ARK: Survival Ascended has once again managed to upset the community. This time, a fire-breathing cat is to blame.
What’s going on with ARK? Some players are dissatisfied with the latest development in ARK: Survival Ascended. The dinosaur adventure recently released the revamped version of the map “The Center.”
With the map, there was also a new creature, the Pyromaniac. This is a kind of burning feline predator that can now be tamed on The Center – exclusively on The Center.
Why are the players angry? The release of the new Pyromaniac has a catch: You only get the creature if you buy it for 4.99 euros. For non-payers, the feline predator cannot be tamed, but still roams around the map.
The fact that you have to pay for the Pyromaniac does not sit well with some players. Added to that are accusations of P2W, as the Pyromaniac is certainly capable of fighting.
The fire cat can spit fire like a flamethrower, is a fast mount that can jump far, and has the ability to shrink on command and transform into a shoulder pet. As a shoulder pet, the Pyromaniac can still spit fire and flambé your opponents.
What exactly are the players saying? Some players fear that after the Pyromaniac, many more creatures will appear that need to be purchased, and there could be a whole range of dinos on new maps that only paying players get.
Nekatus, a well-known modder, clearly states: “I don’t want ARK: Microtransaction Evolved.”
Other players write that the Pyromaniac is a P2W reskin of the Shadowmane. It is indeed strong, but it even has the same animations. The criticism is that 5 euros is neither a fair price nor a cool move for this.
Here are some community voices:
- Hashtaffer4Life via x.com: “It really takes away my motivation to play when we have so many things behind a paywall.”
- Pokemastercj1 via Reddit: “If it were free, I wouldn’t mind. 5 dollars for something that reuses a lot of animations is disgusting.”
- wolfgangpuxx via x.com: “Oh great, another pay-to-win creature.”
- Kjell_Stigandr via x.com: “Fire cat sounds cool, but in the end, it’s just a reskin and slightly adjusted Shadowmane? Come on, you can do better! And I agree, you need to make money somehow, but do it with things that don’t affect gameplay, like skins for example.”
There are also players who understand the approach of Studio Wildcard. Somehow the money has to flow, and ARK 2 is still on the agenda. However, many believe that skins, a Battle Pass, or something similar would be better than P2W creatures.
If you want to expose ARK: Survival Ascended better and are primarily interested in the still-in-development ARK 2, you can read on MeinMMO about the current status: ARK 2: Release, Trailer, Gameplay – What we know so far
