ARK 2 Element & Tek — Endgame Resource Guide

Boss fights are the primary source of element and each boss drops different amounts based on difficulty the Broodmother on Gamma gives 12 element Beta gives 40 and Alpha gives 120 while the Megapithecus goes 14 on Gamma 42 on Beta and 130 on Alpha and the Dragon gives 16 on Gamma 48 on Beta and a whopping 140 on Alpha plus the Overseer on Alpha drops 250 element in one go which is honestly the biggest single payout in the game and you'll want Rex or Spino armies for each of these bosses obviously because you can't exactly solo them with a shotgun and a dream I've tried lol. So basically start with Gamma bosses get your element flowing and work your way up to Alpha runs once you have Tek saddles on your boss rexes it's a whole different fight

Element converts to Tek Ingots at a 1 to 1 ratio in the Tek Replicator and you need Tek Ingots for literally every piece of Tek gear the Tek Rifle costs 60 ingots the Tek Chestpiece costs 50 Tek Leggings 40 Tek Boots 25 and Tek Helmet 20 so a full set with rifle is about 205 element total which is a lot but not impossible if you farm efficiently you know. And besides boss farming you can also get element from red and purple orbital supply drops which have a chance to contain element and desert and ice cave loot crates also yield element so combine these with boss farming for a steady income it's not amazing per drop but it adds up over time and stuff like that especially if you're doing cave runs regularly anyway

If you want element consistently the Broodmother on Gamma difficulty is hands down the most accessible entry point she gives 12 element per kill and with a decent Rex army maybe 10 to 15 rexes at 20k HP and 500 melee each you can farm her every 20 minutes including the tribute gathering time that's 36 element per hour not amazing but reliable and the Dragon on Alpha gives 140 element which is way better but the fight is genuinely hard and you'll lose rexes if you're not careful. But here's the strategy I've found works best farm Gamma Broodmother until you have enough element for Tek Rex saddles then use those saddled rexes to push Beta and Alpha bosses the jump in element from Gamma to Alpha is massive like 10x more and Tek saddles make it possible without losing your whole army every fight and for the Megapithecus the arena has a cliff you can fall off so keep your rexes near the spawn point and let the boss come to you instead of charging in nothing hurts more than losing three rexes to a fall before the fight even starts ugh I've literally watched my best rex walk off that cliff in slow motion

Orbital supply drops are kind of hit or miss for element but when they pay out they pay out big red drops have maybe a 30 percent chance of containing element purple drops closer to 50 percent and the legendary gold drops almost always have some the catch is that these drops are heavily contested on populated servers and they broadcast their location to everyone on the map so you're not just fighting the waves of corrupted creatures you're also watching your back for other players bring a good shotgun a lot of ammo and honestly bring a friend if you can the desert loot crates around 80 50 are less contested because most people hate the desert but you need a fast mount to run between spawn points before they despawn and the ice cave crates in the northwest around 15 25 are another decent source but you're dealing with freezing temperatures and purlovias that stun you out of nowhere. But IMO the best risk to reward ratio is the easier land caves central cave at 30 55 has loot crates that respawn every 30 minutes or so and the creatures inside are manageable with a good wolf or sabertooth you won't get rich quick but it's steady element income without the boss fight overhead. And for what to spend your hard earned element on don't be the guy who crafts Tek Boots first and then has no element left for anything useful the Tek Chestpiece is by far the best first craft it gives you flight which completely changes how you play the game no more needing an Argy to get up mountains no more falling deaths you just fly wherever you want next priority is the Tek Rifle for its raw damage output it shreds through alpha creatures and makes boss fights way more manageable after that the Tek Leggings for the super speed sprint that lets you outrun pretty much anything the Tek Helmet is useful for its threat detection overlay but honestly you can live without it for a while and Tek Boots should be your last craft the fall damage negation is nice but it's a luxury compared to flight and damage a full set of Tek armor with rifle costs about 205 element total that's about two Alpha Dragon runs or maybe a week of dedicated Gamma boss farming if you're going the safer route

The mistake that makes me cringe every time is when someone crafts a Tek Replicator with their first batch of element the replicator costs element to make and then you need more element to actually craft anything in it you've just spent your entire element stockpile on a crafting station that sits there empty craft your Tek gear first using the obelisk terminals they work just fine for crafting without needing a replicator the replicator is a convenience item for when you're swimming in element not an early purchase. Also another brutal mistake is going into a boss fight underprepared and losing your entire dino army you not only lose the element you spent on saddles and gear you also lose the boss tribute items and the rexes you spent weeks breeding that sets you back further than if you'd just waited another week to prepare properly and element has a spoil timer just like organic polymer it lasts longer but it does decay so don't hoard it forever thinking you'll use it someday or whatever. But one more thing if you're on a PvP server never store all your element in one place Tek turrets eat element as ammo and they'll drain your stockpile fast if you're getting raided spread it out hide some in a vault underwater and keep your Tek generator's element separate from your crafting stash I literally learned this after losing 300 element in one raid and it was honestly devastating