Moschops Behavior Guide: Passive, Neutral & Assist Modes

The virtual world of 2016-launched survival game ARK: Survival Evolved features a unique creature, the Moschops, notable for its docile nature and specialized harvesting capabilities. While often described as a “happy camper” when left undisturbed, the Moschops exhibits a pronounced aversion to conflict, a characteristic that dictates its utility within the game.

A Cowardly Omnivore

The Moschops is categorized as an omnivore and is classified within the Synapsids creature group. According to in-game documentation, it possesses a “cowardly” temperament, consistently fleeing from danger. This inherent timidity extends even to scenarios where the Moschops is commanded to attack, with reports indicating it will retreat even when ordered to engage a relatively harmless creature like a dodo. This behavior distinguishes it from more aggressive creatures within the ARK ecosystem.

The creature’s physical description aligns with its behavior. It’s characterized by a large body and short legs, resulting in a distinctive waddling gait. Its dentition is described as specialized, allowing it to effectively bite into a variety of organisms, suggesting a broad dietary range. In its natural habitat, the Moschops is depicted as constantly foraging, sampling different food sources to determine its preferences.

Taming and Utility: A Specialized Harvester

Despite its lack of combat prowess, the Moschops holds significant value for players due to its resource-gathering abilities. Tribes within the game utilize the Moschops to efficiently harvest specific resources, with the creature’s harvesting levels trainable to focus on particular materials. Key resources the Moschops can be optimized to gather include Organic Polymer, Leech Blood, Rare Mushroom, Rare Flower, Raw Prime Fish Meat, Raw Prime Meat, and Sap.

However, the Moschops’ harvesting capabilities are not universally applicable. Its fearful disposition limits its effectiveness to harvesting from animal corpses. Players must direct the Moschops to a carcass and activate its harvesting function – initiated by holding the left bumper and pressing ‘up’ on the controller’s d-pad – to utilize this ability. Attempts to have it harvest resources directly from living creatures are unsuccessful due to its tendency to flee.

Variants and Spawn Commands

The game features several variants of the Moschops, including the Aberrant Moschops and the Eerie Moschops. These variants likely possess unique characteristics and spawn locations within the game world. Players can utilize specific spawn commands to summon these creatures, as detailed in the game’s documentation. For example, the command “cheat summon Moschops_Character_BP_Cor” will summon a standard Moschops, while “cheat summon Moschops_Character_BP_Aberrant_Cor” summons the Aberrant variant.

Domestication and Breeding

The Moschops is a tameable, rideable, and breedable creature within ARK: Survival Evolved. It is tamed passively, meaning players do not engage in combat to subdue it. While it is rideable, its cowardly nature means it is not an ideal mount for combat situations. The ability to breed Moschops allows players to cultivate desirable traits and create a sustainable population for resource gathering.

A Creature Defined by its Fear

The Moschops’ design and functionality within ARK: Survival Evolved present a compelling example of how a creature’s temperament can define its role within a game ecosystem. Its inherent fearfulness, while a detriment in combat, is precisely what makes it a valuable asset for resource gathering, particularly from deceased creatures. This specialization highlights the game’s emphasis on diverse creature roles and strategic utilization of each species’ unique characteristics.

The creature’s behavior also extends to interactions with other tamed animals. While generally peaceful, a Moschops will become frightened and flee if it witnesses a conflict involving its owner or another tamed creature, further emphasizing its aversion to confrontation. This reactive behavior adds another layer of complexity to managing and utilizing the Moschops effectively within the game.

The Moschops, represents a nuanced addition to the ARK bestiary – a creature whose value lies not in its strength or aggression, but in its specialized skills and uniquely timid disposition. Its continued presence in updates to the game, including releases in June 2020 and September 2021, demonstrates its enduring appeal to players seeking efficient resource management strategies.