The Center has updated the already lush landscapes in Ark: Survival Ascended, bringing with it impressive revamps and exciting ASA exclusives. This is a welcome addition for anyone who played the original Ark: Survival Evolved because The Center has always been an important facet of the game’s universe. When the revamped version of The Center launched, ASA‘s differences from ASE made it barely recognizable, and it left many to question where developers were bringing ASA.

While this update did remaster a lot in The Center, it also introduced several great features that should make the world feel a lot more full. ASA now boasts quite a few new areas, new flora and fauna, more places to gather resources, and more than a handful of tweaks to make exploring even more rewarding than before. In addition, many of the existing locations have seen improvements in detail, and the result is a map that feels at once brand-new and delightfully familiar.

10

The Floating Island, Lava Biome, & The Underground World

ASA‘s The Center introduces new map features like the Floating Island, Lava Biome, and Underground World to its repertoire of explorable locations, but while The Center was a pivotal location in the original game, the update’s expansion of these areas offers more than just a nostalgic journey for ASE veterans. These environments are teeming with unique enemies and valuable rewards, demanding careful navigation and strategy. The harsh conditions and formidable adversaries pose significant challenges, but the risks are worth taking.

This means venturing into these hazardous zones promises rare resources and exotic creatures, making the exploration highly rewarding. The vast, sprawling networks of the Floating Island, Lava Biome, and Underground World stand in stark contrast to the surface, providing adventurers with areas to test their survival skills, offering an unparalleled sense of discovery, making ASA‘s The Center a compelling experience for all players.

9

Remastered Areas

Boasting more detail and vibrancy than its ASE predecessor, The Center has been revamped to leverage Ark: Survival Ascended’s impressive graphics. Those familiar with the original will not only be able to enjoy new areas exclusive to ASA, but also classic areas with more definition and greater fidelity.

Among the standout remastered locations are:

• Skull Island
• Redwoods
• The Underwater Bubble
• Underground Tunnels
• Lava Island
• The Boss Arena
• Updated Caves
• Beginner Island’s Land Bridge

In addition, the starter island now features a land bridge connecting it to adjacent islands, and the edge of the world has been filled in to ensure the horizon looks more natural. These enhancements not only showcase ASA flexing its impressive graphical muscles but also offer new strategic opportunities for exploration and base-building, making The Center a must-visit destination.

8

Waterfall Locations

Waterfall areas in Ark: Survival Ascended have received both new additions and revamps, and these changes make the environments feel more vibrant and dynamic. Each waterfall location now teems with additional flora and fauna, and the upgrade breathes life and realism into these bucolic resorts.

These locations offer practical benefits, as well. Easy access to resources makes them prime real estate for new home bases. The abundance of materials nearby means survivalists can build and sustain waterfall bases with greater ease, taking full advantage of their natural defenses and resources.

These remastered waterfall locales are not just visually stunning – they are strategically valuable as well. Newbie survivors and veterans alike will have an easier time setting up camp near a waterfall, and it’s a welcome housing option now that they offer both beauty and utility.

7

Ark’s New Ceratosaurus, Xiphactinus, & Gigantoraptor

The Center introduces three exciting new creatures to join the ranks of the best dinosaurs in ASA. The Ceratosaurus is a venomous theropod, the Xiphactinus is an aquatic terror with razor-sharp teeth, and the Gigantoraptor is a large, bird-like raptor. Each creature boasts distinctive abilities that shake up gameplay, and survivors will want to be very careful while exploring The Center’s new environments to ensure they avoid stumbling into these titanic monstrosities.

Both the Ceratosaurus and the Xiphactinus cause damage over time effects, with the latter entering a feeding frenzy, making it a formidable underwater foe. The Giganotoraptor is arguably not as deadly, but it can be found in the Northern Snowy Mountain and Lava Biome areas of The Center, making encountering these dinos far more likely.

6

The Pyromane

Constantly engulfed in flames, Ark: Survival Ascended’s new Pyromane interacts uniquely with the environment, burning everything in its path. As one of the hardest beasts to find and tame, the Pyromane presents a thrilling challenge for dedicated hunters seeking to expand their menagerie.

Taming the Pyromane requires extinguishing its flames by leading it to water. Once its flames are out, it must be driven to burn other creatures for a lengthy period of time before it is fully tamed. Needless to say, this is dangerous and risky.

While it has basic attacks enhanced by flames, it also boasts special abilities, providing both offense and defense in battle. Its abilities make it a formidable ally once tamed, but capturing it is no small feat. Lastly – and perhaps most importantly – the Pyromane can transform into a shoulder pet.

5

The Shastasaurus

The Shastasaurus is a large aquatic dinosaur introduced in The Center that resembles the Ichthyosaurus. Known for its substantial size and strength, it serves as a prehistoric submarine capable of launching torpedoes and using echolocation to stun enemies. High carry weight makes the Shastasaurus invaluable for transporting resources underwater, while its defensive abilities provide some protection against threats in aquatic environments.

However, the Shastasaurus’ formidable abilities come with drawbacks that should be considered beforehand. Despite its many advantages, its low agility makes it vulnerable to attacks, especially from packs of other aquatic creatures that roam the depths.

Taming this submarine-asaurus involves a meticulous process, including a ton of time removing leeches and consistent feeding to build trust. This methodical approach ensures successful integration into a player’s arsenal, offering strategic advantages in underwater exploration and combat scenarios.

4

Climbing Mounts No Longer Sustain Damage In The Puzzle Cave

Cave spelunkers will rejoice to find that their climbing mounts no longer suffer damage while traversing the Puzzle Cave. Previously, this cave posed a significant challenge as climbing mounts would gradually incur damage over time. With this update, navigating becomes more manageable and less punishing.

This is especially great news since the Puzzle Cave now features additional chambers that offer diverse challenges and opportunities for treasure hunting. This provides adventurers with renewed incentives to return and explore. Loot respawns regularly, making it a prime location for obtaining valuable resources and rare items, including coveted red crates.

This improvement not only addresses gameplay frustrations but also encourages veterans to revisit the Puzzle Cave for its rewarding treasures. With reduced damage to mounts, survivors can delve deeper into its mysteries without the looming threat of heavy recurring damage.

3

More Resource Locations

Previously vacant caves, isolated islands, and even the ocean floor now teem with resources, making exploration more rewarding than ever in ASA. This expansion not only fills once-barren areas but also enhances the visual richness of the game world, offering players compelling reasons to venture into previously overlooked regions.

Aesthetically, these additions breathe new life into The Center, transforming once-empty spaces into bustling hubs of activity. Whether collecting ores, gathering herbs, or mining for crystals, survivors will find these updated resource nodes essential for crafting and advancing their settlements.

Moreover, this update represents a significant quality-of-life improvement, catering to both new players and seasoned adventurers alike. By dispersing resources more evenly throughout the map, ASA encourages exploration and strategic planning while rewarding players with a more dynamic and engaging environment to explore, build, and tame.

2

Harvest Salt From Bones

Ark: Survival Ascended introduces a novel addition to resource gathering with the inclusion of harvestable bones scattered across The Center map. In a game where resource management is critical to survival, this new feature offers an alternative means to obtain salt, essential for prolonging the shelf life of perishable food items.

Bones of all sizes can be discovered in various locations throughout The Center, making them a reliable resource once collected and processed. This addition underscores how important it is in a survival game that lacks refrigeration technology.

Previously, salt needed to be mined, but by allowing bones to serve a practical function, Ark: Survival Ascended empowers survivors to sustain themselves more efficiently. Whether gathered from the depths of caves or the rugged landscapes of tropical islands, salt is now an easier resource to maintain.

1

The Fog Command Works Underwater

Ark: Survival Ascended introduces an enhancement to the fog command, now effective even underwater. Previously limited to the surface, this feature now makes it easier to see for miles beneath the surface by toggling the fog command via ASA’s console.

Removing the fog underwater serves a couple of important purposes, the most practical being that it makes it much easier to see resources underwater. This is a huge boon now that the ocean is packed with useful materials to gather with the update.

Another benefit is it makes it easier to appreciate the level of detail that went into filling in the flora and fauna within the ocean. By turning the fog off underwater, it is much easier to appreciate the amount of work the development team put into making Ark: Survival Ascended more lively.