In Ark Survival Ascended, you must unlock engrams to learn new crafting recipes to help you on your way. When you’re starting out, however, you’ll need to prioritise the most important engrams to help you get started quickly and safely.
The right engram choices will allow you to get on your feet before another dinosaur comes along and flattens you. Here are the best engrams to unlock in Ark Survival Ascended.
Most important starting Engrams in Ark Survival Ascended
All Level 2 Engrams
Your first and most immediate port of call in Ark Survival Ascended should be to unlock all tier 2 engrams. Unlocking the spear, hatchet, and campfire will allow you to hunt, cook, and gather wood. Essential to your survival, you simply won’t last too long without these items. Upon your first level up, you should be able to grab them all.
Note that the spear may break randomly upon being used, and they’re not the easiest to pick up once thrown. You may want to craft at least three to make sure you’re always armed, whether they break or whether you throw them.
Waterskin
If you plan to venture out far from the river or any body of water, you’ll need to get your hands on a waterskin as soon as you can. If you’re not careful, your hydration levels will sneakily drop, and soon you’ll rather parched. The Waterskin does leak slowly, so you will have to eventually fill it up again, but it’s a great starting solution to hydration.
All Cloth Clothes
Cloth clothes are very easy to make. It does cost a lot of points to unlock them all, so you may want to just start with the shirt and pants before you unlock the rest. They’re not the best for anything, but they’re so cheap that you should be able to make them instantly. The cloth clothes are a good way to protect you from the elements until you can get your hands on better clothing.
Related: All New Dinosaurs in ARK: Survival Ascended
Simple Bed
The simple bed is an essential piece of kit that will allow you to respawn permanently on the bed as long as it is placed. It is a little expensive to build, but by now you should be able to easily gather the resources required (at the expense of some dodo birds). It isn’t really worth building and using the sleeping bag, just go straight for the bed.
Note that your bed does have a cool down when you use it to respawn. For this reason, you may want to craft a couple beds, or two for each player should you be playing with friends. The cooldown is 5 minutes, so try not to die as soon as you spawn in, okay?
Wooden Club
A wooden club is a fantastic tool for taking down tougher beasts in the early game. It doesn’t do a lot of damage, and the spear you’ve already unlocked is superior for combat, but the wooden club has its own uses. It can knock animals unconscious if you hit them in the head enough. This allows for an easier time killing them, or it allows you to tame them. This is an essential piece of kit for any starting survivor.
Bola
The Bola is a fantastic tool in Ark Survival Ascended. This weapon is a throwable one that allows you to tangle other animals. Knocking flying creatures from the skies and tying most animals down, you’ll be able to keep them tied in one place as you do as you wish. From knocking them out to killing them pinned down, the choice is yours. You can also take the Bola back from a tied up animal, allowing you to use it again and again.
Cooking Pot
The Cooking Pot is an essential for any survivor who is getting serious with their survival. The Campfire is good, but not a great long-term item. You’ll need better foods, such as soups, to sustain your for longer during your expeditions. Just remember that all food has a shelf life, and so don’t make too much food!
This is an expensive one to craft, but it’s a long term investment into your base.
Related: How to get Thatch in Ark Survival Ascended
All Thatch Structures
Now that you’ve got yourself all the basic necessities, you can start to build your first shelter. For this reason, getting at least the essential thatch structures is important, such as the walls, foundation, and ceiling. This is crucial for the protection of your items and utilities. This doesn’t have to be your main base, as thatch isn’t very durable, but it can make a great short-term storage shed.
Storage Box
Easy to make and reliable, the Storage Box is a necessity after you’ve made your first shelter. Here, you can store all of your heavy materials and resources so you don’t have to lumber them around with you everywhere you do, freeing you up for the collection of more resources.
Initially, it may be wise to create a couple as you decide on your next steps in Ark Survival Ascended. You’ll need a lot of materials and resources to get going, and you’ll need a place to store them.
Saddles
To really embrace the Ark Survival Ascended experience, you simply must get your hands on a saddle. I would recommend the Parasaur Saddle as your first, but you choose the saddle of the creature you want. You don’t have to have a saddle to tame the creatures, but the fun is in riding them! So get one prepared before you start taming.
No matter how many dinosaurs you want to tame, you only really need one saddle. It is expensive to craft, but it will be a one-time thing until a little later in the game.
Bow and Arrows
Now we’re getting onto the more complex items that you’ll need to have a strong start. Crafting a Bow and some Arrows is essential for safer hunting. You’re at a point where dying will become more and more costly, so safety in range will be an important thing for you now.
Crop Plot
Hunting for food is great, but having a crop plot is valuable as it allows you to safely and gradually grow you own food. Great for soups and reliable, growing your own food is the ultimate way to sustain yourself safely. With the right set up, you’ll never have to venture out for food again.
All Hide Clothes
You can ditch those cloth clothes for hide clothes, a set that will actually provide some protection from the environment and from other creatures. Before you explore too far, make sure you’re donned head to toe in hide armor, else you will find yourself having to respawn again and again.
All Wooden Structures
It is time to get yourself a proper base of operations. Thatch buildings are decent, but are not a permanent solution for your base. Ut us expensive to unlock them all at once, so just get the foundation, walls, and ceiling for now to construct a much safer abode.
Mortar And Pestle
Now that you’ve got your protection, shelter, food, hydration, and defence sorted, you can now comfortably move on to the more complex things in Ark Survival Ascended. For starters, you should look to building a Mortar and Pestle, to allow you to create other substances for more complex operations.
I hope this has helped you out, survivor, and that you’ll be on your feet quickly in no time. For more Ark Survival Ascended help, look no further than PC Invasion.
