Question about leeches.

[Kashra Fall]

So, we've recently started to harvest leech blood, but the randomness of the encounters has lead a lot to be desired. So, I came up with a plan of just getting a pack of dire wolves, setting them to follow 1 wolf and setting them all to aggressive with max range in the swamp biome. Seemed good right? Well, would of been! However as I noticed a few moments in that the wolves stood there and let the leeches jump on them instead of biting at them, I was a bit baffled!

I can understand "Somewhat" of why the ark devs don't allow dinos to attack leeches without player assistance, but as far as I can tell, it is only used in the production of antitodes and used for fishing, so what is the harm in being able to effectively farm it?

[Bulborb87]

ive got no clue at all, and tbh i really hate those blood-sucking little bastards

[Dasilva]

just go out on a giga one run through the swamp nets me usually 30 - 50 leech blood in 15 minutes
granted thats on a unofficial but its pretty similar to official minus the BS

[Kashra Fall]

Originally posted by Dasilva:

just go out on a giga one run through the swamp nets me usually 30 - 50 leech blood in 15 minutes
granted thats on a unofficial but its pretty similar to official minus the BS

Don't have a giga yet, nor do I have the ability to ride it xD. Only level 86 atm. I am simply asking why they don't auto attack them,

[🦊 Hermit]

Originally posted by Kashra Fall:

So, we've recently started to harvest leech blood, but the randomness of the encounters has lead a lot to be desired. So, I came up with a plan of just getting a pack of dire wolves, setting them to follow 1 wolf and setting them all to aggressive with max range in the swamp biome. Seemed good right? Well, would of been! However as I noticed a few moments in that the wolves stood there and let the leeches jump on them instead of biting at them, I was a bit baffled!

The issue here is not that they won't attack leeches, but that they cannot see them because they are underwater.

It happens with snakes too, and other creatures. Try fighting something on a beach outside the swamp and you might see it happen too. For some reason, dinos which are standing on land cannot see other dinos which are swimming, even if those other dinos are attacking them.

In the swamp it's most visible because a lot of the creatures there swim in very shallow water. Leeches, snakes, etc are very low to the ground, so even the swamp water triggers them to swim. Whereas wolves and other creatures are tall enough to stand in the water, so they are counted as being on land.

Watch carefully and try to pull a snake or leech onto land. You might see the wolves suddenly spot the creature as it transitions to land movement, and go for it. And in the same way, you may see the wolves suddenly stop attacking and turn to follow you again if a creature moves from land into water.

'Attack this target' whistles sometimes seem to override this weakness, as does having dinos set to 'Attack my target' agressivness and you hit something. But if left to their own devices, land creatures have real difficulty spotting a creature which is in it's swimming state.

[Kashra Fall]

Originally posted by Hermit:

Originally posted by Kashra Fall:

So, we've recently started to harvest leech blood, but the randomness of the encounters has lead a lot to be desired. So, I came up with a plan of just getting a pack of dire wolves, setting them to follow 1 wolf and setting them all to aggressive with max range in the swamp biome. Seemed good right? Well, would of been! However as I noticed a few moments in that the wolves stood there and let the leeches jump on them instead of biting at them, I was a bit baffled!

The issue here is not that they won't attack leeches, but that they cannot see them because they are underwater.

It happens with snakes too, and other creatures. Try fighting something on a beach outside the swamp and you might see it happen too. For some reason, dinos which are standing on land cannot see other dinos which are swimming, even if those other dinos are attacking them.

In the swamp it's most visible because a lot of the creatures there swim in very shallow water. Leeches, snakes, etc are very low to the ground, so even the swamp water triggers them to swim. Whereas wolves and other creatures are tall enough to stand in the water, so they are counted as being on land.

Watch carefully and try to pull a snake or leech onto land. You might see the wolves suddenly spot the creature as it transitions to land movement, and go for it. And in the same way, you may see the wolves suddenly stop attacking and turn to follow you again if a creature moves from land into water.

'Attack this target' whistles sometimes seem to override this weakness, as does having dinos set to 'Attack my target' agressivness and you hit something. But if left to their own devices, land creatures have real difficulty spotting a creature which is in it's swimming state.

I can understand the not seeing them thing, but I physically went on land and had the leeches chasing me from the water and the dogs would not attack them. They instead attack the paracers, dimorphodons, pirahnas or anything else within the radius, but not the leeches 1 foot away from them. I think it is coded that way or something xD.

[retsam1]

Only way to leech farm is wide aoe tromping through the swamp. The issue of non aggroing though is a design choice at this point by WC so I would recommend mentioning it on the official forums there more so than here but for now doubtful it'll change any time soon.

[🦊 Hermit]

Originally posted by Kashra Fall:

I can understand the not seeing them thing, but I physically went on land and had the leeches chasing me from the water and the dogs would not attack them. They instead attack the paracers, dimorphodons, pirahnas or anything else within the radius, but not the leeches 1 foot away from them. I think it is coded that way or something xD.

Hm, ok maybe leeches are similar to trilobites then yeah. For a long time trilobites were invisible to other animals too, until a recent fix in one of the patches.

[Kashra Fall]

So, I came upon using frogs in the swamp cave and with the new leeches in there, I found that the frog is without a doubt the best harvester. With no harvest settings, I was pulling anywhere from 28-48 leech blood from 1 diseased leech and the big bonus? Leeches don't attack frogs. I was getting around 600 leech blood a run in that cave, suffice to say. No antidote or fishing problems for a while.

I think they get so much because of the bonus they do to tiny insects. My frogs generally hit for around 136, but the leeches take almost 1000 damage. Currently breeding a frog, so that number is only going to go up =P.