Summary

• Ark: Survival Ascended doesn't carry over progress from Evolved, a disadvantage for players who have invested a lot of time into the original game.
• Ark: Survival Ascended has the same bugs and issues as Evolved, indicating that it still needs more updates and fixes to improve its performance.
• Ark: Survival Ascended is available on fewer platforms and currently has limited crossplay, detracting from its accessibility and multiplayer options compared to Evolved.

Upgrading to Ark: Survival Ascended has its pros and cons. Ascended is a revamped version of Ark: Survival Evolved. It offers a refresh of the classic Ark experience: players must tame dinosaurs, build bases, and make allies or strike down enemies in order to survive.

But while there are certain differences between Ark: Survival Ascended and Evolved, the two are, at their core, the same exact game. Ascended may look better, but don't it expecting a completely different experience: it has the same gameplay, the same mechanics, and to some extent, the same problems as Evolved. So, is Ark: Survival Ascended really worth the price of ission? Here are all the reasons why or why not.

Ark: Survival Ascended Doesn't Carry Over Progress From Evolved

Those who Ark: Survival Ascended won't be able to transfer any of their progress from Ark: Survival Evolved. In most cases, this is because game progress is saved on multiplayer servers, which can't be carried over from one game to another. However, there's also no feature to transfer single-player saves from Evolved to Ascended. And even the official servers that transferred from Evolved to Ascended were completely wiped, taking all the players on them back to square one.

In practice, what this means is that anyone who upgrades to Ascended will have to start completely from scratch, on a new server or new save file. Many have invested a lot of time into Evolved. Losing all that progress is an unappealing thought, and one good reason to stick with the original version of the game.

Ark: Survival Ascended Has The Same Bugs As Evolved

Players of Ark: Survival Ascended appear to be running into many of the same issues that first plagued Evolved in its 2015 release. Official servers lag and crash frequently, dinosaurs clip through walls, and distracting, resource-demanding graphics settings can't be adjusted or turned off. It'd be a stretch to say Ark: Survival Evolved is bug-free in 2023, but it has the benefit of updates, patches, and fixes going back eight years. Ascended, by contrast, is much newer, and still has plenty of kinks to work out. While this will likely improve over time, in its current state, Ark: Survival Ascended doesn't run any better than Evolved.

Ark: Survival Ascended Has Missing Features And Fewer Mods

There are also certain features from Ark: Survival Evolved that haven't made it into Ascended. Now, some of Ark: Survival Ascended's missing features are simple bug fixes, things that shouldn't have been possible in the original game at all. Others, like Cryopods used for transportation of dinosaurs, were removed completely for no apparent reason. While some of these features will almost certainly be added in future updates or expansions, until they are, Ark: Survival Ascended is not technically a fully-featured remake of Evolved.

Also, since Evolved has been around much longer, it has a much larger modding community, with many more mods available than Ascended. These mods can be used to maintain different kinds of servers with unique rules and features, or to keep the game interesting on repeat playthroughs. Ascended does uniquely mods in both the console and PC versions of the game, which is certainly a good reason for console players to pick it up. However, with a reduced selection of mods available for the newer game, mod libraries aren't as interesting or complete as they currently are for Evolved.

Ark: Survival Ascended Is Available On Fewer Platforms

Ark: Survival Ascended's Crossplay Feature Is Also Currently Disabled

Ark: Survival Evolved is available for more platforms than Ascended, which could make upgrading impossible for some players. Evolved was released for Linux, macOS, PC, PS4, Switch, Xbox One, iOS, and Android. Since it's an eight-year-old game at this point, it still runs pretty well on older or lower-end PCs. And thanks to backwards compatibility, it can be played on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S as well. Ascended, on the other hand, is exclusive to PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S. It's also more demanding of a PC's resources, so lower-end PCs may have more trouble running Ascended, especially with its less flexible graphics settings.

Although crossplay was planned for Ark: Survival Ascended, cross-platform play between PC and consoles is currently unavailable while anti-cheat measures are implemented. Cross-platform play still works between PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, however. It probably won't remain that way forever - once it's fully updated, crossplay is likely to come back online. Ark: Survival Evolved has limited crossplay: it's only available between mobile platforms, or between Xbox and PC. Those who want to play with a specific group of friends on a particular set of platforms need to take the unique crossplay requirements of both games into consideration.

Ark: Survival Evolved's Official Servers Have Been Shut Down

Another deciding factor in whether to Ark: Survival Ascended is that all official servers on Ark: Survival Evolved have been shut down since Ascended's launch. This isn't a huge deal. Evolved single-player is completely unaffected. Non-dedicated servers can still be used by small groups of friends who don't want to share their worlds with anyone else. And there are plenty of unofficial servers available to suit a variety of different needs.

Of course, the one major worry with an unofficial server is mod abuse. Mods of unofficial servers aren't beholden to a larger authority, so they can effectively do whatever they want with their own servers, even if it's unfair to players. However, many mods are perfectly fair and accommodating, but it may take a little shopping around to find a friendly server that suits a player's particular gameplay preference.

But more people tend to rely on official servers, and as a result, most Ark: Survival Evolved servers tend to be less populated than official servers on Ascended. Evolved is far from a dead game, but its players are spread out widely over multiple unofficial servers, not clustered together into a handful of official ones. Sometimes, this is a plus - it means less competition, and less risk of performance issues. However, sometimes a more crowded server is preferable. It provides more potential enemies and allies, and an overall livelier experience.

So, for those who mostly enjoy single-player or small, non-dedicated servers with their friends, there's no immediate need to switch over to Ark: Survival Evolved. The same goes for those who already play on unofficial servers, or don't mind taking the time needed to find one that suits their preferences. However, those who insist on using official servers only will have to migrate to Ascended in order to continue doing so.

Ultimately, Ark: Survival Ascended is not currently worth playing for fans of Ark: Survival Evolved. Its bugged state and missing features suggest it needs a little more time in the oven. For current players of Evolved’s single-player, non-dedicated, or unofficial multiplayer modes, there’s no reason to upgrade: it costs more, it doesn’t run as well, and it can’t carry over their progress from the original game. There’s nothing for official server players to gain, since they’ll have to start from scratch, too. This may change when further expansions are released, but until then, there’s little reason for current players of Evolved to Ark: Survival Ascended.