It's quite possible the 90s started a pop culture obsession with Dinosaurs. Youngsters were always a bit drawn to these magnificent creatures and adults can definitely appreciate these monstrous beasts that once roamed our Earth. But there's no denying that Jurassic Park helped to put dinosaurs firmly on the map as an entertainment source, specifically in movies and games. The Dino Crisis series became an instant cult classic, as did the classic Jurassic Park games.
Then came Ark: Survival Evolved, a fresh take on the dinosaur genre, seeing the beasts not just as "monsters" but also as tameable beasts. The open-world multiplayer experience is truly something to behold and has seen some impressive updates over the years. There's a lot of items for players to get their hands on during their adventure. Here's a look at some of the best items that can be found in Ark: Survival Evolved.
Updated July 9th, 2021 by Russ Boswell: Ark: Survival Evolved has continued to evolve and grow while maintaining a fairly healthy player base. New players are always popping up and developers continue to patch and update the game as often as they can. While some things may see buffs and nerfs, many of the best items in Ark: Survival Evolved remain the same. New players will likely be overwhelmed by just how much stuff there is to discover in Ark, between exploring, crafting, and looting. Learning the best items in Ark can be the difference between surviving the harsh lands of The Island or ending up dinosaur chow. This list has been updated with better photos, information, and clarity, to help players make informed decisions starting out.
10 Best: Ghillie Armor
There’s a lot of different armors players can make in Ark, and each of them has their own special attributes. Some are good for cold weather, others are good for hot, while still others are good for keeping dinosaur claws from tearing players apart.
With that in mind, the Ghillie Armor is some of the best defense survivors can have since it reduces the sight range of dinos by 50%. Being able to walk through a dark and scary forest with a far reduced chance of anything seeing you is a huge boon.
On top of that, the resource requirements are reasonable, and players get a great amount of heat protection and a fair amount of cold protection. The Ghillie Suit is easily one of the best items in Ark.
9 Best: Bow
When players spawn in Ark, they have nothing. Then after punching a few trees and gathering a few rocks, they can manage to make a stone pick-axe. Next, it's picking more trees and gathering more rocks and eventually making a stone hatchet and maybe a spear. The early game sees players as basically a caveman trying to avoid starvation.
But as soon as survivors can make the bow, their whole world changes. Suddenly walking up to a dinosaur is no longer a dance with death. Players can even use tranquilizer arrows to make knocking out a dino far easier, keeping a healthy distance between them and whatever unfortunate creature they insist on hunting. The bow really is a game-changer, and it's where many believe the game really takes off.
8 Best: Rocket Launcher
Yes, the Rocket Launcher takes a ton of resources, and yes, it also weighs a metric ton thus taking away valuable storage space from other, more reasonable weapons. And yes, it also has a pathetic refire rate, so if players miss, they're probably going to die. And also yes, it's fair to say that the C4 explosive can be just as effective in deterring large dinos from chasing a player down and consuming them.
But there’s something about a rocket launcher that just makes a survivor feel powerful in a way that a packet of C4 just can’t emulate. Maybe it’s the fact that Rocket Launchers in other games are used to take out tanks, and C4 is usually just to blow open vaults (although not in Ark). Whatever it is, some players like having a Rocket Launcher on them when they know things are going to get hairy. And they usually do.
7 Best: Pike
There’s something to be said about carrying a big stick. Most players may race to grab guns and projectiles but the Pike can be really effective under the right circumstances. Ark is a game about resources and ensuring survivors get the most gain for the least amount of loss. While one could certainly shoot everything that moves, it's likely a survivor will eventually run out of resources and have to waste time gathering them up again. It’s sometimes better to use a stick to solve a problem rather than wasting bullets and arrows all the time.
The Pike is quite simply the best stick players can get. It’s durable, has a good amount of reach to keep a survivor reasonably safe (although they should be using a firearm if they're tangling with something truly dangerous), and has a little more knockback than the sword to keep critters at bay.
6 Best: Flak Armor
Players hear the term "flak armor," and will likely immediately think of a bulletproof vest, since flak is something many normally associate with guns. What they likely don’t think of is a suit of medieval looking armor that looks like it was taken straight out of Game of Thrones.
But whatever they think of it, Flak Armor is the most amount of protection for the least amount of resources. With the low price of some metal, fiber, and hide, survivors can give themselves an amazing amount of defense - 500 armor points to be exact. Riot Gear, the next tier of armor, only gives players 75 more armor for a full set while costing a ton more in terms of resources.
5 Best: Simple Pistol
Ark really likes to stuff as many themes as it can into one game. The Flak armor made players look like knights riding on dinosaurs, while the Simple Pistol will make players look like cowboys riding velociraptors. Not that anyone is complaining.
What, again, makes the Simple Pistol stand out is how few resources it takes to get an insane amount of damage. A little wood, a little hide, and a little metal, and survivors have got themselves a fine six-shooter piece. The bullets themselves take a little bit of gunpowder, despite the fact they appear to be ball bearings rather than real bullets, but that’s just splitting hairs.
If players want a solid, reliable mid-range gun, the Simple Pistol can’t be beaten.
4 Best: Bola
Another early game weapon that is simply indispensable is the bola. Why? Simple: if players are running around in the forest and accidentally come across a dino that’s way higher leveled than them, they can toss this thing in its face and tangle it up for 30 seconds, giving them ample opportunity to flee the scene.
But it can also be used for more offensive purposes. If there’s a particular dino survivors want to tame, they can bola it first, club it unconscious, and then start force-feeding it narco berries until it loves them.
3 Best: Vault
Ark is more than just a game about riding around on dinosaurs like a Jurassic Park fanboy. If players take Ark online it also develops a weird sub-genre where warring tribes fight for dominance of resources.
Being raided is a real problem in online play, which requires the player to build ever more elaborately defended bases to stay safe. But no base is impregnable, and what a player can’t take by force they’ll steal with guile. That’s why building a Vault should be high on the priority list of any tribe.
The Vault is a virtually impossible-to-destroy storage locker that keeps the most valuable items safe and secure. It takes 15 C4 charges just to destroy this bad boy, the cost of which alone makes it prohibitive for warring clans to try and bust open.
2 Best: Mortar and Pestle
There are a number of items that help players build things in Ark, but none of them are more useful than the simple Mortar and Pestle. With this item, players can make something rather useful.
The Island is full of Narcoberries, a berry that bears a remarkable resemblance to blueberries, only they alter players. Actually, they put them to sleep. They also put everything else to sleep, making them invaluable for taming dinosaurs. Combine a few berries, some spoiled meat, and some Mortar and Pestle magic, and out pops a magical green goo that puts everything to sleep and a required ingredient for tranquilizer darts and arrows.
The Mortar and Pestle is also necessary for the second most important thing in the game: explosives.
1 Best: Tek Replicator
The Tek Replicator is one of the best items players can get. That sort of seems obvious, since Tek gear is all end-game stuff, but the Tek Replicator does something amazing: it builds things faster. No more waiting around for the fabricator to build a bunch of bullets - fire up the Tek Replicator and get them all in the blink of an eye!
I know this sort of goes against the whole ethos of using resources wisely since the Replicator needs Element just to run, but some players are willing to cut a few corners to do things fast.