The survival MMO ARK: Survival Evolved is celebrating its 5th anniversary and is launching an event today. The new map Crystal Isles and the flying dinosaur Tropeognathus are also available now.
This is the Anniversary Event: The event was supposed to start on June 4th, right on the 5th birthday of ARK. However, due to the unrest in the USA, Wildcard decided to postpone it to June 11th.
The event has now started and brings a few party contents:
- When does the event run?
- It starts on June 11th and runs until June 24th
- What special rates are there?
- 3x breeding speed (mating interval, egg hatching speed, and maturing)
- 4x player EXP
- 4x harvesting amount
- 4x taming speed
- What creatures are part of the event?
- 5 new Chibi-dino pets
- Party Dodos that drop cake pieces when killed
- Is there extra content?
- Party hats for all players and creatures
- A party cake from which players can surprisingly jump out
New map and flying dinosaur now online
This is Crystal Isles: With the update, a new, free map is also being released for all players. Xbox and PS4 players will have to wait until summer.
Crystal Isles was created by the modder Isolde Gaming in collaboration with Lilian and iSPEZZ. PC players have already been able to explore the mod map, and now Wildcard has officially added it.
This is what Crystal Isles offers: The new map Crystal Isles is 150km² large with its flying islands and offers various biomes to explore. New creature variations like the crystal wyvern populate the imaginative map, and a new dinosaur joins in.
This is everything you can discover:
- The Great Valley, a rainforest with swamps and towering branches
- The Eldritch Isle, a creepy and challenging realm
- Emberfall, a region with “living foliage” and volcanoes
- The Apotheosis, a collection of flying islands interwoven with vines and roots
- Deep underwater caves
- Three types of crystal wyverns that can be tamed and bred
- A new custom boss arena
- The flying dinosaur Tropeognathus, which acts like a fighter jet
This is the new flying dinosaur: The Tropeognathus, or Tropeo, is a new flying creature and corresponds to the real-life model from the early Cretaceous period. It is not particularly fast but has enormous stamina. With a wingspan of over 8 meters and its distinctive snout, it is easily recognizable in the sky.
It becomes the feared fighter jet with the right saddle. Because this offers a hefty cannon at the front and a jet engine at the back. The Tropeo can currently only be found on the Crystal Isles map on PC. Since console players do not yet have the new map, they can find the Tropeo everywhere. At least until the map release in summer.
This is what the community says: Generally, the community is in good spirits and looks forward to the new map and the Tropeo. The new content receives praise almost everywhere.
However, there are also some voices in the community expressing their frustration about the event. They demand, for example, a 5x breeding rate instead of the currently 3x. It was even increased from a 2x rate.
- Twitter user Aaron Longstaff is visibly disappointed: “I have to say, Ced [the community manager], this event is so poor. 5 chibis, a cake, and a party hat. I usually never hate here because I love the game, but come on, it’s your 5th anniversary and the event is less than any other event!”
- Twitter user lucastenbier thinks: “Wildcard’s communication is so bad. Why didn’t you tell us two weeks ago that the breeding will be x2? We wouldn’t have wasted time preparing for an x5 event.”
Many of the larger tribes have obviously prepared for an event where the breeding rate would be raised to x5. For the 4th anniversary, there was at least a x4 event. Players are now disappointed, while Wildcard responds by increasing it to x3.
In addition to the birthday event, the Crystal Isles map, and the Tropeognathus, ARK: Survival Evolved is also now available on the Epic Games Store. There is currently a promotion where you can get the base game for free until June 18th along with most expansions at a 50% discount.
