This guide aims to assist those who are having difficulty hunting, whether it be prey selection or taking down an animal that you desire to eat. It may seem daunting at first but the mighty Dakotaraptor is actually capable of taking down most things in Hell Creek, this raptor doesn't need a pack to be a lethal predator.

Before the rest of the guide it is pertinent to say that the "vermin" of the game (Chamops, Didelphodon, and the birds) are always viable prey, they are completely incapable of fighting back and while catching them can be annoying it's better than starving. But if you're a raptor, you probably want to be hunting other dinosaurs.

In order to be successful as Dakotaraptor you need to master the Raptor Prey Restraint. Dakotaraptor is fast but you won't be killing other dinosaurs by just biting them, you have those sickle claws for a reason so put them to good use! Mouse 1 bites the prey once you've latched on to it and Mouse 2 makes you restore your balance by flapping your wings. You only need to flap your wings if your balance bar is headed too close to the left or right, mashing Mouse 2 can actually cause you to overcorrect and fall off. You do want to be mashing Mouse 1 though, because you want to break the skin and start doing some damage to your prey.

Stamina actually doesn't really matter that much when you're already latched on to your prey, You can jump off and back away to restore some stamina at any time though, although be aware that this opens you to counterattack from some of the more dangerous animals.

Keep in mind that you can stalk by holding down left control by default. This lets you approach prey unnoticed and avoid unwanted attention as well.

For the sake of simplicity I will be calling the Hell Creek Ornithomimid Struthiomimus, mostly because I don't want to type out "Hell Creek Ornithomimid" every single time.

You can't do a whole lot as a baby (Age 0-1) but at least you won't stay a baby for very long. The only things you can hunt are the aforementioned vermin but if you're lucky one of your parents might bring down something more substantial for you to eat.

Much like how a kitten needs proportionally more food than an adult cat, a baby raptor is almost always hungry and in order to keep up high fitness you will need to be eating almost constantly. If your parents are sticking around in a place that has no food it may be best to leave them.

You are the prey when you are a baby, avoid other raptors, crocodiles, and big lizards like the plague and run up the nearest tree at the first sign of danger. T. rex and the larger herbivores will ignore you but they can squish you if you get too close.

You still aren't much as a juvenile (Age 1-3) but you start to become more dangerous. You unlock the ability to preform the Raptor Prey Restraint, which you still won't be utilizing very much because you are still rather small and weak.

Vermin are much easier to take down because you now kill them if you jump on them, and they will still comprise the majority of your diet. Still avoid big lizards, as their venom is lethal to small animals like a young raptor.

However, you can now hunt other dinosaurs. Thescelosaurus is the preferred prey of Dakotaraptor throughout it's entire life span and you can start hunting them when you reach this size. Thescelosaurus are slow and are often found wandering alone in the Redwood forests, so hunting them is as simple as running them down and pouncing on them. A single Thescelosaurus is a lot of food for such a small raptor, so if you bring one down you'll be set for a while unless a bigger predator steals your kill.

You still want to avoid Acheroraptor, you're about the same size as them but they are much stronger than you. You are faster than them and you still have your ability to climb trees, so if you're faced with an Acheroraptor just run away and hide in the nearest tree.

You're a big girl now (Age 3-6), but you aren't quite there yet. The only vermin that will give you any real sustenance now are Didelphodon, you're too big to easily catch birds or lizards.

You can actually catch fish as a Sub-Adult. If you see a fish very close to the shore you can wade in and snap it up. You should only do this if there are no crocodiles or alligators around but fishing can actually be a really useful source of sustenance that can keep you going on the home stretch to becoming an adult.

You can hunt the big lizards, Palaeosaniwa now. Keep in mind that Palaeosaniwa is venomous. Approach them from behind and pounce on them, this way you can kill them quickly and hopefully not get envenomated in the process. They still aren't ideal prey, because if you're already hungry or hurt their venom will just wear you down even further.

Thescelosaurus are now completely helpless against you and they are still your ideal prey, just run them down and pounce on them.

You can now hunt Acheroraptor in much the same way you can hunt Thescelosaurus, keep in mind that they'll try to bite you and generally fight back but as long as you can pounce on them they're done for.

Pectinodon is overall pretty similar to Acheroraptor, albeit larger and more lightly built. Pectinodon are only active at night to avoid competition with predators like yourself. Once you're a subadult you can fairly easily kill Pectinodon. Pectinodon is quite dangerous for young raptors, but because they're nocturnal it's easy enough to avoid them by simply sleeping in a safe, hidden spot at night and hunting during the day.

It's possible to bring down a Struthiomimus, but it's dangerous. The first thing you want to do when attacking a flock of Struthiomimus is try to spook them by using a threat display, if this works the flock will scatter. Once one of the Struthiomimus is broken away from the rest of the flock you then want to chase it, It's faster than you but you have more stamina. Once the Struthiomimus can't run anymore pounce on it, it won't go down quickly and it can hurt you by just thrashing around but once you take one down it's enough food to last you a good while.

If the Struthiomimus don't break their cohesion or you are taking a beating from the one you've singled out, back away and recover your health and stamina before trying again. If you're seriously hurt just run away, better to be alive and hungry than dead.

Pachycephalosaurus and subadult Triceratops will now attack you on sight, just run away from them if they charge you.

It's possible to hunt crocodiles and alligators but it's pretty dangerous. Really you just need to pounce them from behind and just try to kill them before they cause too much damage. If they start making for the water just jump off and try for something else, because trying to fight a crocodile in the water will always be a losing battle.

You are and adult raptor now (Age 6-12) and now you are some terrifying hybrid between a jaguar and a golden eagle. Don't let the power go to your head.

Thescelosaurus, Acheroraptor and Pectinodon are now very easy to kill and should be your first pick when hunting. Didelphodon is still worth catching and you should fish whenever you have the opportunity.

Struthiomimus are now basically guaranteed to run away from you when they see you and it's generally less dangerous to hunt them, just apply the same strategy described in the previous section and you'll be fine.

You can now take a Pachycephalosaurus in a fight. Keep in mind that it's a fight though, not a hunt. Pachycephalosaurus have jaws like steel traps and they will cause some serious damage if they catch you. Sneak up on them from behind and pounce on them. Pachycephalosaurus will up and run if you cause enough damage to them, meaning at that point it's a simple matter of pursuing them and bringing them down. Do not attack Pachycephalosaurus if they're in a pair though, because the other will pull you off their companion and kill you.

Subadult (Small and green) Triceratops are similar to Pachycephalosaurus, it's possible but difficult owing to their sharp beaks and horns. The real difficulty here is that Triceratops is almost never found alone and usually reacts to threats with aggression rather than fear. If you can separate one of the Triceratops from the rest then it's simple enough to bring it down.

Anatosaurus Is relatively easy to kill, at least when compared to the other giant herbivores, but killing one takes a very long time and is only really worth it if there is literally no other prey available. You really need to separate one from its herd but because these animals are not afraid of you it's very difficult to do this. The trick is to wait for one to wander away from the main body of the herd and then attack it from the side. If you try to pounce from behind it will swat you out of the air with its tail and probably kill you.

Dakotaraptor is the stuff of nightmares for the smaller dinosaurs of Hell Creek, but you are still only a small hunter. With skill you can take down anything, so consider hunting these to be a challenge.

Obviously it is very hard to bring down a T. rex, even if you get the drop on it the ensuing "fight" will probably look like the ending of the first Jurassic Park movie. A T. rex can actually represent opportunity though, following one around and scavenging from it's kills is a good idea provided you can give the T.rex the space it needs. It is possible to gradually wear down a T. rex with hit and run attacks but even one mistake means that you're dead meat. Hunting a T. rex is only really worth it for the sake of the challenge.

Adult Triceratops are incredibly dangerous to hunt, they're never found alone and while they're not as big as Anatosaurus they're still far bulkier than you are and have gigantic sharp beaks with which to defend themselves from small predators like you. Like the T. rex it is possible to wear down an adult Triceratops with hit and run attacks.

Mosasaurus is impossible to take down, as you cannot use raptor prey restraint in the water and a single attack from it will instantly end your life. Respect these giants of the deep and stay out of deep water. That being said, it is possible to find one of these giant lizards run aground on the beaches of Hell Creek, providing a huge windfall for a beach combing raptor.

the ankylosaurs, Ankylosaurus and Denversaurus, are pretty small when compared to the other large herbivores but they're too heavily armored to be worth attacking, also a single strike from their tails will crush your hollow bird bones. The ankylosaurs will ignore you at all stages of your life, making them an unlikely source of safety for young raptors as most predators avoid them, so long as you stay clear of the tail.

Raptor cannibalism is something you can do but why would you want to? Either you're fighting another raptor about as big as you are or you're accosting a poor little baby raptor. You used to be a baby, don't make their little lives any harder... Unless you're starving of course, then anything goes.