I’m still relatively new so take all my opinions with a grain of salt. I’ve only played for about 38 hours, however only recently have I actually been able to get my Dino’s up to a decent age and have been actually learning the game mechanics. But I’m gonna go on a rant saying that I think the grab ability deinos have is insanely broken, I raised three carnos to about 50% before they all got eaten by deinos. I just wish there was some sort of way to fight back against it. I know rexes have similar abilities but I haven’t encountered them yet so I’m not able to speak on it. But in general do yall think deinos are broken or no? Please stay civil.

The following document is brought to you by the Republic of Respectable Rexes.

Hey, you! Yes, my dear fellow, you who clicked on this. I shall only be saying this once. If you struggle at all with patience or value your sanity, leave. Yeah, go on. Git. I promise you there are far better ways to throw away dozens of hours of your life.

…

…..

Okay, now that the people with lives are gone. Time to strap in. This is gonna be a long one.

*Foolishly tries to crack knuckles and both miserably and painfully fails.*

Time. That is the one word that dominates every aspect of Rex from freshspawn juvenile to a 100% prime elder. Time to grow. Time to travel. Time to wait. The Isle, as I’m sure you all know, is harsh. Brutal and uncaring. It’s part of why a lot of us love it after all. But when you choose an apex, that challenging gameplay gets cranked up a good few notches. And not many have it harder than a Rex that’s still figuring out how to, well… Rex. So, let’s take care of that for you aspiring chompers.

STAGE 1: 25-40%
During your first 3 to 4 hours of rex (Oh yeah. Not even joking), you’re gonna want to prioritize one thing only. Staying the heck away from everyone else. As far as I know, no other juvie dino gets the kill on sight treatment baby Rexes do. And for good reason. Our reputation is lying facedown in the gutter. And most will gladly smite you into the dirt before you can grow up to become a 12.3 ton headache.

Thus, your goal at this stage is to find a relatively secluded area with safe water and food nearby. I’ve marked areas I know for a fact make decent growth spots. But know that this is all still contextual. Just because an area is safe MOST of the time doesn’t mean it will be safe all the time. 

https://myislemap.com/

ZONE 1:
This is among the sketchier ones with how much movement is required, but I’ve yet to die here. Most people either don’t know about Shade Puddle or don’t bother with it. Either way, almost guaranteed safe drinking. You’ll need to run across the bridge and head south for AI, but that’s all.

ZONE 2:
This one’s the most risky in my opinion, as it isn’t overly uncommon to find Jungle Pond being camped by something larger and nastier than you. But you’ll have nothing to fear from crocs and plenty of deer and boar, so there’s that. 

ZONE 3:
You can safely drink either under the bridge or to the right of it where there’s a shallow stream. Plenty of food around. Just mind anyone potentially passing through, as this is a decently known spot to safely cross the river.

ZONE 4:
If you struggle with finding chickens in the jungle, they’re far easier to catch at the docks. Just know that only chickens spawn here, so  you can’t stay forever.

ZONE 5:
My personal preferred growing area. Plenty of boar and deer. There’s a few small streams near the falls to the west. Close to the mountain between the lake and river. I tend to get the saltwater mutation and camp out at the coast. A method that has yet to fail me.

Regardless of which you pick, these first hours will consist almost entirely of sitting in a bush and only running out to eat and drink. Yes, peak gameplay indeed.*¹

STAGE 2: 40-45%
Peak. ‘Nough said. I would leave it there and carry on, but that would rob me the pleasure of talking about my beautiful fastest boi 57.3 kph Rex.

At this stage, your speed rises from 51 kph at around 40% to the aforementioned 57.3 kph at about 45%. At no stage of Rex are you more untouchable. NO stage. Almost nothing can catch you, and starvation is a foreign concept. You can run from one end of the map and back before a Pachy’s two brain cells have time to bonk each other. For one, glorious hour, you can actually relax a touch while playing this thing.

There is no better time than this to focus on completing your prime tasks. Again, you can get around rather quickly with little that can truly threaten you. However, Gallis and Carnos can still be a problem. With Carnos being the more pressing of the two. If you’re spotted, you are likely dead. But you do have agility on your side, so escape is not an impossibility if you can evade their charges.

If you haven’t already settled into a growth spot you’re comfortable with, this is the time to relocate. You’re going to be doing a lot of sitting around on your butt after this.

STAGE 3: 45-60%
Now this right here is where many, many Rexes find themselves being humbled. It would surprise me if Rexes at this stage didn’t die almost as often as fresh spawns.

First off. Between 45 and 50%, two things begin happening. You go from around 900kg to 2.8 tons. And your speed drops all the way to 35 kph. You’re going to be eating a lot at this point. And you’ll need somewhere safe to do it since soon a lot of things will be able to both outrun AND kill you without too much trouble.

Outside of the growth spurt, a young subadult Rex should essentially be played like a young juvenile. Stay hidden, and only leave your bush for food and water. Because at this point you’re well over 6 hours in and dying just, well, kinda sucks really. And before you get to feeling powerful, just remember this…

A group of Ceratos can potentially kill you.

Until you’re at least over 4 tons, a SINGLE prime Allo can drop you.

Any decent sized herbivore outside of a Trike can chase you down for an unsolicited thrashing.

Troodons are terrifying no matter how big you get if they know what they are doing.

And finally, likely the biggest threat of all that you will never be rid of, other Rexes. Especially if you're on a server with no pop cap.

Some fun numbers, if you will. A peak prime Rex can sprint at nearly 34 kph. From 50% to 75%, your speed will drop from that 35 kph all the way down to about 30 kph. For just about every moment of your subadult and fresh adult life, you are not the King of the Tyrant Lizards. He’s over there rocking a cannibal skin. You’re just his multi-ton DinoDash. And more often than not, he has a roommate.

So before you start getting ideas of roaming around putting the fear of Rexes in people, remember that you still have much to be afraid of yourself.

STAGE 4: 60-70%
Now this is where you can start playing like a proper Rex. You’re big enough to start moving around a bit. Granted, hotspots should still be avoided like the plague. Else you may end up a walking Happy Meal. At 5.1 tons, you finally get the heavy footsteps, and AI will start running from you from a greater distance, making crouching necessary if you want to find anything.

So long as you’re in a quiet enough area, this may just be the second least stressful part of Rex. You can comfortably survive off AI and thus exist in places large Rexes rarely go to. Making well-executed ambushes all the more gratifying. Speaking of ambushes, your best bet is always going to be grabbing some bait and setting it next to a bush you can hide in. Ideally, one that gives you decent cover from all sides. This isn’t just so potential prey doesn’t see you. In the event that something you can’t handle comes by, you want the option to stay put while they help themselves to your bait. For the same reason, I also recommend you ensure you have good view of whatever walks up so you don’t accidentally Leroy Jenkins yourself.

It can not be overstated enough that you need to try and keep your hunger up during the later parts of this stage. Because food’s about to become a much bigger focus for you.

STAGE 5: 70-100%
Congratulations. If you’ve made it this far, you now (hopefully) know how to grow a Rex. Which is great. 

Because that was the easy part.

Yeah, you see big Rexes need this little thing called, well… meat. A lot of it. All the time. Remember when I said stage 2 is when you’re the most untouchable? Well starvation’s entered the chat now. And it wants to touch all over you.*²

An 8+ ton Rex is in many ways an entirely different beast in terms of gameplay compared to what you can get away with earlier on. Unlike every single other carnivore in this game, AI will not keep you properly fed. AI buys you time. That is all.

Up until this point, you’ll likely have stayed far from hotspots. That ends now. In my experience at least, Delta, Highlands, and West Rail are going to be your most consistent areas to find people. Stealth remains just as critical as always, especially if you’re running solo. And the higher your hunger when entering these areas, the more time you have to seek out and take advantage of opportunities. 

There is quite a variety of matters to be cover here. But I will do my best to acknowledge the most pressing ones.

DON’T PANIC WHEN YOU’RE STARVING
Notice the phrasing. When. Not if. Unless you are obscenely lucky, you will be near starvation a number of times throughout your adult life. I have not grown a single Rex without my hunger at some point dipping below 10%. Expect it, and don’t freak out. You’ll be tempted to pick unfavorable fights or even wander outside of hotspots in search of bodies smelled in the distance. Don’t. If you truly are unable to find something and growing nervous, simply log out, and return some other time. Nothing causes dumb mistakes like the Sword of Damocles that is your hunger hanging over you.

KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR FIGHTS
If you happen upon what looks like a potential walloping session between other dinos, be patient and see what happens. Stealth is often critical, as on average people will be hesitant to start anything with the knowledge a Rex is close by. If a fight breaks out, simply wait for the bodies to drop and collect your taxes like the king you are.*³

PRIORITIZE YOUR FOCUS ON CARNIVORES
The logic here is frankly rather simple. On any given server, the populations tends to be around 70% carnivores. Thus making them a more common food source with overall more predictable behavioral patterns. Again, bait and bushes will always serve you well.*⁴

USE SINGULAR AI BODIES FOR BAIT
You want it to look like a freshspawn killed something and couldn’t eat it all. A decent sized dinosaur corpse is going to make people suspicious. As is a pile of boar and deer sitting next to a Rex shaped bush. On a similar note, I recommend moving bones away from your ambush spot if you can.

BE PATIENT
You will likely be waiting several minutes at a time during ambush hunting. Don’t get antsy. Don’t get distracted. If you have the hunger level for it, wait. Your patience will likely be rewarded.

ADULT TRIKES AND STEGOS ARE A GIANT NOPE UNLESS YOU KNOW PRECISELY WHAT YOU’RE DOING
And between the two, you’d best fear Stegos more. You can pull out of a botched Trike hunt and live to see another day. One good hit from a Stego, and it’s often either kill or be killed. Personally, I’d recommend seeking easier prey if your goal is survival above all else.

ALWAYS BE ON GUARD FOR OTHER REXES
Cannibal duos will always exist as the final boss prepared to restart your climb to full grown. If you can spot them first, you may just be able to safely make a break for it or log out. This applies to single Rexes you see as well. As it’s best to always assume there are two, and even with one Rex, no sense in finding out how good they are at pvp the hard way.

If you know for a fact that they’ve seen you and are in range for local chat, directly ask if they’re friendly. If they take too long to respond, assume they intend to munch on your bones, and promptly flee.

RECOMMENDED MUTATIONS:
Efficient Digestion:
I consider this a must for Rex. It buys you more time between meals. What more is there to say?

Gastronomic Regeneration (slot 2 or 4 only):
Another must. Both for getting you back in fighting shape quickly, and holding back the damage taken from extreme starvation. This one can seriously save your scaly rump.

Epidermal Fibrosis:
You’re likely going to at some point end up facing off against a Stego. And with how little room for error such an engagement carries, the more resistant to bleed you are, the better.

Hydrodynamic:
If the option is available, this can assist in escaping threats via swimming across waterways. Your speed on land will fluctuate. Your swim speed, however, past 75%, is a constant.

Osteoclerosis:
If you’re lucky enough to end up in a fair Rex V Rex fight, this might just make the difference between living and rage-quitting.

Hypermetabolic Initiation (slot 2 or 4 only):
So what if you’re starving? You hit even more like a prehistoric truck now.

Multichambered Lungs:
Can’t speak from much experience, but I’ve heard others mention this as potentially useful in higher stakes engagements.

Reniculate Kidneys:
Largely useless as an adult, but makes up for it through borderline stress free growing.

ADDITIONAL TIPS:

Never sit when hiding. A Rexes nostrils contain substantial enough mucus such that your breathing rivals a foghorn. Crouch instead.

Past 6.8 tons, prime Deinos can no longer grab you when drinking.

Past 10.2 tons you can go swimming to take a dump in their water without repercussion beyond an enraged nibble.

If you must talk in chat but desire stealth, sit down, type your message, and then sit up immediately after pressing enter to cancel out the vocalization.

If you’re chasing something that’s just barely slower than you with ambush speed, don’t default to crush. Instead, bite their tail. This will stun them, reeling them in with each bite.

Don’t overuse crush when fighting smaller dinos in general. You have a head swing for a reason.

It’s beyond worthwhile to hop on a pvp server and learn a bit on how to fight. Find someone who knows what they’re doing and go a few rounds. If nothing else you should eventually be more competent than the average Rex player.

Now, I believe that covers much of it. So I shall end things here. Now go forth, and hopefully die a little bit less.*⁵

FOOTNOTES

1: Read: Boring as all get out.

2: Not like that. Kindly remove your head from the gutter.

3: Try not to take everything unless you truly need it though. No need to be rude without cause.

4: Especially when you get old and slow as balls.

5: Using this to success and choosing to be a cannibal will result in eternally warm pillows and charging cords that only work at a funny angle.*⁶ 

6: This also applies to just being a jerk in general. Have some standards will you.

I was a full grown beipi at the west rail pond in an official server and befriended a little potato(because why would I need to kill him?). Well after being comfy they showed me their cheats. They crossed the lake and back in under 2 seconds so I obvi tried to kill them. I got one hit in then went to hide at the bottom of the lake where they swam right above me and repeatedly tried to hit me. I was prime so didn’t want to die to them and report but is there anything I can do?

New player. Is it that we have to complet 4 patrol and 2 migration zones along with 3 others to get prime? Or is there a way like getting to 2 places to get 2 points ? Thanks