Ark is releasing its Ark TLC 3 update today (7th November 2020) with updates to the Stego and Mammoth. It also adds some bonus quality of life updates too.
If you are new to Ark you might be wondering what a TLC update is. Well to be honest with you, it’s one of the best updates that developers create.
Instead of adding new features, like many of the normal Ark updates, the Ark TLC 3 update focuses on improving some of the dinosaurs already in the game. Not only changing their visual designs but also giving them so new moves too.
Here’s a quick overview of the Ark TLC 3 update:
- Mammoth TLC (new abilities and attacks)
- Stego TLC (new abilities and attacks)
- New breeding for Spider, Bat, Moth, Scorpion, Arthropluera, Mantis, Wyvern
- New taming HUD
- Quality of life changes
The previous Ark TLC updates added some great improvements and functionality to creatures that were much in need of TLC. In case you missed them, here is what changed in the older TLC updates.
Ark TLC 1
- Procoptodon
- Gigantopithecus A.K.A Bigfoot
- Dire Bear
- Direwolf
- Rex
Ark TLC 3
- Argentavis
- Parasaur
- Raptor
- Sarcosuchus
- Spinosaur
- Triceratops
Considering the quality of the previous updates, I really couldn’t wait to get stuck in and check out some of these new features as listed below.
If you’ve been taking a break from Ark while waiting for Genesis part 2, now is the time to jump back on and give it another try, get ready for a whirlwind list of amazing updates.
Mammoth TLC Update
Firstly, let’s take a look at what we can expect from the mammoths’ new looks and abilities from the latest Ark TLC 3 update release.
New Abilities
War Drum Saddle and Buff
- 1 additional passenger seat on a saddle that comes equipped with a war drum that must be played to maintain an AoE buff that improves stamina regen and makes them immune to fear.
New Attacks
Tusk Sweep
- Sweeps tusks left or right to gather and harvest thatch
Trunk Trumpet
- Emits a trunk roar that does an AOE debuff to all enemies within range
Foot Stomp
- Mammoth rears up and then puts all of its weight into a forward “slam” with its front legs to directionally knock back enemies and gather wood
Trunk Grab
- Similar to the Karkinos’s grab, it is able to grab, hold, and release smaller targets
It’s safe to say with these new abilities Mammoths will finally have much more use in the game and we should start seeing more players actively using them.
Stego TLC Update
The Stego in my eyes is a dino that has had very little use apart from berry picking for some time now, it will be nice to see them having more uses and abilities.
New Abilities
Backplate Modes
- Backplate passive buff and can switch between three modes. Different modes will be indicated visually
- Hardened Plated: Applies a damage reduction buff and prevents riders from being dismounted by enemies; Wood harvesting benefit
- Heavy Plate Mode: Applies a slow when attacking with the basic tail whip; Thatch harvesting benefit
- Sharpened Plate Mode: Applies an armor penetration effect when attacking with the tail whip. Also useful for harvesting berries
New Attacks
- Impaling Tail Whip
- Able to impale and immobilize players and smaller creatures
Ark TLC 3 Release includes new breeding
The great new is, we won’t just be seeing some new reskinned dinosaurs today, there will also be additions to the list of creatures that can now be bred, Studio Wildcard seem to have pulled out some amazing sneaky additions to this update.
Spider
- Egg Hatch Time: 1 hour and 25 minutes (Matches Pachy)
- Total Maturation Time: 1 day, 1 hour, and 1 minute (Matches Dimorph)
Bat
- Total Gestation Time: 3 hours and 58 minutes (Matches Procoptodon)
- Total Maturation Time: 1day, 4 hours, and 3 minutes (Matches Kairuku)
Moth
- Egg Hatch Time: 1 hour and 30 minutes (Matches Kairuku)
- Total Maturation Time: 1 day, 6 hours, and 51 minutes (Matches Pegomastax)
Scorpion
- Egg Hatch Time: 1 hour and 59 minutes (Matches Raptor)
- Total Maturation Time: 1 day, 13 hours, and 12 minutes (Matches Raptor)
Arthropluera
- Egg Hatch Time: 2 hours and 29 minutes (Matches Sarco)
- Total Maturation Time: 2 days, 3 hours, and 26 minutes (Matches Stego)
Mantis
- Egg Hatch Time: 2 hours and 46 minutes (Matches Stego)
- Total Maturation Time: 2 days, 6 hours, and 27 minutes (Matches Tapejara)
Wyverns: Finally Wyverns can also be bred too now, however Wildcard have mentioned they will keep an eye on things with this to make sure that the breeding lines do not make the game too unbalanced, so expect some quick hotfixes and debuffs.
New taming HUD
This is by far the best from the update in my opinion, I can’t way to be able to tame multiple dinosaurs, without worrying about losing where they are, or needing to keep finding them to check on the tame status.
The new taming screen shows the following information:
- Creature’s Gender and Level
- Taming and Unconscious Progress
- Taming Effectiveness
- Current Health and Food status.
- Distance from your location
- An option to track specific creatures via in-world waypoints (which can be hovered for an over-screen overlay displaying additional information).
You can also see the tracked dino as shown in the picture below:
Quality of life changes (Creatures)
If all the updates above wasn’t enough, which they certainly were, we get even more treats with todays Ark update:
Giganotosaurus
- Reduced maturation time by approximately 15% (Total growth is around 10~ days)
Diplocaulus
- Increased base health by 33% (from 190 to 250.3)
- Increased movement speed when ridden by 25%
Thylacoleo
- Added a (slow draining) bleed to its basic attack
Megachelon
- Reduced depth requirement for breeding so that it can be bred on other maps
Wyvern
- Wyverns are now breedable (Zombie Wyverns cannot be bred)
- Slight stat rebalance now that they’re breedable and to bring them in line with Crystal Wyverns
Megalodon
- Reduced gestation/aging times to match Megaloceros
- Pack Bonus: Damage Reduction and Damage Increase per pack member within range
- Added a bleed to its basic attack
Jerboa
- Increase base weight capacity from 55 to 120 (Matches Bulbdog)
Ankylosaurus
- Increase metal weight reduction by 10% (from total reduction of 75% to 85%)
Doedicurus
- You can now turn when rolling with a Doed (similarly to the Genesis Race Mission)
Basilisk
- Now has eyes
Other Updates
Boss Element Reward Increase
We’ve decided to increase the Boss Element reward on some maps to bring the Ele more into line with where we’re at with new expansions.
- Element reward from The Island bosses has been increased by 100%
- Element reward from The Center bosses has been increased by 100%
- Element reward from Scorched Earth has been increased by 50%
New Feature: Turret Radius Settings
A quick and easy way to update the settings of your nearby turrets within a radius. It’s set to currently match the Official Server Turret Limit radius, but players can also toggle viewing the radius on/off. The current functionality it supports is as follows:
- The ability to set a pin code to all turrets in range
- The ability to copy settings to all turrets in range
- The ability to copy settings to pin code-selected turrets in range
Now really is the time to jump back on to your favourite server and get playing with some of these amazing new updates.
