Ark: Survival Ascended’sExtinctionupdate brings a new map, new creature, and new features to the revamped dinosaur survival game.Extinction Ascendedis the fourth major free DLC to be released forASA,following up onScorched Earth,The Center, andAberration. Each of these DLCs is centered on a map that debuted inArk: Survival Evolved, usually as a player-made mod; in fact,Extinctionis the first to have been an original creation of Studio Wildcard.
Extinctionwill be the finalASADLC released in 2024, butit’ll quite likely see more in 2025as Studio Wildcard continues bringing oldSurvival Evolvedcontent back to the remake. For now, here’s everything to expect from theExtinctionupdate,including the new Wasteland War mode.
Everything In The New Extinction Map
A Return To Earth
Perhaps the biggest and most exciting change contained in theExtinctionupdate is its namesake, the new map. Unlike all other officialASAmaps,Extinctionisn’t set in space, but rather amid the ruins of Earth. Each of its corners represents a different biome: the Sunken Forest in the northwest, the Snow in the northeast, the Desert in the southeast, and the Sulfur Fields in the southwest. Called Proto-Arks, these biomes are of human origin, created as experiments to test the viability of Ark space stations.
Naturally,each of these locations is home to unique hazards: extreme temperatures in the Snow and the Desert zones, the deep caves of the Sunken Forest, and the corrosive water of the Sulfur Fields. There are several other, smaller biomes spread out in between the four corners: the Sludge Basin to the far south, the Forbidden Zone to the far north, and large swathes of Wasteland in between. Little life flourishes in the Wasteland, so players planning on making long treks through it need to come prepared.
5 Reasons Ark: Survival Ascended Should Continue & 5 Reasons It Shouldn’t
As the noise around Ark 2 gets quieter, the conversation about whether Ark: Survival Ascended should be the future of the franchise has begun.
At the center ofExtinctionisSanctuary, a once-great, technologically advanced citythat now lies in ruins. With its lush plant life and crumbling-but-livable structures, Sanctuary is relatively hospitable to life - but that also means it’ll be hotly contested in multiplayer games.
Extinctionalso has a couple of unique map features and weather events to keep things interesting. First are eclipses, which may cause darkness even during the day. Next are meteor showers, which are outright dangerous, as the falling debris can destroy structures and damage both humans and creatures. Orbital Supply Drops will occasionally fall from the sky, and Element Nodes will pop out of the ground; players will have to defend these from waves of corrupted creatures (and rival players) before they can claim what’s inside.
Extinction’s New Dreadnoughtus Creature
What To Expect From Dreadnoughtus
Extinctionalso comes with a brand-new creature:the Dreadnoughtus, a towering, long-necked herbivore. In the wild, the Dreadnoughtus isn’t any particular threat to humans; it’ll ignore most smaller creatures unless they attack it first. However, when it is attacked, the Dreadnoughtus can withstand a powerful onslaught, channeling the damage it takes into a powerful roar that disrupts Element.
As always, the Dreadnoughtus was chosen for inclusion in theExtinctionupdate via community vote.
Once tamed, the Dreadnoughtus is a handy ally. It mostly serves as a packmule, with a large carrying capacity for any resources the player may gather. It’s also rideable, so players can use the Dreadnoughtus as a walking tank. Its signature attack allows it to swallow boulders and cannonballs, then regurgitate them, firing them back at enemies with a coating of acid.
Besides Dreadnoughtus,players can find and tame a variety ofExtinction-exclusive creatures on the new map. These are mainly synthetic remnants of the technologically advanced society that once occupied sanctuary: surveillance drones, security droids, and mechs.
Everything In The New Wasteland War Mode
Customizable Vehicles & The End Of Bob’s Tall Tales
Releasing alongsideExtinctionisWasteland War, a new game mode that also serves as the conclusion to theBob’s Tall Talesseries of DLC. Wasteland War is inspired by theMad Maxfilm series: taking place on the Extinction map, it’s set amid the wastelands of a desolate Earth, where various factions do battle with the help of suped-up, heavily modified vehicles.Players can drive and customize their own vehiclescalled BattleRigs as part of Wasteland War, tricking them out with weapons, armor, and paint, then using them to mow down enemy strongholds.
Players must purchase theBob’s Tall TalesDLC to access Wasteland War.
Wasteland War comes with some new structures and weapon types, encouraging an element of base building and defense. These include explosive spears and grenades that can put out fires, along with Bladewasp hives and Bio-Grinders. There are new skins and tile sets to go along with all of these, and a handful of new character cosmetics. Finally,Wasteland War also unlocks Armadoggo, a new, permanent dog companion who follows players around on theirArkadventures, digging up treasure and retrieving items for them. Like BattleRigs, Armadoggo is mechanized and fully customizable: players can install new parts and pieces of armor to expand his abilities and defenses.
And that’s just about everything to look forward to in the new update and DLC. For the rest, players will have to dive intoArk: Survival Ascendedand explore the new map for themselves.
Ark: Survival Ascended
ARK: Survival Ascended is a reimagined version of the 2017 action-adventure survival MMORPG by the developers at Studio Wildcard and Grove Street Games. Built in Unreal Engine 5, players will return to ARK to build tribes, fight and tame dinosaurs, and brave the elements as they battle to survive in a unique sandbox where crafting and resource management is essential.
