Beasts of Bermuda is a multiplayer creature survival game from Sastrei Studios, in Steam Early Access since 21 December 2018. You pick a prehistoric animal, spawn onto a shared server with dozens of other players, and try to grow from a hatchling into an adult without starving, overheating, panicking or being eaten. The three play modes split the audience: Free Roam grows you slowly with forgiving resources, Life Cycle speeds growth but tightens survival and tracks monthly leaderboards, and Combat drops you in as an adult on a small map for straight fighting. What separates it from the other dinosaur survival games is the talent system, which spends points you earn as you grow across Power, Speed and Survival branches, so two Tyrannosaurus players can end up with completely different animals. Weather, tides and hurricanes are simulated rather than cosmetic, and stress from bad weather or the wrong neighbours will drain you faster than any predator.
This guide covers everything you need: core mechanics, the best builds, equipment worth investing in, location progression, and the tips that actually make a difference.
Core Mechanics
Growth from hatchling to adult
Growth is a number between 0 and 1 and it drives everything else. A creature spawned from the creature select screen starts at 0.4 growth with 10 talent points already banked. A creature hatched from an egg starts at 0.1 growth with no talent points at all, which is why hatchlings are so fragile and why players who want a fast session spawn in instead. Points unlock at fixed growth thresholds, so time in the world is the only real currency.
Power, Speed and Survival talent branches
Talent points go into three colour coded branches. Power is red and covers damage, bleed and other offensive output. Speed is green and covers sprint speed, jump height and general mobility. Survival is blue and covers health, healing rate and resistance. You can respec by dying, but you lose your growth doing it, so most players commit to a build early and live with it.
Comfort and stress
Stress is a survival stat alongside hunger and thirst, and it climbs when you are near the wrong company or caught in bad weather. Carnivores and herbivores stress each other on proximity, and carnivores are only comforted by their own species, so mixed groups quietly bleed each other dry. A stressed animal loses condition and regenerates poorly, which turns an even fight into a loss before anyone bites.
Nesting and inherited marks
Adults can nest and lay eggs, and other players hatch out of them at 0.1 growth. Inherits are extra points baked into a talent that act like a weaker version of a normal point, and they run from minus three to plus two. They come from the parents, from the conditions the nest was laid in, and from how you performed in a reincarnation trial, so a well made nest is worth queuing for.
Weather, tides and natural disasters
Storms, hurricanes, lightning and shifting tides run on the server rather than on your session, and they reshape where it is safe to stand. Apatosaurus is resistant to lightning and can hand weather resistance to its group through the Shelterer talent, which is the clearest example of the weather system driving group composition. Tides open and close shoreline routes, so an escape path that worked an hour ago may be underwater now.
For a deeper dive into how these systems interact, see our Beasts of Bermuda combat guide.
Builds Overview
| Build | Tier | Playstyle | Key Stats |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tyrannosaurus rex | A | Versatile approach | Balanced stats |
| Acrocanthosaurus | A | Versatile approach | Balanced stats |
| Apatosaurus | A | Versatile approach | Balanced stats |
| Parasaurolophus | A | Versatile approach | Balanced stats |
| Mosasaurus | A | Versatile approach | Balanced stats |
For full build breakdowns with gear and stat priorities, see our Beasts of Bermuda builds guide. For rankings, check the tier list.
Equipment Guide
| Equipment | Why It Matters | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Bite and bleed | The standard carnivore attack, with Power branch talents adding bleed that keeps draining after the bite lands. | Acrocanthosaurus and other pursuit carnivores that expect long fights |
| Pounce and latch | Small agile carnivores can leap onto a larger animal and stay attached, chewing while the target tries to shake them off. | Coordinated packs of small carnivores hunting oversized prey |
| Grab and thrash | Grabbing locks a target in your jaws and thrashing does heavy damage while it cannot retaliate. | Aquatic predators controlling deep water and semi aquatic ambushes |
| Trample and knockback | Heavy creatures push and knock lighter ones off their feet, which interrupts attacks and opens escape lanes. | Apatosaurus and other large bodied herbivores defending a herd |
| Scent tracking | Scent lets you follow a trail left by another creature and read how fresh it is. | Any carnivore on Ancestral Plains or Titania where sightlines are poor |
Bite and bleed: The standard carnivore attack, with Power branch talents adding bleed that keeps draining after the bite lands. Bleed is the reason a smaller carnivore can beat a larger one given enough space to disengage.
Pounce and latch: Small agile carnivores can leap onto a larger animal and stay attached, chewing while the target tries to shake them off. It is the only way a pack of light creatures reliably threatens a fully grown giant.
Grab and thrash: Grabbing locks a target in your jaws and thrashing does heavy damage while it cannot retaliate. Mosasaurus pairs it with the Asphyxiation talent so a held land animal simply runs out of air.
Trample and knockback: Heavy creatures push and knock lighter ones off their feet, which interrupts attacks and opens escape lanes. It scales with body mass, so it is a growth reward rather than a talent purchase.
Scent tracking: Scent lets you follow a trail left by another creature and read how fresh it is. Without it you are wandering a large map hoping to bump into something, which on a low population server means starving.
Full breakdowns in our Beasts of Bermuda weapons guide.
Location Progression
| Location | Level Range | Key Rewards |
|---|---|---|
| Ancestral Plains | Any growth, best for 0.4 and above | Reliable foliage for herbivores, ambient corpses, and the highest player counts on most servers |
| Rival Shores | 0.3 growth and above | Biome variety for species that need specific climates, and island separation that keeps herds intact |
| Titania | 0.4 growth and above | Canyon chokepoints, high nesting spots that ground predators cannot reach |
| Caldera | Adult only in Combat mode | Fast fight practice without the growth investment of Free Roam or Life Cycle |
| Volcano Bay | 0.3 growth and above | Strong fishing spots for piscivores, tidal routes that reset every cycle |
Ancestral Plains: Historically the largest and most used map in the game, built around vast open grassland and a huge inland sea. Sightlines are long, so ambushes are rare and fights are decided by stamina and build rather than surprise.
Rival Shores: Slightly smaller than Ancestral Plains and split into several large islands, each with its own biome. Temperate forest, desert, snowy tundra, dense jungle and tropical semi forest all sit within swimming distance of each other.
Titania: Added on 4 November 2022 and designed around vertical terrain rather than open ground. Jungles, redwood forest and arid canyons stack on top of each other, which favours climbers and fliers over heavy ground animals.
Caldera: Small and arena like, which is why the wiki recommends pairing it with the Combat game mode. There is almost nowhere to hide and very little running room, so encounters resolve fast.
Volcano Bay: A coastal map where water routes matter as much as land ones, with functioning tidal and weather systems shaping access. Semi aquatic creatures get the most out of it because they can cross where land animals must go around.
See our maps & locations guide for detailed area breakdowns and our walkthrough for the optimal progression path.
Tips That Actually Matter
- Spawning from the creature select screen puts you at 0.4 growth with 10 talent points. Hatching from an egg puts you at 0.1 with none. If you have ninety minutes rather than a weekend, spawn in.
- Stress is not a background stat. Carnivores and herbivores raise each other's stress just by being nearby, so a herbivore hiding next to a friendly carnivore is quietly ruining both of them.
- Carnivores are only comforted by their own species. A Tyrannosaurus and an Acrocanthosaurus standing together are not helping each other, whatever the chat says.
- Apatosaurus with the Shelterer talent hands weather resistance to its group. On a server that runs hurricanes, one grown Apatosaurus is worth more to a herd than three extra fighters.
- Inherits run from minus three to plus two. A badly laid nest can hand a hatchling a permanent penalty, so check who is nesting before you queue for an egg.
- Do not spend talent points the moment they unlock. Points are permanent for that life, and the build you want at 0.9 growth is rarely the build that felt right at 0.5.
- Life Cycle mode grows you faster but makes survival harder and feeds a monthly leaderboard. Free Roam grows slower with easier resources. Pick the mode that matches how often you can log in, not the one with the best rewards.
- Tides change which shoreline routes exist. Plan an escape route that is still there when the water level moves, or you will be cornered against your own map knowledge.
- Bleed does more work than raw bite damage over a long chase. Acrocanthosaurus players who trade blows instead of disengaging are throwing away the animal's whole design.
- Mosasaurus loses everything the moment it beaches itself. Never follow prey into water shallow enough to strand you, no matter how close the kill looks.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Hatching from an egg on a first session, starting at 0. 1 growth with zero talent points, and dying to the first thing that notices you.
- Grouping herbivores and carnivores together for safety, which raises stress on both sides and cripples regeneration during the fight you were grouping to survive.
- Dumping all talent points into Power early, leaving a fast growing animal with no health, no healing and no way to disengage.
- Treating weather as scenery. Lightning, hurricanes and storms deal real damage and stress, and only some creatures resist them.
- Chasing a wounded target into deep water as a land carnivore, or into shallow water as an aquatic one. Both mistakes end the same way.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Beasts of Bermuda finished?
No. It entered Steam Early Access on 21 December 2018 and Sastrei Studios has not announced a full release date. Updates have continued, with Carcharodontosaurus added as a playable creature in the March 2026 wiki update, so the roster is still growing.
How many talent points do I start with?
Ten, if you spawn from the creature select screen at 0.4 growth. Zero, if you hatch from an egg at 0.1 growth. Additional points unlock at fixed growth thresholds after that.
Which creature should a new player pick?
A herbivore such as Parasaurolophus. Foliage is everywhere, growth is quick, and the alarm call gives you a job in a herd while you are still learning where the tides and storms will catch you out.
What is the difference between the three modes?
Free Roam grows you slowly with easier resource management. Life Cycle grows you faster but makes survival harder and runs monthly leaderboards. Combat spawns you as an adult on smaller maps like Caldera and skips growth entirely.
How many maps are there?
Six are currently playable: Ancestral Plains, Rival Shores, Titania, Caldera, Forest Island and Volcano Bay. Bloodbath and Tropical Atoll have been decommissioned and no longer appear in server rotations.
More Beasts of Bermuda Guides
- Beasts of Bermuda Best Builds
- Beasts of Bermuda Tier List
- Beasts of Bermuda Walkthrough
- Beasts of Bermuda Beginner's Guide
- Beasts of Bermuda Tips & Tricks
- Beasts of Bermuda Weapons Guide
- Beasts of Bermuda Combat Guide
- Beasts of Bermuda Boss Guide
- Beasts of Bermuda Maps & Locations
- Beasts of Bermuda Crafting Guide
- Beasts of Bermuda Classes & Characters
Similar Games
If you enjoy Beasts of Bermuda, check out these related guides:
- Palworld Guide: survival game with similar mechanics
- Rust Guide: survival game with similar mechanics
- ARK: Survival Evolved Guide: survival game with similar mechanics
