Ark: Survival Ascended - Every New Engram In The Extinction Update Ranked

The Extinction DLC update for Ark: Survival Ascended features leagues of new content for the popular survival game. The Extinction DLC pack also features the Bob's Tall Tales 3 DLC pack that has a Mad Max-inspired art style and gameplay cosmetics. The free DLC update also includes a new map, new creatures to tame, and additional features. However, the biggest new addition to the pack is the newest Engrams, which can drastically alter standard play styles.

The latest Engrams are made to be quality-of-life enhancements in addition to some PvP changes that bolster the newest Wasteland War mode. Eight new Engrams are featured in the game, but not all of them are worth working towards for new players looking to progress through the game smoothly. This list looks at the new Engrams featured in Ark: Survival Ascended Extinction and discusses which players should prioritize in each playthrough.

8 Lighting And Cosmetics

The Least Essential Engram For Players

Starting with perhaps the least essential Engram for players, Extinction has introduced a variety of new lighting sources for players to decorate their bases with. Coming with several different lights, lamps, and other cosmetic upgrades to the lighting of the player's structures, this is probably a tertiary goal for many players, at best. The lighting changes that have been made, especially to the new Extinction map, are fun, but generally overlooked for players consumed with gameplay rather than decorating or sprucing up their structures.

The use of the new lighting within Ark: Survival Ascended has led to some problems with specific maps for players, but it is hoped that an update will be out soon to fix the flickering that has been seen. Since the addition of additional light sources isn't the most interesting facet of the DLC, it ranks solidly at the bottom of the newly added Engrams.

7 Bladewasp Hive

A New Defensive Turret That Can Be Made

Adding to the more structural-based Engrams, the Bladewasp Hive is a new defensive turret that can be made. Most effective when used on pillars or more tower-styled bases, this is a perfect way to defend against aerial assaults from flying creatures. The Bladewasp Hive turret is powered by honey and can use sulfur as ammunition, but honey is notoriously hard to find for many players. This turret has the potential to be incredibly overpowered, but it does rely on players being able to amass honey in useful quantities.

The Bladewasp Hive has a high potential to be useful for players, as it allows you to keep the skies clear above your base and sic swarms on unwanted guests. The Swarmed debuff that gets put on attacking creatures causes exponential damage to the flying creature based on its health alongside a movement speed reduction. This is a strong option for players with bases that are higher in elevation.

6 Tribe Tower

This Engram Seems Great On Paper, But In Practice It's A Little More Complicated

The Tribe Tower seems like a great idea at first, but it might not be the efficient pillar of buffs that it seems like. The base buffs that can be gained by the Tribe Tower include better taming speed, experience gain, and element gain from boss kills. Although this can be unlocked early in the game, it can only be placed in the overworld within your tribe's territory and requires players to be in a tribe. The Tower is also powered by Apex Trophies, like Giganotosaurus Hearts, that can fuel the tower for up to three hours in the game. To date, there are no differences in fuel time for each trophy, despite differences in rarity.

This Engram seems great on paper, but does require players to stay within their tribe's territory for the buffs and can only be unlocked after Level 40. The stackable buffs are nice, but it might be up to each player to decide if it is really the right move for their gameplay. It should be noted that there is a large time constraint to leveling the Tribe Tower that might require many hours of game-time to level and there are no configuration settings for it currently, making it rank a bit lower on scale of Engrams added in Extinction.

5 Extinguisher Grenade

Useful For Players Who Enjoy The New Wasteland War PvP Modes And Solo Play Alike

The Extinguisher Grenade is a useful item for players who enjoy the new Wasteland War PvP modes and solo play alike. Effectively, this grenade functions in reverse, as it extinguishes fires of all kinds instead of creating them. This quick-working grenade can be useful when fighting flame-wielding enemies or creatures like ASA's controversial Pyromane. It is a rather low-cost item to make and is a practical piece of weaponry to have on your character in most altercations.

The Extinguisher Grenades are really useful, putting them higher on the list than some of the other new structures and features of Extinction, but they aren't quite as useful as some of the other Engrams higher on the list. It might be more useful for players who predominantly enjoy PvP, but its uses seem limited outside those situations. It should still be prioritized as a useful thing to have, but it won't make or break your gameplay experience if you choose not to use the Extinguisher Grenades.

4 Battlerig Garage

A New Structure That Enables Players To Build Their Own Customized Battlerig

The Battlerig Garage is a massive new structure that enables players to build their own customized Battlerig. The only reason that this new Engram ranks in the middle of the list of the best new ones from the game is that it is an incredibly expensive build. Although the Battlerig Garage can be learned at level 50, players will need to reach at least level 96 to craft the element-imbued gasoline to fuel the rigs. The Battlerigs themselves are an excellent look at how much freedom games like Ark: Survival Ascended offer players.

As a concept, the Battlerig Garage is an incredible idea. They give players the means to completely customize their rig alongside driving and building the rigs. Since different additions, like turrets or harvester blades, can be added, this is a solid Engram for players to work towards. These Wasteland-themed vehicles are a great feature for players looking to get around a bit faster.

3 Bio-Grinder

One Of The Most iInteresting Engrams

The Bio-Grinder is one of the most interesting Engrams, as it presents the solution to several hurdles that players might face: too many tamed creatures and not enough kibble. The Bio-Grinder is a pretty self-explanatory Engram, as players can walk or ride tamed creatures onto the structure and receive a set amount of kibble based on the kind of creature. This Engram also allows players to build platforms, stairs, and other features around it.

The Bio-Grinder can be unlocked at level 85 and costs about 50 Engram Points to learn, but it isn't incredibly difficult to craft. Players will also get higher quality kibble based on what creature they grind. This does mean you'll receive the same kind of kibble for grinding a creature that they take to tame. The only creature this does seem to be true for is the Basilisk, where players receive exceptional kibble no matter what.

2 Makeshift Megalab

A More Advanced Version Of The Chembench

The Makeshift Megalab is the runner-up for the best Engram available in the Extinction DLC. The Makeshift Megalab is a more advanced version of the Chembench that completely expands the usefulness of it. It can produce all the items that can be typically crafted in the basic chembench, but it also allows players to create element shards and use them for resetting the levels of tamed creatures.

While there are other very interesting aspects to the Makeshift Megalab, the ability to revert your creatures back to their "baby" form and even completely redistribute the levels of creatures after you've already placed them is great. It is important to note here that the Makeshift Megalab does not allow players to change levels that have been naturally increased by the creature leveling, only the ones that they place themselves.

1 Explosive Spear

A Versatile Weapon That Has A Dual Purpose

The Explosive Spear is a useful new weapon that is available for players after they reach level 58. It's a versatile weapon that has a dual purpose when it comes to both long and short-range encounters, as it can be used as a standard piercing weapon like a typical spear. The functionality transforms once players activate the explosive charge in the spear and can throw it to cause an explosion on impact with the target. This is an incredibly useful item for some of the more dangerous creatures that can be encountered, especially if you use the extra damage from the explosion to your advantage.

This is one of the best Engrams that has been added in the Extinction DLC as it deals significant damage and presents an alternative to grenades. They deal very heavy damage to stone and metal structures. The multi-functional use of getting both an explosive and a melee weapon makes this a key weapon that players should prioritize getting compared to some of the other Engrams available within Ark: Survival Ascended's Extinction DLC.