ARK Araneo TLC Guide: How to Tame & Abilities

Released as a free update on May 19, 2026, the Araneo TLC turns ARK: Survival Ascended's giant spider from a forgettable cave bug into one of the most useful utility mounts in the game. The Araneo is now a knockout tame, climbs walls and ceilings, fires web zip lines, applies a stacking Webbed debuff, and grapples creatures with new tether abilities. Its saddle unlocks at level 40. Here's how to find one, tame it, and use every ability.

The Araneo has been a punchline for almost a decade. ARK's giant spider showed up in 2015, did almost nothing useful, and spent the next ten years sitting in caves while players walked past it. The May 2026 TLC fixes that, completely. The new Araneo is a wall climber, a taming weapon, a cave king, and a PvP support unit. It is genuinely good now. You should tame one.

A free TLC, not a DLC creature

Here is the first thing to know, because Wildcard confused the entire community by launching two things on the same day. The Araneo TLC is free. Every ARK: Survival Ascended player gets it automatically. You do not need to buy anything.

The paid Fantastic Tames Season 1 DLC also released on May 19, 2026, and it adds the Burrowbuck, Cerberax, and Enigmasaur. Those creatures are locked behind the DLC. The Araneo is not. It is part of the same patch but a different track of content, the start of a five-creature community-voted TLC series that will also overhaul the Quetzal, Giga, Therizinosaurus, and Megalodon throughout 2026 and 2027.

If you already own ARK: Survival Ascended and you have applied the latest update, the new Araneo is waiting in every cave. Full details on the rest of the TLC series and the Fantastic Tames roadmap are in our ARK: Survival Ascended 2026-2027 roadmap.

Where to find the new Araneo

The Araneo still spawns in the same places it always has, which is mostly caves. Heavy clusters live in:

The Island's main cave system (especially the Lower South Cave, Central Cave, and Lava Cave)
Scorched Earth canyons and ravines
Aberration's caverns
Ragnarok caves
The Center's deeper interior caves
Astraeos cave systems

There is one new behavior worth flagging. After the TLC, wild Araneos can spawn on walls and ceilings. Old Araneo always patrolled the floor, so you knew where to look. Now they can drop on you from above. If you walk into a cave without looking up, expect to get jumped at some point.

How to tame the Araneo (the new way)

This is the change that catches returning players off guard. The Araneo used to be a passive tame. Walk up, apply Bug Repellent, feed it spoiled meat. Easy and slow. That is gone. The new Araneo is a knockout tame, like a Rex or a Carno.

Here is what you need:

Bola to immobilize it, ideally before it sees you
Tranq Arrows for low-level Araneos, or Shocking Tranq Darts for high levels
Superior Kibble for the cleanest, fastest tame
Narcotics because Araneo torpor drains quickly
A flyer or Argentavis if you want to drop it into a taming pen

The process is straightforward but has a few gotchas. Bola it first. Then start landing tranqs. Crucially, a bola'd Araneo can still shoot webs at you, so stand to the side or behind it. Once it goes down, force-feed Superior Kibble and start stacking narcotics into its inventory.

Spoiled Meat technically still works as a food. It tames slower, and you lose levels off the final stats, so only use it if you are testing the creature or do not care about a quality tame. For a breeding line, always use Superior Kibble.

A pro move on The Island: tame your first Araneo inside a cave. There is a long-standing quirk where cave creatures will ignore you if you tamed your mount in that cave. Useful for artifact runs.

The saddle is still cheap

This is one of the best things about the Araneo. The TLC did not push the saddle into a higher engram. The Araneo Saddle still unlocks at level 40 and costs 18 Engram Points. It is crafted at a Smithy from Hide, Fiber, and Chitin or Keratin.

For what this mount can do after the TLC, level 40 is a steal. Most utility mounts of this caliber sit behind level 60 saddles.

Every new ability, explained

Here is where the Araneo earns its place in the meta. The TLC added or reworked almost every active and passive ability.

Wall and ceiling climbing. Press C to toggle climbing mode. The Araneo can move freely across walls, cliffs, ceilings, and cave surfaces. There is no longer any vertical terrain you cannot follow prey into.

Web descent. Hold X while on a ceiling to drop down on a web line. You can attack, fire web shots, or land directly on a target during the descent. This is the cave ambush ability and it is exactly as nasty as it sounds.

Strafe movement. The Araneo can now strafe sideways, which makes positioning during fights much smoother and gives you proper spider-like movement.

Web Shot, reworked. Right-click fires a web projectile with significantly increased range and accuracy compared to the old version. Hold R to toggle between two modes:

Damage mode deals direct damage to the target
Poison mode deals less damage but adds torpor and applies the Webbed debuff

The Webbed debuff. This is the new mechanic that ties everything together. Webbed is a stacking debuff applied by Web Shot and Ambusher attacks. At low stacks it slows the target and reduces their attack speed. At maximum stacks, the target cannot sprint or jump. They also take increased damage from all sources. And when a max-Webbed target dies, the effect spreads to nearby enemies. Stack a few Araneos in turret mode and you can lock down a wave of attackers permanently.

Ambusher passive. After the Araneo attaches to or detaches from a surface, its next attack deals +50% damage and applies maximum Webbed stacks instantly. This is the rework's keystone passive. It rewards positioning. Climb to the ceiling, drop on a target, max-stack them in one hit. Fights that used to last twenty seconds end in three.

Web Zip Lines. Create traversable web lines between two surfaces. You can ride them with the Araneo or on foot, and they act as semi-permanent traversal aids in caves and base defense.

Creature Grappling. Fire a tether to either drag small targets toward the Araneo or pull the Araneo toward large targets. The grapple strength scales with the Araneo's Weight stat, so heavier spiders can throw bigger creatures around. It works on players too, which is exactly as funny as it sounds in PvP.

Stat increases. Base stats jumped across the board.

Stat	Pre-TLC	Post-TLC	Change
Health	150	200	+33%
Stamina	100	150	+50%
Weight	100	150	+50%
Food	900	1200	+33%
Melee Damage	100	150%	+50%

The Araneo is now a real combat creature, not a paperweight with a poison bite.

What the Araneo is actually good at now

Cave running. This is the obvious one. Wall climbing plus web descent plus Webbed slow plus Ambusher burst damage make the Araneo the best cave mount in the game right now. Artifact runs that used to require a Thylacoleo or a Megalania are now faster on an Araneo, and the Webbed effect handles cave packs that would normally swarm you.

Taming support. This is the Araneo's hidden best use. The poison Web Shot adds torpor without damage. That means you can pin a target with webs, knock it out with the spider's own attacks, and skip tranq darts entirely on smaller creatures. For mid-tier tames like Direwolves, Sabertooths, and even some Carnos, the Araneo is a one-spider knockout kit. Stack it with a friend on a Pteranodon for support and it gets even cleaner.

Silk farming. Killing creatures while they have Webbed stacks yields extra Silk. The TLC turned the Araneo into a renewable Silk farm, which matters more in ASA where Silk is used in saddles, kibble, and crafting recipes throughout the mid-game.

PvP. This is where the Araneo gets genuinely scary. Grapple players off mounts. Drag tribemates out of fights. Pull yourself onto enemy bases via web zip lines. Drop max-Webbed targets onto your team. The Araneo is not a damage carry, but as a control creature it is one of the most disruptive options in the game.

Base defense. Set Araneos on aggressive or turret mode at choke points. Their webs will slow and weaken anything that walks past, which doubles turret damage and gives your tribe time to respond.

What it is still bad at

A few things did not change.

The Araneo is still fragile compared to combat mounts. It has more health and damage now, but it is not a Rex. Do not face-tank a Giga with it.

It is still terrible at bosses. The Webbed debuff does not apply to bosses, and the Araneo's stat budget cannot keep up with arena scaling. Bring Rexes, Therizinosaurs, or Carcharodontosaurus for boss fights. The Araneo stays home.

It cannot swim. Lure one near water and it will refuse to follow. This matters in caves with water sections and in Ragnarok's underwater zones.

It is vulnerable to its own counters. Other Araneos, Arthropluera, and anything with high knockback can ruin its day. Bring backup.

Is the Araneo worth using now?

Yes, and the answer is not even close. The pre-TLC Araneo was a tame you ignored. The post-TLC Araneo is one of the five most useful utility mounts in ARK: Survival Ascended, and it is free. Tame one early, breed up a small line of them, and you will use them for cave runs, taming runs, and PvP for the rest of your playthrough.

FAQ

How do you tame the Araneo after the TLC?
The Araneo is now a knockout tame. Bola it first, then drop its torpor with Tranq Arrows or Shocking Tranq Darts, and feed it Superior Kibble while it's down. Bring narcotics because torpor drains fast. Be careful, since a bola'd Araneo can still shoot webs at you.

Do you need a DLC for the Araneo TLC?
No. The Araneo TLC is a free update for all ARK: Survival Ascended players. Only the new Fantastic Tames Season 1 creatures (Burrowbuck, Cerberax, Enigmasaur) require a paid DLC.

What level is the Araneo saddle?
The Araneo Saddle unlocks at level 40 and costs 18 Engram Points. It is crafted at a Smithy with Hide, Fiber, and Chitin or Keratin.

Can the Araneo climb walls now?
Yes. The TLC added full wall and ceiling climbing. Press C to toggle climbing mode. You can also drop from ceilings on web lines and attack while descending.

What is the Webbed debuff?
A stacking debuff applied by the Araneo's Web Shot and Ambusher abilities. It slows targets, reduces their attack speed, and increases incoming damage. At maximum stacks, targets cannot sprint or jump. Webbed targets that die spread the debuff to nearby enemies.

Is the Araneo good for boss fights?
No. The Araneo is great at cave control, taming support, Silk farming, and PvP disruption, but it is not a boss creature. Use Rexes, Therizinosaurs, or Carcharodontosaurus for arena fights.