‘ARK: Survival Evolved’ V255 Update: New Dinos, Structures Arrive; What’s Next?


ARK: Survival Evolved‘s v255 update is finally live. After a short delay, Studio Wildcard worked extra hours to bring the awaited update to the game, so now, players can meet four new awesome dinos to hunt and build new TEK structures.

The ARK: Survival Evolved v255 update brought two new land dinos: Thylacoleo and Microraptor. In the latter’s case, the name says it all – it is a bird-dino that is much smaller than the other flying beasts. Despite its size, Microraptor is incredibly fast and aggressive, as described by its Dossier. Players can tame one and use it to attack riders as it naturally ignores the mount.

Then, we have Thylacoleo, which is really something special in the world of ARK. The marsupial lion can climb trees and has a very powerful bite – a perfect formula for ambushing even winged creatures. It can carry a saddle, making it a beneficial tame for tribes.

The other two new dinos to arrive on ARK: Survival Evolved can be found in the ocean: the eel-like Electrophorus and the nautilus-like Ammonite, according to the SurvivetheArk blog. According to its Dossier, the Eletrophorus is actually a long knifefish and not an eel, despite their similarities regarding appearance and defense mechanism.

Like an eel, though, it electrocutes its prey. For this reason, it is useful in attempting to tame larger aquatic creatures in ARK as they can subdue even a Plesiosaur in a larger group. However, be warned that a single Eletrophorus is challenging to tame.

The Ammonite may also prove to be challenging, only for the fact that it is protected by other sea creatures. The new ocean monster is much larger than a human being, but it’s worth hunting for its shell and bile.

Each of the four new dinos offers a new experience in ARK: Survival Evolved. The video below sums up what each one is capable of and what players can do with them once tamed. It also offers a peek at the cool new structures that came with the v255 update, including the force shield.

There is a total of three new structures in ARK: Survival Evolved’s v255 update: TEK Tileset, TEK Doors, and TEK Forcefield. If you watched the video, you could see how each one works and looks. While the doors are only a must-have for the looks, the spherical energy shield is extremely useful in defending the base as it absorbs incoming attacks from normal rifles and dinos.

The Forcefield can also be used to keep wild dinosaurs at bay. It allows tribe members and owners to pass through as if it’s nothing, while it acts as a see-through wall for non-tribe members, non-owners, and wild creatures. Players within it can hit the dinosaur while it desperately tries to attack those inside the impenetrable shield.

It’s worth noting, however, that it can gain damage from explosives, TEK Rex armor, and TEK Rifles. Furthermore, the shield is only up for a limited time. It requires a start-up period of 5 minutes and then stays intact for a certain period using an Element. For a diameter of roughly two foundations, it consumes one Element an hour, and for a size of about 20 foundations, it consumes 10 Elements an hour.

The ARK v255 update patch notes posted in the Steam forums also mentioned a Rocket Launcher and C4 rebalance, the addition of 30 Explorer Notes and new hairstyles, a new per-Tribe Dino Tame Limit of 500 dinos on official PvE servers, and more. The v255 update also brought fixes and improvements to ARK: Survival Evolved.

[Image by ARK: Survival Evolved/Facebook]

Meanwhile, the developers are already working on the next ARK: Survival Evolved update – v256. It is currently slated to arrive on March 29 with another batch of four new creatures namely Equus, Leedsichthys, Ichthyornis, and Iguanodon. It should also bring underwater bases and a teleporter — a few things to get excited about.

[Featured Image by Studio Wildcard]

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