The continuous launch of new-exciting expansion packs and maps has kept fans addicted to the game. Over the years, the customizability of ARK: Survival Evolved has inspired many independent developers to design various mod maps.
Studio Wildcard has also appreciated these initiatives by relaunching some of those mod maps as official DLCs. ARK Fjordur and Lost Island are two such maps, which later got officially released.
Even the new creatures in these maps are chosen via an official vote by the fans. This is a prime example of video game companies creating a great community, hand-in-hand with their fans.
5 best official ARK: Survival Evolved maps and the unique features they have to offer, ranked
5) Aberration
Released on 12 December 2017, Aberration is a fan-favorite ARK: Survival Evolved maps. It introduces survivors to a damaged ARK environment.
First of all, Aberration does not allow flying creatures. Due to leakage in the internal atmosphere, survivors have to face harsh underworld landscapes with intense radiation, new biomes, new resources, and a bunch of new creatures.
New environmental features include earthquakes, extreme temperatures on the surface, and seasons that change the day-night duration. Aberration is also famous for its breathtaking background scores made by Gareth Coker.
Many common dinos like Therizino and Rex are missing from this map. However, Aberration has introduced lots of new ones like Alpha Basilisk, Alpha Karkinos, Alpha Surface Reaper King, and Rockwell, to keep up the balance.
4) Ragnarok
Ragnarok is a popular and free ARK: Survival Evolved DLC map. Having been released way back on June 12, 2017, it was the second DLC map of the game and is 2.5 times the size of The Island.
New creatures included Ice Wyvern, Male Iceworm, Dire Polar Bear, Spirit Direwolf. The beaver dams in Ragnarok are much bigger and more realistic. The active volcano on the map sometimes erupts, creating lava flow and causing meteors to fall, and several ruins and viking boats can be spotted as well.
Ragnarok also contains many easter eggs, including a Shrek’s hut and Jat’s face scattered around the map. There are hot springs with stone benches where survivors can sit to get the ‘rested’ buff.
3) Lost Island
The Lost Island was first launched as a mod map, which later got officially released on December 14, 2021.
It was the first ARK: Survival Evolved DLC to contain three new creatures chosen by the community: the spike-throwing Amargasaurus, poop-throwing baboon Dinopithecus, and flyer-backpack Sinomacrops. The map’s boss, Dinopithecus King, is a terrifying creature.
This map is a mixture of many previous maps, including The Genesis, The Island, Scorched Earth. The Lost Island consists of different biomes like the volcanic biome, desert biome, icy mountains, tropical islands, rivers, Redwood forrest.
It also has a number of caves, castles, and a ruined temple, all of which are great for building bases.
2) Fjordur
Fjordur is the latest addition to the ARK: Survival Evolved DLC maps. This free-to-play map is the latest addition to the list of official ARK maps. This non-canonical DLC expansion was just released on June 12, 2022.
Again, this map contains four new creatures, chosen by the ARK community: Andrewsarchus, Fjordhawk, Desmodus, and Fenrir.
The environment and biomes of ARK Fjordur seem like straight out of Nord Myths. The mod contains three protals leading to three different realms. The map is 3.5 times larger than The Island, and has 200 runes scattered around the three realms.
Various parts of Fjordur map are inspired by The Lord of the Rings, including Moria/Kazhadum and Helm’s Deep.
1) The Island
The Island is hands-down the best map in ARK: Survival Evolved. It was the first map that came with the ARK: Survival Evolved base game. There are five large mountains in the north, and plain land in the south. And like Lost Island, there are three Obelisks that form a triangle on the map.
There are only two types of weather on The Island: rain, and fog. There are a total of 12 spawn locations on the map and three spawn zones in each direction, with survivors required to collect 10 artifacts. This multi-biome map is the only map that is available in ARK Mobile.
Note: This article is subjective and solely reflects the writer’s opinions.
0 votes
