ARK Survival Ascended Skill Tree & Skill Points Guide
Written by Rahul Gupta
The ARK Survival Ascended Lost Colony Expansion Pass introduces a full Skill Tree system that drastically changes how you build your character. You no longer just dump points into stats... you now unlock passive buffs and game-changing active abilities.
Here’s how it all works.
How to Unlock Skills
To get Skill Points, you need to complete milestones listed in the Skill Tree menu.
Each milestone tells you what to do and how many points you’ll get. Some examples include:
Harvesting 2,500 common resources
Looting three white supply crates
Killing specific types of creatures like dodos or raptors
Once a milestone is complete, you’ll earn skill points that can be spent immediately.
Skill Tree Structure and Layout
The skill tree is a hex-grid layout.
You start from the center and work outward, unlocking connected nodes. Early nodes cost 1 point, but outer skills and actives can cost more.
You can’t skip ahead. You must unlock one of the first three center nodes before accessing anything deeper.
Passive Perks (Examples)
Once unlocked, these perks are always active:
Health Regen: +100%, upgradable to 300%
Speed Boost on Kill: +30% move speed for 5 seconds after melee kills
Bleed Chance: Sword/pike hits have 5% chance to bleed for 10% max HP over 10 seconds
Fall Damage Reduction: -30%, and knocks out nearby enemies when triggered
Crafting Bonuses: +60% ammo crafting yield, -30% structure weight
Gold Nodes: 6% chance for a node to become gold, offering more resources
Mount Combat Buffs: Mount kills restore stamina and increase damage
XP Buffs: +30% XP from kills
Imprint Gains: Tamed creatures have +30% imprint bonus
Harvest Speed: +5% movement speed per harvested node (stacking)
Active Skills (End-Tree Abilities)
You can equip one Active Skill at a time in your hotbar:
Spirit Rush: Huge speed boost, used for base rushing and dodging
Curse Reflection: Reflects 50% of incoming damage for 4 seconds
Spectral Mount: Invisible to wild dinos, no stamina drain, cannot be dismounted for 10 seconds
Twin Imprints: Share your imprint bonus with another player for 60 minutes
Telekinesis: Access dropped bags and structures from 30 meters
Tracker: Ping resource nodes (metal, obsidian, etc.), enemy players, and structures
These are strong but situational. Some shine in PvE, others in PvP. Spirit Rush, for example, is ideal for C4 rushing a turret wall... especially with chili, beer, and a boost stacked.
Using Active Skills
Once unlocked, drag your active skill into the hotbar to use it.
You can only equip one at a time. Cooldowns vary, and they are not permanent buffs... they’re burst abilities used at the right moment.
PvP Implications
The skill tree can completely change PvP.
You can rocket rush, get killed, and still recover your loot bag from afar using Telekinesis. You can stack movement buffs to run through turret zones before the enemy can respond.
In short... if you don’t have skills unlocked, you’re behind.
Final Blurb
The skill tree in ARK Survival Ascended are a full upgrade system that affects every part of the game.
Just don’t forget to actually spend your points.
FAQ
Q: How do I earn skill points in ARK Survival Ascended?
Complete milestones like killing creatures or looting crates.
Q: Where do I access the skill tree?
Open your Survivor menu and click on the Skill Tree tab.
Q: Can I skip to outer skills?
No. You must unlock adjacent nodes step by step.
Q: What are active skills?
Special one-use abilities like Spirit Rush, Spectral Mount, or Telekinesis that go in your hotbar.
Q: Can I use more than one active skill at a time?
No. You can only equip one active skill at a time.
Q: Do passive skills stay active permanently?
Yes. Once unlocked, passive skills are always applied.
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