Summary
Ark: Survival Ascended’sAberrationDLC adds a little over a dozen new creatures to experience.Aberration’s map is an unforgiving-irradiated underground chasm that challenges players on all fronts. If the environmental effects don’t doom the survivors, thenthe hordes of mutated dinosaurs are just around the corner to finish the job. Luckily, the DLC includes some handy new gear to help survive the dangers of this broken-down Ark.
Along with the returning dinosaurs,Aberrationwill include two new additions in the Yi Ling and Cosmo spider. However, the latter does not arrive without controversy. The Cosmo spider not only looks similar to a player-created modded spider but is also another paid mini-DLC creature. This continues aworrying trend for theArkfranchiseof annoying pay-to-win scenarios and lackluster collaborations.
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Ark: Survival Ascended’s Aberration DLC will finally be out this September, but there may be some other important updates coming alongside it.
10The Living Flashlight Bulbdog
Taming: Feed With Species Z Seeds Or Aquatic Mushroom
The Bulbdog is one of the smallest creatures added inAberrationand one of the most useful. This fish/dog hybrid is one of a series of light pets that ride on a player’s shoulder. Their bodies arecapable of producing Charged Light, which is crucial for navigating the undergroundand weakening its toughest creatures. The Bulbdog is the best of these pets as they are the most common to find, though any of them can work.
The best-taming food for Bulbdogs is either the new Plant Species Z Seeds or Aquatic Mushroom.
Bulbdogs must be tamed non-violently and fed by hand over time. Luckily, this is a rather quick process, and they will only run away if attacked first. The best-taming food for Bulbdogs is either the new Plant Species Z Seeds or Aquatic Mushroom, but regular meat will work if the previous two are not available.
9The Speedy Pack Hunting Ravagers
Taming: Feed While They Are Unconscious
The Ravagers are a great early-game tame to have, especially in packs. These creatures have reduced carrying weight for the majority of commonly needed resources. They are also great for fighting most creatures inAberration. This is partially due to their stats, but also due tothe pack buffs they receive, which can massively boost their damage and speed.
These creatures have reduced carrying weight for the majority of commonly needed resources.
Ravagers can be tamed like most other creatures inArkby being fed while unconscious.Once knocked unconscious, any type of meat will steadily fill up the tame bar. However, this will be harder the more Ravagers are around, so it would be best to only tame one or two at a time unless properly prepared.
8The Venomous Subterranean Nameless
Taming: Cannot Be Tamed, You Can Only Harvest It’s Venom
The Nameless are a ferocious and venomous addition toAberration. These mutated creatures have never been fully investigated, but based on their nature, they seem like some hybrid of a rat. Unfortunately, Nameless cannot be tamed andonly serves the use of harvesting their venom to raise Rock Drakes. Nameless also serves the purpose of being the main enemy that will spawn during the Rockwell boss fight.
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Aberration is a DLC that can feel on the small side but comes with some big changes from the base game that is important to know going in.
The Nameless will actively search out their prey, with a focus on players, in areas without Charged Light. They can also see through any camouflage methods, making them extra tricky. The best strategy to fight the Nameless isCharged Light to weaken them while being accompanied by any strong battle mount or weapon.
7Karkinos, The Giant Cave Crab
Taming: Require Heavy Attacks To Get Unconscious
Karkinos are giant armored crabs that live near any surface of water onAberration’s map. They fill amid to late-game role as battle tame, but serve better as a tank once stronger units are acquired. Though their attack range is small, the force they can deliver is strong, and their pincers are capable of carrying any medium-weight or smaller target.
There is a chance players will have to wait for the Karkinos to heal before continuing.
Taming the Karkinos can be tricky, asthey require heavy impacts, like cannonballs or ballistas, to be knocked unconscious. Since these do more damage, there is a chance players will have to wait for the Karkinos to heal before continuing. However, once they are knocked out, they can be tamed easily with the best kibble or raw meat.
6The Spectacular Cosmo Spider
Taming: Process Currently Unknown
The new Cosmo Spider is the next creature being added toArkthrough a mini-DLC. Though this and its likeness to a player-created mod have brought upcontroversy inArk: Survival Ascended, the skills teased by the developers make this an amazing creature. Once tamed, which the process is currently unknown, theCosmo Spider will sit on a survivor’s shoulder and collect webs from the map.
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One of the new creatures coming to Aberration is introducing a fun new mechanic that could forever change aspects of the prehistoric survival game.
These webs are then used as fuel for the various abilities of the Cosmo Spider. Though not fully flushed out yet,hints have pointed to gliding, swinging, grabbing items from a distance, and slowing enemies. This combination of abilities, mixed with the fact it can always be accessed, makes the Cosmo Spider a potentially game-breaking tame.
5The Mutated Survivor Rockwell
Taming: Damage It’s Tentacles Until He Retracts Them
The mutated Rockwell found inAberrationis something that can no longer be called human. After infusing himself with the Element scattered across the map,Rockwell is now a heaving mass of tentacles. Despite how interesting and developmental the lore of this fight is, its actual gameplay is rather lackluster.
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The enemies Rockwell can spawn will ignore players if they take Cactus Broth, and the tentacles themselves are relatively easy to avoid, even on foot.To damage Rockwell, his tentacles need to be damaged to the point he retracts them and leaves his main body vulnerable. Rockwell will fire out projectiles that are hard to avoid, so it is important to have proper armor and medical supplies. However, simply having proper dodging time turns a fight that should be unique and memorable into a lackluster encounter.
4The Hybrid Debuffer Yi Ling
The winner of the fan vote and anothernew addition toArk: Survival Ascended,the Yi Ling serves as a potentially powerful new tame. This dinosaur uses its feathers to attack at range and burst down target health. This is because the feathers stay in the target until the rider decides to call them back, doing more damage the more that are stuck. After being called back,if the target is below a certain health threshold, it will be slowed and lose its defensive resistance.
This new addition is countered by its overall low defense and ease of stagger. In this regard, the Yi Ling is better for distance damage with constant repositioning. Still, all of this combines to create another great dinosaur for the survival game based around a prehistoric power fantasy.
3The Jack-Of-All-Trades Basilisk
Taming: Non-Violent Via Fertilized Rock Eggs
Basilisks are one of the best tames to get inAberration, with a kit focused on playing around the map’s strengths.Basilisks make for a great battle and tame mount with powerful attacks and the ability to naturally inflict torpor. They can also shoot poison onto targets to deal immediate damage with damage over time. A bonus of the Basilisk is that they can burrow into the ground, even when being ridden, and traverse the landscape largely unbothered.
Unfortunately, the Basilisk can be a tricky tame to acquire until there is a proper setup.
Unfortunately, the Basilisk can be a tricky tame to acquire until there is a proper setup. This is becausethey can only be tamed non-violently through fertilized Rock Drake eggs. Thus, players will have to steal them from Drake nests, which is already difficult, or wait until they have a pair of tamed Rock Drakes that can produce eggs for free.
2The Highly-Mobile Rock Drake
Taming: Steal An Egg And Feed The Baby With Nameless Venom
The Rock Drake is the best mountfor traversing aroundAberration. While being able to camouflage themselves and their rider, they also possess good land speed but swim even faster. Though they cannot fly, Rock Drakes are capable of scaling any wall and dismounting to glide a fair distance. Lastly, with proper training for their health and attack power, they are capable of killing anything the map can throw at them.
To balance this, the process of getting a Rock Drake can be very difficult at first. To start,players must be able to steal an egg from a Rock Drake nest, which will trigger every Drake in the area. Without having a mount to quickly escape, this will be a failed effort. After the egg hatches, the baby Rock Drake will only eat Nameless Venom, making it a key resource to have in bulk.
1Aberration’s Dominant Force, The Reapers
Taming: Weak The Reaper Queen And Get Impregnated
The Reaper, largely inspired by the Xenomorph from theAlienfranchise, isAberration’s strongest creature and arguably the strongest in all ofArk. Reapers, while weakened by Charged Light,boast some of the best stats in the game and even compare to the rare Giganotosaurus. They are great battle mounts and are the go-to choice for anything in this DLC. As well, though not as good as the Rock Drakes, Reapers can help traverse the map with their jump ability.
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To acquire a Reaper means engaging in one ofArk: Survival Ascended’s weirdest mechanics. This processinvolves weakening a Reaper Queen to the point it impregnates the survivor with a Reaper offspring. This offspring will then leech experience for the next 12 hours before being born, and this experience will dictate its starting strength. After birth, the survivor must consume a Reaper Pheromone Gland so the baby acknowledges it and then feed it till it is tamed.
Though it could feel likeAberrationdoesn’t add many new creatures, though the twoAscendedonly dinos help, it does add some incredible ones. It is also a helpful feature that any tamed creature can be brought into VanillaArkfor extended use. However, it should be noted that these creatures will be at their best on the DLC map, especially sinceRockwell and Nameless cannot be tamed inArk: Survival Ascended’sAberrationDLC.
