As Ark: Survival Ascended gears up for the release of Ragnarok, many are hoping for one major change to Obelisks in the DLC. First released as a player-made mod for Ark: Survival Evolved, a reimagining of Ragnarok is the next DLC scheduled for ASA. Per the Ark: Survival Ascended roadmap, Ragnarok is due out in September 2024 - this month - but with Aberration freshly released after a two-month delay, Ragnarok is still probably a ways away.
Either way, it's the next DLC expected to be released for ASA, barring any major surprises. While most DLC maps have been left intact during the transition (with the occasional new creatures and features), some players have called for Ragnarok to make a major change to how Ark works as a whole.
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ASA: Ragnarok Needs To Ban Obelisk Camping
A Frustrating Trend
As addressed in a post by Reddit user kinghumptyyy, Obelisk camping has remained a prevalent problem in ASA. They shared a screenshot of a player-built base in-game that completely surrounds and isolates an Obelisk, making it functionally useless to anyone except the player who built the base.
Players are frustrated about this issue, as Obelisks are an important part of Ark's core gameplay loop. They're one of very few features common to every single official map. By nature, Obelisks are visible from almost anywhere on the map, so reaching them and defeating their bosses quickly becomes an aspiration for new players. Beating them unlocks rare materials and new crafting recipes, so having access to them is basically required for progression.
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However, Obelisk camping has been going on for some time, and was even a frequent sight in ASE. The reasoning is understandable: boss battles are a huge part of the Ark experience, and many players choose to farm these bosses in order to gain a sufficient supply of Element, or to increase their chances of obtaining rare drops. Building a base near an Obelisk is good practice, but building on top of one and restricting everyone else's access is another issue entirely.
Each official ASA map has three Obelisks: red, green, and blue. While the different colors mostly just serve to make it easier for players to distinguish one from the other, some bosses are also exclusive to certain color Obelisks.
To make matters worse, certain bosses are exclusive to certain Obelisks. That may include one who unlocks a crafting recipe, or an exclusive crafting material that can't be found anywhere else. This can grind a player's progress to a halt, preventing them from crafting what may be a necessary item, or simply experiencing everything a map has to offer. At that point, the player's only option to preserve their progress is to migrate servers - a process that also requires an Obelisk.
There's no particular reason why Ragnarok especially needs to ban Obelisk camping. It's just a trend that needs to stop, and Ragnarok is probably the next time ASA will get a major update, so the timing is right. Plus, many official ASE servers did ban Obelisk camping on Ragnarok, with large no-build zones established in a circle around them. Hopefully, this change will carry over this feature, preventing Obelisk camping from taking root in the new DLC - and maybe institute it in some official servers for other maps, too.
Other Options For Avoiding ASA Obelisk Camping
Some Unofficial Servers Ban Obelisk Building
As an alternative, though, many players in the original Reddit thread suggest finding an unofficial server that bans building around Obelisks. These are fairly common, but do have their disadvantages: unofficial servers may be more likely to experience frequent downtime, or have lower player counts. Still, with a little experimentation, it is possible to find a reliable server that bans Obelisk building. It is also possible to summon bosses from transmitters, but that takes much longer than using Obelisks, and can be a difficult proposition for new players.
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Even so, banning Obelisk building on some official servers would be a worthwhile endeavor. It'd be nice to have the option to play on an official server without others taking over Obelisks completely, giving players the best of both worlds. It's a necessary change for Ark: Survival Ascended, and there's never been a better time to institute it than in the next DLC.
Ark: Survival Ascended
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ARK: Survival Ascended is a reimagined version of the 2017 action-adventure survival MMORPG by the developers at Studio Wildcard and Grove Street Games. Built in Unreal Engine 5, players will return to ARK to build tribes, fight and tame dinosaurs, and brave the elements as they battle to survive in a unique sandbox where crafting and resource management is essential.
Survival
Open-World
- Franchise
- ARK
- Platform(s)
- PC , PS5 , Xbox Series X , Xbox Series S
- Released
- October 26, 2023
- Developer(s)
- Studio Wildcard
- Publisher(s)
- Studio Wildcard
- Multiplayer
- Online Multiplayer
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 5
- ESRB
- T For Teen Due To Blood, Crude Humor, Game Experience May Change During Online Play, Use of Alcohol, Violence
