10 Mythical Creatures That Should Be Added To Ark: Survival Ascended

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ARK: Survival Ascended

Ark: Survival Ascended has gotten more comfortable adding fictional or sci-fi creatures, meaning more could and should be on the way. Ascended has continued to be a dominant force in the gaming sphere. The prehistoric survival game has recently sold over two million copies, with another 400,000 in its DLC pack. Though it is not without its faults, it is largely everything that it should be and more.

Ark has always tried to keep most of its creatures realistic, but some have pushed boundaries. Scorched Earth introduced the mythical Manticore, and the majority of new additions in Aberration are fictional. Even recently, the fiery Pyromane joined the roster, albeit with some controversy.

10 Hippogriffs Already Have A Foundation

Origin: Greek

Ascended's easiest option is to add another hybrid to the game — the Hippogriff, joining the Manticore boss. In Greek mythology, Hippogriffs resulted from a horse and griffin having a child. This works well in the survival game, as it already features Griffins and a prehistoric horse variant, the Equus.

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Ability-wise, Hippogriffs would not have to do anything large to be added. The simplest way to include them is to make them one of the coolest flying tames. A good example is the Pteranodon, a simple dino that doesn't offer much utility but can be extremely fast. However, since Hippogriffs are mythical, they could receive a boost, like carrying over some of the talents of both the Griffin and Equus.

9 Adding The Pegasus Could Work In Two Ways

Origin: Greek

A player riding a Pteradon while running away from a Rex.

The Pegasus is another simple addition that would fit well in Ark. The first option for this is to make it a rare variant of the Equus, but it would have to bend the rules a bit to allow it to have abilities. The other option is to just include it as a rare natural spawn, similar to Gigas or the cool Titanosaur that can be tamed.

Besides being a flying tame, which is always useful, there are some powers the Pegasus could have. It is often described to have been used to deliver thunderbolts to Zeus, so it could have some built-in electric resistance, or give its riders a small handful of "thunderbolts" they can throw. Another option relates to Pegasus's connection to creating water, which could be an ability on a long cooldown that proves helpful on maps like The Desert.

8 Anzû Is Perfect For Scorched Earth

Origin: Mesopotamia

A crew from Ark Scorched Earth roaming through the desert.

The Anzû would be a tricky addition to balance, but it would make for an amazing Scorched Earth creature. In history, Anzû was described as either a giant bird or an eagle with the head of a lion. Whichever interpretation Studio Wildcard might use, the rarity of this creature would be important, and something on par with what Phoenix has would likely be best.

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The reason Anzûs would be so strong is due to their ability to breathe fire and water. The first would make for a powerful offense akin to the Phoenix. The latter, on the other hand, could be used as a survival method in the hellscape that is The Desert. Since this would be a late-game tame, balance wouldn't need to be finely tuned, just centered in a place where Anzû doesn't power creep anything.

7 Embrace The Lightning With Raijū

Origin: Japanese

Dinosaurs from Ark Survival Ascended with an obelisk

The Raijū is the lightning beast companion of the god Raijin, and while tricky, could be a fun addition. Though the Raijū takes the shape of many animals, the most common appearance would be the best option for Ark. That would have this ball of light take the shape of a blue-tinted wolf, although it might need some minor modifications to best fit the prehistoric theme while remaining considerate of its roots in Japanese mythology.

All the abilities of the Raijū would be electric-focused. This would need to be tightly balanced to ensure it doesn't get too strong, but a general AOE chain effect could be cool and something rarely used in Ark. A command that is a command that makes it transform into its usual small ball of electricity and hide in the body of a dinosaur could blend well into the Raijū's history. This could have a slowing effect or small damage over time.

6 Minotaurs Would Be A Fiesty New Combatant

Origin: Greek

Ark Survival Ascended Scorched Earth Creatures1

Minotaurs would need their appearance tweaked, but they're an obvious choice for mythological additions to Ark: Survival Ascended. The best approach to a change would be to make them full bull or lean more towards the body of a Gigantopithecus. However, they would be stronger and larger than their humanoid cousins.

Along with being stronger stat-wise, there are a few abilities that Minotaurs could have. An appealing option that would be balanced by the lack of other abilities would be to let them them wield player melee weapons. This could be a large boon for when a high-damage weapon is crafted, and would likely be higher damage than a Minotaur punch. A secondary ability could be a horn attack that deals light damage but causes the target to bleed.

5 Mothman Would Be The Perfect Meme Addition

Origin: United States

Mothman creature from Fallout 76, red-eyed and hovering.

Mothman may be one of the more comedic options, but it could work well as a light-hearted Ark: Survival Ascended addition. Given everything that has joined Ark since the beginning, a giant Moth with some humanoid aspects would not be outside the range of possibilities. The creature has seen more usage lately in gaming, with the most notable inclusion being in Fallout 76.

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The best case for the Mothman would be an untameable creature that stalks players. Late at night, players witness a pair of large red eyes glaring at them, but any attempt to combat it would make the creature leave. If it fights at all, it shouldn't be too strong, enough to give an early-game challenge but be feasible in the mid-game. A possible reward for killing it could be a unique skin for helmets that turns them into the face of the Mothman.

4 The Oceans Are Never Dead With The Bake-kujira

Origin: Japanese

Concept Art of players in Tek Tier armor swimming around an underwater base with tamed dinosaurs.

Bake-kujira is a skeleton whale yōkai that would punish humans who hunt whales. This design is simple enough, and it would be a spooky addition to a game that doesn't typically deal with the paranormal. Bake-kujira would fit best as a mini-boss that appears if players kill too much ocean life in a short amount of time. This lets it stick to its historical purpose while adding more danger to Ark: Survival Ascended's oceans.

In its stories, Bake-kujira was capable of cursing humans with plagues and fire. In the case of Ark, while fires would be removed, it could curse players/tames while they are fighting it. The fairest debuff in this regard would be a slow, annoying but not game-ending. To counter this, Bake-Kujira would have a low damage output, giving its opponent a fair but challenging fight.

3 The Kraken Could Be The Ultimate Ocean Boss

Origin: Norwegian

The Kraken would be a mighty option to add as a new world boss. The giant cephalopod fight could go one of two ways: completely underwater or a mix. The first option would be harder for players as it limits weapon and tame options, but could be the more memorable experience. Option two, on the other hand, would be slightly easier and has to be tackled in a completely different way.

The Kraken at base could be a simple boss with attack patterns utilizing its tentacles. However, by dipping into its natural ability to live in freezing water, Ark could give it some bonuses. Some simple options without going too overboard would be letting it release cold water that debuffs anything it hits or raining down quickly hardening icicles. This may push the Kraken a bit past its known strength, but it could make the fight more immersive.

2 Cerberus Is The King Of The Underground

Origin: Greek

Two Ark dinosaurs and a character standing in front of The Center landscape

Cerberus would make for another fun world boss, best fitting in The Center or the Molten Element region of Aberration. This is due to the beast's job of being the guardian of the gates of Hell. Thus, putting it on these two maps with large underground ecosystems fits it best. Cerberus could be made into a rare tame but fits a bit better as a world boss.

Survival Ascended looking at each other.

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Given its history and design, Cerberus would be a challenging fight. The most obvious attacks would be fearsome bites and claws. However, leaning more into the mystical gives it a major boost. Cerberus has occasionally breathed fire, which would make for a devastating attack around a small arena. Also, if Ark chooses to add the snake heads around the rear, it could deliver poison attacks that do moderate to little damage but leave devitalizing debuffs.

1 Hydra Becomes The King Of Ark

Origin: Greek

A xenomorph and godzilla roaring in Ark Survival Ascended.

The legendary Hydra dragon could make for the hardest encounter in Ascended. Though its appearance varies, the most common one is a titan-sized dragon with around five to seven heads. A fight of this magnitude would likely need high-end gear and Ark: Survival Ascended's best dinosaurs to even stand a chance of winning.

Ability-wise, the Hydra could push what a boss fight is like. Each head could have a different element it utilizes, and its melee attacks would pack a heavy punch. Going with the theme of its head duplicating, the only way to kill the Hydra would be to kill all active heads in the same period. If a head is killed too early, then it will split into two, which can both utilize the same element, albeit weaker. The max heads would be ten to prevent any technical issues, but that would be a gargantuan disadvantage to come back from.

Overall, it would take some effort to get most of these mythical ideas into Ascended, but it would be worth it. They would be memorable experiences and could also have a price tag to warrant the effort. If not used for this game, these ideas could also translate into Ark 2 without many problems. Regardless, ten mythical creatures would all be great inclusions in Ark: Survival Ascended or elsewhere in the franchise's future.