Studio Wildcard, the studio that never sleeps, uncaged today a slew of new content into the ever-growing landscape of ARK: Survival Evolved on Steam, including a trio of dinosaurs, a primitive weapon, a gigantic Boss encounter on snowy-mountain peaks, and more.
In march the new dinosaurs! The cute, dog-like Lystrosaurus can be hugged and petted to temporarily enable a XP-gaining buff in an area around it; the Arthropluera is a giant, rideable centipede possessing a devastating acid-spit attack which you can direct while mounted; and the Sabertooth Salmon, well, these guys are really good for a precambrian salmon-steak dinner.
In search of a new weapon? In the same way the powerful Grappling Hooks changed combat, the Primitive Bolas add a new layer of fighting tactics to players’ already generous quiver of weapons.
ARK: Survival Evolved (Steam PC) Key Updates Include:
•Survivors will now face the mighty Megapithecus in its snowy-mountain arena in an epic, brutal boss fight against the giant ape and its army of monkey minions.
•Arthropluera, Lystrosaurus, and Sabertooth Salmon
•Wind up the Primitive Bola then toss at players and smaller creatures to temporarily trip and ensnare them. It can even be used to knock enemy riders off their mounts or pull down flyers from the sky!
•This enables Tribes to create arbitrary “Sub-Groups” within their Tribe, name them, and give them all kinds of detailed rank-based access privileges on your structures, inventories, and creatures. Effectively you can now create your very own caste-based society, with Kings, Nobles, Lords, and Serfs, etc.
Lystrosaurus Aicifidelis (above): About two feet long, the Lystrosaurus Aicifidelis is a small, resilient herbivore, that learns fast and therefore gains experience much more quickly than most other creatures, while also recovering its torpor and health much faster than most creatures. Its presence inspires allies, making them learn and gain experience more rapidly, too.
Arthropluera Felsanguis (above): Like the island’s other Arthropods, Arthropluera Felsanguis is large and a very aggressive hunter, with preferences toward the “delicacies” of rotted meat. It is almost entirely a military mount, useful mostly for attacking at a distance, and, thanks to its unique defenses, Arthropleura is generally safe from all but the largest of creatures. Arthropleura has acidic blood. When injured, its blood splashes back on anything that directly attacks it, weakening the durability of weapons and hurting attackers. If that wasn’t enough, Arthropleura also keeps a small reservoir of blood ready to spit at its prey.
Oncorhynchus Grexlamia (above): Commonly known as a Sabertooth Salmon, the Oncorhynchus is a generally passive fish that swims in large schools for protection. Like many of the smaller fish on the Island, Oncorhynchus cannot be tamed, but it is often herded and raised for its resources. Certain ‘cuts’ are considered superb quality, and are often referred to as “Prime Fish” used for specific high-end concoctions. Once provoked, however, Oncorhynchus becomes very aggressive: It locks onto the aggressor with its long “saberteeth” to drain blood. Alone, this isn’t a worry, but when a school of them attack at once, their would-be aggressor quickly loses speed and stamina from bloodloss, drowning if it cannot breath underwater.
Feel like riding a dinosaur? Join the ARK community forums HERE
ARK: Survival Evolved is in development for full launch on Steam PC, Xbox One via the ID@Xbox program, and PlayStation®4. The game is currently playable in Microsoft’s Game Preview on Xbox One and Steam’s Early Access program, which includes Oculus Rift VR support and an integration of Steam community features such as Steam Economy and Steam Workshop for custom maps and mods. Players can host private/LAN servers and have access to a custom-built version of the Unreal Engine 4 Editor for creating mods. The world of ARK is designed to be modder-friendly and ever-expanding!