X-ROCK ELEMENTAL

You must hit the Rock Elemental in the head or else it will die; the best way to do this is to use a cannon and build a trap so you get a clear shot at the head.

KO Strategy

The Rock Elemental will not take torpor damage from the regular methods — you will need to hit it with large projectiles like Cannon Balls.

You must also hit it in the head. Body shots will not only fail to inflict torpor, but they will also deal significant damage, potentially killing the Elemental. Similar to the Titanosaur, it will make a special animation to if it gains torpor, which consists of it shaking its head.

Cannon Method

A good method for knocking out a Rock Elemental is to have a tribe-mate ride a Paraceratherium that is wearing a Platform Saddle with a Cannon placed on it. You can kite the Rock Elemental around while your tribe-mate(s) fire the cannon. You may also use a stone trap to keep it in place e.g Stone foundation with pillars to keep it in place. Using a Ballista Turret with spear bolts could be used to gain the creatures aggro from a distance, leaving it with a disadvantage of having to 'sprint' to you.

If a tribe-mate is not available, the Rock Elemental's large size allows you to take advantage of the environment by trapping it between large rocks, or 5 Metal Dinosaur Gateways forming a semi-circle, this however is considered less effective as the Golems head movements become extremely erratic as it will continually attempt to destroy whatever structures between you and it even if it can not apply damage to them, as for a natural rock formation the likelihood of the Golem escaping its confinement and/or destroying your cannon is significantly higher, not to mention how rare such locations are. Using a ballista turret is highly recommended if alone and could be coupled with any other tanky dinos to lure it away, like a Paraceratherium, or Bronto. A Carbonemyes can also be used if transferred to Scorched Earth.

A viable method for taming is to catch the Rock Elemental's attention with a flyer, and moving slightly ahead of it as it chases you. When you are high enough that it can't hit the flyer, dismount, and the Rock Elemental will be stuck with its attention on the flyer. Set the flyer to follow you beforehand so it won’t land when you dismount. Place a foundation and a cannon in front of the Rock Elemental to knock it out.

Rocket Turret Method

Another way that is more Singleplayer friendly is by using a Rocket Turret. Unlike Cannons, Rocket Turrets cannot take damage from Rock Elemental melee attacks, however, their rock throws can be scary with the low health the Rocket Turret has. While this method is much more expensive, it is ideally meant for Singleplayer, though one could argue its value in PvE.

This method is not recommended in PvP due to the fact it requires a 'Grounded Foundation', which means it has to be placed on a Foundation on the ground, not a platform saddle. This means it stays where you put it and it's just target practice for raiders. There is also the unfortunate chance of outright killing the Elemental, and when this happens you would need to herd more over to it.

Rocket Launcher Method

Although extremely risky, the Rocket Launcher can be utilized as a early way of taming Rock Elementals. This method can be dangerous as the Rock Elemental becomes faster as their torpor rises, this can take survivors by surprise and result in a swift death. Aiming Rockets accurately is crucial, which, by itself, can be difficult to accomplish, especially for survivors unfamiliar with the rocket’s physics, making this particular method the worst for taming higher level Rock Elementals.

This can be made a little easier if you have Tek Armor and a shield to block the rock throw. Use a normal shield, but not the Tek Shield be wary of your Element usage though

Mek Siege Cannon Method

The most powerful large projectile installed on a Mek, the M.S.C.M. can put Rock Elementals to sleep in one or two well-placed hits. However, the large splash damage range can hurt the elemental immediately after they fall unconscious, resulting in a critical taming effectiveness penalty.

On , you can regenerate lost taming effectiveness using Algae Sushi if you have access to an Archelon.