ARK 2 offers a wide arsenal of weapons and armor across five tiers: primitive, enforcer, longneck, advanced, and Tek. Choosing the right tool for the situation is often the difference between a successful raid and a respawn screen. This guide breaks down every weapon and armor set by category, ranks them by use case, and provides community-tested best-in-slot recommendations for PvP, PvE, boss fights, and general survival.
Primitive Tier Weapons (Level 1-20)
| Weapon | Level | Damage | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stone Pick | 1 | 15 | Gathering thatch, fiber, stone. Poor weapon. |
| Spear | 1 | 30 | Best early weapon. Can be thrown for ranged damage. Good against Dodos and Dilos. |
| Bola | 3 | 0 | Immobilizes small-medium creatures for 20 sec. Essential for early taming. |
| Slingshot | 2 | 5 | Torpor damage only. Useful for early passive tames. Replaced by tranq arrows at level 5. |
| Bow + Stone Arrow | 5 | 25 | Ranged combat against Dilos and Raptors. Decent damage for early game. |
| Bow + Tranq Arrow | 10 | 5 | 200% torpor damage. Your primary taming tool until crossbow. |
Best-in-Slot (Primitive): Spear for melee, Bow+Tranq for taming, Bola for crowd control. Skip the slingshot — its torpor-to-time ratio is terrible compared to tranq arrows.
Mid-Tier Weapons (Level 20-60)
Crossbow (Level 15): The crossbow is a massive upgrade over the bow. It fires tranq arrows underwater, deals 50% more torpor per shot than the bow, and has a flatter trajectory. The trade-off: slower reload time (2.5 seconds vs 1 second for the bow). You should switch to crossbow for all taming at level 15 and never look back. Always craft a Mastercraft or Ascendant crossbow blueprint when you find one — the torpor per shot scales with quality.
Pump-Action Shotgun (Level 40): The undisputed king of close-quarters combat in ARK 2. Fires 6 pellets per shot, each dealing 15 damage (90 damage total at point blank). The pump-action fires faster than the regular shotgun (1.2x fire rate). One magazine (6 shells) kills most mid-tier creatures. In PvP, the pump shotgun is the room-clearing weapon of choice. Carry it in every PvP loadout.
Assault Rifle (Level 45): Versatile mid-range automatic weapon. 30-round magazine, 300 RPM fire rate, 25 damage per bullet. Effective for suppressing defenders during raids and fighting at medium range. Not as effective as the shotgun in close quarters or the longneck at range. It fills the "generalist" slot — fine for PvE, decent for PvP, outclassed by specialist weapons in every specific scenario.
Longneck Rifle (Level 30): Bolt-action rifle with a scope. 35 damage per shot, 5-round magazine. The longneck excels at hunting from range and picking off riders during PvP. Its scope provides 4x zoom, making it the best weapon for scouting and player elimination at range. The slow fire rate (1 shot every 2 seconds) means it is terrible up close. Keep a pump shotgun as your secondary when using the longneck.
Fabricated Sniper Rifle (Level 55): Upgrade over the longneck. 55 damage per shot, 2x scope, flatter trajectory. The highest single-shot damage in the non-Tek tier. One-shot kills on players without flak armor. Excellent for base defense from elevated positions. Expensive ammo (gunpowder + metal) — use sparingly.
Tek Tier Weapons (Endgame)
Tek weapons require Element to craft and charge. They are the definitive endgame tools.
- Tek Rifle: Fires a rapid plasma bolt that deals 60 damage per hit. High fire rate (450 RPM). Requires Element to charge. Best all-around Tek weapon. Useful in every scenario.
- Tek Railgun: Charged plasma shot that deals 200 damage. 8-second charge time. Penetrates armor and structures. Best against players in Tek armor and mounted riders. The single most devastating PvP weapon.
- Tek Grenade: Deals 2x the damage of standard grenades. Large blast radius. Expensive to craft but the best PvP explosive.
- Tek Sword: 80 base damage. Ignores 50% of target armor. Swing speed faster than metal sword. Best melee weapon in the game by every metric.
- Tek Pistol: Semi-automatic plasma pistol. 40 damage per shot. Uses less Element charge than Tek Rifle. Decent backup weapon but outclassed by Tek Rifle for primary use.
Armor Set Comparison
| Armor | Level | Armor Value | Best For | Weakness |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cloth | 2 | 15 | Starter, hot climates | Almost no damage protection |
| Hide | 10 | 50 | Early game, cold, insulation | Low durability |
| Chitin | 20 | 125 | Early combat, durability | Poor insulation, weight |
| Flak | 30 | 250 | PvP combat, boss fights | Heavy, poor insulation |
| Fur | 35 | 100 | Snow biome, cold protection | Poor combat stats |
| Ghillie | 40 | 80 | Stealth, scouting, desert | Poor durability |
| SCUBA | 50 | 60 | Underwater exploration | No combat value |
| Riot | 60 | 350 | Tank build, PvP soaking | Very heavy, slow movement |
| Tek | 85 | 500 | Everything | Requires Element to charge |
Best-in-Slot by Use Case
PvP Combat: Flak armor (good protection-to-weight ratio) + Pump Shotgun (room clearing) + Longneck/Sniper (ranged eliminations). Tek armor + Tek Railgun if you have Element to burn.
PvE Survival: Flak armor (general protection) + Crossbow/Tranq (taming) + Assault Rifle (versatile combat). Bring a Pike as melee backup for when creatures get too close.
Boss Fights: Ascendant Flak armor (highest non-Tek armor value) + Pump Shotgun (add clearing) + Yutyrannus courage roar (buff). Leave the sniper at home — boss arenas are close quarters. Bring 500+ shells per player.
Underwater: SCUBA set (mandatory for deep dives) + Crossbow (underwater taming) + Baryonyx or Mosasaurus mount. Melee weapons are ineffective underwater — rely on your mount for damage.
Stealth Scouting: Ghillie armor (reduces detection range by 60%) + Longneck with scope (long-range observation). Carry C4 for opportunistic infiltration. No heavy armor — you need to move fast and quiet.
Use Cases
Scenario 1: Solo PvP loadout for base defense. Ascendant flak armor (crafted from a blueprint, minimum 500 armor total), Pump-Action Shotgun (200 shells), Assault Rifle (400 rounds), Fabricated Sniper (50 rounds), 10 Medical Brews, 5 Focal Chili. Keep this loadout in a vault near your base entrance. When raiders come, grab it and head to your elevated turret tower for the sniper-supression-then-shotgun-clear rotation.
Scenario 2: Boss fight gear distribution for an 8-person tribe. 6 members wear Ascendant Flak with Pump Shotguns. 1 member wears Riot armor and rides the Yutyrannus (highest survivability — they need to stay alive to roar). 1 member wears Ghillie (lightweight for artifact carrying) and manages the Daeodon healing pulses. Shotgun shells: 500 per combat member. Medical Brews: 30 per person. Calien Soup: 10 per person for hydration.
Scenario 3: Early-game weapon upgrade path. Spear (level 1) → Bow + Stone Arrows (level 5) → Crossbow + Tranq Arrows (level 15) → Longneck Rifle (level 30) → Pump Shotgun (level 40) → Fabricated Sniper (level 55) → Tek Rifle (endgame). Skip the Pistol entirely. Consider the Assault Rifle at level 45 if you prefer automatic weapons, but the shotgun + longneck combo covers close and long range better.
Tips
- Always carry a sphere — the grappling hook and climbing pick together solve every mobility problem. A sphere (from the Extinction DLC if available) is even better but requires Element.
- Blueprint quality matters more than material — a Mastercraft Crossbow deals more torpor than a primitive Fabricated Sniper. Check quality before material when evaluating gear.
- Medical Brews are better than cooked meat for healing — 40 HP per brew vs 20 HP per cooked meat, and brews do not spoil. Carry 10+ at all times from mid-game onward.
- Tek armor is a trap without Element supply — running out of Element mid-fight removes your armor bonus and slows you down. Only wear Tek if you have a steady Element income from boss fights.
- Pump Shotgun is the only PvP primary you need — the r/ARK consensus is that the pump shotgun handles 80% of PvP engagements. The remaining 20% (long-range) is covered by the sniper. Skip the assault rifle unless you have weight capacity to spare.