The Most Difficult Ark Map, Ranked

Choose the map you think is the most difficult!

Author: Gregor Krambs
Updated on May 20, 2024 06:23
For players diving into the challenging worlds of Ark, understanding which maps pose the greatest challenges can significantly enhance their strategic planning. By ranking the maps based on difficulty, both newcomers and seasoned veterans can share their experiences and insights, which helps everyone better prepare for the adventures ahead. This live leaderboard reflects the community's current views and continues to evolve with each new vote. Whether you're looking to inform your next game decision or simply curious about where others have struggled and triumphed, this dynamic tally offers a unique resource directly shaped by player interaction and feedback.

What Is the Most Difficult Ark Map?

  1. 1
    115
    votes
    This map is challenging because of its harsh environment, including radioactive areas, hazardous terrain, and limited resources. Players must also deal with new creatures that are unique to this map.
    Aberration is one of the most challenging expansion maps in the game ARK: Survival Evolved. It is an underground biome filled with hazards and mutated creatures. Players must navigate through tight caves, steep cliffs, and radioactive areas to survive.
    • Map Size: Approximately 63 square kilometers
    • Environment: An elaborate underground biome with various unique regions, including bioluminescent mushrooms and radioactive zones
    • Hazards: In addition to hostile creatures, players have to manage radiation exposure and deal with the threat of earthquakes
    • Creatures: Aberration introduces numerous new creatures, many of which have unique abilities and mutations
    • Resources: New resources such as Element Ore, Gas Balls, and Blue Gems can be found throughout the map
  2. 2
    32
    votes
    This map is challenging because it requires players to travel to different biomes and complete various missions while dealing with new creatures and hazards.
  3. 3
    18
    votes
    This map is challenging because it features an apocalyptic wasteland where players must fight off corrupted creatures and deal with harsh weather conditions.
    Ark: Survival Evolved - Extinction is an expansion pack for the popular open-world dinosaur survival game. It introduces a new map that takes place on Earth in a post-apocalyptic setting. The world is now overrun with futuristic creatures, corrupted dinosaurs, and ravaged landscapes. Players must adapt and survive in this harsh environment while uncovering the mysteries of the Extinction event.
    • Map Size: Approximately 98 square kilometers
    • Environment: Post-apocalyptic Earth with corrupted landscapes
    • Creatures: New futuristic creatures alongside corrupted and classic dinosaurs
    • Biomes: Multiple distinct biomes, including a city, wasteland, and underground forest
    • New Items: Unique technology-based equipment and structures
  4. 4
    30
    votes

    Scorched Earth

    Studio Wildcard
    This map is challenging because of its harsh desert environment, limited resources, and dangerous creatures. Players must also deal with extreme weather conditions, such as sandstorms and heat waves.
    Scorched Earth is an expansion pack for the popular survival game Ark: Survival Evolved. It introduces a new desert-themed map filled with extreme heat, sandstorms, and challenging environments. Players must adapt to the harsh climate and hostile creatures to survive in this unforgiving land.
    • Map Size: Around 144 square kilometers
    • Climate: Extreme heat, occasional sandstorms
    • Terrain Features: Deserts, mountains, canyons
    • Resources: Unique resources like cactus sap and silk
    • Biomes: Desert, dunes, mountains, oasis
  5. 5
    4
    votes
    This map is challenging because it features a massive, intricate cave system that players must navigate to find resources and creatures. There are also dangerous areas, such as deep underwater caves and treacherous cliffs.
  6. 6
    9
    votes
    This map is challenging because it is enormous, with a variety of biomes and creatures to encounter. Players must also deal with dangerous weather conditions, such as lightning storms and tornadoes.
    Ragnarok is an expansive and challenging map for the popular survival game Ark: Survival Evolved. It offers a diverse landscape with a mix of different biomes and a vast array of creatures to encounter. The map features lush forests, towering mountains, frozen tundras, and even a volcanic area. Players can explore underground caves, dive into underwater caves, and climb to the top of floating islands. Ragnarok provides a dynamic and visually stunning environment for players to conquer.
    • Map Size: 144 square kilometers
    • Biomes: 11 different biomes
    • Landmarks: Numerous unique landmarks including the Dragonmalte Trench and the Viking Bay
    • Creatures: Over 150 different creature species, both new and existing
    • Resources: Abundance of resources including metal, crystal, and obsidian
  7. 7
    21
    votes
    This map is challenging because it features a vast underground cave system that is easy to get lost in. Players must also deal with dangerous creatures, such as the Deinonychus and the Rock Drake.
    Valguero is an expansion map for the game Ark: Survival Evolved. It is a diverse and challenging map designed to provide players with a unique and immersive experience. The map features a variety of biomes, ranging from lush forests and rolling hills to deserts and tundras. It also includes several underground caves and a massive ocean with underwater content. Valguero offers a multitude of creatures to tame and encounter, including new and exclusive species.
    • Size: Around 60 square kilometers
    • Biomes: Lush forests, rolling hills, deserts, tundras, underground caves, ocean
    • Unique Features: Abundant natural resources, ruins, multiple entrances to underground caves, exclusive creature spawns
    • Exclusive Creatures: Deinonychus, Ice Wyvern, Giganotosaurus, Griffins, Megachelon, Rock Elemental, and more
    • Cave Systems: Multiple interconnected caves with challenging environments and hidden treasures
  8. 8
    5
    votes
    This map is challenging because it features a unique environment, including crystal caves and floating islands. Players must also deal with dangerous creatures, such as the Crystal Wyvern and the Reaper King.
    Crystal Isles is a vibrant and beautiful Ark map that features a stunning fantasy-themed environment. It offers a unique and challenging gameplay experience with its distinct biomes and diverse range of creatures.
    • Map Size: Approximately 150 square kilometers
    • Biomes: Lush forests, snow-capped mountains, crystal-filled caves, floating islands, and more
    • Unique Features: Floating islands, large underground caves, custom-built landmarks and ruins
    • New Creatures: Crystal Wyverns, Chalk Golems, Giant Bees, Fabled Creatures, and more
    • Aberrant Creatures: Some Aberration creatures can be found in certain biomes
  9. 9
    4
    votes
    While The Island map is considered one of the easier maps, it can still be challenging for new players due to the variety of creatures and biomes.
    The Island is a vast and challenging map in the game Ark: Survival Evolved. It is an expansive island filled with diverse biomes, dangerous creatures, and mysterious ruins waiting to be explored.
    • Size: Approximately 48 square kilometers
    • Biomes: Snow, Swamp, Redwood Forest, Grassland, Volcano, etc.
    • Caves: Numerous and complex cave systems
    • Resources: Abundant variety of flora, fauna, and minerals
    • Ruins: Ancient ruins scattered across the island
  10. 10
    17
    votes

    Genesis Part 1

    Studio Wildcard
    This map is challenging because it features new hazards, such as the Element and the Lunar Biome, as well as new creatures. Players must also complete various missions and challenges to progress.
    ARK: Genesis Part 1 is an expansion pack for the popular survival game ARK: Survival Evolved. It introduces an entirely new world and a unique storyline, taking players on an exciting adventure.
    • Release Date: February 25, 2020
    • Map Size: Large, consisting of multiple biomes and regions
    • New Creatures: Over 30 new creatures to encounter and tame
    • Mission System: Challenging missions and quests to complete
    • Tek Items: New advanced technology and equipment to acquire

Missing your favorite map?

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Ranking factors for difficult map

  1. Size and terrain complexity
    Larger maps with varied terrains, like mountains, water bodies, and dense forests, will be more challenging to explore and navigate.
  2. Environmental hazards
    Factors such as harsh weather conditions, extreme temperatures, and toxic areas can make the map more dangerous and difficult to survive on.
  3. Resource availability
    Limited access to essential resources like food, water, and building materials can make it significantly harder to establish a base and progress in the game.
  4. Spawn locations and frequency
    A map with dangerous creatures spawning regularly and in large numbers can dramatically increase the difficulty of surviving and progressing.
  5. Biomes and ecosystem variety
    Maps with diverse biomes and ecosystems may require players to adapt to different conditions, increasing the difficulty.
  6. Difficulty of tameable creatures
    The ease or difficulty in taming specific creatures, such as encountering higher-level or more aggressive creatures in a particular map, can affect map difficulty.
  7. Points of Interest (POIs)
    More challenging maps may have critical locations or areas that are harder to access, heavily guarded, or hidden, requiring players to use more advanced strategies to explore and conquer these areas.
  8. Cave systems and dungeon difficulty
    The complexity and danger level of caves and dungeons on a map significantly impact the difficulty, as players will need to overcome challenges to retrieve valuable resources and artifacts.
  9. Required gear and equipment
    A map may be considered more difficult if it requires specialized or high-level gear to survive or access certain areas.
  10. Player versus player (PVP) activity
    The level of fairness and competitiveness in player-versus-player interactions can also determine the difficulty of a map, particularly if players need to constantly defend against or conquer other players' bases.

About this ranking

This is a community-based ranking of the most difficult Ark map. We do our best to provide fair voting, but it is not intended to be exhaustive. So if you notice something or map is missing, feel free to help improve the ranking!

Statistics

  • 3625 views
  • 209 votes
  • 10 ranked items

Voting Rules

A participant may cast an up or down vote for each map once every 24 hours. The rank of each map is then calculated from the weighted sum of all up and down votes.

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More information on most difficult ark map

The popular survival game Ark: Survival Evolved has a vast open world with various maps for players to explore. Each map has its own unique features and challenges, making the gameplay experience different for every player. However, some maps are considered more difficult than others due to their harsh environments and dangerous creatures. In this article, we will explore the most difficult Ark map, based on player feedback and gameplay analysis. Whether you're a seasoned player or new to the game, this information will help you prepare for the challenges ahead.

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