Maligned on Steam since its launch in October 2023 for frequent efficiency issues and pervasive bugs, open-world dinosaur recreation Ark Survival Ascended has simply been given a serious engine improve. The brand new Ark replace brings the survival recreation remaster to Unreal Engine 5.5, promising improved efficiency alongside different bug fixes and quality-of-life adjustments. Moreover, the lately launched Astraeos map, a Greek mythology DLC world created by one in all its most beloved modders, simply bought a complete lot larger.
The soar to UE5 for Ark Survival Ascended actually has its advantages – the survival recreation has by no means appeared as stunning because it does right here. However the remaster, which was pitched as a means for developer Studio Wildcard to get used to the engine forward of the Ark 2 launch date, has been lumbered with blended Steam evaluations since launch (it at present sits at 59% optimistic from a complete of 69,000 responses). Chief among the many complaints are the necessity to purchase the total recreation and potential DLC once more, and the truth that many PCs struggled to run it easily. For those who’re nonetheless having bother there, a brand new ‘efficiency solely’ graphics preset has been added for much more optimization.
The Ark Astraeos map, in the meantime, has been significantly expanded. You may now have the ability to discover Lemnokis Island, “an unlimited landmass full of latest biomes, caves, temples, and even a double miniboss encounter.” The map, created by widespread modder ‘Nekatus,’ is a shocking Greek fantasy realm that was built-in as an official DLC in February by Studio Wildcard, and the pairing promised at launch that such expansions would arrive sooner or later. Now, the primary of them is right here. The atmosphere ranges from scorching to chilly, and there are many secrets and techniques to be uncovered, so put together nicely.
Ark can also be turning ten (counting from Survival Advanced’s authentic early-access launch), and a particular anniversary occasion is now underway, that includes party-themed loot, the return of the Egg Incubator (able to holding as much as ten eggs at optimum temperature), and a wide array of extra constructing items. Head to social hub Membership Ark and you will find that it has been decked out with a tropical look to have a good time a decade of the dinosaur recreation. You possibly can toggle the anniversary festivities on on your server by typing ‘-Activeevent=birthday’ (with out citation marks) into the command line.
Alongside this comes plenty of bug fixes, and a few extra small bonuses. Now you can set up and uninstall particular person DLC maps individually from the bottom recreation to save lots of house. There is a beta model of single-player backup saves, with the choice to create or auto-generate backups throughout all platforms that you could return to in an emergency. Moreover, dinosaurs have been given some extra behaviors impressed by the Curiosity mod; wild and tamed creatures will now go searching extra, and you may spot extra animations among the many untamed animals.
Listed here are the perfect Ark Survival Ascended mods in 2025; if you happen to’re enjoying the brand new replace, you will undoubtedly need to be sure you’ve picked out just a few of those. We have additionally highlighted the perfect Ark servers if you happen to’re on the hunt for someplace new to play.
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