Community Crunch 358: Community Creature Voting Opens!
It's been a blast to check out the most recent round of submissions and see the communities creativity on display. We've had time to reminisce on previous community votes by seeing some of the popular entries return to battle it out! We can't wait to see which creature reigns victorious in the fourth Community Creature Vote!
We are excited to see which creature will be added to Scorched Earth for ARK: Survival Ascended! Now that submissions for creatures have closed, the second round of voting begins now until May 1st at 4 PM Pacific.
The winner* will be announced in the Crunch Friday, May 5th 2023.
Rank the creatures in order of most preferred to least preferred
The vote is limited to 1 submission per person (duplicate entries will be discarded)
Below are the candidates that have made it into the final 10. Find out more information about the creature by clicking on the hyperlink attached to the name.
* Note that once the winner has been determined, we'll be reading through these threads and using them as inspiration for how the creature will be designed; aspects suggested may change.
Survivors on all platforms will be receiving a special Easter EVO Event! During this event, 25% of wild creature spawns will be replaced with the colors from the event list. It will be active until Monday, the 24th of April. All Official Servers across each platform will be undergoing this evolutionary change which includes:
4/07 - 4/24
Red
Blue
Green
Yellow
Cyan
Magenta
Light Green
Light Orange
Light Yellow
Light Red
Black
Dark Red
Dino Light Red
Dino Dark Red
Dino Light Blue
Dino Dark Blue
Dino Light Purple
Dino Dark Purple
DragonGreen3
WyvernPurple0
WyvernPurple1
WyvernBlue0
WyvernBlue1
Dino Medium Blue
Dino Deep Blue
NearWhite
DarkTurquoise
MediumTurquoise
Turquoise
LightCement
LightPink
DeepPink
DarkViolet
DarkMagenta
MediumAutumn
Vermillion
Coral
Orange
Peach
ActualBlack
MidnightBlue
LemonLime
Mint
DarkLavender
MediumLavender
Lavender
DarkTeal
MediumTeal
Teal
PowderBlue
Glacial
Custard
Cream
*Note that these bonuses are multiplicative of the game's standard 1x rates.
Official Servers: 3x XP, Harvesting, Taming, and Breeding (imprint, maturation, hatch/gestation), 0.5x Mating Interval, 1.5x Hexagon Bonus
Conquest servers are being re-introduced for a new season by Snail Games. To kick things off, our current Classic PvP season will end, and servers will be wiped shortly before the new Conquest begins on April 25th. Classic PvP servers will wipe on April 25th, 5pm Pacific Time.
Experience gain, taming, and gathering have been tripled compared to our standard Official Servers (3x)
Breeding, hatching, and raising rates have been tripled compared to our standard Official Servers (3x)
No cave building
No tribe limit
Tribe alliances are disabled, though informal alliances are allowed
Servers have a maximum player count of 100
Excluded maps: Aberration, Gen 1 & 2, Extinction and Fjordur
The following TEK engrams/items will be available:
TEK Replicator
TEK Transmitter
TEK Turret
TEK Hatchframe
TEK Door
TEK Foundation
TEK ladder
TEK Pillar
TEK Ramp
TEK Trapdoor
TEK Wall
TEK Doorframe
TEK Windowframe
TEK Window
Sloped TEK Wall Left
Sloped TEK Wall Right
TEK Staircase
Sloped TEK Roof
TEK Railing
TEK Fence Foundation
TEK Generator
TEK Trough
TEK Teleporter
Megalodon TEK Saddle
Vacuum Compartment
Vacuum Compartment Moonpool
Cloning Chamber
Tapejara TEK Saddle
TEK Fence Support
Large TEK Wall
TEK Stairs
TEK Triangle ceiling
TEK Triangle foundation
Be sure to stop by the Conquest Discord to contact the Conquest enforcement team directly.
ARKpocalypse and Beginner Servers have been wiped today!
What are ARKpocalypse and Beginner Servers?
ARKpocalypse are monthly-wipe servers with higher than usual rates.
Beginner servers are wiped periodically to help provide a fresh beginner experience for new players.
Next wipe:
ARKpocalypse: May 19th 2023
Beginner: June 16th 2023
You can join them by searching in the server browser! Happy Surviving!
Fan Art Gallery | Screenshot Gallery | Artist Feedback Form
Creator: KiahOnFire Preparing everyone for season 4, Kiah goes over the entire storyline of the Monarky series so far. She covers the previous 3 seasons and talks about her perspective on all the special tide-turning events the Monarks have endured.
Creator: Syntac The Caballus Series is a Syntacs Final Adventure in Ark Survival Evolved before making the switch over to ARK Survival Ascended later this year. In this series Syntac will tame, breed and mutate any creature he can get his hands on from the roster of mods such as Paleo ARK, ARK Additons and Animals of Atlas.
RIP Domino by AellosTomb
The Strongest Dilo to ever grace Ark, PICKLES! by @16Direwolf
My take on the dodo rex by u/SmilingEggLord
Art Doll handmade of Mei-Yin's Raptor by sayvaris
Paleo Kentro and his Knight! by Sai
ARK 2 Smilodon by @StudiosGoji
With a quiet grassland by 最高の栄光，勇敢なDRAGON RIDER
Fire Wyvern by u/Nub-Ninja
Nope, I think I'll just go the other way by jason4pepsi
Community Crunch 357: Introducing Rhyniognatha and More!
Spring is still in full swing, and bugs are back in town... literally! We are thrilled to reveal the Rhyniognatha dossier to the community! Peruse it, plot, and plan, as we are eager to see what you will do with this brand-new monstrous bug! Speaking of new creatures, don't forget to submit your ideas for the Community Creature Vote before submissions end on April 21st!
Common name: Rhyniognatha Species: Rhyniognatha antiquagenitor Time: Early Devonian Diet: Omnivore Temperament: Aggressive
I swear, every new creature I come across here makes me more sure they've all had their genes tampered with. I know I'm right about this. Take this monster bug I'm calling 'Rhyniognatha antiquagenitor' -- big enough to headline a horror flick, but still light enough to fly and skate across water.
Would you believe it also makes a weirdly useful, quick-hardening resin with a variety of uses? It can thicken up its shell for a defensive boost, spray hard bullet-like globs, or squirt soft globs that harden on impact to gum up incoming predators!
These overgrown earwigs are just what you need to level up your tribe's aerial defenses! And here's a tip: if you crush up the right Arthropleura, you'll get an enzyme that makes Rhyniognatha glue as TEK-disruptive as Dinopithecus dung. Plus this bug can glue itself to creatures or cargo and carry things around your base!
That said, Rhyniognatha-raising isn't for the squeamish... Their males have a pheromone that invites egg-laying females to use them as hosts. Harvest that pheromone, and you can mark any creature for the female to lay her eggs on. The host then incubates a new generation of larvae that can reap its best traits in the process.
If some poor beast gets eggs laid on it by accident, you might still be able to save it by popping it in a cryopod and freezing out the larvae.
The community creature submissions are still underway! Don't miss out on an opportunity to decide on the next ARK creature that will arrive with the launch of ARK: Survival Ascended.
Please note that this creature will be released for Scorched Earth, so make sure your real-world submissions are in theme with that map! We’ll also be adding an additional real-world creature for each subsequent canonical expansion pack map release on ARK: Survival Ascended.
Check out the Creature Submission Guidelines for more information on the submission process and hop over to the Creature Submission Forum to see the current entries. The entry period will end at 1PM Pacific on April 21st, so don't wait - get your ideas in. We are looking forward to seeing your ideas come to life!
Survivors on all platforms will be receiving a special Easter EVO Event! During this event, 25% of wild creature spawns will be replaced with the colors from the event list. It will be active until Monday, the 24th of April. All Official Servers across each platform will be undergoing this evolutionary change which includes:
4/07 - 4/24
Red
Blue
Green
Yellow
Cyan
Magenta
Light Green
Light Orange
Light Yellow
Light Red
Black
Dark Red
Dino Light Red
Dino Dark Red
Dino Light Blue
Dino Dark Blue
Dino Light Purple
Dino Dark Purple
DragonGreen3
WyvernPurple0
WyvernPurple1
WyvernBlue0
WyvernBlue1
Dino Medium Blue
Dino Deep Blue
NearWhite
DarkTurquoise
MediumTurquoise
Turquoise
LightCement
LightPink
DeepPink
DarkViolet
DarkMagenta
MediumAutumn
Vermillion
Coral
Orange
Peach
ActualBlack
MidnightBlue
LemonLime
Mint
DarkLavender
MediumLavender
Lavender
DarkTeal
MediumTeal
Teal
PowderBlue
Glacial
Custard
Cream
*Note that these bonuses are multiplicative of the game's standard 1x rates.
Official Servers: 3x XP, Harvesting, Taming, and Breeding (imprint, maturation, hatch/gestation), 0.5x Mating Interval, 1.5x Hexagon Bonus
Conquest servers are being re-introduced for a new season by Snail Games. To kick things off, our current Classic PvP season will end, and servers will be wiped shortly before the new Conquest begins on April 25th. Classic PvP servers will wipe on April 25th, 5pm Pacific Time.
Experience gain, taming, and gathering have been tripled compared to our standard Official Servers (3x)
Breeding, hatching, and raising rates have been tripled compared to our standard Official Servers (3x)
No tribe limit
Tribe alliances are disabled, though informal alliances are allowed
Servers have a maximum player count of 100
Excluded maps: Aberration, Gen 1 & 2, Extinction and Fjordur
The following TEK engrams/items will be available:
TEK Replicator
TEK Transmitter
TEK Turret
TEK Hatchframe
TEK Door
TEK Foundation
TEK ladder
TEK Pillar
TEK Ramp
TEK Trapdoor
TEK Wall
TEK Doorframe
TEK Windowframe
TEK Window
Sloped TEK Wall Left
Sloped TEK Wall Right
TEK Staircase
Sloped TEK Roof
TEK Railing
TEK Fence Foundation
TEK Generator
TEK Trough
TEK Teleporter
Megalodon TEK Saddle
Vacuum Compartment
Vacuum Compartment Moonpool
Cloning Chamber
Tapejara TEK Saddle
TEK Fence Support
Large TEK Wall
TEK Stairs
TEK Triangle ceiling
TEK Triangle foundation
Fan Art Gallery | Screenshot Gallery | Artist Feedback Form
Creator: Python Join Python as he begins his ultimate journey! There is no limit to what is possible during this playthrough, his goal is to have as much fun as possible.
Creator: Veno (featuring Raasclark) Veno and Raasclark take on another challenge in their Dingle Cup Season 2! Today they will be taming creatures based solely on their dossier's description. Can you guess the creature before they do?
The kitten is watching you by Ariz
Yutyrannus by @k3zk_627
Sakuramochi by @falco_luna
Battle for Eden by @TekARK3
Fjordhawk by mendozian
Tropeognathus by @DW_ARK
Hostiles Approaching by @WolfTek7
Just finished casually farming metal at the best location in the game by @BeyPlays
Community Crunch 356: ARK Roadmap Update, Rhyniognatha Concept, and More!
Hey Survivors,
We appreciate your patience as we digested the feedback and consulted with our partners to revise our upcoming plans. As always, we’re very grateful to have such a passionate player base, and we hear and understand your concerns. We've decided to make some changes and provide additional information as to why we’re taking this approach, so please bear with us as we address some points.
Price Point and Bundle
First things first, we are scrapping the ARK Respawned Bundle. Our intention behind this was to provide a package where you essentially got two products for the price of one. In hindsight, not the best move. Our bad; we recognize how combining ARK Survival Ascended with ARK 2 and requiring further DLC upgrades wasn’t optimal, especially since you wouldn’t be able to judge ARK 2 as no gameplay or content would be available yet. Here are our new plans:
ARK: Survival Ascended will now be a standalone package released on every platform (PC Windows/Steam, Xbox Series S/X, and PlayStation 5) at $59.99. The package will include the following pieces of content built-in (not sold separately), with each remastered and altered for the next-generation:
The Island (Released at Launch)
Survival of the Fittest: The Island & Scorched Earth map variants (Released at Launch)
Scorched Earth (Released at Launch)
Aberration (Released by Q4 2023)
Extinction (Released by Q1 2024)
Genesis Part 1 (Released by Q1 2024)
Genesis Part 2 (Released by Q2 2024)
All the community-created maps are also to be released over time in 2024 (Fjordur, Ragnarok, The Center, Lost Island, Valguero, Crystal Isles)
No longer a backward-compatible free update?
Initially, when we had first considered doing an Unreal 5 upgrade, we planned just to port the Switch version of the game and undo the ‘graphical’ limitations required for that hardware. We weren’t going to maximize the potential of the new technology, we weren’t going to introduce new gameplay changes, and we weren’t going to make critical design changes that would have had an impact on existing save data.
After carefully considering what would be the best outcome for those who enjoy ARK: Survival Evolved and would want to continue to enjoy it in the years to come, we decided that our initial plan would not be sufficient. We want to provide you with an evergreen classic ARK experience, one that can continue to grow over time on a cleaned-up code base, making use of the new technological advancements not only in the industry but also in what we are working on with ARK 2.
We weren’t trying to mislead you with earlier comments; our plans and overall intentions changed. So you're probably asking, why don’t we make these upgrades to the original ARK: Survival Evolved (ASE)? Frankly, it would not be viable. Many of the changes we’re making in ARK: Survival Ascended will touch a lot of aspects of the game; it’ll invalidate save data, some mods may not be functional, some things may not play the same way as they did before, and we didn’t want to change that experience for those who prefer it or are unable to upgrade.
This also impacted our decision to sunset the ASE Official Network offline on August 31st, shortly before the ASA launch. Despite ASE Officials representing the minority of players on ARK, it’s an invested and passionate group with attachments to their bases, tames, and characters, and seeing that go away can’t be easy. While we know it’s not the same, we hope making the saves available for unofficial use helps diminish the loss. Our reasoning behind the decision is that those servers are essentially based on old technology and require significant development resources and time for our teams to operate & maintain. In some cases, the issues aren’t as easily solvable without an overall upgrade. Additionally, we know that those resources could be better utilized on fundamentally new technology to further enhance the overall game experience for all players.
ASE will still be available to play for those who choose to; that includes multiplayer through unofficial/player-hosted sessions, the endless amount of mods on the Steam workshop, and all the game content as you currently know it. All of that is going to remain, but after 8 years of development, we have to make the difficult decision of sunsetting ASE and the Official Network in order to provide that truly long-term and evergreen version of the game through ARK: Survival Ascended. We’ll be sending off ASE with one final content update for our 8th anniversary this June, releasing the fan-elected creature: Rhyniognatha! (Keep an eye out next week for its Dossier)
We plan to support ARK: Survival Ascended with new features (including at launch), content drops, creatures, items, structures, and DLC. Our roadmap covered some of those planned changes, and we said there would be more, and here’s another preview:
Dynamic navigation mesh and creature pathfinding overhaul (AI pathfinding)
Photo Mode
Nvidia DLSS
Dino/Baby Management QOL
Wild Babies
Snap point improvements (new snaps, logic improvements)
Character creation & customization improvements
Cross-platform Multiplayer & Full Blueprint Modding (I know we mentioned this before, but we’re serious, it’s happening on PC and Consoles at launch, and we’ve got it working internally with Overwolf technology – this dramatically changes the nature of the console experience).
And this list is not exhaustive. We’re hoping to get even more done, and the only reason we aren’t covering all of those details right now is that we’re still working on them. It’s taking a significant amount of resources and time at the studio, and we don’t want to commit to other particular features unless we’re sure we can get them in for launch. And yeah, we may miss our deadline on certain aspects, but they’ll come in over time as we continue to support this next generation of ARK.
At the end of the day, these are just words and, frankly, may not mean so much. That’s okay; we understand what will really convince you is seeing screenshots and a gameplay trailer, and you will in time. We know there are going to be more questions, and we’ll be sharing more details over time. We’re not quite ready to pull back the curtains just yet, so we hope you’ll hang in there with us, Survivors. It’ll be worth the wait!
Studio Wildcard
Let’s kick off the first piece of major new content for ARK: Survival Ascended - a fan-voted real-world creature that will launch on Day 1.
Please note that this creature will be released for Scorched Earth, so make sure your real-world submissions are in theme with that map! We’ll also be adding an additional real-world creature for each subsequent canonical expansion pack map release on ARK: Survival Ascended.
Check out the Creature Submission Guidelines for more information on the submission process and hop over to the Creature Submission Forum to see the current entries. The entry period will end at 1PM Pacific on April 21st, so don't wait - get your ideas in. We are looking forward to seeing your ideas come to life!
Survivors on all platforms will be receiving a special Easter EVO Event! During this event, 25% of wild creature spawns will be replaced with the colors from the event list. It will be active until Monday, the 24th of April. All Official Servers across each platform will be undergoing this evolutionary change which includes:
4/07 - 4/24
Red
Blue
Green
Yellow
Cyan
Magenta
Light Green
Light Orange
Light Yellow
Light Red
Black
Dark Red
Dino Light Red
Dino Dark Red
Dino Light Blue
Dino Dark Blue
Dino Light Purple
Dino Dark Purple
DragonGreen3
WyvernPurple0
WyvernPurple1
WyvernBlue0
WyvernBlue1
Dino Medium Blue
Dino Deep Blue
NearWhite
DarkTurquoise
MediumTurquoise
Turquoise
LightCement
LightPink
DeepPink
DarkViolet
DarkMagenta
MediumAutumn
Vermillion
Coral
Orange
Peach
ActualBlack
MidnightBlue
LemonLime
Mint
DarkLavender
MediumLavender
Lavender
DarkTeal
MediumTeal
Teal
PowderBlue
Glacial
Custard
Cream
*Note that these bonuses are multiplicative of the game's standard 1x rates.
Official Servers: 3x XP, Harvesting, Taming, and Breeding (imprint, maturation, hatch/gestation), 0.5x Mating Interval, 1.5x Hexagon Bonus
Fan Art Gallery | Screenshot Gallery | Artist Feedback Form
Creator: NaturalCauzes Primal Fear is an Ark mod filled with terrifying creatures, majestic unicorns, and exploding dodos. NaturalCauzes has 100 days to beat Pikkons Revenge!
Creator: pterafier Pterafier shows you the different ways to tame the creatures you see around you. In this helpful and captivating guide, he will help you to understand advanced crafting using mortar and pestle, tranq arrows, narcotics, saddles, passive taming, and more.
The concept of a fiery place by @VELUKO1
Untitled by @MayaPatch89
Megalo in the night by Sai
Space Mosas by N4STYR4BBiT
Pteranodon handmade art doll by sayvaris
Reaper Riders by Azany
New tricks by terrortantrum
The Island cave exploration by @maMe_buDo
"You won't take this new world, but I will grant you rest, Edmund" by @BlockBeam101
Me and Cubed Ice flying over Valguero by u/MelonLord97
Community Crunch 355: ARK Roadmap, EVO Event, and More!
Hey there Survivors!
We’re ready to reveal ARK's roadmap for the next year, covering various game-related initiatives, new platforms, and media. The community’s support continues to be incredibly humbling and inspiring for the team, and that enthusiasm helps drive us toward creating the ultimate survival franchise. What we’ve planned has changed due to many shifting factors, but we believe it will ultimately provide the most fun and excitement for everyone who enjoys ARK.
We know you’re eager for the lowdown on our plans and more transparency regarding what’s behind the curtain, what’s evolved, and what has sprung anew, and we’re ready to share that with you… But before starting, we want you to meet our new friend!
And now, for the roadmap…
After careful consideration, we have decided to delay the sequel's launch to the end of 2024, when it will still launch exclusively on Xbox, Game Pass, and Windows distribution platforms (Steam/PC). We’ve put much thought into delaying ARK 2 for the betterment of the final product and the team's well-being. This news will be disappointing to many - we feel it too - but we’re confident this heavy decision is the right one.
So why the delay? Our goal is to make ARK 2 the best game it can be and provide a truly exceptional and rewarding experience for players. Unreal Engine 5 is incredibly new technology to us (and all developers), and we aim to use this cutting-edge tech to its fullest potential while creating a game with never-before-achieved scope at Studio Wildcard. As we learn more about the engine and develop the sequel, we have adapted our workflows and adjusted our pipelines to accommodate this new next-generation paradigm, and because of everything that involves, we need more time for development.
We sincerely apologize for this delay and genuinely appreciate your understanding. Your support and passion are vital to us, and we will continue to work intensively to deliver the ultimate next-gen dinosaur survival experience. With that in mind, we do not plan to showcase any gameplay/screenshots/videos of ARK 2 this year; however, we intend to keep you informed and engaged in the development process by regularly showcasing more ARK 2 assets in the months ahead, leading to our gameplay reveal next year.
But! Our desire to push the boundaries of what ARK 2 is on a next-generation platform has led us to the decision to create an intermediary Unreal Engine 5 ARK product utilizing some of the new technology we are building, allowing us to further our mastery of the new engine and ultimately battle-test some of our riskier technical advancements. We’ll gain a deep understanding of how well the rendering and lighting techniques work on console, what performance will be like, whether we can optimize and deliver interactive water and foliage on a widescale basis, and much more. We will deliver cross-platform modding, cross-platform multiplayer & a new account system, informing us about other changes we should consider for ARK 2. Due to the scope of all the technical and QOL changes required for such a next-gen experience, it is not feasible to make this new version of ARK backward compatible, which led us to conclude that this would need to be a separate product.
We also recognize that ARK 2 has some pretty significant design changes from the original game, which may not make it as appealing to everyone (looking at you, Souls-like combat, primitive-only weaponry, and strict third-person mechanics – and an overall “very serious” tone), which is why we feel it is essential to provide players with a fully next-gen version of the original experience to ensure that fans can continue to enjoy the ARK they know for years to come.
We’re thrilled to share this new ARK journey with you this year -- bringing players from PC, Xbox, and PlayStation together in a next-generation version of the game you love, topped off with revolutionary cross-platform modding.
ARK: Survival Ascended is a next-generation remaster of our beloved ARK: Survival Evolved, harnessing the power of Unreal Engine 5. It will be released on Xbox Series S/X, PC (Windows/Steam), and PlayStation 5 by the end of August 2023. The base game will include The Island, SOTF, and all the “Non-Canon” DLC maps (which will be added to ASA over time).
Xbox Series S/X and PC players will only be able to get it via an ultimate-value bundle known as the ARK Respawned Bundle. This bundle includes ownership of both ARK: Survival Ascended AND ARK 2 and will be priced at $49.99. This bundle will be available to purchase from the end of August for up to 1 year (after which ARK: Survival Ascended and ARK 2 will be sold separately). Additionally, the bundle will provide players access to an exclusive 1-month closed-beta to ARK 2 in 2024 before the rest of the general public can play ARK 2.
PlayStation 5 users will be able to get their hands on ARK: Survival Ascended as a standalone next-gen game at launch in August 2023 for $39.99.
All the expansion packs will be sold separately on all platforms:
$19.99 for Explorer’s Pass, which includes Scorched Earth, Aberration (Q4 2023), and Extinction (Q1 2024).
$19.99 for Genesis Pass, which includes Genesis Part 1 (Q1 2024) and Genesis Part 2 (Q2 2024).
At ARK: Survival Ascended’s launch, players will have access to The Island, Scorched Earth, and the new revamped game mode, Survival of the Fittest.
In addition to many other new features, ARK: Survival Ascended will feature the following improvements and enhancements:
Unreal Engine 5 Overhaul with Nanite, Lumen and RTXDI
Nanite Rendering Engine
Dynamic Water
Interactive Foliage
Unreal Engine 5 performance gains: instanced-rendering (large-bases etc.), threaded server networking, and native physics engine
Cross-platform Multiplayer: This includes cross-platform accounts and cross-progression, cross-voice chat & friends, etc. No matter what platform you start playing on, you can access your account, character, dinos, and items on a different platform for the ultimate cross-platform experience.
Cross-platform Anti-Cheat
Art Assets are being upgraded throughout the entire game
Newly-designed holiday events take advantage of the next-gen pipeline, released as mods, so they’re always available to play!
Cross-platform Modding:
We recognize the power of giving players the tools and capability to define their survival experience, so we want to take cross-platform one step further by working with Overwolf to introduce an industry-first cross-platform modding experience where mods created on PC are delivered directly to end-users’ consoles from a custom modding backend.
The modding capability will include FULL blueprinting support ;), stacked mods, and maps. Everything that is currently possible on the Steam version of ARK: Survival Evolved and more will be possible on the new system and be available for end-users to play on consoles in all modes.
Premium Mods: Reviewed by Overwolf and Wildcard for quality control and value, Mod authors will optionally be able to specify price points for their Mods (with 50% of the price point going to the Mod author). This is necessary to pay for the custom infrastructure required for Overwolf to support, administrate, and deliver Mods to the console.
We plan on streamlining the process of upgrading legacy ARK: Survival Evolved mods to the next-generation platform. We plan to reach out to current/former sponsored modders in preparation for the launch of ASA with the tools they need to get their mods ready before the launch.
Survival of the Fittest:
SOTF will be integrated into the main product as a new fully-supported game mode. It will have a dedicated team that will continue to work on more gameplay changes, mechanical improvements, quality of life, maps, and balance adjustments. The initial mode will be revamped with an exclusive ARK: Survival Ascended update, including:
Upgraded to Unreal Engine 5 with complete cross-platform and cross-modding support (the SOTF UE5 source content will be released for modders to utilize as they wish within ASA)
Scorched Earth SOTF Map
Matchmaking queue
Character and Creature customization with cosmetics
Local Lobby where you can group up with your friends, configure the look of your survivor and dinos, and queue up for lobbies together
Lots of bug-fixes and balance and functionality improvements
New content, QOL improvements, balance, and gameplay changes, including but not limited to:
Updated mini-map (pan, zoom, pings, etc – similar to the SOTF mini-map)
New structures (display cases, smaller TEK Teleporters) & building QOL improvements (snap fixes, increased foundation support, foundation height adjustments, and more)
Queueing System
New third-person camera (with the option to opt out)
…and more! (seriously, a lot more, this list isn’t exhaustive, but it’ll get super long if we list everything, and there’s more we’ll decide to do between now and launch too)
We understand there will be questions regarding LiveOps for the product, so we’ll review some key areas now.
Final Content Update: In June for ARK’s 8th Anniversary, we’ll release ARK: Survival Evolved’s final content update, which includes the fan-voted Rhyniognatha!
Cross-platform: It’s important to note that ARK: Survival Evolved (ARK:SE) and ARK: Survival Ascended (ASA) will coexist but will not support crossplay between the two games. ASA will have undergone profound functional changes which prevent it from being compatible with the previous game.
Holiday Events: We plan to develop and release ASA-exclusive holiday content that takes advantage of the next-gen pipeline released in mods, so they’re always available to play!
Official Servers: With the launch of ASA at the end of August, we will be taking down all Official Servers on Xbox, PlayStation, and PC for ARK: Survival Evolved – at that time, the final save-datas from the ARK: Survival Evolved Official Servers will be uploaded for players to re-host on their own servers or play in singleplayer/non-dedi, as well as slightly earlier snapshots. You will still be able to play on single-player, non-dedicated, player-dedicated, and unofficial servers. ARK: Survival Ascended will have it's own fully supported Official Network for all platforms.
Feature Sunset: With the launch of ASA, we will be ending official support for Primitive+, Split Screen, and Procedurally Generated Maps. These aspects of the game will not be ported to the new Unreal Engine 5 version.
We will look into releasing the source files for Primitive+ for those that wish to repurpose aspects of it for mods.
ARK: Survival Ascended Updates: The remaster will have regular updates to resolve bugs, introduce new content, balance changes, and quality-of-life improvements for years to come.
ARK: Survival Evolved Updates: will be limited to crashes and critical bug fixes.
We plan to release a new canonical-story expansion pack for ARK: Survival Ascended that will be available in Q4 2023. This DLC will feature four new creatures, which we’ll share more details about later this year!
ARK: The Animated Series has completed the animation and cast recordings of all its 14 initial episodes, which are currently in post-production (VFX, sound mix, etc.). We're delighted with how the show turned out -- it's an epic melodramatic love letter to dinosaurs, fantasy/sci-fi, and of course ARK itself -- though we have not placed it yet with any platform, hence the lack of news in that area. So as soon as there's more to report, we will let you know!
Thank you everyone for reading through this substantial write-up, and stay tuned for more information on the ARK: Survival Ascended in the months ahead toward its August launch!
Studio Wildcard
Conquest servers are being re-introduced for a new season by Snail Games. To kick things off, our current Classic PvP season will end, and servers will be wiped shortly before the new Conquest begins on April 25th. Classic PvP servers will wipe on April 25th, 5pm Pacific Time.
Experience gain, taming, gathering have been tripled compared to our standard Official Servers (3x)
Breeding, hatching, and raising rates have been tripled compared to our standard Official Servers (3x)
No tribe limit
Tribe alliances are disabled, though informal alliances are allowed
Servers have a maximum player count of 100
No Aberration map
All other maps excluding Gen1&2 and Extinction will be available.
The following TEK engrams/items will be available:
TEK Hatchframe
TEK Door
TEK Foundation
TEK ladder
TEK Pillar
TEK Ramp
TEK Trapdoor
TEK Wall
TEK Doorframe
TEK Windowframe
TEK Window
Sloped TEK Wall Left
Sloped TEK Wall Right
TEK Staircase
Sloped TEK Roof
TEK Railing
TEK Fence Foundation
TEK Generator
TEK Trough
TEK Teleporter
Megalodon TEK Saddle
Vacuum Compartment
Vacuum Compartment Moonpool
Cloning Chamber
Tapejara TEK Saddle
TEK Fence Support
Large TEK Wall
TEK Stairs
TEK Triangle ceiling
TEK Triangle foundation
Survivors on all platforms will be receiving an EVO Event! It will be active until Monday, the 3rd of April. All Official Servers across each platform will be undergoing this evolutionary change which includes:
*Note that these bonuses are multiplicative of the game's standard 1x rates.
Official Servers: 2x XP, Harvesting, Taming and Breeding (imprint, maturation, hatch/gestation), 0.5x Mating Interval, 2x Hexagon Bonus
Small Tribe Servers: 4.5x XP, Harvesting, Taming and Breeding (imprint, maturation, hatch/gestation), 0.5x Mating Interval, 2x Hexagon Bonus
Fan Art Gallery | Screenshot Gallery | Artist Feedback Form
Creator: Sypher Sam In this speed build tutorial, Sypher Sam teaches you how to build an Elven-style PvE house inspired by the Lord of the Rings' architecture. No mods were used. Plus, it can be built on consoles & PC!
Creator: Raasclark (featuring CaptainFatdog)
In this short, Raasclark and Captain Fatdog attempt to knock out a wyvern with a mantis! Will they succeed?
Favorite color tek Parasaurolophus by @Mio301130
Snow Owl by mendozian
Lights off! by @WolfTek7
Hugs! by @ScutalTheLizard
Warm your heart and body together by @rianeko_mabi
Delivering Spring by @falco_luna
Ferox by @k3zk_627
Recreation of Japanese Waterfall Castle in survival by @KiriiAndrew
Beautiful postcard by @RikerPlays
Do I love the Equus? Yes, not even gonna try lying about it by u/Fit-Photograph7844
Community Crunch 354: EVO Event and Community Corner!
While we put the finishing touches on the ARK Roadmap, this week we'll look at some of the amazing things the ARK community has been up to in the Community Corner!
Survivors on all platforms will be receiving an EVO Event! It will be active until Monday, the 27th of March. All Official Servers across each platform will be undergoing this evolutionary change which includes:
*Note that these bonuses are multiplicative of the game's standard 1x rates.
Official Servers: 2x XP, 2x Harvesting and 2x Taming
Small Tribe Servers: 4.5x XP, 4.5x Harvesting and 4.5x Taming
ARKPocalypse: 5x XP, 5x Harvesting and 5x Taming
Classic: 6x XP, 6x Harvesting and 6x Taming
Fan Art Gallery | Screenshot Gallery | Artist Feedback Form
Nitrado is hosting their ARK tSotF: Survivors Showdown alongside MTSArk, TeamSOTF, Intel and Lenovo. This tournament will take place on March 25th at 10 am PST, live broadcast by ARKitects and FirePumpkin0214!
Creator: XxStevieLad87xX Watch Stevie build a Viking-themed base on the modded map Svartalfheim!
Creator: Skeel International Corner The adventure begins for French Youtuber Skeel and her team Les Mésaventuriers, as they start their journey through all the ARK in order, hoping to beat all the alpha bosses.
Raptor chase by u/Sunthoon
Arkcinda by ThatKiku
Frost Maewings by @N4STYR4BBiT
Hobby garden by terrortantrum
Dark Dodo by Keuran
Little something inspired by ARK survival by orangeslice2
Community Crunch 353: ARK 2 Araneomorphus Concept and More!
Arachnophobes, beware! This ARK 2 concept is sure to leave you tangled in a web of intrigue and eight-legged excitement. The Araneomorphus will be sure to crawl their way into your heart... and your nightmares.
Araneomorphus: Last Remnant of an Ancient Power
There will be no EVO event this week.
Fan Art Gallery | Screenshot Gallery | Artist Feedback Form
Creator: Crabbytron If you are about to attempt to defeat the Overseer for the first time, we recommend you check out this very informative guide! Everything you need to know is in this video, from the preparation to the mechanics of the boss fights. Good luck, survivors!
Creator: Dread In episode 5 of Monarky Season 3, Dread plays some pranks on people and tries to find farming tames so he can make changes to his base faster. Along the way, he meets an alpha carno and it doesn't go as smoothly as you'd think. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CenS0oewYs
Ark Snow Owl by Alligator
Mu-san falls from a rock while on the run, but lands on the wild Doedi's back and avoids the death flag by @rianeko_mabi
Community Crunch 352: Sponsored Mod Applications and Community Corner!
The ARK roadmap is just around the corner, and we’re itching to give you a sneak peek into the future of the ARK universe. Stay tuned for more updates! Modders, remember to sign up for ARK's Sponsored Mod Program starting now until April 5th. Don't forget to check out our fantastic community content and all the incredible things they've been up to.
The ARK Sponsored Mod Program is accepting applications. You will be able to apply until April 5th. Don't forget to submit your projects!
There will be no EVO event this week.
Fan Art Gallery | Screenshot Gallery | Artist Feedback Form
Creator: MrMEOLA Watch the grand finale of MrMeola's journey through his Mega Modded Survival Server as he risks everything to defeat the endboss, Wukong the Destroyer.
Creator: MissVadams Thanks to the Monarks, Miss Vadams was able to live out her dream of taking on The Island's Dragon Boss with an army of Carbonemys! Take a peak at how it went down!
Community Crunch 351: ARK 2 Weapon Modding System Concept, EVO Event, and More!
This week, we're revealing our latest concept for the ARK 2 Weapon Modding System. That's right, say goodbye to boring, one-size-fits-all weapons, and hello to a whole new level of customization!
Unleash your inner artisan and forge your arsenal with an array of diverse modules that allow you to fine-tune both form and function, unlocking tons of possible combinations to create bespoke equipment that is truly one-of-a-kind. The choice of materials you select will imbue your creations with a distinct appearance and character, with unique resources waiting to be discovered in far-flung corners of the world.
Survivors on all platforms will be receiving an EVO Event! It will be active until Monday, the 6th of March. All Official Servers across each platform will be undergoing this evolutionary change which includes:
*Note that these bonuses are multiplicative of the game's standard 1x rates.
Official Servers: 2x XP, 2x Harvesting, 2x Taming, and 2x Hexagon Bonus
Small Tribe Servers: 4.5x XP, 4.5x Harvesting, 4.5x Taming, and 2x Hexagon Bonus
Fan Art Gallery | Screenshot Gallery | Artist Feedback Form
Congratulations to the winners of The Survival of the Fittest Winter Cup 2023. We recommend you watch the final match of the tournament. It was a great match of epic proportions! Click below if you would like to watch the entire finals!
Creator: The AxeMan Inspired by "As seen on TV," Controller Freak becomes the Ark's worst Salesperson who tries to sell his Calien Soup in one of the worst Infomercials ever! (This is all in good faith, this video made us laugh a lot!)
Creator: CyclonicDuck yt Listen to this rendition of Rockwell Prime Theme expertly played on the piano by CyclonicDuck!
ARK II Carnotaurus by @StudiosGoji
Dodo Revolution by Aoilii
Pearl diving by terrortantrum
King Titan is Coming - ARK: Extinction by J-ManTheAngel
This week we'll take a look at some amazing community content in the Community Corner!
There will be no EVO event this week.
Fan Art Gallery | Screenshot Gallery | Artist Feedback Form
Over on Twitter, @TeamSOTF is hosting their Winter Cup 2023. The main event will be held tomorrow February 25, 2023 11:00 AM Pacific Time. It will be hosted on Twitch and YouTube by Icebox, Omnikevfka and Raasclark. For more information, you can join their Discord!
Creator: The AxeMan Helm's Deep Castle has been taken over. What has happened? The only way to know is to enter. Follow The AxeMan as he undertakes this epic server event!
Creator: Kittykatlapurr Join Kittykatlapurr as she begins her journey on Aberration with the Pugnacia mod. Will it go according to plan? Of course not! But that's where the fun is!
ARK II Carnotaurus by @StudiosGoji
Dodo Revolution by Aoilii
Pearl diving by terrortantrum
King Titan is Coming - ARK: Extinction by J-ManTheAngel
Community Crunch 349: ARK 2 Carnotaurus Concept, EVO Extension, and More!
Welcome to another edition of the Community Crunch!
This week we're dropping a sneak peek at our favorite ARK2 tiny-armed, horned stomper in the form of the Carnotaurus! Granted, it's technically the only creature with all of those characteristics combined but the point is - we love our fresh iteration of the Carno and hope you do too! We carno tell you how excited we are to drop ARK2 morsels (sorry!)
Carnotaurus: The Horned Terror
Our Love Evolved EVO event is still live until February 20th! Unlike traditional ARK holiday events, only rates and wild dino colors will be active for holiday EVO Events.
2/10/23 - 2/20/23
*Note that these bonuses are multiplicative of the game's standard 1x rates.
Official Servers: 3x XP, Harvesting, Taming, and Breeding (imprint, maturation, hatch/gestation), 0.5x Mating Interval, 1.5x Hexagon Bonus
We are deeply saddened by the passing of Tony “Thick44” Schnur. His positive impact on the ARK community cannot be overstated. His kindness and passion for games left a lasting impact on those who knew him and fostered a beautifully supportive community. There was something very charming about the dynamic between Tony and his four Neebs Gaming comrades that led to their content being cherished by ARK players and gamers in general. We would like to extend our deepest condolences to his family, his friends and his community during this time of mourning. Although you have ascended, your legacy will never be forgotten. Long live the Wyvern King!
We'll cook up a steak in your honor, Soldier. Thank you ❤️
- - -
We would like to share with you Neebs Gaming’s very first ARK: Survival Evolved video, where Thick sits down with Neebs and Appsro to see if he can get them interested in playing the game. This video was the start of legendary tales told through more than 300 episodes.
We have a plan to add something to our Valguero shrine for Those Who Have Ascended for both Tony along with other community members who have passed. Whilst the shrine is dedicated to all, we'd like to more personally honor people individually. We have had the intention of adding a wall where names can be added for some time but we'd like this to be implemented in a dynamic way on the technical side so this will take a little time.
Over on Twitter, @TeamSOTF is hosting their Winter Cup 2023. The main event will be held on the final Saturday of the month, February 25, 2023 11:00 AM Pacific Time. It will be hosted on Twitch and YouTube by Icebox, Omnikevfka and Raasclark. For more information, you can join their Discord!
Creator: Bemo Guinness Follow Bemo Guiness as he goes to tame a second Carcharodontosaurus to start breeding and working towards getting an army.
Creator: Kaaaay Watch German Twitch broadcaster Kaaaay expertly fight his way to the top in ARK: Survival of the Fittest. (Audio in German, but a skilled gameplay is universally understood!)
A little maewing by @Hanna_Otter
ARK parasaur by deathfeigning
Ark Survival Evolved Illustration by Julia Viita
Valguero in the morning by @SLAPunque
Rhyniognatha by @bonten_ARK
Microraptor by @k3zk_627
Little Wolf by @pepepesho_setu
Perhaps one of the best Monarky adventures yet... by @OfficialMonarky
