Quetzal

Air Base

The Quetzal uses very little stamina when flying and Quetzals make great animals to take on taming trips as you can stay on them for safety and use whatever you choose to build on it to craft or hold whatever materials are needed. (Stamina and Health)

Battle Bird

A great tame to take into big battles and raids. The great amount of health and stamina a Quetzal possesses, armed with fellow tribe members and turrets on its platform, can make for great aerial assaults. However, watch out for opposing tribes shooting your Battle Bird with tranqs. (Health (recommended 10,000+), Stamina (recommended 3,000+) and Damage).

Caravan Quetzal

With inherently high health, stamina, and carry weight, the Quetzal makes for a reliable "pack-mule" animal. With over 1,500 Stamina, a Quetzal travel across the map and with high health, a Quetzal could potentially take on carnivorous road-blocks. However, as Argentavis have numerous weight reductions for common resources and fly faster, they are generally considered a better option for this role. (Health, Stamina, and Weight)

Carrier

Quetzal is capable of carrying medium large creature, and its platform saddle can accommodate even more. Before the release of , Quetzal has been used to transport massed tames. If allowed on server settings, Quetzal can grab the creature you want to tame, and drop them into a pre-built cage.

Gatherer

While not being able to gather most resources by itself, the Quetzal can carry a , , or a which a tribe member could then ride while being carried. One flies the bird, while the other one harvests resources. This method can result in large quantities of resources in a few minutes, even faster if points are added into melee (Power Harvesting if using ). Keep in mind that when using this strategy, the harvester's weight doesn't matter. Only the Quetzal needs enough weight to carry the…

Note

This method can't be used for mining stones with a Doedicurus since a Doedicurus can't attack when it's picked up by a Quetzal.

Fishing Mount

The Quetzal's long beak is designed to reach down into the water from above and does so, allowing it to harvest substantial amounts of fish. Can also kill wild Sarcos; as long as they can't climb out of the water, they can't attack it. Do not attempt this against a Spino.

Hunting Platform

When you dismount, even on a non-platform saddle, you simply stand up on the Quetzal's back, from which you can fire ranged weapons; firearms work best because you don't have to worry about projectile drop at the long ranges involved. Using this tactic is highly dangerous against hostile survivors; it will be much easier for them to shoot the Quetzal than for you to shoot them, and they don't have to kill it. All they have to do is hit it, and it is very likely to throw you…

Multiplayer Transport

With high stamina, a Quetzal with a platform saddle can help other tribemates across the island who have flyers, as they can land on the saddle to regain stamina.

Taming Mount

You can grab most Dinos; even for the ones you can't carry, you can build a tame box with the Quetz Platform Saddle. You can also shoot Dinos if another player is carrying it with a mount. Quetzals are especially useful for taming Yutyrannus, as you can safely pick off it's Carnotaurus underlings with long ranged weapons. After the Carnotaurus are delt with, you can then fire your torpitity-damaging ammo of choice at the Yutyrannus at your evelated height, out of the attack range…

Titanosaur Taming Mount

Because Titanosaurs can only be knocked out with the help of turret weapons, a Quetz with turrets on its platform saddle is the most feasible method of taming them. While Paracers and Brontos can also mount turrets, they can be too slow to keep up with the Titanosaur, and too low to the ground to have turret weapons reliably hit the head. Furthermore, a mount that can't outrun the Titanosaur is at high risk of being killed. However, with standard vanilla settings…

Damage

Despite all the incredible uses of the Quetzal, applying damage with the flyer itself is highly ineffective. What can deliver substantial damage is what survivors do with the Quetzal's carrying ability and platform saddle, as there are many creative ways to do so.