Pokemon Go might still be on top of the augmented reality game throne, but for all the dinosaur lovers in the world there’s another great option. Jurassic World Alive borrows heavily from the hit Niantic title, but with the unbeatable draw of cool dinosaurs.

Since it’s been out for a few months now, players have already discovered a wealth of tips and tricks for Jurassic World Alive. We’ve collected them into this neat little list that’s sure to grow your dinosaur collection.

Tips for aiming in Jurassic World Alive

The main element of Jurassic World Alive is finding and collecting dinosaur DNA by launching darts from your handy drone. It takes a while to get used to it, but these tips should help you get started.

Take your time on the first shot

Since your time is limited by your drone’s battery each time you launch it after a dinosaur, you might be tempted to start shooting right away. However, no matter how long you hold your first shot, the battery doesn’t start draining until you release.

On top of that, the target grows larger the longer you wait. This makes it much easier to land a direct hit on your first shot, so really you have no excuse for missing.

Do be aware that although the dinosaurs won’t start running until you take your first shot, some of them do sway back and forth slightly. This is especially true if it happens to spawn on the tail of a larger beast.

Adjust your aim with your target’s speed

As you fire darts and land direct hits, your target will move faster and faster. For the first three shots, aim just outside of the center target, and more often than not you’ll land a direct hit.

After that, the dinosaur will gain speed and you’ll have to aim just outside the larger circle. It will also begin to turn while speeding up. Your best bet is to simply wait for it to finish turning before taking your next shot.

Know the target spawn locations

Depending on the type and rarity of the dinosaur in your sights, target locations will spawn in different locations. For common dinosaurs, there are only two potential target locations, and they’ll cycle back and forth. This makes it easy to predict where to aim your next shot.

Epic types, on the other hand, have four potential target spawn locations, and they won’t follow any predictable pattern. You’ll just have to wait for the next target to appear and adjust your aim accordingly.

The most difficult targets to hit are always the ones on the head or tail. Not only are they small, but they also sway considerably. Sometimes it’s best to get them out of the way quickly rather than try to get a direct hit. The next target is sure to be easier to hit.

Practice makes perfect

Like anything, your dinosaur hunting… I mean DNA gathering skills will improve with time. Don’t worry if you struggle at first. Just take your time aiming and you’ll get better naturally.

The good news is that as you level up, the amount of DNA you get per shot also goes up. Rest assured that although the going might be tough early, you’ll be rolling in dino-DNA in no time.

Battling tips and tricks for Jurassic World Alive

Once you’ve collected some powerful dinosaurs, it’s time to take them into battle. Battles give great rewards, and they don’t require you to walk around to get them.

But obviously, you have to win the battles in order to get anything at all. On that note, we have a few tips and tricks for battling in Jurassic World Alive.

Level up a fast dinosaur

There are three major stats in Jurassic World alive. They are health, damage, and speed. The best strategy for winning battles early on is sticking with something fast and leveling it as quickly as possible.

The reason for this is that with enough speed and attack, they can take down any foe before they even get a chance to attack. High health armored dinosaurs are the only thing that can survive the onslaught, but they won’t do much damage before you finish them off. Plus, most opponents will lead with dinosaurs with high damage stats.

One easy to find speedy dinosaur is the velociraptor. Make sure that it’s as high level as possible, since any opponent with a higher level velociraptor will one shot you back into… well, the Jurassic era.

Switch dinosaurs before they’re defeated

This will sound obvious to anyone who’s played any Pokemon games, but switching your weakened dinosaurs out before they are finished off is often the only way to prevent defeat.

In Jurassic World Alive, you just need to take down three of your opponent’s dinosaurs to win. This means that one will always be left standing. If they never leave the bench, you’re effectively fighting a man down.

If your current dinosaur is one hit away from a knockout, switch them out. Make sure you switch to something tanky that can eat the initial hit, which takes us to our final tip for battling in Jurassic World Alive.

Keep high health, high armor dinosaurs on your team

As stated above, high health and armor dinosaurs are the best counter to high speed dinosaurs like the velociraptor. Keeping at least one on your squad is the best way to prevent getting swept by a slightly higher level opponent.

In most battles, your high level velociraptor will be able to take down one to two dinosaurs before being defeated. This means you can coast to victory with beefier team members worry-free.

Be aware, however, that armored dinosaurs are weak against hard hitting foes, which are in turn weak against fast dinosaurs. It’s essentially a pre-historic game of rock paper scissors.

Jurassic World Alive tips and tricks – conclusion

That’s all for this list of Jurassic World Alive tips and tricks. Have any more tips to add to the list? Let us know in the comments below!