ARK: Survival Ascended 30 September Update: Cerberax, Gargantar and the Therizino TLC

ARK: Survival Ascended's 30 September update adds three creatures: Cerberax, Gargantar and a reworked Therizinosaurus. The Unreal Engine 5.8 upgrade that was meant to arrive with them has moved to 28 October. Wildcard split the two on 26 September, so today is an ordinary content update, and the engine change (with its three-week mod freeze) comes later.

What's in the update

Cerberax

Cerberax is the second creature in Fantastic Tames Season 1, after the Burrowbuck, and arrives today for owners of the pack. Wildcard's dossier calls it "a huge three-headed canid, capable of taking on even a Rex or Ossidon in a fair fight", and says anything short of a Giga or Carcha will have a tough time against it.

Each head has its own job:

• Right head: "applies fire to subdue its prey, while consuming venom to cripple it".
• Left head: "applies venom to weaken its prey, while consuming fire to heal its body".
• Middle head: coordinates the other two, adding to their damage and spreading their fire and venom to nearby targets.

Taming is three tames in a row. Once it's knocked out with narcotics, its adrenaline surges into one head. Mount that head and calm it until it runs out of energy, then the next head wakes. When all three have collapsed, feed it. Community Crunch 524 adds that each head responds to something different: one to a Survivor who won't back down, one to food, and one to a good hunt.

Riding takes up to three players. One controls the body and the middle head, and the other two take a side head each, which is how the three heads get the most out of each other.

Gargantar

Gargantar is the latest dragon from ARK: Dragontopia, and arrives today for all Dragontopia owners. Wildcard's teaser says it inhales just about anything in its path: "From allies to trees, bushes, and resources, nothing is safe from its seemingly bottomless belly." The more it eats, the tougher it becomes to bring down.

The belly works both ways. Trusted allies can be tucked safely inside it, away from the fighting, while enemies who end up in there have a much worse time of it.

Therizinosaurus TLC

The Therizinosaurus rework is free for everyone, and was picked by players in Wildcard's Extra Life vote. It is still a harvester: the aim was better "combat responsiveness, controls, traversal, visual progression", not a new role.

• Wild ones warn you first. A wild Therizino stares you down and spreads its claws before it attacks. Ignore the warning and it's "more dangerous than ever".
• Tames show their job. A forager grows long, sharp claws, while a heavy harvester's are worn and chipped.
• A new claw swipe pushes nearby creatures away, alongside smoother harvesting.
• A more agile ride. A mounted Therizino can turn on a dime and hop onto or over obstacles "that'd stop an Allo or Rex in their tracks".

Taming hasn't changed: knock it out and feed it.

What your server needs to do

1. Take a backup before you update. On a self-hosted server that's the ShooterGame\Saved\SavedArks folder and the two files in ShooterGame\Saved\Config\WindowsServer.
2. Update the server once the new build is out. Players' clients update themselves through Steam, and a client that's ahead of the server can't join it.
3. If you run a carefully tuned spawn setup, give the new creatures a day or two before you let them loose in it.

Self-hosting? The dedicated server is Steam app 2430930:

steamcmd +login anonymous +app_update 2430930 validate +quit

What's coming next

• 5 October: the UE 5.8 Public Test Realm opens as a beta client on Steam. The same day, Overwolf takes its mod cooking servers down and recooks every mod in batches, collecting any with significant issues into a list. No new mods or mod updates ship until 28 October.
• 28 October: UE 5.8 goes live on every platform, modding reopens, and Overwolf publishes the list of mods that need their authors' attention. Expect cooking and moderation to be slow for the first few days after. Our UE 5.8 guide covers how to prepare.
• Later this year: the Enigmasaur, Fantastic Tames Season 1's next creature, is due in Q4: "A shadow-veiled master of disguise, rarely seen in the same form twice." Wildcard's Dragontopia roadmap also lists "a boundless, map-wide skyworld" for December.

Overwolf's own note says "Dates may shift, depending on testing & recooking", so treat 5 and 28 October as the plan, not a promise.

FAQ

Do players need to own anything?

Cerberax comes with Fantastic Tames Season 1 and Gargantar with ARK: Dragontopia. The Therizinosaurus TLC is free for everyone.

Does this update wipe my server or add a map?

No. Nothing in Wildcard's announcements for 30 September mentions a wipe, a new map or an engine change.

What time does the update go live?

Wildcard hadn't posted a time when this was written. Their last creature update, Lumina on 9 July, went out at about 2 PM Pacific (10 PM UK).

Will this update break my mods?

It isn't expected to. The mod rebuild comes with UE 5.8 on 28 October, not today.

Can I run a UE 5.8 test server from 5 October?

Not yet. The 5 October beta is a game client, and Wildcard haven't said whether a matching dedicated server build comes with it.

Sources: Wildcard's Community Crunch 525, 524, 523, 522, 520, 517, 514 and 507, and the Dragontopia roadmap.