. You'll need it for the higher tiers later, and it takes hours of real-world time to process.
- Tame two low-level Argentavis (Male and Female). Argies provide Large Eggs, which make Superior Kibble. This tier tames a huge variety of mid-to-late game utility dinos.
- Hook up an Industrial Cooker to your water system. Even if you have to grind for the polymer and electronics, the automation of water supply removes 90% of the headache involved in kibble production.
Once you have a steady stream of eggs and a reliable cooking station, the island becomes your playground. You stop being a survivor and start being a commander. Grab those eggs, watch your fuel types, and stop settling for mediocre tames.