Community Crunch 530: Trick or Teeth

Community Crunch 530: Trick or Teeth

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Fear Ascended has brought plenty of monsters to the ARKs. Next week, one of them is coming for its crown.

The Giganotosaurus TLC arrives on November 5 as our third TLC from Extra Life's 2025 community votes. With a fearsome new look and renewed ferocity, the Giga is preparing to reclaim its place at the top. Even seasoned Survivors may want to reconsider their route when they see this beast turning in their direction.

For those brave enough to earn its loyalty, there’s a formidable ally waiting on the other side of that challenge. Getting there will mean giving the returning king the respect it deserves.

And the Giga isn't coming alone! The mysterious Enigmasaur is preparing to close out ARK Fantastic Tames: Season 1, bringing its extraordinary shapeshifting abilities to the wild. We're also getting ready to roll out the Unreal Engine 5.8 upgrade, marking another important step forward for ARK: Survival Ascended's technical foundation.

From rediscovering an old nightmare to uncovering the secrets of an entirely new creature, there's plenty to look forward to next week. We can't wait to get all three into your hands! 

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Extra Life 2026

Over $50,000 raised for Extra Life and counting! Thank you, Survivors, for rallying for the kids. Let’s keep that total climbing!

Year after year, Extra Life shows how much good the ARK community can do together. As we head into our twelfth year, we’ve raised over $1.2 million to help kids in need, thanks to your generosity. It’s a tradition we’re proud to share with you, and we’re ready to build on it once again in support of Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals and the children and families in their care.

This year, we’re going all-in on that shared goal: raising funds to help kids get the care they need, while unlocking something special for the future of ARK: Survival Ascended along the way.

Our Dino TLC community milestones are back! For every $40,000 raised , you’ll unlock a TLC for a classic creature, up to four in total, with your votes deciding which familiar faces get some extra love. Rally behind your favorites, help spread the word, and let’s make this year’s campaign count.

All donations to Team Wildcard go directly to UF Health Shands Children’s Hospital . The hospital provides expert care across more than 20 pediatric specialties and is home to the UF Health Shands Pediatric ER, the community’s first dedicated children’s emergency department.

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How To Vote

When donating to anyone on the Studio Wildcard Extra Life Team, not just Studio Wildcard directly, include a message with your chosen creature’s full first name preceded by a hashtag, like this (we’ll do our best to identify typos, but try to spell them correctly!):

  • #Giganotosaurus
  • Hello #Giganotosaurus
  • Please give #Giganotosaurus a TLC!

If no hashtag vote is included in the donation message, the donation will still count towards the TLC total, but it won’t advance any particular dino’s voting tally.

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Vote Weight

  • Every $1 donated = 1 vote
  • A $50 donation with #Giganotosaurus = 50 votes for Giganotosaurus
  • Five $10 donations with #Giganotosaurus = 50 votes for Giganotosaurus (10 x 5)

Eligibility Guidelines

To keep the vote balanced and consistent, eligible creatures must meet the following criteria:

  • Must be a creature from The Island
  • Must be tameable
  • Must be rideable or a shoulder pet
  • Must not have previously received a TLC pass
    The following creatures have already had a TLC pass and are not eligible:
    • Araneo
    • Argentavis
    • Dire Bear
    • Direwolf
    • Gigantopithecus
    • Giganotosaurus (release Nov. 6)
    • Mammoth
    • Megalosaurus (upcoming)
    • Parasaur
    • Procoptodon
    • Quetzalcoatlus (upcoming)
    • Raptor
    • Therizinosaurus
    • Tyrannosaurus Rex
    • Sabertooth
    • Sarcosuchus
    • Spinosaurus
    • Stegosaurus
    • Triceratops

TLC Winners Revealed Weekly

  • November 13 – First Winner
  • November 20 – Second Winner
  • November 27 – Third Winner
  • December 4 – Final Winner

Donate now  to the Wildcard Team or any other team member listed here to ensure your vote counts!

Extra Life In-Game Event

ARK Extra Life Event

Starting November 13th through November 23rd , we’ll be rolling out a selection of the community’s favorite dino colors on the official network, along with a sweet twist in place of the traditional boosted donation rates.

Event Items

  • Taming Cake Slice
  • Breeding Cake Slice
  • Imprint Cake Slice 
  • EXP Cake Slice 
  • Harvesting Cake Slice

Wild Dino Colors

  • ID5 Cyan 
  • ID 94 Teal
  • ID68 DeepPink
  • ID36 Dino Albino
  • ID96 Glacial
  • ID4 Yellow
  • ID6  Magenta
  • ID84  Mint
  • ID95 PowderBlue
  • ID76 Peach 
  • ID57 DarkTurquoise
  • ID67 LightPink
  • ID58 MediumTurquoise
  • ID91 Lavender
  • ID2 Blue
  • ID92  DarkTeal
  • ID19 Dino Light Red
  • ID53 Dino Medium Blue
  • ID50 WyvernPurple1
  • ID54 Dino Deep Blue
  • ID11 Light Yellow
  • ID88 LeafGreen
  • ID59 TurquoiseafGreen
  • ID27 Dino Dark Green

We’ve turned up the saturation for Extra Life with more colors, more variety, and more chances to spot rare shades roaming the wild. Expect your world to be brighter, bolder, and packed with some of the community's favorite hues! 💙

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Survival Of The Fittest Playtest

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Originally launched in 2016 as our entry into the competitive gaming space, Survival of the Fittest pits combatants against one another in an action-packed struggle for survival. Studio Sirens is now developing a new vision for the free mod within ASA, with improved mechanics, competitive matchmaking, and metagame reward loops.

Their community playtest is live through November 4 , and ARK players are invited to take part and provide constructive feedback on gameplay, balance, technical issues, and more. The team is particularly interested in the insights and observations that experienced players can offer.

Participants must register through FirstLook.gg. The playtest is under NDA, so playtest content and information must remain private.

Sign up for the playtest · Join the SOTF Discord


Liveops Update

Inactive Server Sunsetting

Hey Survivors, after careful assessment, we've opted to begin the process of sunsetting a selection of our inactive official servers. Our goal is to ensure that we're always delivering the best experience possible, and official servers exist as a way for the community to play together without having to host their own. When we launch fresh content, typically, we put up more servers than we need in the long term to match the peak in user capacity; over time, these servers become ghost towns as players have dropped off and are waiting for the next major content release.

As part of this process, the servers have been renamed with the “SUNSET” prefix, following the same approach we’ve used in the past. Please note that once renamed, these servers will be removed from the in-game Favorites list, so you’ll need to search for them manually to reconnect.

On November 29th , we'll be sunsetting these inactive servers.

Click here for the updated list of affected servers .

We still intend to provide capacity at launches as much as possible to meet the higher need during those periods.

We’re working with our partner at Nitrado to offer these saves after the scheduled sunset through Nitrado’s interface. Please stay tuned for more details.


Fear Ascended 2026

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Fear Ascended continues, and the Zombie Dodos haven’t forgotten what you did on the beach.

Event Dates

  • 10/28/2026  to 11/11/2026

Event Rates

  • PVP/PVE: 2x Harvesting, Taming, and Experience, and Breeding
  • Small Tribes: 4.5x Harvesting, Taming, and Experience + 4x Breeding
  • ARKpocalypse: 5x Harvesting, Taming and Experience, and Breeding

Find the full event details here ! 


Adventure Is Calling

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Conquest, introduced to ARK: Survival Ascended by Snail Games, focuses on large-scale PvP, with increased rates, and other changes listed below. The increased rates will allow tribes to set up and establish themselves quickly and enable them to rebuild after potential losses instead of being wiped completely.

The official Conquest servers are open for PC, Xbox and PlayStation .

If you need any support during the Conquest season, join the Conquest Enforcement's Discord .
Server Settings/Rules

  • XP rate: 5x (Event rates: 7x)
  • Harvesting rate: 5x (Event rates: 7x)
  • Taming rate: 5x (Event rates: 7x)
  • Imprinting rate: 5x (Event rates: 7x)
  • Maturation rate: 5x
  • Hatching rate: 5x (Event rates: 7x)
  • Breeding rate: 5x
  • Gestation rate: 5x
  • Mating interval: 0.5x
  • Max players per server: 75
  • Rotation: 2 separate clusters.
    • 1 month wipe servers
    • 2 month wipe Servers
  • Transfers: Open on launch for each cluster internally  - 1 month wipe will not be able to transfer to 2 month wipe Clusters and vis versa. 

Tribe and alliance rules

  • Formal Alliances are not allowed.
  • Maximum tribe size: By cluster
    • 1 month Servers - 10 player tribe limit
    • 2 month Servers - 25 player tribe limit

Building rules

  • Rat-hole building is not allowed.
  • No cave building.

1-month wipe servers 12 servers

  • The Island: 4 servers
  • Ragnarok: 3 servers
  • Astraeos: 2 servers
  • The Center: 3 servers

2-month wipe servers 12 servers

  • The Island: 3 servers
  • Ragnarok: 3 servers
  • Astraeos: 3 servers
  • The Center: 3 servers

Haunted Homestead Contest

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Build somewhere no Survivor would want to spend the night.

We’ll have the full details on Fear Ascended for you soon. In the meantime, start plotting how to turn your corner of the ARK into something considerably less welcoming.

Build us your best haunted home, cursed castle, creepy cabin, graveyard, ritual site, abandoned outpost, monster lair, or whatever else your nightmares can come up with.

We'll Be Running Two Categories:

  • Official
  • Unofficial / Single Player

How To Enter

Submit your build in #haunted-homestead  with:

  • 3–5 screenshots showing the finished build.
  • An optional short video walkthrough.
  • Your category: Official or Unofficial / Single Player .
  • Your platform.

Your build must:

  • Clearly feature Fear Ascended content as part of the overall design.
  • Be created during the competition period.
  • Follow Official building restrictions if entered in the Official category.

Any mods are allowed in the Unofficial / Single Player category.

One entry per person/category.

What We're Looking For

We'll be judging the overall design, creativity, atmosphere, use of Fear Ascended content and how well everything comes together as a Halloween build.

This isn't just about who can place the most decorations. We want to see what you can do with them.

Contest Timeline

Entries accepted until November 3rd .

Winners will be revealed in the November 6th Community Crunch.

Prizes

Prizes will be awarded separately in each category.

First Place

  • ARK: Dragontopia Key
  • ARK Fantastic Tames Season 1 Key
  • $100 Steam/Xbox/PlayStation Giftcard

Second Place

  • ARK: Dragontopia Key
  • ARK Fantastic Tames Season 1 Key

Third Place

  • ARK: Dragontopia Key
  • ARK Fantastic Tames Season 1 Key

Two Runners-up

  • ARK: Dragontopia Key

Special Mention

  • ARK Fantastic Tames Season 1 Key

The winning builds from both categories will be featured in the Community Crunch.

Submitted entries may also be featured or shared across official ARK social channels and the Community Crunch with credit to creators.


Bonus Rates On The Official Network

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The Official Network will be receiving bonus rates! It will be active until Wednesday, November 11 .

  • PVP/PVE: 2x Harvesting, Taming, and Experience, and Breeding
  • Small Tribes: 4.5x Harvesting, Taming, and Experience + 4x Breeding
  • ARKpocalypse: 5x Harvesting, Taming and Experience, and Breeding

Community Corner

Fan Art Gallery | Screenshot Gallery | Artist Feedback Form

Clips And Videos

Creator: Silly

Here is a perfect guide to everything you need to know about Fear Ascended 2026!

Creator: SPARKLY

This video showcases SPARKLY's top most horrifying, disturbing, and terrifying creatures perfect for Halloween!

Fan Art

You know what time it is!  by wyvernadas

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Dodorex  by takeritaketakeko

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Pumpkin  by deadlylewj

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👻  by @falco_luna

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Happy Halloween  by @zondeeee730

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Trick-ROAR-Treat! It's Dodorex time!  by savvytabby

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The Blorbos team  by mayapatch89

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Photo Mode

Photo Mode  by ffernandes_

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Photo Mode  by tsukumono01

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Photo Mode  by kaka_07_

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Photo Mode  by d1vine_dustydemon

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Photo Mode  by sillysawus

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Enjoy your weekend!
Studio Wildcard

Twitter:twitter.com/survivetheark
Discord:discord.com/invite/playark
Reddit: reddit.com/r/playark
Instagram:instagram.com/survivetheark
Twitch: twitch.tv/survivetheark
Steam:steamcommunity.com/app/346110
Youtube: youtube.com/survivetheark
Facebook:facebook.com/survivetheark
Threads:  threads.net/@survivetheark
Official Wiki: ark.wiki.gg

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