Lost Colony is unlike any other ARK map. It is Aberrant Prime - the story is that the Aberration Ark crashed to Earth with Rockwell, so the map fuses a gothic NPC-run city, radioactive aberrant crash sites, a snowy tundra and a Reaper-infested cave into one world. That also means new systems: a hostile counter, NPC outposts, and creatures you will not find anywhere else. This guide covers what actually matters to get established and get rich.
Biomes and Where to Start
The map runs from the beginner-friendly Hot Springs and the huge Tundra in the southwest, up through sky-high resource-rich mountains, along a central river into a snowy canyon, across to the Twilight Forest in the east (an Aberration-style blue zone), with the Lost King's Dominion - a gothic city - in the center and a Reaper cave in the irradiated north.
Tip: Start in the South Tundra or Hot Springs. It is warm-ish, loaded with tameable herbivores (mammoths, rhinos, ankys) and few carnivores, and it is a common spawn for the Veilwyn and Drakeling. The Veilwyn is the easiest tame in the game - crouch behind it and interact - and in companion mode it effectively cannot die while it heals and fights for you.
The City, the Hostile Counter and Neophytes
The Lost King's city is guarded by NPCs who tolerate you unless you ride a threatening creature, wield a weapon (cryopods count) or damage structures. Cross that line and you build a hostile counter up to 50 stacks; at 50, the Neophyte hunts you at night. Lower it by killing revenants at aberrant crash sites or by running defense outposts. The whole city is also a no-fly zone (the watcher suppression debuff), so only non-flyers like the Managarmr work inside.
That counter is also a loot engine. With it maxed, the Neophyte hunts you roughly 8:25pm to 5am - set up a box trap in the city, bleed it down with a Ferox (about 20 bites regardless of its health) and add a Gloom's shoulder eye beam, then loot its cache for some of the best weapons, armor and cursed items on the map. Hop back on the Ferox to instantly trigger the next one.
Resource Locations
| Resource | Location | Note |
|---|---|---|
 Oil and Silica Pearls | Central canyon river ~58.5/56.1 | Shallow water you can walk through; the mountain cave at 68.7/46.3 also has oil, crystal and metal |
 Chitin and Cementing Paste | North cave ~2.8/30 | A Megatherium steamrolls it; also four blue/yellow/red loot crates per run |
 Organic Polymer and Rare Mushrooms | Any aberrant crash site (blue glowing plants) | A Ferox bite for polymer, tickle for mushrooms; crash sites also have gas veins and fungal wood |
 Black Pearls | Dark forest cave ~57.6/28.3 | ~30 clams plus loot crates; the open spot at 81.8/51.1 is easier for a quick grab |
| Honey | Green cliff areas of the central canyon | Very hard to spot - use Snow Owl infrared; a Direbear harvests it without aggro |
 Element Dust, Crystal, Electronics | City lampposts (bridge outside the city) | Doedicurus to harvest, Argentavis for weight - same as Extinction |
| Gems | Gargoyle statues in the city (~56.1/61.1) | Give every gem colour plus obsidian, crystal and metal |
| Biotoxin | Blue toadstool trees, southeast snowy area | A Megatherium is oddly the best harvester here |
Note: Silk has no natural source on Lost Colony - unlock the skill tree's Fiber Forager perk for a chance at silk and rare flowers from any bush. Cementing paste is also scarce, so the north chitin cave and a tamed Achatina are your main supply.
Desmodus - passive-tamed with blood packs while it picks up a tanky creature (a ~20k-health Daeodon boosts effectiveness). It crafts the Sanguine Elixir, which instantly adds 30% taming progress or a 30% imprint, once per creature.
Reaper Queen - in the irradiated northern cave. Bleed it with a Ferox (feed mushroom brew for radiation immunity); you can even have a captured level-300 Thrall take the impregnation for a very high-level baby.