Resource gathering is the foundation of every ARK 2 playthrough. Whether you are building a stone base, crafting tranq arrows, or forging metal structures, you need efficient farming routes and the right creatures. This guide covers the best farming locations on Arat, the optimal gathering creatures for each resource, recommended tool upgrades, and the metal-to-base progression path used by experienced players.
Resource Priority by Progression Stage
Your farming priorities change as you progress through the tech tiers. Do not farm resources you cannot process yet.
| Stage | Primary Resources | Gathering Method | Used For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thatch/Stone/Berry | Thatch, Stone, Fiber, Berries | Hand tools + Parasaur | Starter base, campfire, cloth armor, narcotics |
| Wood | Wood, Hide, Keratin/Chitin | Mammoth/Dozier + Raptor | Wooden structures, pikes, bows, saddles |
| Metal | Metal, Stone, Flint | Ankylosaurus + Argie | Metal tools, firearms, metal structures, tranq darts |
| Industrial | Crystal, Obsidian, Oil, Polymer | Anky/Dunkleo/Dozier | Electronics, industrial forges, Tek tier |
Metal Farming: The Economic Backbone
Metal is the single most important resource in ARK 2. Everything from metal tools to turrets to Tek structures requires it. Efficient metal farming requires two things: an Ankylosaurus (40% weight reduction on metal) and an Argentavis (50% weight reduction on metal). Together, they form the metal farming duo that no serious tribe plays without.
Best Metal Locations on Arat:
- Western Mountain Ridge (60, 40): The richest metal spawn on the map. 15+ metal nodes at the summit, respawning every 45-60 minutes. Bring an Anky and fly it up with an Argentavis. A single run yields 300-500 metal ingots worth of raw metal. Danger: high predator density including Raptors, Sabertooths, and occasional Giga spawns.
- Northern Frozen Peaks (25, 55): 10+ metal nodes interspersed with crystal and obsidian. Cold environment requires fur armor or an otter. Good multi-resource run: metal + crystal + obsidian in one trip. Lower predator density than the Western Ridge.
- Hidden Valley Caves (70, 80): 8-10 metal nodes inside a cave system near the southeastern coast. The cave mouth is narrow enough to block large predators. Safer than open-air routes but respawn times are longer (60-90 minutes).
Metal Farming Workflow: Fly Argentavis to metal location with an Ankylosaurus in its claws. Land, dismount, ride the Anky to each node. Attack metal nodes with the Anky's primary attack (not the spin — that wastes stamina). Transfer metal from Anky to Argie every 3-4 nodes to keep the Anky light enough for fast movement. Fly home. Smelt in industrial forge. A 30-minute run should produce 400-600 ingots with this duo.
Stone and Wood Farming
Stone: A Doedicurus is the only creature worth using for stone. Its passive gathering (rolled up mode) gathers stone automatically while you move along the beach or riverbank. The Doedicurus also provides 75% weight reduction on stone. Best stone routes: any coastline with visible rock clusters. The eastern beach from (80, 50) to (85, 70) has dense rock spawns with minimal predator interference. A 20-minute Doedic run yields 1,000-1,500 stone.
Wood: A Mammoth or Castoroides handles wood efficiently. The Mammoth gathers more per swing (60-80 wood per tree) while the Castoroides gathers faster with a wider swing arc. Both provide 50% weight reduction on wood. Best wood zones: the dense central forest around (50, 50). Avoid the swamp biome — tree density is lower and predator density is higher. The trick to efficient wood farming: use the Mammoth's secondary attack (stomp) on clumps of small trees for maximum wood per minute, then switch to primary attack for large trees.
Oil Collection
Oil is essential for gasoline, which powers generators, fabricators, and motorboats. Three methods to collect oil:
- Dunkleosteus underwater mining: Gather oil from underwater oil veins in the deep ocean. The Dunkleo provides 50% weight reduction on oil. Best spots: the ocean floor around (30, 70) and (60, 85). A 15-minute run with a decent Dunkleo yields 200-300 oil.
- Oil rocks (surface): The snow biome has surface oil rocks that can be gathered with a pick or Anky. Less efficient than underwater mining but safer for early-mid game players who lack scuba gear.
- Tame an Achatina: Passive oil production. An Achatina produces 1-2 oil every 15 minutes while alive. Place 3-4 in a pen near your base and collect passively. Low-volume but zero effort.
Crystal and Obsidian
Crystal: Required for spyglasses, electrical items, and Tek tier. Gather with an Ankylosaurus from crystal nodes in the mountain and snow biomes. The Western Mountain Ridge has 5-6 crystal nodes near the peak. Northern Frozen Peaks have 3-4. Crystal respawns every 40-60 minutes. A dedicated crystal run every 2 hours sustains medium-scale electronics production.
Obsidian: Required for polymer (indirectly, via the fabricator recipe) and Tek tier. Found in the same mountain zones as crystal but fewer nodes — typically 3-4 per mountain. The Caverns of Lost Hope underwater cave at (40, 55) has 6+ obsidian nodes and is worth the scuba gear investment. Ankylosaurus is the optimal gatherer for both.
Fiber and Berry Farming
Fiber is perpetually needed for everything from cloth armor to sleeping bags. Do not gather fiber by hand after the first hour. Tame a Moschops or Trike for mass berry farming, which yields fiber as a byproduct of thatch/berry gathering. The Therizinosaurus is the end-game fiber gatherer — its special attack shreds bushes for 200+ fiber per swing. A 5-minute Therizino run produces enough fiber for a week of crafting.
Automated Resource Production
Beyond manual farming, ARK 2 offers several passive resource systems:
- Industrial Forge: Smelts metal, crystal, and obsidian 20x faster than a regular forge. Standard mid-game upgrade.
- Chemistry Bench: Produces polymer, sparkpowder, narcotics, and other processed resources at 4x the speed of the mortar and pestle.
- Bee Hives: Passive honey production. Honey is used for kibble, medical brews, and taming. Build a beehive box near a flower-rich area.
- Gardens: Grow crops (rockarrot, savoroot, citronal) for kibble production. A greenhouse with irrigation and fertilizer produces 6x faster than outdoor plots.
Use Cases
Scenario 1: Solo player's weekly metal run schedule. Monday/Wednesday/Friday: 30-minute Anky-Argie metal runs to the Western Mountain Ridge. Tuesday/Thursday: Doedicurus stone run + Mammoth wood run. Weekend: Crystal + Obsidian mountain run, refill industrial forge. This schedule produces enough metal for a full stone base with 10+ turrets within two weeks of casual play.
Scenario 2: Tribe preparing for boss fight logistics. Assign two members to full-time resource farming one week before the boss attempt. One farms metal for ammo and saddles. The other farms organic polymer, obsidian, and crystal for Tek rifle and shield production. The tribe crafter processes the raw materials into finished goods. A three-person farming rotation keeps the forge running 24/7.
Scenario 3: Underwater oil farming run. Gear up with scuba tank, flippers, and a Dunkleosteus. Dive at (30, 70) and follow the ocean floor northeast. Each oil vein yields 10-15 raw oil. Loop back when inventory is full. A full scuba tank lasts 20 minutes — enough for a complete circuit.
Tips
- Argie + Anky is non-negotiable — the Argentavis's 50% weight reduction on metal doubles your farming efficiency. Never metal-farm without this duo.
- Store raw metal in the forge, not in vaults — an industrial forge holds up to 20,000 raw metal. Processing raw metal into ingots reduces weight by 50%. Store ingots, store raw metal only in the forge.
- Hide backup farming creatures — if your main Anky gets killed during a raid, you lose your farming capacity for 2-3 hours. Keep a backup Anky and Doedic in a hidden pen 200 meters from your base.
- Doedicurus in rolled mode — press the alternate control key to roll your Doedic into a ball. While rolled, it auto-gathers stone as you push it along beaches. Best passive gathering method in the game.
- Never farm without a flyer nearby — always park an Argentavis or Pteranodon within sprint distance. If a Giga or alpha predator spawns, you escape by air, not by running.