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Loxosceles - The Sinister Sand Spider


NnjaChicken
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Suggestion

I know I know we just got a bug in the last vote but hear me out

Their small but deadly modern relatives, Sicarius, as inspiration:

Screenshot_3.png.b52c8dc18d7b76981fb101eb862e859c.png
 

 

Ability Highlights:

Ridable with Saddle

Buries in the sand

Increased Movement Speed During Sandstorm (does not run out of stam or move slow during sandstorm)

Strong Tranquilizing Venom for taming other creatures

Moves faster on sand*     (this ability may be less realistic to make it into the game)

Climbs walls and can strafe side to side

Large Jumps w/ targeting ability and takes little to no fall damage

Dune Lurker:

Lets be honest, the sand dunes in Scorched Earth are cool but not the most interesting outside of the worms and drops. Loxosceles would help add some pizzazz to this somewhat barren part of the map. Specifically Loxosceles defecta could be used.

They can be found buried out in the sand dunes similar to purlovia. Perhaps the taming could involve allowing it to ambush tames from the buried position. 

They are capable of burying and ambushing while ridden similar to the basilisk.

Agile Egg Thief:

They are rideable with saddles unlike the purlovia and bloodstalker. They are however capable of climbing walls and decent jumps like the bloodstalker. Think a less agile but more tanky bloodstalker. This would also make them good for stealing wyverns eggs and give players a fun twist from old methods. 

Screenshot_1.png.b193ae6e3878b9b3bae655e9f50f1696.png

A targeted jump/leap ability would also be useful. Think similar to the boost a Rock Drake can do whilst gliding(when the crosshair pops up) or the teleport an enforcer has, except the Loxo would be able to do this from a neutral position. This would be perfect navigating the wyvern scar, as well as other maps such as Aberration and Extinction when coupled with the climbing ability. 

A Tame for Taming:

They have a venom ability as theyre modern relatives venom is extremely potent. They're venom is very good at applying torpor and they could be useful for tranquilizing knockout tames. Maybe they also passively produce a biotoxin like substance or you can craft strong tranquillizers in their inventories similar to how the desmodus elixir system works.

Scorched Earth Approved:

They can move even faster during a sandstorm! Getting stuck in a sandstorm and watching youre stamina disappear into oblivion can lead to some very frustrating situations but with Loxo's affinity for sand it is able to move freely and hastily. Building off this maybe they get a speed boost while walking on sand similar to how the spino walks faster in waster.

Please leave any thoughts or suggestions below!
spider_rider_by_chris_karbach_d7uqb90-fullview.jpg.475d7d2dcf72c25a80a96fde4ca2b419_2.jpg.72aedd4aacae72a5bada30b559264e12.jpg

spider rider by Chris-Karbach: https://www.deviantart.com/chris-karbach/art/spider-rider-474879348

Loxosceles preserved in amber:

Revision of recluse spiders (Araneae: Sicariidae: Loxosceles) preserved in  Dominican amber and a total-evidence phylogeny of Scytodoidea reveal the  first fossil Drymusidae

Here is a paper about loxosceles fossils and their relevance to Sicariidae phylogenetics if you are interested:

https://arthropod-systematics.arphahub.com/article/86008/

Sicarius is a sister taxa to Loxoceles and where a lot of the inspiration stems from. Here is an attached paper about their phylogenetic relationship.

https://academic.oup.com/zoolinnean/article/179/4/767/3076119

Edited by NnjaChicken
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I was honestly kinda not feeling the other creatures until I saw this. The scorpion and araneo have such high potential to be useful and desirable but they just aren't.  Not only does this accurately match the style of scorched but we need more insects we can actually use. From the little I know about extreme desert insects there's possibly more abilities that could be utilized. Like burrowing to keep out of the sun, water conservation, and possibly utilizing corpses for reproduction.  These are just vague memories from a documentary about some desert insects awhile back and I'm not sure how many of these apply. Either way you have my vote.

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Sounds like a really cool tame, something different. I like the idea about taming by letting it ambush your tames. Maybe it could work in a similar way to taming the tusoteuthis? And maybe whistle command could make it bury itself? Could use it then for pvp and a way to store stuff avoiding getting things taken during raids? 

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On 4/8/2023 at 4:38 PM, Umber0010 said:

I don't see why there should be a creature specifically designed to be good at stealing wyvern eggs, given that stealing said eggs is the entire challenge in getting Wyverns. But being able to move faster during sandstorms is a pretty cool ability. 

Well with the Ai improvement offered by ascended and the possibility of increased spawn slots just judging from the capacity of the new engine. Wyverns might actually be a incredibly challenging creature to get. 

Smarter wyverns, in potentially bigger groups, are terrifying. 

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22 hours ago, Helianthus said:

I'm leaning towards the Moa and the Bastion Beetle as my Top 2, but this will definitely be my third choice in a Ranked Choice vote. Please submit this idea again for Extinction. I don't think there are any areas on Aberration where it would fit (maybe on the surface?).

You bet! I got some other creature ideas im pretty excited about too, looking forward to what the community will come up with next :)

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This would be great for not only grabbing wyvern eggs but getting the milk needed for raising the baby eggs you just grabbed. This would also be good for PvP since you can hide it in the sand for either hiding loot you don't want stolen or hiding from people moving through the area while out and about or just hiding and waiting for the perfect moment to attack. Ever since the flyer nerf I felt like there was no dino that could be used to grab eggs since the Argentavis is and has been too slow and, unless you set up turrets or got really lucky it was pretty much a death sentence. Of course it still wouldn't be easy getting out but with the right tuning, stats and the boost to speed you get from the sand this could be a lot better getting away from wild wyverns. They could also implement it to where when you hide it in the sand and this causes the wyverns to either look for you (they talked about AI improvements this could be 1 of them) or they just lose agro all together. Now, you don't mention how to tame it or where it would be located. I think it should implement how now there will be wild babies and maybe you use something on or do something with the wild babies to get it and start the imprinting stage like a normal baby dino or it could be just a knock-out its up to you and wild-card. Now for where it could be located I was think in the Southern Mountains (which for those who don't know this is the "unground" tunnels that have the Gatekeeper artifact cave entrance in them). The reason I say this location is because there's nothing really down there and since we talking about spiders that can hide in sand and climb walls this would be a perfect place for them since they could hide in the walls since the walls are made of sand and again they could be placed any where but its up to you and wild-card at the end of the day so this is just my thoughts of where it could go. Thanks for reading. :)

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I had something similar i was going to submit as a submission till my friend found this thread. The idea i had was it would bury under the sand and act like a bear trap and grab people and tames as they walk over it. it would also be the method to tame it as well by feeding it dinos or some item like deathworm horns, etc.   it be the size of a bloodstalker as well. i like this and this leaves to writing only 2 submissions for 2 different creatures.

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Replying to MrSoggyBottoms:


I appreciate it! I feel likewise, tames that do a lot of damage are neat but they can blur together fairly quickly. Personally I find travel tames to be the most fun and I'm hoping this spider could add to that niche on Scorched Earth

Edited by NnjaChicken
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Replying to Umber0010:

I see your point and I actually agree. The idea is not to undermine the wyvern experience but to enhance it by adding another option. It is not an option you have to choose if you feel it diminishes the experience. I feel that ARK has a lot of paths to the same goal and thats what makes it so replayable, eg you could play it safe in tek cave and rex rush or try your luck and use an archa/sino

Edited by NnjaChicken
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1 minute ago, DJ4275 said:

Well with the Ai improvement offered by ascended and the possibility of increased spawn slots just judging from the capacity of the new engine. Wyverns might actually be a incredibly challenging creature to get. 

Smarter wyverns, in potentially bigger groups, are terrifying. 

Good point

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10 hours ago, CyberSaurus0829 said:

Would have more readily upvoted this one if it had been a solfugid or some other arachnid, maybe a whip scorpion but I personally think we have enough spider spiders

I see your point, personally i feel like the araneo should be reworked as it both its model and abilities feel lack luster. This submission was mostly impulsive and not the most thought out but ive learned a lot from this vote and am really excited about my ideas for future votes. Regardless I am still grateful for how well this submission has done and happy to be able to contribute to the community :) 

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