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What Gets Metal Best in Ark? A Comprehensive Guide to Metal Harvesting

The pursuit of metal is central to survival and progress in ARK: Survival Evolved. From crafting basic tools to building advanced structures, metal is a resource that every survivor desperately needs. But what’s the most efficient way to get it? The short answer is: a combination of using an Ankylosaurus for harvesting and an Industrial Forge for smelting. However, the path to maximizing your metal output is more complex than just that, and this guide will delve deep into all the nuances.

The Most Effective Metal Harvesting Methods

To get the most metal efficiently, you need to understand both the best tools and the best creatures for the job. Here’s a detailed look:

Ankylosaurus: The Metal-Harvesting Champion

The Ankylosaurus is, without a doubt, the premier metal-gathering creature in ARK. Here’s why:

Efficiency: The Ankylo is specifically designed for harvesting metal nodes. Its attacks efficiently break down metal deposits, yielding significantly more metal than you could ever hope to gather manually.
Weight Reduction: The Ankylosaurus provides an 85% weight reduction for metal while the resource is in its inventory. This crucial feature means you can carry significantly more metal back to your base in a single trip.
Metal Nodes: The Ankylo excels at targeting specific metal nodes, the grey rocks with golden streaks and the solid gold rocks, which provide more metal per hit than regular stones. The solid gold rocks in particular, when harvested by an Ankylo, yield the absolute highest amount of metal.

To maximize your Ankylo’s efficiency:

Level Up: Prioritize leveling up its melee damage stat to increase the amount of metal gathered per swing.
Saddle: Equip your Ankylo with a saddle to allow you to ride and control it while harvesting.
Strategic Placement: Position your Ankylo precisely to target the metal node, often requiring a short walk while swinging to ensure all resources are collected.

Manual Harvesting: When Ankylo Isn’t Available

While the Ankylo is the best, manual harvesting is often necessary, especially in the early game.

Metal Pickaxe: The metal pickaxe is the most efficient tool for manual metal collection. It not only harvests more metal per swing compared to stone tools but also provides a faster gathering speed. An ascendant or mastercraft pickaxe can rival the efficiency of an Ankylo, but these are difficult to obtain.
Targeting Metal Nodes: Even when harvesting manually, focus on metal nodes. These will still yield significantly more metal than common rocks.
Leveling: When you’re manually harvesting, leveling up your character’s melee damage can still make a noticeable difference in harvest output.

Best Metal Smelting Method

Once you’ve gathered your raw metal, the next step is smelting it into metal ingots. The Industrial Forge is the fastest way to accomplish this:

Efficiency: The Industrial Forge smelts 40 metal into 20 metal ingots in just 20 seconds.
Speed: Compared to the basic Refining Forge, the Industrial Forge is incredibly faster and more efficient for large-scale metal production.
Resources: Keep in mind that you will need gasoline to fuel the industrial forge, so be sure to always keep a good supply going.

FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions About Metal Harvesting in Ark

Here are some common questions about metal harvesting in Ark, which will further expand your knowledge:

1. What Kind of Rocks Should I Mine for Metal?

Focus on the grey rocks with gold streaks or the solid gold colored rocks. These are metal nodes, which yield far more metal than standard rocks.

2. Is there a Location That Is Better Than Others For Metal Farming?

The Caverns of Time on the Fjordur map is regarded as one of the best locations for metal spawns. This area has a very high density of metal-rich nodes. Also, the foot of the hill on the Lost Island has a large area where metal rocks spawn and is a decent place to get started.

3. Can I Use Other Dinos to Harvest Metal?

While other creatures can technically harvest metal, the Ankylosaurus is by far the most efficient for this task. The Doedicurus can collect metal while attacking obsidian nodes, but it is more efficient at collecting obsidian.

4. Are Metal Tools Better Than Stone Tools for Gathering Metal?

Yes, metal tools, especially the metal pickaxe, are much more effective than stone tools for harvesting metal. They offer faster gathering speed and harvest more resources per swing.

5. How do I get Metal Early in the Game?

In the early game, focus on using a stone pickaxe to harvest metal nodes. Once you reach level 25, craft a metal pickaxe to substantially increase the rate at which you gather metal.

6. How does the Weight Reduction Work on the Ankylosaurus?

The Ankylosaurus provides an 85% weight reduction for metal within its inventory. This allows you to transport much more metal before it becomes encumbered.

7. Are Ascendant or Mastercraft Tools Better for Metal Harvesting?

Yes, a Mastercraft or Ascendant metal pickaxe will gather significantly more metal per node and often rivals the harvesting efficiency of an Ankylosaurus, but they are rare and hard to obtain.

8. What’s the Difference Between a Refining Forge and an Industrial Forge?

The Refining Forge is a basic smelting station that can handle two metal at a time. The Industrial Forge is significantly faster and more efficient, smelting 40 metal into 20 metal ingots at once in 20 seconds.

9. Can I Use a Chainsaw for Metal Harvesting?

While the Chainsaw is an excellent tool for harvesting many other resources, it is not effective for metal harvesting. Picks are the most efficient manual method for metal.

10. What Building Material is Strongest in Ark?

Metal is the strongest building material, offering the highest level of protection against explosives and tools. Stone is mid-tier, and Wood is a lower tier, and Thatch is the most fragile tier.

11. Is Stone better than metal for building?

No, metal is generally considered to be a better building material than stone, although they have the same base HP, metal offers better resistance to explosives and is not damaged by metal tools.

12. Which is better for harvesting stone, a pickaxe or an axe?

The axe is better for harvesting stone, while the pickaxe is better for harvesting flint and metal.

13. Is it worth using a Doedicurus to harvest metal?

No, while the Doedicurus is fantastic for gathering stone, it is not efficient for metal collection, its only exception being when it attacks obsidian nodes.

14. Where is a good spot to start farming metal on The Island?

The area around the volcano is a popular spot. The foot of the hill on the Lost Island map is another great starting spot.

15. What is the strongest metal you can get?

Tungsten is considered the strongest metal in the real world. In Ark, you can get metal ingots, and advanced metal ingots.

Conclusion

Efficient metal harvesting is crucial for success in ARK: Survival Evolved. By using the Ankylosaurus to harvest metal nodes and smelting the raw metal in an Industrial Forge, players can significantly increase their metal output. Prioritizing the metal pickaxe for manual harvesting and exploring high-density spawn locations will also greatly benefit your metal-gathering efforts. By utilizing these strategies and answering the questions above, you’ll be well on your way to mastering metal acquisition and dominating the ARK!

What gets metal best in Ark?