ARK: Survival Ascended Releases New Update

Highlights

ARK: Survival Ascended's latest update paves the way for the Scorched Earth expansion, optimizing file size for smoother downloads.
The Frontier Adventure pack offers Wild West-themed items for players, alongside improvements to character creation and bug fixes.
Studio Wildcard promises free DLC maps for Survival Ascended, including remastered versions of fan-favorite expansions like The Center and Ragnarok.

ARK: Survival Ascended has released a new update that mostly focuses on map improvements and bug fixes, and also prepares the game for the Scorched Earth DLC's release later this month. ARK: Survival Ascended fans might recognize the DLC's name, which was released for Survival Evolved back in 2016.

Scorched Earth was ARK: Survival Evolved's first paid expansion and introduced an entirely new level, which some rank among ARK: Survival Evolved's best maps. The desert-themed DLC also introduced a new boss, 12 creatures, and 60 engrams. The expansion's introduction to Survival Ascended will additionally bring a new bundle called the Frontier Adventure pack, which includes various desert or Wild West-themed items for players to equip, including outfits, accessories, and more.

Ark Survival Evolved: How To Make Beer Liquid

Ark Survival Evolved has several crafting items that give players buffs and perks, but Beer Liquid is also an enjoyable item to drink.

ARK: Survival Ascended's newest update sets the stage for this expansion by implementing under-the-hood upgrades that will allow the future download to be significantly smaller in size. However, the recent update includes other improvements as well, such as changes to human character creation. Certain parts of this process are now simplified, making the creation of animations and assets for human characters easier. Fans might notice that female characters now have slightly different proportions following the update, but this can be adjusted by using the improved Scissor tool, which allows users to adjust a character's appearance at any time. Additionally, the update implemented an assortment of bug and map fixes.

An ARK: Survival Ascended employee confirmed that Scorched Earth is still set to release in late March, as fans hope that it won't be delayed again. The expansion was originally meant to launch alongside ARK: Survival Ascended before being delayed multiple times. The free DLC's map comes with new creatures as well, such as the Fasolasuchus, which will add to Survival Ascended's lineup of dinosaurs.

The anticipated remaster of ARK: Survival Evolved got off to a rough start after the Xbox and PlayStation versions were delayed multiple times in 2023. It currently sits at a Mixed rating of 58% on Steam after more than 41,000 reviews. However, the Unreal Engine 5-powered remake could still turn things around with free updates like the approaching Scorched Earth expansion.

Studio Wildcard previously confirmed that all future DLC maps for the game would be free. Other expansions from the original game coming to Survival Ascended in the future include The Center, Aberration, Ragnarok, and more. In addition to remastered expansions, Survival Ascended includes other improvements like significantly improved graphics and upgraded dinosaur AI.

ARK: Survival Ascended v36.8 Update Patch Notes

Improved character model pipeline for armors, weapons, and animations. Removed redundant assets and smoothened out the process for creating and implementing new assets.
Upgraded Scissors to allow players to update their appearance using similar UI as initial character creation. See this thread for more information: https://survivetheark.com/index.php?/forums/topic/726080-preparing-for-scorched-earth-human-character-pipeline-changes/
Love Ascended: Migrated needed assets into the base game so the mod can be disabled.
Fixed some server crashes
Fixed some exploits

Map Fixes

Fixed large number of holes in the map
Fixed some misaligned landscape objects either floating or inside objects
Fixed Swamp Cave lootdrop floating above terrain
Fixed multiple map issues in Overworld
Fixed Under Water Cave west lighting and artifacts on cave walls
Fixed an issue with Caverns of Lost Hope shadow flickering
Updated Redwood Waterfall color to match river color
Fixed some Tek cave streaming issues
Fixed skylight override blending issue at tek volcanic cavern entrance
Fixed bounds issue on under water east cave

Bug Fixes

Fixed Pteranodon Saddle clipping issue
Fixed Araneo poking through the saddle
Fixed "crease" lines in Character pixel painting
Character will now play correct animations when going unconscious or dying in water
Fixed dinos not conforming to the ground correctly while in torpor. (Sarco / Titanoboa)
Fixed bad texture in dragon arena
Fixed an issue in Caverns of Lost Faith where the water dripping from ceiling also showed while you are under water
Fixed an issue where player character Male/Females knees appear to bend/jolt forward slightly after standing up
Fixed an issue where the view info for Tribe option is displaying an empty engram page, rather than tribe info
Extended the tree platform pickup timer
You can no longer pick up the bed while it's on cooldown.
Fixed an issue where picking up a water tank snapped above another tank will pick up both
Fixed an incorrect HUD display on some structures
Can no longer replace normal doors with secret doors
Fixed an issue where secret door opened too far
Fixed issue where supply crate beam is occasionally segmented after the crate lands and stays like this for a while
Fixed lava splash VFX elements floating above the Volcanic Cavern Lava River surface
Improved Otter LODs on lower settings
Updated Icons Stone Doorway, Stone Hatchframe, Stone Reinforced Gate, Auto Turret, Heavy Auto Turret
Fixed some flying trees
Improved foliage behaviour in strong wind scenarios
Fixed an issue where Brood mother arena lighting would blink on and off as player moves
Fixed Female animation when aiming with bows
Fixed TPV animation on Longneck Rifle
Fixed some weapon 3D scaling issues
Fixed an issue where Co-ords from the overlay map or the interactable UI window are not identical
Fixed issues with flyers passing through mesh
Fixed an issue where Bola status was not being properly conveyed to players
Fixed issues where you cannot handcuff other players
Fixed occasions where crafting items with the Replicator and wireless crafting can cause the server to run bad
Fixed Dragon boss incorrectly receiving the Alpha dino damage reduction buff

Ark: Survival Ascended

Ark: Survival Ascended gives Ark: Survival Evolved an Unreal Engine 5 makeover. Along with the visual upgrade, Survival Ascended acts as the definitive version of Ark since it comes packed with the expansions.