Building
Building is a primary component of ARK: Survival Evolved. By chopping down forests full of trees and mining metal and other precious resources, you can craft the parts to build massive multi-leveled structures composed of complex snap-linked parts, including ramps, beams, pillars, windows, doors, gates, remote gates, trapdoors, water pipes, faucets, generators, wires and all manner of electrical devices, and ladders among many other types. Structures have a load system to fall apart if enough support has been destroyed, so reinforcing your buildings is important. All structures and items can be painted to customize the look of your home, as well as placing dynamically per-pixel paintable signs, textual billboards, and other decorative objects. Shelter reduces the extremes of weather and provides security for yourself and your stash!
You can rotate building props by hitting the Use key (default E) while in placement mode.
Building Tiers
There are seven tiers of building in ARK: Survival Evolved. Each tier has varying durability. See the List of creatures that can damage structures for a comparison of each tier's susceptibility to damage by various creatures.
Thatch
Thatch is the lowest of all building tiers. All the thatch building Engrams can be unlocked by level 3. Thatch buildings are relatively cheap, but the trade-off is that they provide little to no protection against other players or dinosaurs. If any decent kind of protection is needed, it is recommendable to upgrade to the wood tier as soon as possible. Most of thatch structures have a decay time of 4 days on official servers.
Portable Rope Ladder
Rope Ladder
Sloped Thatch Roof
Sloped Thatch Wall Left
Sloped Thatch Wall Right
Thatch Ceiling
Thatch Door
Thatch Doorframe
Thatch Foundation
Thatch Roof
Thatch Wall
Wood
Wood is the second building tier. All the essential wood building Engrams can be unlocked by level 10 (although some of the non essential Engrams can only be unlocked in higher levels). Wood buildings are relatively expensive, and require between 20 and 80 wood for each part. However wood provides much better protection than thatch against other players and dinosaurs since wood buildings can't be damaged by stone tools and have roughly 10 times as much hp. Most of wooden structures have a decay time of 8 days on official servers.
Dinosaur Gate
Dinosaur Gateway
Large Wooden Wall
Sloped Wood Wall Left
Sloped Wood Wall Right
Sloped Wooden Roof
Stone Cliff Platform
Wooden Catwalk
Wooden Ceiling
Wooden Door
Wooden Doorframe
Wooden Double Door
Wooden Double Doorframe
Wooden Fence Foundation
Wooden Fence Support
Wooden Foundation
Wooden Hatchframe
Wooden Ladder
Wooden Pillar
Wooden Railing
Wooden Ramp
Wooden Staircase
Wooden Stairs
Wooden Trapdoor
Wooden Tree Platform
Wooden Triangle Ceiling
Wooden Triangle Foundation
Wooden Triangle Roof
Wooden Wall
Wooden Window
Wooden Windowframe
Adobe
Adobe buildings are comparable to wood structures as having the same HP and similar traits. However Adobe requires its own category because of its unique trait of having increased protection from Hyperthermia. Please note that this form of adobe is associated with the Scorched Earth engram and not the Primitive Plus variant. Most of adobe structures have a decay time of 8 days on official servers.
Adobe Ceiling
Adobe Dinosaur Gate
Adobe Dinosaur Gateway
Adobe Door
Adobe Doorframe
Adobe Double Door
Adobe Double Doorframe
Adobe Fence Foundation
Adobe Fence Support
Adobe Foundation
Adobe Hatchframe
Adobe Ladder
Adobe Pillar
Adobe Railing
Adobe Ramp
Adobe Staircase
Adobe Stairs
Adobe Trapdoor
Adobe Triangle Ceiling
Adobe Triangle Foundation
Adobe Triangle Roof
Adobe Wall
Adobe Window
Adobe Windowframe
Behemoth Adobe Dinosaur Gate
Behemoth Adobe Dinosaur Gateway
Giant Adobe Hatchframe
Giant Adobe Trapdoor
Large Adobe Wall
Sloped Adobe Roof
Sloped Adobe Wall Left
Sloped Adobe Wall Right
Stone
Stone buildings have the same durability as wood buildings, but there is one major difference: Stone buildings only take 1 damage from metal tools, as opposed to the approximately 20 damage that wood buildings take. Included in the Stone tier are reinforced structures such as the Reinforced Wooden Door and the Reinforced Dinosaur Gate. Most of stone structures have a decay time of 12 days on official servers.
Behemoth Reinforced Dinosaur Gate
Behemoth Stone Dinosaur Gateway
Giant Reinforced Trapdoor
Giant Stone Hatchframe
Large Stone Wall
Reinforced Dinosaur Gate
Reinforced Double Door
Reinforced Trapdoor
Reinforced Window
Reinforced Wooden Door
Sloped Stone Roof
Sloped Stone Wall Left
Sloped Stone Wall Right
Stone Ceiling
Stone Dinosaur Gateway
Stone Doorframe
Stone Double Doorframe
Stone Fence Foundation
Stone Fence Support
Stone Foundation
Stone Hatchframe
Stone Pillar
Stone Railing
Stone Staircase
Stone Stairs
Stone Triangle Ceiling
Stone Triangle Foundation
Stone Triangle Roof
Stone Wall
Stone Windowframe
Wood Ocean Platform
Green House
Greenhouse parts are a special building part used in the creation of a Greenhouse for boosting the growth of crops. These glass parts are incredibly weak and even take damage due to punching. Most of greenhouse structures have a decay time of 15 days on official servers.
Greenhouse Ceiling
Greenhouse Door
Greenhouse Doorframe
Greenhouse Double Door
Greenhouse Double Doorframe
Greenhouse Wall
Greenhouse Triangle Ceiling
Greenhouse Triangle Roof
Greenhouse Window
Sloped Greenhouse Roof
Sloped Greenhouse Wall Left
Sloped Greenhouse Wall Right
Metal
Metal structures can only be damaged by explosives, Tek Rifle and Tek Saddle Projectiles. The amount of explosives needed to destroy these is immense making them the structure of choice for important buildings. Most of metal structures have a decay time of 16 days on official servers.
Behemoth Gate
Behemoth Gateway
Giant Metal Hatchframe
Giant Metal Trapdoor
Large Metal Wall
Metal Catwalk
Metal Ceiling
Metal Cliff Platform
Metal Dinosaur Gate
Metal Dinosaur Gateway
Metal Door
Metal Doorframe
Metal Double Door
Metal Double Doorframe
Metal Fence Foundation
Metal Fence Support
Metal Foundation
Metal Hatchframe
Metal Ladder
Metal Ocean Platform
Metal Pillar
Metal Railing
Metal Ramp
Metal Spike Wall
Metal Stairs
Metal Staircase
Metal Trapdoor
Metal Tree Platform
Metal Triangle Ceiling
Metal Triangle Foundation
Metal Triangle Roof
Metal Wall
Metal Window
Metal Windowframe
Sloped Metal Roof
Sloped Metal Wall Left
Sloped Metal Wall Right
Tek
Tek Structures can be damaged by Arthropleura projectile attack. Most of tek structures have a decay time of 20 days on official servers.
Behemoth Tek Gate
Behemoth Tek Gateway
Large Tek Wall
Sloped Tek Roof
Sloped Tek Wall Left
Sloped Tek Wall Right
Tek Bridge
Tek Catwalk
Tek Ceiling
Tek Dinosaur Gate
Tek Dinosaur Gateway
Tek Door
Tek Doorframe
Tek Double Door
Tek Double Doorframe
Tek Fence Foundation
Tek Fence Support
Tek Foundation
Tek Hatchframe
Tek Ladder
Tek Pillar
Tek Railing
Tek Ramp
Tek Staircase
Tek Staircase
Tek Trapdoor
Tek Triangle Ceiling
Tek Triangle Foundation
Tek Triangle Roof
Tek Wall
Tek Window
Tek Windowframe
Vacuum Compartment
Vacuum Compartment Moonpool
Storage Structures
Storage Box
Large Storage Box
Water Tank
Metal Water Reservoir
Feeding Trough
Tek Trough
Bookshelf
Vault
Preserving Bin
Refrigerator
Vessel
Gas Collector
Crafting Structures
Beer Barrel
Campfire
Chemistry Bench
Cooking Pot
Fabricator
Industrial Cooker
Industrial Forge
Industrial Grill
Industrial Grinder
Mortar And Pestle
Refining Forge
Smithy
Tek Replicator
Farming structures
Small Crop Plot
Medium Crop Plot
Large Crop Plot
Compost Bin
Stone Irrigation Pipe - Flexible
Stone Irrigation Pipe - Inclined
Stone Irrigation Pipe - Intake
Stone Irrigation Pipe - Intersection
Stone Irrigation Pipe - Straight
Stone Irrigation Pipe - Tap
Stone Irrigation Pipe - Vertical
Metal Irrigation Pipe - Flexible
Metal Irrigation Pipe - Inclined
Metal Irrigation Pipe - Intake
Metal Irrigation Pipe - Intersection
Metal Irrigation Pipe - Straight
Metal Irrigation Pipe - Tap
Metal Irrigation Pipe - Vertical
Power and lighting
Electrical Cable Intersection
Flexible Electrical Cable
Inclined Electrical Cable
Straight Electrical Cable
Electrical Outlet
Electrical Generator
Wind Turbine
Tek Generator
Standing Torch
Wall Torch
Lamppost
Omnidirectional Lamppost
Tek Light
Furniture
Hide Sleeping Bag
Simple Bed
Bunk Bed
Tek Sleeping Pod
Tent
Wooden Bench
Wooden Chair
Wooden Table
Stone Fireplace
Shag Rug
Mirror
Toilet
Multi-Panel Flag
Painting Canvas
War Map
Trophy Wall-Mount
Small Taxidermy Base
Medium Taxidermy Base
Large Taxidermy Base
Training Dummy
Wardrums
Artifact Pedestal
Gravestone
Pressure Plate
Remote Keypad
Tek Sensor
Tek Jump Pad
Tek Remote Camera
Tek Surveillance Console
Tek Teleporter
Tek Transmitter
Auto-decay
Since v180.0, on all servers (except some private servers), all structures and tamed dinosaurs auto-decay. This means that if nobody in your tribe logs into the game every few days, your structures and dinosaurs may disappear. In general, higher-tier structures will last longer than lower-tier structures. On official servers, auto-decay timers follow these rules:[1]
- Thatch : 4 days
- "Utilities": 4 days
- Tamed Dinosaur (including Raft, Motorboat, Skiff, Meks and Tek Stryders): 8 days
- Electrical Cables: 8 days
- Wood : 8 days
- Adobe: 8 days
- Stone : 12 days
- Greenhouse: 15 days
- Metal : 16 days
- Vault: 16 days
- Tek buildings : 20 days [2]
- Tek Cloning Chamber : 20 Days
- Tek Generator on the ground : 40 Days
- Tek Transmitter on the ground : 40 Days
- Tek Teleporter on the ground : 40 Days
- Cryofridge on the ground : 40 Days
- Tek Dedicated Storage connected to another Tek Dedicated Storage: 80 days [3][4]
- Tek Trough : 80 days [5]
- Tamed Dinosaur in a cryopod: as long as the lifetime of the cryopod and the container it's stored in.
There are some exceptions to the above times for certain items. Isolated (non-connected) foundations or pillars may have a shorter timer. [6]
Only vaults and Tek Dedicated Storage will last longer than the foundation they sit on. The decay timer for a vault will reset whenever it falls.[7]
All other structures will be destroyed when the foundation they sit on is destroyed.
Notes
- When placing structures any trees and rocks inside a 75-meter range that are removed will not return. (This is as stands prior to update 175.0, when the required range was decreased.)
- Reinforcing walls i.e. double stacking side by side. To do this you need to place two wood or metal fence foundations side by side. This is a great way to increase the durability from raiders and add an extra layer of protection from griefers/raiders.
- Placement of metal spikes can be put on top of your roofs as well, this helps to stop people who have flying mounts or parachutes from breaking in.
- Shelters provide the same insulation (~112 Hypo, ~57 Hyper) regardless if the shelter is made of thatch, wood, stone, metal, or any combination (tested on v195.1). Exception is the Adobe tier.
References
- ↑ https://survivetheark.com/index.php?/forums/topic/399078-official-servers-structure-decay-rates/
- ↑ https://steamcommunity.com/app/346110/discussions/0/3223871682617285221/
- ↑ https://survivetheark.com/index.php?/forums/topic/500282-dedicated-storage-decay-timer/
- ↑ https://survivetheark.com/index.php?/forums/topic/399078-official-servers-structure-decay-rates/
- ↑ https://survivetheark.com/index.php?/forums/topic/500282-dedicated-storage-decay-timer/&do=findComment&comment=2759546
- ↑ https://survivetheark.com/index.php?/forums/topic/495639-what-are-the-current-structure-decay-timers/&do=findComment&comment=2739498
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/ARK/comments/ackmt2/what_is_the_decay_time_on_vaults/