Ark: Survival Ascended is a remaster of the original Ark: Survival Evolved that came instead of the promised sequel, Ark 2. Unlike the beloved original, this remaster has split the community, and its latest update, that includes a single tameable creature as paid DLC, is only starting more arguments.
The latest update for Ark: Survival Ascended is called Center Ascended and includes a free new map that players can explore. It’s almost double the size of Ark’s standard island and features lava rivers, mountains, misty floating islands, and ice caves. It also features a new sea monster, the Shastasaurus. Basically a whale you can turn into a submarine. Awesome. That’s not the issue. The problem is the inclusion of a $4.99 tameable, the fiery Pyromane.
Called “a more broken version of Shadowmane” by one player on the survival game‘s Steam discussions page, people aren’t happy that they have to pay almost five dollars for a single tameable creature — some are worried “a paid single animal […] is most likely the first of many to come,” and that more DLC that feel like cash grabs will be on the way.
I think the fiery mount looks pretty cool. It’s a lion or tiger with a flame mane and the ability to spout fire from its mouth, leap over large canyons, and even shrink down onto your shoulder like a pirate’s parrot, only this one spits fire instead of curse words. But do I think it’s worth five bucks when there are literal dinosaurs roaming the lands? No, not really.
One player sarcastically commented, “wow cool p2w dude,” because, let’s face it, access to a fast, agile mount that can outrun a T-Rex and shoot a stream of fire at enemies does seem quite overpowered.
A lot of players are unhappy with Ark: Survival Ascended because it went from a free update to a paid one that would include Ark 2 to an even more expensive one that wouldn’t contain the sequel. The sequel has been delayed, and some people blame Ascended for this, claiming the developer is milking it for all it can before moving on. When is the Ark 2 release date? Well, we have a launch window of “the end of 2024,” but don’t hold your breath.
If you want to dive into Ark: Survival Ascended’s latest free update, check out the best Ark servers of 2024. Or, you could always play some less divisive, best PC games.
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