The Isle

The Isle

29 ratings
How to play ptera (2025)
By Drabalia
A guide for starting as Pteranodon in The Isle: Evrima.
Controls, stamina, food, nesting, mutations and thermals.
   
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Access and map
To access Evrima:
Steam Library > The Isle > Properties > Betas > Beta Participation > Evrima

Launch game > Choose a server (official or unofficial) >

Before choosing your dinosaur, you’ll see two optional choices:
- Join via egg (if a public nest is open or you have a nest code)
- Spawn at a friend (if they give you the spawn code)

You can skip these and just continue with:
> Carnivore > Pteranodon > Choose color, pattern and gender > Confirm to spawn

You currently can't choose your spawn location. Its either West Access or around the Dam Lake.


































The game has no in-game map, but you can copy your coordinates (TAB > top right) and paste it in one of these websites:

https://vulnona.com/game/map/# map: Gateway (v0.20)
https://www.islemaps.com/

Other than your current location they also have many interesting features such as:
  • What biome, lake, or structure you're near and their names
  • Where freshwater sources, gastroliths, mud patches and salt rocks are
  • Locations of sanctuaries, migration and patrol zones
  • Where AI animals are more likely to spawn


Controls

Default keybindings

WASD
movement
SPACE (tap)
land: jump (x3 to take off)
air: gain altitude
to start flight from latch or while falling
CTRL 
land: crouch
air: lose altitude
Z 
(recommend to rebind)
land: switch between walking and trotting
air: airbrake
SHIFT 
land: sprint
air: speedgain
X
night vision
Q (hold)
scent to find food, water and navigate with the compass
(being stationary gives you the maximum range)
E (hold)
eat and drink
G (tap)
land: pick up a chunk of meat, drop
air: toggle auto circling
G (hold)
pick up a whole small animal
H
rest (and regen stamina the quickest way)
sleep for safely logging off
TAB
character profile
N
court
build a nest
LMB
bite attack
snatch up small animals while flying
RMB (hold)
latch to basically anything: trees, rocks, walls
skim water
ALT+LMB
(ground only)
strike bite
for better control enable (Settings > Gameplay > Manual Alt Attack)
ENTER
chat
write /unstuck in it if you get stuck somewhere

Airbrake (Z): I recommend rebinding it to something more convenient (I use Mouse 5). It really improves maneuverability.

Calls and grouping
with default keybindings: 1, 2, 3, 4, F
  • Broadcast: Loud, long-range call for locating friends or drawing attention (good or bad).
  • Friendly/Group: Shows that you mean no harm and send/accept group invites.
  • Threaten: A warning to intimidate others or start a fight.
  • Scared: A distress signal, often used to alert allies to danger or ask for help.
  • F call is the same sound that plays when you type in chat.

    Stats and night vision



    Grow time: 1 hour 25 minutes.

    Growth stages + damage in Newtons (per bite/hit)
    • Hatchling ( 1% ). . . . . . 0.2 N
    • Juvenile ( 14% ). . . . . . 0.4 N (spawn)
    • Adolescent ( 26% ) . . . 5.2 N
    • Sub Adult ( 39% ). . . . . 10 N
    • Adult ( 70% ) . . . . . . . . 15 N
    • Full Grown ( 100% ). . . 20 N

    Full grown speeds
    Flying: 54 km/h (cruising / gliding speed) → 108 km/h (max speed when holding shift)
    Running: 28.5 km/h (for 68 seconds and 540 meters)
    Swimming: 13 km/h (for 33 seconds and 119 meters)

    Full-grown thirst: 100% → 0% in 35 minutes
    Full-grown hunger 100% → 0% in 50 minutes
    Freshspawn hunger 100% → 0% in 14 minutes

    Pack Limit: 6 members
    Max egg amount: 4
    Nest Type: collect 10 sticks




    Press X to toggle night vision.

    Its effectiveness varies by species and weather conditions. On very dark nights, even night vision might not help much. You can improve visibility greatly through your system settings:
    • Windows Key > search "calibrate" > Calibrate Display Color
    • next, next, next
    • set the scale to maximum

      Flying and stamina


      Pteras have pretty good stamina, they can fly and glide for a long time.
      But they have horrible stamina regen. It takes about 4-5 minutes. So focus on preserving it.

      Take off
      stamina use
      what type
      how to do
      6 - 8%
      basic takeoff
      tap SPACE 3 times
      (1 space to jump, 1 to flap, 1 to begin flying)
      0%
      from a higher position like top of a rock/tree
      sprint/walk/fall off, then midair TAP SPACE
      from a latched position TAP SPACE




      You can save yourself from falling to your death with Tap SPACE:




      Land
      To land slow down hold Z (or the rebinded key) and aim your camera at your landing spot. For a quicker descent hold Z+W or Z+CTRL. To latch hold Z+RMB. Hold them until you touch down. If you release Z without enough speed, you'll stall and fall straight down.




      Long distance flying using only stamina
      How to: Take off then aim slowly upwards while holding W until your wings begin flapping.
        This video is sped up 16x. The upward climb (holding W) took 3m35s, and the glide lasted 8m, for a total of 11m35s. The wing flaps during the glide are part of the animation, no input was used.




        Some notes
        • To reach very high places like the Highlands, hold SHIFT + SPACE to gain as much altitude as possible. Once you're up, glide to a ledge or surface at that height and rest (H) to regenerate stamina for 4m12s, then fly to your destination. Use thermals if they’re active and along the way.

        • Generally try to not use SHIFT (for speedgain) or hold SPACE, as they consume a lot of stamina.

        • Sync SPACE taps with the wings downward flap to use stamina more efficiently while flying.

        • Stamina regenerates while latched if you're above 20%, or while standing if above 25%.

        • You can’t latch if you have 0% stamina.

        • You can still take off when Wounded, but not with Fractured Legs.

        • Sadly pteras can not dive into or take off from water, so try not to fall in. Swimming out consumes a lot of stamina, and in large bodies of water you will probably drown.

        • Zoom in with the middle mouse wheel for tighter camera control. It helps a lot when flying through dense forests, almost like switching to first-person mode.

        • Using RMB while latched will drop you straight down.

        • Perfect diet increases stamina regen.

        • Dont be afraid of flying close to objects. Lets say there is a herrera on that tree.



          Diet and food types



          What can you eat
          that gives diet





          Always smell (Q) food before eating to see if it's safe and nutritious for you. Diets show up as: If it shows the meat icon or chunk of meat icon it’s not your diet or rotten. Eating non-diet food fills your stomach but gives no nutrients (and no perks). Eating rotten food will make you sick and vomit.

          Examples:

          Diet → Rotten corpse







          Diet → Rotten chunk







          Not diet









          What should you eat

          Name
          Diet
          Where
          Kill
          Carry
          Food amount
          as a full grown
          Fish
          (all ages)
          ,',
          freshwater
          easy
          always
          8 bites
          66% fill
          Bird
          (juvi)
          //
          spawns
          everywhere
          easy
          always
          3 bites
          11% fill
          Crab
          (juvi)
          ,',
          beaches
          easy
          only adult
          (to be tested
          but small)
          Frog
          (juvi)
          S
          freshwater
          water: easy
          land: hard
          only adult
          (to be tested
          but medium)
          Rabbit
          (sub-adult, adult)
          S
          plains, jungles
          hard
          only adult
          15 pieces
          100% fill
          Chicken
          (sub-adult, adult)
          S
          all land biomes
          fresh: hard
          adult: 1 shot
          only adult
          10 pieces
          80% fill
          Turtle
          (adult, nesting)
          //
          beaches
          fresh: 4 mins
          adult: few hits
          never
          50+ pieces
          Psittaco
          (adult)
          //
          beaches, plains,
          highlands
          fresh: long
          adult: few hits
          never
          13 pieces
          90% fill
            (This chart does not account for AI spawn inconsistencies caused by current game design.)


            Fish – Amazing food. Best and easiest, if they spawn. (All fish, big or small, provide the same amount.)
              Pterodactylus (bird) – Fills a full stomach for a freshspawn. By 25% growth it only fills half and for adults just a small portion. To spawn them fly around carrying meat. (Note: You can’t attack / bait / eat the loud birds near huge trees.)
                Crabs – Good while staying at coastal areas and need ,’, diet. If they spawn and you can find them. They’re tiny.
                  Frogs – Adults can bite them from the water. As a freshspawn, you’ll need multiple hits, then dive in, grab it, and swim out to eat. If it goes on land, it’s almost impossible to catch due to dodging and jumping.
                    Rabbits – Probably the hardest AI to kill. Small, fast, and dodgy. At least they fill your stomach well.
                      Chickens – Spawn in all land biomes, making them reliable. Follow the call and land a few meters away to let them run to you. Adults one-hit them. Freshspawns need several hits, and chickens will fight back, causing bleeding or fly away.
                        Turtles – Great for a large ptera family. But as a freshspawn alone, they take about 4 minutes of constant pecking. Even adults need a few hits. Use ALT+LMB on the ground for higher damage.
                          Psittacos (taco) – Loud and slow, but easily lost in bushes. They spawn near their burrow and stay close to it. Even adults need multiple hits.
                            Other pteras are not part of your diet.


                            Perfect diet
                            Perks of having nutrients = perfect diet










                            Diet types
                            Stay near the biomes where your needed diet spawns. Stick to water for fish and frogs, beaches for turtles. Be stationary for a while, then fly around to sweep the area. They often spawn nearby.
                            (This is recommended when you are going for perfect diet, not when you are starving.)

                            Slower nutrition decay
                            Enhanced Digestion is a hidden mutation that causes your nutrition bars to drain 10% slower.
                            You can unlock it by maintaining a good diet (or better) for a long time. Check for this mutation after 75% growth.

                              Finding food and water
                              How to find food

                              After spawning
                              You have 14 minutes before starvation begins (while still having 60% water) and 11 more minutes until death. Choosing Efficient Digestion (20% slower hunger) mutation immediately only adds 4 minutes.

                              Upon spawning stand still and Hold Q for 20 seconds to smell around for food. This gives maximum scent range. If you see a meat icon, go there but don't eat it, just grab a chunk (G) and fly to spawn birds. (Also less likely to get eaten by what killed the corpse.) When birds appear, drop the meat, attack, eat.

                              Repeat until you find fish, frogs, crabs, or benefit from older pteras or other dinos killing bigger AI. You can try killing AI yourself, but it’ll take time.

                              Just by baiting and eating 3 birds, you can already reach your second mutation, without needing to drink even once.


                              Tips
                              • LISTEN more than look. Learn the audio cues (some are player dino calls, some are ai calls and some are ambient sfx that means nothing). The frog and chicken are obvious. The fish splashes. The crab digs the sand. The psittaco makes a very unique sound that can be heard from quite far. Bushes also rustle if animals run through them.

                              • AI spawns increase near more players. If you hear other dinos, you're close enough to benefit. (Potentially you get to eat their corpses or use their meat to bait birds)

                              • Fly low (under the tree canopy but above the bushes) to force AI to move, making them easier to hear or spot. Then drive them out of dense forests or bushes into open, flat areas like fields, rocks, or beaches. Always hunt downhill to preserve stamina.

                              • Adult pteras can carry crabs, frogs, rabbits and chickens. Tap G to pick up a chunk of meat, Hold G to pick up the whole animal.

                              • Eat and drink with over 25% stamina to allow regeneration.

                              • Eating none diet corpses means no nutrients = poor diet, reduced growth and infertility.

                              • Accept that you will starve to death a few times before you have enough map knowledge of the best ai spots.

                              • If you are new to the game or playing ptera consider joining unofficial servers with more ai and shorter growth to get a feel of the game.


                              Water
                              Getting water is easy, just fly until you find a safe spot to drink. Ponds (small or at edge of the map) and larger bodies of water are usually safer. You can drink from the tops of logs sticking out of lakes or from areas where water clips through the ground.
                                Reniculate Kidneys (hidden mutation)
                                • This lets you drink saltwater.
                                • Unlock it by drinking saltwater until the "Fluid Deficient" status disappears.
                                • Do it near plenty of food and water to recover quickly after vomiting.

                              Salt and vomit sickness
                              Eating rotten food, drinking saltwater or getting poisoned causes vomit sickness, which prevents nutrient gain. To recover, lick salt. Look for pink crystals at the base of rocks. 25 salt spots exist on the map, these locations can be found on the maps.

                              https://vulnona.com/game/map/#
                              map: Gateway (v0.20)
                              https://www.islemaps.com/

                              Gastrolith
                              Small patches found all over the map. Pecking one drains your stomach slightly. They are useful when you want more diet quickly, but have a full stomach. The effect only lasts 1 minute and shows up as “Ingesting Gastrolith” on TAB. Peck again to refresh it.


                                  Mutations


                                  Every player gets to choose 3 mutations as they grow, unlocked at:
                                  • 14% growth – first mutation (when you spawn)
                                  • 39% growth – second mutation (about 30m of gameplay)
                                  • 100% growth – third mutation (about 1h 25m of gameplay)
                                  If you forget to choose one before the next unlock stage, you’ll miss out on that slot entirely.

                                  If you nest and raise hatchlings, they will inherit 3 chosen mutations of the parents randomly and be able to pick 3 additional mutations of their own as they grow.

                                  All available mutations for pteras below. Some only unlocks for specific mutations slots. If its not specified, its all slots.

                                  The floor is lava (Recommended for new players)
                                  • Efficient Digestion . . . Food drains 20% slower
                                  • Sustained Hydration . Water drains 20% slower
                                  • Reabsorption . . . . . . . Recover water during rain

                                  Combat ptera
                                  • Accelerated Prey Drive . . 10% more damage to animals with low health
                                  • Congenital Hypoalgesia . 15% less incoming damage when fighting larger species
                                  • Hemomania . . . . . . . . . . . 5% extra damage on bleeding target

                                  Chill beach-life and nesting
                                  • Reinforced Tendons
                                                        Jumping costs less stamina: 3% -> 1,5%. Hidden mutation, unlocks by jumping 50 times.
                                  • Prolific Reproduction (2) (Female Only)
                                                        Increased health and stamina regen for your babies. They also require less food and they grow faster.
                                  • Reniculate Kidneys (2/3)
                                                        Can drink saltwater. Hidden mutation, unlocks by drinking saltwater until the effect 'Fluid Deficient' disappears from your status report. Do this where there are plenty of food and freshwater.
                                  • Enhanced Digestion (2/3)
                                                        Slower nutrition decay. Hidden mutation, unlocks by maintaining a good diet (or better) for a long time. Check for this mutation at around 75% growth.
                                  Other options
                                  • Hematophagy . . . . . . Eating gives 15% water
                                  • Osteophagic . . . . . . . Able to eat bones. Hidden mutation, unlocks by eating bones.
                                  • Hypermetabolic Inanition (2): The less hunger you have the more damage you deal.
                                  • Traumatic Thrombosis (2): Prevent death from blood loss if resting.
                                  • Heightened Ghrelin (2): Increases the amount of food you can eat and before you vomit.
                                                        Hidden mutation, unlocks by having full stomach for a while.
                                  • Multichambered Lungs (2/3): Reduced stamina regen threshold. Hidden mutation, unlocks
                                                        by using a lot of stamina. Check for this mutation after 75% growth.
                                  • Cannibalistic (2/3):. . Unlocks by eating multiple full stomachs of pteras. You will suffer
                                                        muscle spasms (random biting) which will heal overtime.
                                  • Augmented Tapetum (2/3): Better night vision. Hidden mutation, unlocks by killing 4-12
                                                        players during the night.

                                  Not recommended or its situational
                                  • Enlarged Meniscus: . . . . . . . . . . . . Fall damage hits stamina before draining health
                                  • Osteosclerosis:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Resist/Reduce fracture damage by 20%
                                  • Cellular Regeneration:. . . . . . . . . . Recovers health 15% faster
                                  • Hydro-regenerative: . . . . . . . . . . . Recover health 25% faster during rain
                                  • Gastronomic Regeneration (2). . . Eating gives health
                                  • Featherweight:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Your footprints fade 50% faster
                                  • Wader: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25% less hindered when wading through shallow water
                                  • Epidermal Fibrosis: . . . . . . . . . . . . 15% increase bleed resistance
                                  • Photosynthetic Tissue: . . . . . . . . . 5% faster health regen and moving speed during the day
                                  • Nocturnal: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5% faster health regen and moving speed during the night
                                  • Increased Inspiratory Capacity: . . 15% increased O2 Capacity
                                  • Hydrodynamic: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15% increased swimming speed
                                  • Submerged Optical Retention: . . . 5% increased underwater vision range
                                  • Infrasound Communication: . . . . . 50% less noise when talking in chat
                                  • Advanced Gestation (Female Only): 50% faster egg gestation


                                    Combat and health



                                    Full grown LMB attack: 20 dmg
                                    Full grown ALT+LMB attack: 30 dmg

                                    Practice attacking AI first to learn how low you need to fly to land a hit. The bite (LMB) has decent range, so you don’t need to dive in too close. Flying too low can make you collide with your target, causing a fall and likely death.

                                    Learn sanctuary spots by using the map and hunt there for juvis. Pteras aren't attacked by bees.
                                      • Hypsi: beaches, jungles. They can blind you.
                                      • Troodon: beaches, grasslands, highlands. They have venom.
                                      • Beipi: water biomes, highlands, jungles. They can make you bleed out fast.
                                    Circle above and strike. Headshots deal the most damage, but they’re riskier since enemies may bite back. Fighting anything that can jump is not recommended, but if you choose, do it between jumps. Dont fight from the ground even as an adult, because pteras are weak.

                                    Other pteras are not part of your diet (ptero, the bird is). Some players may still attack you. A full-grown ptera can one-shot another with ALT+LMB. Be cautious in the air, crashing into other pteras makes both of you fall.

                                    You can shake off a Troodon if it pounces on you. Land and hold E.

                                    Water is your enemy. Pteras can't take off from water. Falling in will drain stamina fast and in large bodies of water you’ll likely drown.

                                    Fractures (broken legs) prevent takeoff. Wounded or bleeding does not stop you from flying.

                                    Rest often latched to trees/rocks and heal far from the ground. Watch out for Herreras climbing to your resting spots.

                                    Salt heals vomit sickness and poisoning.

                                      Nesting

                                      • Group up with an opposite gender ptera.
                                      • Court by holding N facing each other. (at least 70% grown)
                                      • Once bonded, the female can gestate eggs (which slightly lowers her stomach)
                                      • Information of the eggs and nest can be reached via TAB > NEST
                                      • Eggs grow over time before they are ready to be laid.

                                      Building the nest
                                      • Choose a safe, elevated location (tree branch, rock, etc).
                                      • Press N to place the nest.
                                      • Gather 10 sticks: use Q to scent them, G to pick them up, E to add to the nest.
                                      • After the nest is built, eggs can be laid by the female standing over the nest and holding E.
                                      • Keep the eggs temperature stable. Sit on the nest to keep it warm, get off for cold.

                                      Joining Settings
                                      • Parents can set each egg’s privacy individually as:
                                        • Public: anyone can see and request to join
                                        • Private: joinable only with a code in the TAB > NEST menu
                                      • When a player requests to hatch into an egg, a warning icon appears on the nest and an egg in the TAB > NEST menu.
                                      • One parent must manually accept or decline the request by clicking on the specific egg.

                                      Raising Hatchlings
                                      • Hatchlings inherit 3 random mutations from the parents, then choose 3 more as they grow.
                                      • Babies can’t eat regular food or drink water. They beg to be fed by holding E.
                                      • Any adult ptera (over 70%) can feed babies by regurgitating directly into their mouths by holding E until they hear the baby swallowing.
                                      • Begging ends at ~13.5% growth. This is also when they can fly for the first time.
                                      • After that, hatchlings must eat regular food and drink water.

                                      Additional Nest Info
                                      • You can only have one nest at a time.
                                      • There is a 5-minute cooldown before placing a new nest.
                                      • Nests can be destroyed by attacking them.
                                      • If one of the parents dies, no more eggs can be laid.
                                      • If you want to pair up with someone else, a new nest must be made.
                                      • Stick collection is known to be buggy.

                                      Thermals, slipstreams




                                      Thermals: Warm air that lifts you up without using stamina.
                                      • Found above huge rocks and have to be very close to see some particles flying upwards.
                                      • Activation times varies (see picture)
                                      • Not during heavy rain or storms.

                                      Slipstreams: Wind that pushes you forward with little stamina use. Flying against slows you down and takes more effort.
                                      • Found at tree canopy height and have to be very close to see some particles flying sideways.
                                      • Active between 6:00 – 12:00
                                      • Not during heavy rain or storms.




































                                        Future content
                                        (These features have been mentioned, but nothing is guaranteed)
                                        • Infrared vision
                                        • New alt attack
                                        • New flight mechanics
                                        • Ability to spearfish or catch clams hiding under the mud that require breaking open on rocky surfaces.
                                        • Canopy feeding and luring in different creatures to catch

                                        Additionally
                                        • Elder system with the 4th mutation. Growing old and dying of old age (which is initiated by the player and not automatic), and passing your mutations onto your next life.
                                        • A new massive flying dinosaur
                                        • Baby turtles or turtle eggs


                                            6 Comments
                                            Grougue 24 Jul @ 5:39am 
                                            Where do i find salt to lick when i get sick?
                                            Pongi 17 Jul @ 1:52am 
                                            good guide but am i the only 1 spending hours looking for fish and finding nothing?
                                            Tunnel Camper 2 Jul @ 8:32pm 
                                            Nice guide, this is really well put together and hopefully can help others become masters of the skies too.
                                            I have only a couple of small mentions to compliment your work.

                                            -It should be emphasised that, as recommended changing your "Air-Brake" keybind to a mouse button or something more convenient will improve your gameplay experience significantly.

                                            -Holding down Q for one full animation whilst standing (as a rule of thumb) will grant you the maximum range for your scent ability with every dinosaur. Sound cues will help too.
                                            Tunnel Camper 2 Jul @ 8:31pm 
                                            -For maps and finding your location;
                                            Firstly you will want a reliable and frequently updated map, I STRONGLY recommend using Vulnona, https://vulnona.com/game/map/#
                                            Click [_Close_] which appears in the centre of the page
                                            On the top left of the screen select your map in the dropdown selection: Select the map "Gateway" with the most recent date.
                                            Under that dropdown is a box, "Location"____xxx, yyy"
                                            Simply paste your co-ordinates here and press show.

                                            Whilst in-game, press "TAB" and simply left-click on your co-ordinates shown at the top right of the window. (That will copy your current co-ordinates to your clipboard).

                                            Vulnona also has many features for map data you can toggle on and off the sides, I encourage messing with the options in Map Data yourself as even AI spawns and patrol zones are very accurate and represented clearly.
                                            Also known user uploaded locations of hazard spots to avoid, such as un-escapable terrain and areas which can get you stuck until starvation.
                                            Tony Bagels 28 Jun @ 8:11am 
                                            Nice guide man. Didn't miss a single thing.:steamthumbsup:
                                            miho4boco 27 Jun @ 5:33pm 
                                            Thanks for the map but i have no clue where i am without a in game map so i find it very hard to find any food or anyone else.
                                            i had a look at the islemaps.com page which is very helpful with the food lists.