‘ARK: Survival Evolved’ PC Patch 236 Out, Brings Giant Beaver, Handcuffs
The PC version of ARK: Survival Evolved was updated early Wednesday morning with the 236.0 patch, which many have been waiting on for a week. The trend of interesting utility animals continues with the addition of the Giant Beaver, while dominant players have a new toy to harass others with. The most interesting news with the patch may be what was not included, however.
The 236.0 patch was originally estimated to be released a week ago. Studio Wildcard ran into some issues though that prevented it from being released on time. Additionally, the temporary solution to some of the issues appears to be to not include them with this ARK update.
The patch notes previously stated the first three ARK bosses were to be added to the game, along with their arenas. Additionally, the Snow and Swamp biomes were to receive caves, as well, plus the second phase of breeding mechanics were supposed to be included. Unfortunately, these were stripped out of the release and these are the current patch notes for the update via Steam.
- New Dino: Giant Beaver, Castoroides
- New Equipment: Handcuffs
- Server Performance Phase 2
- Improved Client streaming performance, less hitches
- Updated various translations!
ARK: Survival Evolved Community Manager and Associate Producer Jat Karunakaran explained the absence of the boss arenas and new caves on Twitter.
“Low level rendering issue that’ll need to be tackle before being able to launch, weren’t able to solve it in time,” he said in response to a fan inquiring about the missing features. There has been no mention on why the new breeding mechanics were removed.
As for what was added, some users in the ARK Reddit community are already reporting improved framerates with the 236 patch. Large player-built structures can still cause hitches in play, though. Studio Wildcard has not shared details on what “Server Performance Phase 2” entails, so we’ll have to wait and see what happens there.
Finally, the Giant Beaver is the headliner of this update, and is bound to be a new favorite for ARK players. Once tamed, the creature can harvest wood and thatch at prodigious rates. Additionally, its carry weight is enhanced due to the fact wood weighs only 20 percent its normal weight in the Beaver’s inventory, and all stone weighs 50 percent its normal weight. Even better, the Giant Beaver Saddle doubles as a Smithy, making the animal a mobile workstation.
Here is the ARK: Survival Evolved Dossier for the Giant Beaver.
- Wild: Castoroides is a large, mammalian herbivore that tends to live near water. Unlike other larger beaver species this one retains the chisel-shaped teeth of modern beavers. As is typical for beavers, they build dams as habitats, but the larger creatures on the island have a tendency to trample them. As a result, finding unsullied dams in the wild is quite rare.
- Domesticated: The value of a tamed Castoroidesis obvious from its physiology. The creature naturally gathers wood extremely efficiently, far more than most species on the island. It’s not the strongest creature, so it can only carry limited amounts, but it is a natural lumberjack!
- Known Information: Castoroides itself doesn’t seem to realize how dangerous the island is. I don’t know if it’s simply too dumb to notice the dangers, or if it just doesn’t care…but Castoroideshappily goes about its day playing in the water and gnawing on wood.
There is currently no word on when the Giant Beaver and Handcuffs will come to the Xbox One. An estimated release date for the next console update has not been announced, and neither have the contents. Presumably, it will include creatures and items added in patches 235 and 236, which also includes the Terror Bird.
[Image via ARK: Survival Evolved]
