ARK: Survival Evolved has released a new patch just in time for Christmas, which not only rewards players with gifts from Raptor Claus but also introduces new dinos and underwater caves.
ARK has released the new Winter Wonderland Patch 253, and Studio Wildcard wants to give its players some gifts for the holiday season. Since Friday, Raptor Claus has been soaring over ARK’s landscape, throwing gifts and coal from his sleigh. With Raptor Claus come new prehistoric creatures: Cnidaria, Troodon, Tusoteuthis, Pegomastax, and the Therizinosaurus. In the video, you can see the new ARK residents. Additionally, you’ll get a glimpse of the new, mystical underwater caves.
Winter Wonderland for PC – Raptor Claus is coming to town
If you’re currently looking at the night sky in ARK: Survival Evolved, there’s a chance to encounter the legendary Raptor Claus in his sleigh. If you hear a “Ho-Ho-Ho”, open your eyes wide, because Raptor Claus gifts you with very special loot. The “Ho-Ho-Ho” is actually your only clue as to when Raptor Claus drops gifts or coal.
You can exchange Santa’s gifts for particularly festive items:
- Reindeer costumes
- Clubs that look like sweet candy canes
- Christmas hats
- With enough coal, you can summon the festive Dodo-Rex
Only PC players can encounter Raptor Claus. For console players, Studio Wildcard has planned a different type of gifting.
In this video by YouTuber Paul Schwarz, you can see Raptor Claus up close.
Winter Wonderland for Consoles – Kill creatures for gifts
Console players need to take a more brutal approach during the Christmas season to get gifts. Kill these snowy creatures to obtain the following gifts:
- Stags over level 100: Reindeer skin
- Yetis: Dino Christmas hat
- Penguins over level 100: Player Christmas hat
Xbox players receive extra gifts
Some creatures celebrate their birthday on Xbox and bring players even more gifts. You’ll receive the previously mentioned Christmas gifts and also birthday gifts when killing the following prehistoric monsters:
- Titanosaurus: Birthday shirt and birthday pants
- Wild Giganotosaurus: Dino birthday hat
- Dilos over level 50: Player birthday hat
Patch 253 brings the camera to ARK
With Patch 253, the camera item comes to ARK. You can now capture your adventures and take in-game photos with the camera. The photographs can be displayed on the Painting Canvas.
The end of the Winter Wonderland event is not yet known. Perhaps Wildcard will give us a few extra weeks of Christmas joy to balance out the delay of the Laser Dino update.
