Soon, Ark: Survival Evolved will finally attempt to make good on those futuristic floating obelisks in the sky by introducing the Tek Tier, the first of many updates on its path to version 1.0 early next year. Watch the trailer above for a quick peek.
For a complete preview of what's coming next, be sure to check out the next issue of PC Gamer, but here’s a basic breakdown. The Tek Tier is a new endgame technology tier in Ark’s crafting system that rewards the survival sandbox’s most stalwart players with some off-brand Power Rangers and Starship Troopers gear to mess with. Among the items to drop in the first update, which should land in the coming weeks, Ark will get the Tek armor, the Tek rifle, and the Giga Helmet—that rad laser cannon tyrannosaur headpiece.
Every new piece of Tek tech has a powerful ability or two to make them desirable for more than their looks. The Tek helmet comes with a handy hud that can highlight creatures and other players, and color them based on whether they’re hostile, neutral, or friendly. A night vision mode rounds it out, making viable at any hour. Tek gauntlets pack a powerful super punch that can send men flying, the chestpiece has a jetpack that does what jetpacks do, and those shiny metallic pants let you speed boost across entire maps in no time, even through destructible materials. But as a sucker for fashion, I think my favorite feature is the ability to choose the armor and LED highlight colors.
Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of the Tek Tier rollout, especially for longtime players of Ark, will be the underwater bases. Those are coming in another update early next year as part of the Tek Tier, but in the meantime, ogle this lovely original art and fill in the blanks with your imagination. I can see it now, an angry teen calling me something unrepeatable and capturing me from the back of their Mosasaurus outfitted with cybernetic armor. I’ve always wanted to live in a cage, underwater. But really, it’s a feature that was on the launch list for Ark, and it’s good to know it’s on the way.
As cool as it is, the new Tek tech can’t be used with reckless abandon. Every ability and function requires Element, a rare resource you can only get by completing endgame challenges. And there are plenty more coming in the next six months or so.
To learn more about the Tek Tier, how underwater bases will work and when they’re coming, and the complete roadmap for Ark’s final stretch before leaving Early Access, be sure to pick up the next issue of PC Gamer. All and more are revealed in Surviving Early Access, our cover story featuring some interesting reveals from Ark devs Jeremy Stieglitz and Jesse Rapczak, and their plan for the dino survival sim’s present and far flung future.
Take a peek at the cover below before it ships out to UK subscribers today and US subscribers on the 18th. If you’re not subscribed to PC Gamer yet, give it a shot, or find the issue out in the wild on November 17 in the UK and December 6 in the US. Then tame it and give it a cool laser helmet.
