The Center

The Center is a free, official, non-canonical DLC expansion map for ARK: Survival Evolved.
Overview
![]() |
Regions of The Center |
The Center originated as a custom map by modder Ben “EvilMrFrank” Burkart. It was added to ARK: Survival Evolved as free DLC in PC patch 241.0 and Xbox One update 734.0. It underwent a "mega-update" that added the Redwood Forests in PC patch 245.0 and was released on Xbox One and PS4.
The Center DLC has a default difficulty level of 5.0 which means wild dinos up to level 150 and better loot quality from supply drops. Prior to January 2017,
Giganotosaurus had an extremely rare chance to spawn anywhere on the map; now Giganotosaurus will only spawn in a few areas such as the Lava Biome and Northern Snowy Mountain.
Unique Environmental Features
- A Mountain with various ape statues carved from it overlooking the redwoods biome.
- A large natural bridge connecting from the snow biome to the redwoods biome.
- An island with lava rivers and lava lakes flowing throughout it.
- An enormous Ocean that gets much darker the deeper you go (normal maps do it but to a far lesser degree).
- 2 Underwater Domes which can be used as waterproof bases.
- A fall which leads to a bottomless ocean.
- A massive floating island called The Center.
- A Island which has the appearance of a Skull.
- Glowing green spores throughout most of the map.
- A Massive Underground ecosystem with its own miniature sun and branching tunnels that lead further into different portions of the Underground World.
- The Boss Arena can be seen from the normal map unlike other maps, also due to it being part of the map itself it is also the only boss arena to have a Day and Night cycle.
The Center Map
The Center consists of multiple climatic and geological regions, including several that are not featured on The Island map. The map's most notable feature, a colossal floating island, can be found to the West of the map surrounded by treacherous swamps. To the far North, an active volcanic island can be found covered in basalt, lava, and dangerous predators. Numerous islands covered in jungles, tropical shorelines, mountains, and ancient ruins dot the varied archipelago. A unique set of caves push survivors to their limits in search of the Artifacts and their hidden rewards. Descend into Jules Verne's Journey to the Center of the Earth where survivors will find themselves in a self-sufficient underground ecosystem far beneath the lush jungles. Similarly, survivors can dive down to either of two underwater domes to build their own naval bases of Atlantean proportions!
Regions
Approximate Spawn Locations
Data Maps
Creatures
Unique Creatures
The ARK: Survival Ascended's release of The Center will bring the Shastasaurus.
Other Spawns
Achatina
Allosaurus
Alpha Carnotaurus
Alpha Leedsichthys
Alpha Megalodon
Alpha Mosasaur
Alpha Raptor
Alpha T-Rex
Alpha Tusoteuthis
Ammonite
Angler
Ankylosaurus
Araneo
Archaeopteryx
Argentavis
Arthropluera
Baryonyx
Basilosaurus
Beelzebufo
Brontosaurus
Broodmother Lysrix
Carbonemys
Carcharodontosaurus
Carnotaurus
Castoroides
Chalicotherium
Cnidaria
Coelacanth
Compy
Daeodon
Dilophosaur
Dimetrodon
Dimorphodon
Diplocaulus
Diplodocus
Dire Bear
Direwolf
Dodo
Doedicurus
Dung Beetle
Dunkleosteus
Electrophorus
Equus
Eurypterid
Gallimimus
Giant Bee
Giganotosaurus
Gigantopithecus
Hesperornis
Hyaenodon
Ichthyornis
Ichthyosaurus
Iguanodon
Kairuku
Kaprosuchus
Kentrosaurus
Leech
Leedsichthys
Liopleurodon
Lystrosaurus
Mammoth
Manta
Megalania
Megaloceros
Megalodon
Megalosaurus
Meganeura
Megapithecus
Megatherium
Mesopithecus
Microraptor
Mosasaurus
Moschops
Onyc
Otter
Oviraptor
Ovis
Pachy
Pachyrhinosaurus
Paraceratherium
Parasaur
Pegomastax
Pelagornis
Phiomia
Piranha
Plesiosaur
Procoptodon
Pteranodon
Pulmonoscorpius
Purlovia
Quetzal
Raptor
Rex
Sabertooth
Sabertooth Salmon
Sarco
Spino
Stegosaurus
Tapejara
Tek Parasaur
Tek Quetzal
Tek Raptor
Tek Rex
Tek Stegosaurus
Terror Bird
Therizinosaur
Thylacoleo
Titanoboa
Titanomyrma
Titanosaur
Triceratops
Trilobite
Troodon
Tusoteuthis
Woolly Rhino
Yeti
Yutyrannus
In other words, all Creatures that can be found on The Island can be found somewhere on The Center, except for the Polar Bear, the
Polar Purlovia, the
Unicorn, the
Attack Drone, the
Defense Unit, the
Dragon and the
Overseer.
Event Creatures
Creatures that only spawned during an Event:
Bunny Dodo
Bunny Oviraptor
Direwolf Ghost
GachaClaus
Party Dodo
Rex Ghost
Skeletal Bronto
Skeletal Carnotaurus
Skeletal Giganotosaurus
Skeletal Quetzal
Skeletal Raptor
Skeletal Rex
Skeletal Stego
Skeletal Trike
Super Turkey
Items
All items from the base game (not all Tekgrams) are unlockable on The Center.
Artifacts
Spotlight
Notes/Trivia
- Prior to January 2017,
Giganotosaurus was able to spawn anywhere in the overworld of The Center including beaches and small islands; now they only spawn in a few areas like Lava Biome
- The Center has the only arena that can be viewed from the base map as it lies on the mountain overlooking the redwoods biome.
- It can also be reached and even entered into from the base map itself (tested with the Desert Titan).
- The Center has its own spawn-in theme, based off of the regular theme found in The Island, Valguero, Ragnarok and Crystal Isles.
- It also has its own day and night transition themes.
- On PvP servers, any structures in Caves, the Underground World, Underwater Domes, and any of the Ancient Ruins will take 3x damage.
- There is a massive underground crystal cave that lies along the southern portion of the cliffs that form the Edge of the World. Similar to the Underground World but filled with cosmetic crystals all over as well as a small but detailed cosmetic ruin.
- On Xbox since v757: If you would like to play The Center map without advancing through The Island, launch the Island and then open the command menu. Type in cheat playercommand Ascend2. Once finished you'll be able to load The Center as normal.
- On PS4 since v510: If you would like to play The Center map without advancing through The Island ascension, launch the Island and then open the command menu. Type in cheat playercommand Ascend1. Once finished you'll be able to load The Center as normal.
- The Center is the only official mod map that doesn't add any new creatures.
- It is also one of the two official mod maps to not have mini bosses since Ragnarok has the
Spirit Direwolf and
Spirit Direbear, the
Lava Elemental, and the
Iceworm Queen and Valguero has the
Broodmother as a mini boss. The other official mod map without a mini-boss is Crystal Isles.
- It is also one of the two official mod maps to not have mini bosses since Ragnarok has the
- The Center is the first official mod map to be released to the base game.
- It is also the first downloadable map because it was released before Scorched Earth.
Gallery
Players fighting a Giganotosaurus
A Giganotosaurus spawn on a small island prior to January 2017
Cave Locations prior to patch v245.0 (inquisitr.com)
Known Deep Sea Loot Crates prior to patch v245.0
Known Ruin Locations prior to patch v245.0 (inquisitr.com)