You've just spawned on the beach. You’re cold, you’re hungry, and a Dilophosaur is currently considering whether your left leg constitutes a light snack. Most players start their journey in ARK: Survival Evolved (or the Ascended remake) by punching trees, but you quickly realize that wood and thatch won't get you to the endgame. You need metal. You need obsidian. You need that sweet, sweet organic polymer that usually involves clubbing a penguin. To get any of that, you need a solid handle on the ark the island resource map layout, because the game definitely isn't going to hold your hand.
Honestly, the map is a lie. It looks like a tropical paradise, but it’s actually a series of tiered death traps where the resources get better the closer you get to the "I’m about to be eaten" zone.
The Great Metal Hunt: It’s Not Just on Mountains
If you’re looking at an ark the island resource map, your eyes probably gravitate toward the massive peaks. Frozen Tooth, Far’s Peak, and the Volcano. You’re not wrong—those are the gold mines. The Volcano is the crown jewel, at least it was before the Tek Cave moved in. Now, it’s a bit more of a trek, but the rim still holds a ridiculous amount of metal.
But here’s the thing most people miss: you don’t always have to risk an Argentavis attack to get iron.
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Look at the smaller hills in the jungle. There are these smooth, slightly gold-streaked rocks. That’s your ticket. If you’re near the Herbivore Island (the little crescent in the bottom right), you’ve hit the jackpot for early game. There is zero predatory threat there. You can literally spend all day mining the metal nodes on the shore and the hills. It’s the only place on the map where you can actually relax. Everywhere else? Keep your eyes peeled.
Where the Rare Stuff Hides
Silica pearls and oil. These are the bottlenecks. Once you hit the electronics tier, you’ll realize you need thousands of these things.
Most people will tell you to go to the snow biome. And yeah, if you have fur armor and a death wish, the northwest coast is littered with oil rocks. They’re big, black, and look like they’re leaking. You can just hack at them with a pickaxe. But if you don't want to freeze to death, grab a Sarco or a Megalodon and head underwater.
The ocean floor is surprisingly rich. Look for the little glowing clams. Those are your silica pearls. If you follow the western coast up toward the snow, there are shallow areas where you can dive in, grab a handful, and hop back on your mount before a Cnidaria ruins your entire week.
Obsidian and Crystal Locations
Obsidian is annoying. It’s heavy, it’s rare, and it usually sits right next to a Rex spawn. The Volcano is the obvious choice, but the "Black Mountain" (officially Far’s Peak) is also loaded with it. It looks like shiny, jet-black glass.
For crystal, you’ve got a few options:
- The mountain peaks (standard).
- The caves (dangerous, but high yield).
- The hidden valley near the northeast.
The Central Cave is a decent spot if you can handle the spiders. Just bring a mount that can fit through the entrance, like a Baryonyx. Seriously, the Baryonyx is the MVP of the Island. It swims, it jumps, and it heals by eating fish. If you aren't using one to scout your ark the island resource map locations, you’re playing on hard mode.
The Organic Polymer Problem
You need polymer for Ghillie suits and high-tier machinery. You can craft it with obsidian and cementing paste, but that’s expensive. It’s way easier to just "harvest" it from Kairuku.
Yes, the penguins.
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They live in the far northwest on the ice floes. It feels bad to do it, but taking a club or a Pelagornis to those little guys is the fastest way to progress. Just watch out for the Pelagornis’s weight limit. Or better yet, take a Direwolf. They’re fast, they don't need a saddle, and they have a high harvest rate for organic material.
Cementing Paste and the Beaver Dam Economy
Cementing paste is the glue that holds your late-game dreams together. You can make it in a mortar and pestle using chitin and stone, but grinding for chitin is a nightmare unless you live in a cave.
The secret? Castoroides. Giant beavers.
Check the river systems in the south and the "Hidden Lake" in the north. They build dams. If you open a beaver dam, you’ll often find hundreds of cementing paste, wood, silica pearls, and rare flowers.
Pro tip: The moment you touch the dam, every beaver in the vicinity will decide you need to die. They are surprisingly fast and hit like a truck.
Empty the dam completely. If you leave the wood behind because it’s too heavy, the dam won’t respawn. Throw the wood on the ground so the "container" disappears. This forces the game to trigger a new dam build later. It’s basically sustainable raiding.
Hard-to-Find Essentials: Rare Flowers and Mushrooms
You’ll need these for kibble and mindwipe tonics. Rare flowers usually come from the blue flowers in the swamp or the bushes near the mountain peaks. The swamp is a nightmare of Titanoboa and Kaprosuchus, so maybe stick to the mountain edges if you value your sanity.
Rare mushrooms are a byproduct of cutting down the massive trees in the swamp. Use a Mammoth or a Therizinosaur. The "Tickle Chicken" (Therizinosaur) is actually one of the best resource harvesters in the game, despite being an absolute terror to tame.
Navigating the Map Safely
The Island is divided into zones. The South is "easy," the West and East are "medium," and the North is "run for your life."
If you are looking for a place to set up a permanent base near resources, look at the "Redwood Forest." It’s central. You have access to the mountain for metal, the river for water/beavers, and the trees for sap. But—and this is a big but—Thylacoleos live there. They will leap off trees and knock you off your mount.
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Always carry a parachute. Always.
Strategic Resource Routes
- The Mountain Run: Start at the Volcano, hit the peaks to the east, and end at Far’s Peak. Bring an Argentavis with high weight.
- The Coastal Loop: Start at the southwest, follow the coast north into the snow for oil, and loop back through the jungle for wood and hide.
- The Deep Sea Trek: Only for those with a Basilosaurus. Start at the bottom left and circle the entire map. The Basilosaurus is immune to jellyfish stuns, making it the only safe way to farm the ocean floor.
Actionable Next Steps for Resource Farming
If you want to maximize your efficiency on the Island, stop doing everything by hand.
- Tame an Ankylosaurus immediately. They reduce the weight of metal in their inventory by 85%. An Anky is the difference between a 10-minute metal run and a 2-hour grind.
- Get a Doedicurus for stone. They have a similar weight reduction for stone and can even auto-harvest if you leave them near rocks on wander (though I wouldn't recommend that in the wild).
- Build "Outposts." Don't try to haul everything back to your main base across the map. Build a small 2x2 stone shack with a few large storage boxes near the metal mountains. Mine the metal, dump it in the boxes, and then bring a pack of Flyers to move it all at once when you’re ready.
- Use the industrial grinder. Once you can afford it, it turns your junk into raw materials. It’s a massive investment but pays for itself when you’re breaking down all those primitive saddles you found in supply drops.
The ark the island resource map is a puzzle. Once you know where the pieces are, the game stops being about survival and starts being about efficiency. Focus on the beaver dams for paste and the mountains for metal, and you’ll be in Tek tier before you know it. Just watch out for the Giganotosaurus that occasionally wanders down from the peaks. It doesn't care about your resource route.
Log in, head to the coordinates $35, 65$ for some quick crystal, and start building. The Island isn't going to conquer itself.