I want to add a Carnotaurus in Isla Mantanceros and i have two spinosaurs in a cage, one indominus in another, a t rex with raptors in another, and herbivores in another and another t rex in another cage, everywhere else on the island is kinda...full.

I’m currently planning my exhibits for Isla Nublar because I’m trying to fit every species in, but I was wondering if you can house 2 Carnotaurus together or if they would murder each other instantly?

I liked having mixed carnivore enclosures in the first game, but it seems like it isn't possible in this game with the "Likes/Dislikes" system? I have a group of deinonychus but it looks like the only thing it will cohabitate with is compsognathus. Is that right?

I always like to try and problem solve games when I believe that a “bug” isn’t really a bug, so I’ve been doing some social experiments with the allosaurus. I’ve managed to have an Allosaurus living with 6 Metriacanthasaurus without fights* and 3 Ceratasaurus without fights* - so it can be done!

• However, the system is far more complicated than in JWE 1 - and it all comes down to Dominance.

THE SHORT: if the dinosaur with the lower attack and Defence has a higher dominance (give Metri the “strong” and “defensive” Genes) they will live with the Allosaurus without fighting. If the Dominance is lower, Allosaurus will challenge the Metriacanthasaurus in the same way two members of the same species will fight, however this normally results in a quick death.

THE LONG: Dominance is actually quite complicated. In addition to base Stats, there are other factors which impact dominance:

• Infamy rating. Dinosaurs that have previously won more fights will have a higher dominance rating. This is a fixed score.

• Storms. Some dinosaurs lose dominance rating temporarily during storms. If their dominance rating is the same as the allosaurus, this temporary decrease can trigger a fight.

• illness and injuries. Sick dinosaurs also lose dominance rating temporarily, which can make them a target for attacks.

• Age and Stamina. Once dinosaurs get passed a certain age (I believe 50% expected lifespan) their stamina begins to decrease, which in turn decreases dominance. This again can make older dinosaurs a target for attacks.

I have tested this in several populations, with different genetics, for several hours. It works absolutely consistently - enough so that I can call this problem SOLVED!

I haven’t played this game since release and just got back into it. I was putting velociraptors in with a T-Rex and I watched the T-Rex eat one of the raptors, but I remember them being able to live together when I played. I can’t find much recent information on what dinosaurs can and can’t live together so any help would be appreciated.

Hello, another JWE2 guide from things I have figured out and then tested in Sandbox. This one's going to be a tad shorter, but the rule of thumb is easier, so it balances out.

You may have noticed the 'Likes' and 'Dislikes' bar on your dinosaurs. Obviously, you want every dinosaur in your enclosure to Like each other, and they'll get along perfectly fine if they all do, right? Well, neither is quite right.

If you look at your animal's comfort needs, you'll see a Cohabitation stat. But if you look at their extraspecific pen-mates, the cohabitation percentage generally won't be equal to the covered amount of enclosure. Why is this?

Well, it's because the three social values correspond to three percentage area uses- Liked species use 0% Cohabitation, Disliked species use 100% cohabitation and cause a warning, and neutral species use 25% Cohabitation. This is the only effect of Like and Dislike. So what does this mean for your enclosure?

Firstly, having a Liked species doesn't mean they'll get along. Species that Like each other are simply undisturbed by the presence of the other in their territory. For example- take Ceratosaurus and Allosaurus. If you want a Morrison Formation Safari, you can put Cerato and Allo in, and they're both going to experience 0% Cohabitation loss from territory overlap. But an Allo is still going to murder a ceratosaur's ass.

Secondly, if you're not using Neutral species, you're not getting the maximum out of your exhibit. Species can share their entire exhibit with one neutral species per 25% Cohabitation tolerance. As far as I can tell, this isn't written down anywhere (unlike various other useful values such as Population Needs Per Animal), but my guess is that it's usually between 25% and 50%.

Thirdly, by considering which animals Like each other, you can identify how to squeeze in a few more dinosaurs at any given moment. For example, a Dracorex and Struthiomimus pen is a good combo in the early game because both need Ground Leaf while the Dracorexes need Ground Nut; however, they're a bit low-rating to be on their own, and because they don't Like each other, they won't have enough tolerance for a third neutral species. But they both Like ankylosaurs, and Nodosaurus eats Ground Leaf, so by breeding nodosaurs you can squeeze a third species in with basically no modifications to the enclosure!

Fourthly, and most interestingly, just because you think an animal is likely to get mauled to death doesn't mean you shouldn't check. In particular, there's a few herbivores that can live with small carnivores!

I ran some tests with Herrerasaurus and Velociraptor, using a few small-to-medium herbivores that don't Dislike carnivores- Stygimoloch, Nodosaurus, Kentrosaurus, Euoplocephalus and Muttaburrasaurus. Some, were, predictably, a no-go; the muttaburras were slaughtered by the raptors, and the stiggies fought valiantly but were easily munched by the herrderrs and eventually lost the war against the raptors. Others were more unexpected.

Apparently, even for a Velociraptor, an armoured herbivore is just too prickly to be bothered with- both the herrderrs and the velociraptors only attacked the nodosaurs and kentrosaurs when I removed their meat and live prey, and even then it was fatal for the carnivores more often than not. And while the muttaburrasaurs were scared of the herrderrs, they were too big for even a starving herrerasaur to attack, and neither the herrderrs nor the raptors wanted to tangle with Euoplocephalus even when the raptors had a pack at their back. (A quick test with some ceratosaurs and Euoplocephalus suggests that this is by dino type rather than Dominance.) (Edit: Later tests found that Euoplocephalus isn't quite immune- small carnivores are very reluctant to attack it, but not completely unwilling.)

So basically-

-If every dino in the exhibit likes every other dino, try to find one that they're neutral to; Liked dinos can be added at no cost to Cohabitation, and most dinos can accept one neutral dino at 25% Cohabitation cost for full overlap, so if everyone likes each other you can still squeeze in one more.

-Just because a dino doesn't Like something, doesn't mean they'll be passive to each other. It only affects cohabitation, not behaviour.

-If a dino Dislikes something, it'll be 100% Cohabitation cost to have it in the same territory. For example, because Brachiosaurus Dislikes the Indominus Rex, it'll freak out and try to break out from its enclosure if you put one in there, but since it doesn't dislike Allosaurus or Tyrannosaurus it won't try to break out despite being under attack. It's not impossible to keep dinosaurs that dislike each other in the same exhibit, but it's not advisable either.

-A few herbivores will accept most carnivores in their exhibit- any that dislikes Dr Wu Hybrids instead of disliking Carnivores. This is particularly useful for small carnivores! Large herbivores are immune to small carnivores as long as they can't hunt in packs (though hadrosaurs will still panic). Small carnivores aren't mindless killing machines, so certain small herbivores can be kept with them if you're careful; pachycephalosaurs and ornithomimids no, but even velociraptors will avoid small stegosaurs and ankylosaurs if they're well-fed. Edit: You can also fit in medium piscivores with sauropods! Don't try it with Spinosaurus though.

Compared to the first game, where there were a multitude of options for cohabitation between large carnivores, medium carnivores, and a bunch of the herbivore species, JWE2 feels much more restrictive with (relatively) peaceful cohabitation. What species can be put in enclosures with each other? What are the rules on cohabitation between carnivores and other carnivores/herbivores?