This guide applies to both the original Ark Survival Evolved, and the more recently remastered Ark Survival Ascended.
Finding food and water in Ark Survival Ascended is your number one priority, as without it you'll soon succumb to the ravages of hunger and thirst which can easily wipe you out. Knowing how to get some sustenance, along with building an Ark Survival Ascended shelter and crafting some Ark Survival Ascended clothing to wear, is essential information if you want to stay alive for any length of time on the island.
However, you can't just munch on everything you see or you're going to get sick, as certain items need to be prepared to make them safe to eat or increase their benefits, while others have negative side effects that have to be weighed up before tucking in. If you need some help to find Ark Survival Ascended food and water, then this is the knowledge to keep in mind so you can avoid starvation.
How to find Ark Survival Ascended food
The simplest form of Ark Survival Ascended food you can find are berries, that can be scooped up in their handfuls by pressing the Use button (Triangle/Y) when near ground vegetation. Berries don't provide much in the way of hunger reduction, but as they can be found all over the place and require no preparation, they can certainly help you out in a pinch. Be aware that some berries can have additional effects when consumed, such as dehydrating you or making you sleepy, and you can check this by hovering over them in your Inventory before deciding whether to eat them or not.
The most nourishing Ark Survival Ascended food you can access early on is meat, obtained by killing animals on the island, and if you target smaller creatures such as the Dodo or Lystrosaurus then they should drop after a couple of weapon hits. Once they're down, hit their body repeatedly with either a Pick or Spear to harvest raw meat – avoid using a Hatchet, as that prioritises generating hides over meat. Now, you can consume the raw meat you've obtained as is, but in that state you'll only receive a small hunger reduction while also damaging your health, so to get the maximum benefit you should follow the next step below.
How to cook raw meat in Ark Survival Ascended
To cook raw meat in Ark Survival Ascended you need fire, and helpfully the blueprint for crafting a campfire is available at Engram Tier 2 so it can be unlocked very early on. To gather the required resources, use a Pick to get flint from rocks and thatch from trees, and a Hatchet to get stone from rocks and wood from trees. Combine those to craft a campfire, then place it down and interact to access its inventory. Place wood in one slot then follow the prompt to light the fire, before placing raw meat in another inventory slot and waiting. It takes 20 seconds to convert each piece of raw meat to cooked meat which can then be collected from the campfire inventory, with cooked meat lasting longer before spoiling and increasing health while reducing hunger when consumed.
How to find Ark Survival Ascended water
Thankfully, the process for obtaining Ark Survival Ascended water is a lot simpler, as you just need to approach a body of water and press the Use button (Triangle/Y) to drink it, with no further processing required. At Engram Tier 3 you can unlock the blueprint for crafting a Waterskin, which allows you to carry additional water around with you but leaks slowly over time. Filling the Waterskin can be a little tricky at times, but if you stand just inside the water then highlight it in your inventory, you should see an additional option (confusingly labelled as "Consume") which will top it up if you follow the prompt.
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.
