How to Get Fur in ARK: A Comprehensive Guide
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Securing fur in ARK: Survival Evolved is essential for crafting warm clothing and surviving the frigid environments that many of the game’s maps offer. The process involves harvesting pelt from various creatures and understanding how that raw material converts into the garments needed for survival. So, to answer the question directly: You get fur in ARK by harvesting pelt from furbearing creatures and then crafting it into fur armor. This process requires a combination of hunting, resource gathering, and crafting, which we’ll break down in detail below.
Understanding Pelt and Its Importance
Before diving into the specifics of fur acquisition, it’s crucial to understand what pelt is. In ARK, pelt is a resource obtained by harvesting the hides of specific animals. This differs from hide, which is the general skin of many creatures; pelt, specifically, refers to the fur-covered skin needed to make fur armor. This armor is vital for insulation, protecting your survivor from extreme cold weather.
How to Harvest Pelt
Pelt is primarily gathered by killing furbearing animals and then harvesting their corpses. The amount of pelt you receive depends on the creature killed and the method of harvesting. Here are the primary ways to get pelt:
- Hand Harvesting: You can physically punch a dead animal to collect some resources, including pelt, but this method is inefficient and yields very little.
- Tools: Using a Stone Pick, Metal Pick, Stone Hatchet, or Metal Hatchet is more effective than hand harvesting and will yield a greater amount of pelt.
- Carnivores: Tamed carnivores will automatically harvest the corpses of creatures they kill, often obtaining more resources, including pelt, than manual methods.
- Specialized Dinos: Certain creatures are particularly adept at harvesting pelt. For instance, a Direwolf or Procoptodon can be very effective at gathering large quantities of pelt from larger creatures like Mammoths.
Furbearing Creatures
The types of creatures that yield pelt are essential to know. Here’s a list of the primary sources of pelt in ARK:
- Castoroides (Beaver): These large beavers drop pelt.
- Direbear: One of the more common sources of pelt in many biomes.
- Direwolf: An excellent source, especially in the early to mid-game.
- Equus: While also yielding hide, the Equus provides a small amount of pelt.
- Ice Titan: One of the least efficient sources of pelt for the required effort
- Maewing: A more unusual source, but still provides pelt.
- Mammoth: A very high yield source, especially when harvested with a Direwolf.
- Megaloceros (Stag): Provides both hide and pelt.
- Rhino: Known for dropping large amounts of pelt.
- Procoptodon: The kangaroo can also be very useful to farm pelt from large sources on the map, such as in Scorched Earth.
Crafting Fur Armor
Once you have a sufficient amount of pelt, you can craft fur armor at a Smithy or in your inventory once you have unlocked the appropriate engram. A full set of fur armor includes the following pieces:
- Fur Hat
- Fur Chestpiece
- Fur Gloves
- Fur Leggings
- Fur Boots
Fur armor is essential for survival in cold climates. Each piece provides a significant amount of armor and hypothermal insulation, enabling you to explore colder regions safely. A full set of fur armor provides around 200 Armor, a large amount of Hypothermal insulation, and slightly negative Hyperthermal insulation, which makes it less suitable for hot climates.
Frequently Asked Questions About Fur in ARK
Here are some frequently asked questions about obtaining and using fur in ARK: Survival Evolved:
1. What’s the best early-game strategy for getting pelt?
In the early game, taming a Direwolf and hunting Mammoths is one of the most efficient strategies. Focus on using a metal pick or hatchet for harvesting if you do not have access to the carnivore yet.
2. Where can I find Mammoths easily?
Mammoths are commonly found in the snowy regions of many ARK maps. They’re often in groups, which makes hunting easier, but requires more caution.
3. Can I tame animals just for harvesting pelt?
Yes, Direwolves and Procoptodon are excellent for this purpose, as they are very efficient at harvesting pelt from large animals like mammoths.
4. Is there a way to get higher-quality fur armor?
Higher-quality fur armor isn’t crafted; it is obtained through Cave Drops, Deep Sea Loot Crates, Genesis Missions, and Tributes (Mobile).
5. What is the difference between hide and pelt?
Hide is the general skin of most animals, while pelt is specifically the skin of fur-bearing animals with the fur still attached.
6. How much insulation does fur armor provide?
A full set of fur armor provides about 249 hypothermal insulation and -109 hyperthermal insulation. This makes it very useful in the cold, but potentially dangerous in hot conditions.
7. Can you grow hair in ARK?
Yes, your character’s hair will grow throughout the game. You can customize your hairstyle with scissors after unlocking specific styles from achievements or cutting your hair to a certain length.
8. Do you start off bald in ARK?
Yes, survivors begin with 0% facial and head-hair growth. Hair will grow over time, and hair length does not reset after respawning.
9. What is the warmest armor in ARK?
The Hazard Suit provides the best heat insulation, while Tek Armor offers superior all-around protection with great heat and cold insulation. However, the Hazard suit is not optimal in cold climates because it offers minimal cold insulation.
10. Is Tek Armor better than fur armor?
Tek Armor is significantly better overall but is a much later-game option due to the resources required. Fur armor is necessary early- to mid-game to survive in cold environments.
11. What’s the easiest way to get a lot of pelt quickly?
Rhinos are an ideal target if you have a capable dino that can deal with them, because they provide an immense quantity of pelt. Procoptodon is also great when used on scorched earth.
12. How do you harvest pelt efficiently from large animals?
Use a tamed Direwolf or a Procoptodon to attack large animals like mammoths, then let the dino automatically harvest their corpses for a maximum yield.
13. Does the quality of the harvesting tool matter?
Yes, using Metal Picks and Hatchets will generally yield a higher amount of resources compared to Stone tools.
14. Does the quality of the Dino used to harvest affect the amount of resources?
Yes, the higher the level of a creature, and the greater the melee damage, the more resources they can obtain from each creature corpse.
15. Are there any other ways to get fur besides harvesting?
No, primarily the method to get pelt and then craft the fur armor is the method to obtain fur.
Conclusion
Getting fur in ARK: Survival Evolved is a necessary step for any survivor looking to brave colder climates. By understanding the best creatures to hunt, the right methods for harvesting pelt, and how to craft fur armor, you’ll be well-equipped to face any icy challenges. Remember, taming a Direwolf early on can provide a significant advantage, and don’t overlook other excellent sources of pelt like Mammoths, Rhinos, and Proctopodons, depending on the map you’re exploring.