Just like the original game, Ark Survival Ascended features a ton of blueprints to discover that will help you upgrade your arsenal and your base. In this guide, we’ll be going through the best spots to find blueprints, as well as other valuable resources and loot.
Credits go to BEYPlaysGames for the handy tips and tricks with each recommendation.
Best Blueprint & Loot Farms Locations
If you’re struggling to find saddle blueprints, higher tier weapons and armor, or other materials, you have a lot of choices ranging from simple beacons that spawn around the map to deep and dangerous caves.
Let’s go through each of the best choices specifically for upgraded blueprints and more.
Random Beacons
Supply beacons have been heavily reworked in this version of the game, both aesthetically and functionally. Now, they contain an even more extensive selection of helpful resources and blueprints.
Whenever you spot a beacon spawn randomly on the map, even a low level one can be worth opening as they contain really valuable items now. As before, though, the higher tier ones such as the red beacons contain the best loot.
Literally Fishing For Loot
This method takes a bit of work to actually be useful, but once you manage to get the hang of it, it can be a good source of blueprints and other more common resources.
First, you will need a high quality fishing rod, which drops from creatures such as an Alpha Tusoteuthis. These dinos will require a lot of tames to easily take down, so make sure you have a bunch of Megalodons ready.
Once you have a good fishing rod, you will need to find the appropriate bait for the type of fish you will be catching.
For fish with a weight of 1.88 and below, you will need leech blood, which you can harvest from leeches in the swamp or the swamp cave (which will be covered later).
On the other hand, fish up to 2.4 weight will require giant bee honey. This can be gathered from hives out in the wild or created by tamed giant bees.
After getting some bait, start looking for a spot where there are several Sabertooth Salmon. To get them into an isolated spot, consume some rare flowers and lure them into an enclosed area that you can lock off with a gate.
From here, just kill off the lighter fish that you don’t want and plop down a chair. Drag your bait into your rod and start fishing.
A minigame will start whenever a fish takes the bait, and it is a relatively simple task that will reward you with various resources and sometimes even rare blueprints.
Caverns Of Lost Hope
This location can be found at the far eastern corner of the map, and it is a dangerous underwater cave with a lot of potential high quality loot from crates of varying colors that respawn every 45 minutes.
It is recommended to have a loaded shotgun or crossbow when traveling to this area, as well as an entire set of scuba gear and medical brews.
You should also take a Basilosaurus with you, as it can withstand the unique attacks of most of the creatures you will encounter in this cave. Having several Megalodons accompanying you will also help out here.
Caverns Of Lost Faith
Similar to the previous one, this is considered to be an easier underwater cave with the same good high quality loot. It can be found in the westernmost edge of the map.
You should be bringing the same gear and tamed creatures as the previous cave, though you may want to add in some Flak armor as some of the loot crates will spawn on land, which will have its own dangerous fauna.
The Swamp Cave
Next up, the swamp cave can be found within the Redwood Forests biome, somewhere to the east of the lake.
It has a wide range of deadly creatures and other hazards, and there will be poisonous air all throughout the area.
It is recommended to bring a few gasmasks with you, as well as a shotgun, crossbow, medical brews, and Flak armor. Depending on what creatures you bring, you may also need a stack of meat and stimulants.
Ideally, you should bring either a Baryonyx or a Beelzebufo with you as they can help you navigate through the entirety of the cave. An otter on your shoulder will also be helpful for looting.
One good tip is to wear only the gasmask as you enter the cave while mounted. For some reason, the Arthropluera’s ranged attacks will not reduce your mask’s durability, but it will destroy armor.
Because of this, you will only want to put on your armor whenever you need to dismount for any reason. It should also be noted that the loot in this area respawns faster than the other caves.
The Snow Cave
Finally, this difficult cave can be found near the upper left corner of the map. It isn’t necessarily a recommended spot due to how hard it is, but it can still be a good spot for loot if you can tough it out.
You will need a lot of high level gear to even attempt this, especially since cryopods have not been implemented in this version of the game yet.
This means that you cannot carry certain dinosaurs inside that would otherwise trivialize the fights that you’ll be having.
And those are all of the spots for grinding high quality loot. Hopefully you can find what you’re looking for when you go out and farm them!
ALSO READ: Ark Survival Ascended: Resource Guide & Locations | 2023
If we have the cryopod mod, what are the best dinos for each of those caves? Thanks