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ARK: Survival Ascended
ARK: Survival Ascended
97|Nov 7, 2026
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ARK: Survival Ascended v97: Enigmasaur and Giga TLC

4/5 Significant

Unreal Engine 5.8 arrives alongside the shapeshifting Enigmasaur and a Giganotosaurus TLC, plus creature balance changes and crash fixes.

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Key Changes

  • 1Unreal Engine 5.8 reduces rendering workload and improves foliage and distant vistas, with Lumen Lite enabled on select PC settings.
  • 2Enigmasaur is available with shapeshifting abilities that mimic other creatures and combine their powers.
  • 3Giganotosaurus has a new taming challenge, attacks and rage-based ally buffs.
  • 4Aureliax loses 20% of its base health and health gained per level.
  • 5Tribes with more than 100 deployed Gachas face a feeding interval penalty.
  • 6Official servers limit tribes to 10 Tek Cloning Chambers within a 1,000-meter radius and 50 deployed tribe-wide.
  • 7A fix prevents possible loss of Genesis 1 mission progress when playing Lost Colony missions while possessing a thrall.
  • 8The in-game Mod Browser is now available on PC.
  • 9Official Network bonus rates run until Wednesday, November 11.

All Changes

⚙️Engine Upgrade(1)

  • fixUnreal Engine 5.8 optimizes rendering to reduce GPU workload and improve performance, while improving foliage and distant vistas across all platforms; Lumen Lite is enabled on select PC graphics settings.

🦎Fantastic Tames(1)

  • newEnigmasaur: Enigmasaur is available with shapeshifting abilities that mimic creatures and combine their powers, on The Center, Scorched Earth, Aberration, Ragnarok, Extinction, Valguero, Lost Colony and Astraeos.

🦖Giga TLC(6)

  • changeGiganotosaurus: Giganotosaurus has an updated model and animations and an additional color region.
  • buffGiganotosaurus: Giganotosaurus gains Wounded Fury below 75% health, reaching up to 50% increased damage and 30% increased damage resistance, with maximum strength maintained while Enraged.
  • buffGiganotosaurus: Nearby allied non-Giganotosaurus creatures receive 50% of Giganotosaurus's current Wounded Fury bonuses, with a toggleable rider display showing affected allies.
  • buffGiganotosaurus: Giganotosaurus gains directional Heavy Stomp and Tail Slam area attacks that knock back smaller creatures and briefly slow targets.
  • changeGiganotosaurus: Giganotosaurus has a rider Rage bar and visible Rage buildup indicators, simultaneous damage instances can no longer immediately trigger Enrage, and riders can reduce Rage by landing attacks during a short Regain Control window.
  • changeGiganotosaurus: Giganotosaurus taming now requires an Apex Challenge initiated with an Apex Offering crafted from Alpha trophies, rather than a standard knockout encounter.

🧩Mod Browser(1)

  • newMod Browser: The in-game Mod Browser is now available on PC.

📜Lost Colony(2)

  • changeTek Spear: Tek Spear blueprints have been added to Thrall Outposts.
  • changeGigadesmodus Saddle: Gigadesmodus Saddle blueprints have been added to Thrall Outposts.

⚖️Creature Balance(15)

  • nerfAureliax: Aureliax base health and health gained per level are reduced by 20%.
  • nerfAureliax: Aureliax movement speed is reduced by 30% while carrying a player or creature.
  • nerfAureliax: Aureliax can no longer pick up new player or creature targets while underwater.
  • nerfAureliax: Aureliax saddle armor is capped at 75 on Official servers.
  • nerfAstrocetus: Astrocetus Bomb damage scaling is reduced.
  • nerfBasilisk: Basilisk Spit damage scaling is reduced by 30%.
  • nerfDreadnoughtus: Dreadnoughtus Cannon Ball ability cooldown is increased by 50%.
  • nerfDreadnoughtus: Dreadnoughtus takes 50% more damage from Auto Turrets, Heavy Auto Turrets, Tek Turrets and Tesla Coils.
  • nerfGloon: Gloon damage dealt to players is reduced by 50%.
  • nerfKarkinos: Karkinos health gained per level is reduced by 20%.
  • nerfUmbra: Umbra's Plasma Projectile damage is reduced by 30%.
  • nerfUmbra: Umbra's Plasma Projectile homing strength against players and tamed creatures is reduced by 50%.
  • nerfUmbra & Lumina: Umbra and Lumina's Projectile Burst damage is reduced by 30%.
  • nerfGacha: Tribes with more than 100 deployed Gachas have their feeding interval increased from 20–30 seconds to 60–90 seconds until they return to 100 or fewer.
  • changeGacha: Gacha tooltips show the tribe's deployed count, limit and active penalty, and Unofficial servers can configure or disable the limit and penalty.

🏗️Structure Balance(3)

  • changeTesla Coil: Tesla Coils use the same incoming damage multipliers as Tek structures.
  • changeReplicator: Platform-saddled creatures are limited to one placed Tek Replicator, with an Unofficial server setting allowing one, none or unlimited.
  • nerfTek Cloning Chambers: Official servers limit tribes to 10 Tek Cloning Chambers within a 1,000-meter radius and 50 deployed tribe-wide, with corresponding Unofficial server settings.

🌊Genesis Balance(3)

  • fixLunar Biome: Creatures in the Genesis Part 1 Lunar biome can now be affected by knockback.
  • nerfFeral Ocean creatures: Feral Ocean creature levels are reduced to the standard wild-creature level range.
  • changeFeral Ocean creatures: Dangerous Feral Ocean creatures are less likely to spawn.

⏱️Official Network Rates(1)

  • changeUntil Wednesday, November 11, PVP/PVE has 2x Harvesting, Taming, Experience and Breeding; Small Tribes has 4.5x Harvesting, Taming and Experience plus 4x Breeding; and ARKpocalypse has 5x Harvesting, Taming, Experience and Breeding.

🐛Bug Fixes(22)

  • fixExplorer notes for ??? are correctly categorized on maps.
  • fixFixed possible loss of Genesis 1 mission progress when doing Lost Colony missions while possessing a thrall.
  • fixFixed capes bunching up after dismounting a fast, wall-attaching dino.
  • fixRockdrake: Rockdrake can be painted with a brush in the live game.
  • fixMod Browser: Fixed typos in the mod browser ratings section.
  • fixFerox: Fixed inherited traits disappearing when Ferox transforms to a larger form and back.
  • fixBattleRig: Fixed BattleRig car colors flickering after teleporting away and back.
  • changePlayers can transfer DLC items between inventories without owning the DLC, with a confirmation dialog when attempting to equip them.
  • fixPink Ranger bow: Fixed incorrect damage and durability values for the Pink Ranger bow when applied to a compound bow.
  • fixTherizino chibi: Fixed Therizino chibi using its old model and animations.
  • fixHexagon Exchange Store: Fixed the market preventing access to the Hexagon Exchange Store on non-Genesis maps.
  • fixFire Wyvern: Fixed Fire Wyvern's breath attack so it can trigger from a distance.
  • fixMod Browser: Fixed inability to scroll through mod pages with a gamepad.
  • fixLost Colony: Fixed character, creature and structure texture issues, expanding sky squares, and occasional landscape artifacts in Lost Colony on PS5.
  • fixCursed Ruin: Fixed cursed weapons ignoring 5% of armor without the Cursed Ruin skill.
  • fixFixed a PS5 client crash when rendering player structures with mods.
  • fixFixed inability to save the VSync setting on console.
  • fixLost Colony: Fixed snow flickering in Lost Colony on Xbox.
  • fixMod Browser: Fixed a white background flash in the mod browser and an uninstall-all-mods issue on Xbox and PS5.
  • fixCursed Ruin: Fixed Cursed Ruin sometimes dealing more damage than intended.
  • fixFerox: Fixed an exploit allowing Ferox use during Genesis gauntlet missions.
  • fixFixed an exploit and multiple crashes.

🔊Audio(1)

  • changeAllosaurus: Reduced the volume of Allosaurus vocalizations.

📅Coming Soon(4)

  • changeLumen Lite: Broader Lumen Lite support is planned soon.
  • changeExtra Life milestones unlock a classic creature TLC for every $40,000 raised, up to four, with two already unlocked and winners scheduled from November 13 through December 4.
  • changeCommunity-favorite dino colors and Taming, Breeding, Imprint, EXP and Harvesting Cake Slices are planned for the official network from November 13 through November 23.
  • removeThe Island: Inactive Island official servers are scheduled to sunset on November 29; renamed servers will leave players' Favorites lists, and save availability through Nitrado is being arranged.

Summary

New content and engine

Version 97 brings Unreal Engine 5.8 rendering improvements and Enigmasaur to eight maps. Giganotosaurus has a revised taming challenge, Wounded Fury bonuses, new attacks and changes to Enrage.

Balance and fixes

Aureliax, Dreadnoughtus and other creatures have balance reductions, while Gacha feeding penalties and Tek Cloning Chamber limits affect large deployments. The PC Mod Browser is available, and fixes address mission progress loss, crashes and platform-specific visual issues. Official Network bonus rates last until November 11.

Coming soon

Extra Life creature TLCs, official-network colors and Cake Slices are planned, and inactive Island servers are scheduled to sunset on November 29.

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