How to build a shelter in Ark Survival Ascended

Ark Survival Ascended shelter — (Image credit: Studio Wildcard)

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This guide applies to both the original Ark Survival Evolved, and the more recently remastered Ark Survival Ascended.

If you know how to build a shelter in Ark Survival Ascended then you can keep yourself warm and dry during the harshest of conditions, while also staying a safe distance away from any predators trying to track you down – be they beast or human. In addition to crafting Ark Survival Ascended clothing and sourcing Ark Survival Ascended food and water, finding shelter is an essential part of your survival journey, as it will keep you safe while also letting you stash your items and equipment so you can return to them later. If you need to know how to build an Ark Survival Ascended shelter, then we've got the complete instructions laid out for you below.

How to unlock Ark Survival Ascended shelter crafting

To begin Ark Survival Ascended shelter crafting, you need to unlock the Engrams that provide blueprints for the individual elements. Helpfully, the basic set of these unlock at Engram Tier 4, so you'll only need to level up a few times to gain access to them. To construct a basic shelter, you'll need the Thatch Foundation, Thatch Wall, and Thatch Ceiling, plus the Thatch Doorframe and Thatch Door if you want to be able to completely enclose and secure your dwelling.

How to collect materials to craft an Ark Survival Ascended shelter

Each individual section of your Ark Survival Ascended shelter requires a certain amount of materials to be gathered before they can be crafted, as follows:

Thatch Foundation: 15 Fiber, 20 Thatch, 6 Wood
Thatch Wall: 7 Fiber, 10 Thatch, 2 Wood
Thatch Ceiling: 10 Fiber, 15 Thatch, 4 Wood
Thatch Doorframe: 6 Fiber, 8 Thatch, 6 Wood
Thatch Door: 4 Fiber, 7 Thatch

Fiber can be gathered by pressing the Use button (Triangle/Y) when near ground vegetation, while Thatch and Wood can be harvested by hitting trees with tools – using a Pick will mainly yield Thatch, while a Hatchet will give you mainly Wood. Once you have the required materials, all you need to do is go into the Crafting section of your Inventory, highlight the appropriate Engram, then follow the Craft prompt to generate it.

How to build an Ark Survival Ascended shelter

Once you have the various sections of Ark Survival Ascended shelter crafted and in your inventory, you now need to use them to construct your base. Ideally you should do this away from the beach in a secluded area to attract less attention, though don't get too hung up on where to build as you can always relocate and construct another shelter elsewhere later on.

First, highlight the Foundation section in your inventory then follow the Place prompt, which will give you a green outline of the section that you can put down and rotate then construct. Once you confirm a location for it, you have a 30 second period where you can pick it up again (handy if you make a mistake) before it becomes a permanent fixture, after which your only option to move it is demolition. With the Foundation placed, you can then select other sections such as Walls and Ceilings that will snap to permitted construction positions, so add those in along with a Doorframe plus Door and you'll have built your first Ark Survival Ascended shelter – congratulations!

If you're looking for more help then we have some essential Ark Survival Ascended tips to get you started, or you can make things much easier for yourself by applying these Ark Survival Ascended cheats.