The Hiddeous Zippleback is a two-headed Mystery Class dragon that turns the ground itself into a trap. One head sprays a thick cloud of green gas, and the other sparks it into a chain of explosions. You first meet it guarding Wetland Roosts deep in swamps, where it is easily one of the most dangerous dragons to approach without a plan.
Tamed, it becomes a heavy aerial mount with a breath weapon that can wipe out a whole group of enemies at once. Getting there means surviving its gas long enough to earn its trust. Its own guidebook sums it up best: two heads, twice the trouble.
Spawning
Hiddeous Zipplebacks do not roam the open world. They live at Dragon Roost structures that generate on the surface, and you find them one at a time guarding these sites. The species sticks to two roost types, so knowing which biomes to search saves a lot of wandering.
Every Wetland Roost is home to a Hiddeous Zippleback, making swamps your most reliable hunting ground. Glade Roosts also host them, but only about 40% of the time, since Deadly Nadders share that habitat. Both roost types are fairly common structures, so once you are in the right biome, more are usually within traveling distance.
The fastest way to track one down is a Wetland Roost Map, which you can buy from wandering Hooligan traders. Right-click the map to point yourself toward the nearest matching roost. See the Roost Maps and Dragon Roosts articles for the full rundown on locating and clearing these sites.
Hiddeous Zipplebacks spawn in several distinct color and pattern variants. If you have a preference, checking multiple roosts in the same region is the easiest way to find a specific look, since each roost spawns its own individual and traveling between them is quick.
Behavior
A wild Hiddeous Zippleback does not attack the instant it sees you. Instead it slowly builds hostility the longer you stay near it, and how fast that meter fills depends entirely on how threatening you look. Walking up unarmed and unarmored gives you roughly twenty seconds before it turns aggressive, but drawing a weapon speeds that up dramatically.
Holding any sword, axe, bow, crossbow, or trident is by far the biggest trigger, adding a huge amount of hostility every second. Each piece of armor you wear and any shield in your off-hand add a little more on top.
It watches you from about 16 blocks away on the ground. That range balloons while it is airborne, so a flying Zippleback can spot you from much farther away.
You can shut this down completely by sneaking. A crouched player is ignored, and so is anyone it cannot actually see or anyone it already trusts.
Break its line of sight for a few seconds and it loses track of you. Back off past about 48 blocks and its built-up anger fades on its own. It is also a heavy, slow flier, so on foot you can often out-turn it even if you cannot outrun its breath.
The Gas Head
Sprays a lingering green cloud
The first head breathes a stream of heavy green gas that only deals about 1 heart per hit on its own. The real danger is that the gas sinks, pools, and creeps along the floor, lingering for up to twenty seconds and spreading as it goes. Standing in a growing cloud feels survivable, which is exactly the trap the second head is waiting to spring.
The Spark Head
Ignites the gas into explosions
Once gas is on the ground, the second head ignites it, setting off an explosion at every cloud within range. Each blast can hit as hard as a Creeper, and a large cloud means several going off at once. The explosions do not break blocks or start fires, so your build survives, but you will not if you are still standing in the fumes.
The gas is bait. It barely hurts on contact, but the moment the second head sparks it, everything inside the cloud takes explosion damage. Move out of green fumes immediately instead of trying to tank through them, and never let a cloud build up around your feet.
Drops
A defeated Hiddeous Zippleback always drops a handful of its scales, and Looting can add one more. These are the same Dragon Scales used across the mod’s scale crafting recipes, so even a failed taming attempt is not wasted effort.
Hiddeous Zippleback Drops
Hiddeous Zippleback Scales Hiddeous Zippleback Scales feed straight into the Dragon Scales crafting tag. Any eight Dragon Scales plus a Slime Ball craft Fireproof Scalemail, a fireproof material that resists fire and lava. It goes into the mod’s advanced dragon gear, and you can right-click the scales to place them as decorative scale piles.
Taming
Taming a Hiddeous Zippleback is a patience game built entirely around fish. Both heads rarely agree on anything, but they always agree on a good meal, so feeding is how you turn its hostility into trust.
Approach while sneaking so it stays calm. Drop or toss fish on the ground for it to eat, since trying to hand-feed a wild one makes it snap at you instead.
Salmon is its favorite everyday food and builds trust steadily. Pufferfish is a rare special treat that both heads prize and grants a much bigger jump in affection. Plain Cod works in a pinch when you run low. Once it has warmed up enough, sneak and interact with an empty hand to complete the bonding ritual and claim it as yours.
The more affection it holds, the stronger it grows, since bonding steadily raises the caps on its health, breath, and flight stats. A freshly tamed Zippleback is noticeably weaker than a fully bonded one, so keep feeding it and flying with it to unlock its real potential. See the Taming Dragons and Bonding & Affection articles for the full bonding path.
Once tamed, fit it with a Saddle to ride, and add a Dragon Chest if you want to open its storage slots. It is a heavy, aerial dragon, so it trades speed for staying power and firepower in the air. Riding controls live in the Flying & Riding Controls article, and breeding two tamed Zipplebacks produces an egg covered below.
Breeding & Eggs
Breeding two tamed Hiddeous Zipplebacks produces a Hiddeous Zippleback Egg, a large egg that fits the species’ swampy origins. Unlike most dragon eggs, this one will not hatch just anywhere. It needs to sit submerged in water and in near-total darkness, at a light level of 3 or lower.
A dark, flooded pit or a covered pond works perfectly for hatching. Keep the egg in those conditions and it will develop over time until a baby Zippleback emerges. Full breeding and hatching details are covered in the Breeding & Hatching and Dragon Egg articles.
FAQ
They guard Wetland Roosts, which generate in Swamp, Mangrove Swamp, and Mushroom Fields biomes, and every Wetland Roost has one. They also appear at Glade Roosts in jungles and old-growth forests about 40% of the time. A Wetland Roost Map bought from a Hooligan trader points you straight to the nearest one.
That is the whole point of the two heads. The first head lays down a weak but lingering gas cloud, and the second head ignites it into explosions as strong as a Creeper. Step out of any green fumes right away, since the blast is what actually kills you.
Sneak up so it stays calm, then drop fish on the ground for it to eat and build affection over time. Salmon is its favorite and Pufferfish is a special treat worth extra progress. Once it has warmed to you, sneak and interact with an empty hand to complete the bonding ritual.
Sneak the entire time, since a crouched player is ignored. Put your weapon away as well, because holding any sword or bow raises its hostility the fastest, and remove your shield if you can. Staying out of its line of sight keeps it calm too.
The scales count as Dragon Scales, so eight of them plus a Slime Ball craft Fireproof Scalemail, a fireproof material that resists fire and lava. You can also right-click the scales to place them as decorative piles. A slain Zippleback drops 4 to 7 scales, and Looting can add one more.
The egg must be submerged in water and kept in darkness at light level 3 or lower. A dark, flooded pit works well. Leave it in those conditions and it will hatch into a baby Zippleback over time. You get the egg by breeding two tamed Zipplebacks.
