ARK Survival Ascended TEK Saddles: How To Craft and Uses

TEK equipment in ARK Survival Ascended is renowned for being the pinnacle of its kind, encompassing various items such as turrets, armor, and, as the focus of today's discussion, saddles. While most players recognize these saddles for their distinctive appearance on dinosaurs, they offer much more than meets the eye.

In this guide, we'll delve into everything you need to know about the futuristic TEK Saddles in the game. We will cover the crafting process for the saddles, explore their diverse uses, and discuss how they can enhance your gameplay the next time you venture into ARK Survival Ascended.

How To Craft TEK Saddles in ARK Survival Ascended

As of the current writing, there are four primary TEK saddles available for use on the Island map in ARK Survival Ascended (additional ones may be introduced in future DLCs). These include the Tapejara, Rex, Mosasaur, and Megalodon TEK saddles. Crafting these saddles requires varying amounts of resources, and they all need to be crafted inside a TEK Replicator. Refer to our TEK Replicator guide for more information.

After acquiring the replicator, here are the crafting requirements for each of the TEK Saddles in ARK Survival Ascended:

Rex Tek Saddle

• Unlocks after defeating Megapithecus Alpha
• 350 × Polymer, Organic Polymer, or Corrupted Nodule
• 1800 × Metal Ingot or Scrap Metal Ingot
• 250 × Crystal or Primal Crystal
• 40 × Element
• 100 × Black Pearl

Tapejara Tek Saddle

• Unlocks after defeating Dragon (Any Difficulty)
• 500 × Polymer, Organic Polymer, or Corrupted Nodule
• 2500 × Metal Ingot or Scrap Metal Ingot
• 370 × Crystal or Primal Crystal
• 55 × Element
• 140 × Black Pearl

Mosasaur Tek Saddle

• Unlocks after defeating Broodmother (Alpha)
• 500 × Polymer, Organic Polymer, or Corrupted Nodule
• 2500 × Metal Ingot or Scrap Metal Ingot
• 370 × Crystal or Primal Crystal
• 55 × Element
• 140 × Black Pearl

Megalodon Tek Saddle

• Unlocks after defeating Dragon (Any Difficulty)
• 500 × Polymer, Organic Polymer, or Corrupted Nodule
• 2500 × Metal Ingot or Scrap Metal Ingot
• 370 × Crystal or Primal Crystal
• 55 × Element
• 140 × Black Pearl

With the crafting requirements covered, let's explore where TEK Saddles are best utilized in the game.

How Do the TEK Saddles Work in ARK Survival Ascended?

TEK Saddles possess unique characteristics for your dinosaurs, offering not just a substantial armor value. For example, the base Rex TEK saddle provides only a 45 armor rating, considerably lower than other saddles that might reach the high 100s.

However, the value of TEK Saddles lies not in their armor but in their special abilities. Each saddle grants a unique attack that can be initiated by pressing the Ctrl or melee button, providing a special secondary fire while riding your dino.

The Megalodon, Mosasaur, and Tapejara feature a laser attack that can penetrate through enemies, while the Rex has a turret enabling it to fire laser projectiles at foes. These powerful abilities are best suited for PvP situations as they consume a significant amount of Element to use and may not be very accurate for eliminating random creatures.

Instead, TEK Saddles excel against TEK tier structures and gear such as TEK foundations or walls. Since these saddles span across different creatures, it doesn't matter if other players have built their bases on land or underwater; you'll be able to easily dismantle them with the power of the TEK Saddles.

In conclusion, utilize TEK Saddles not for their armor rating but for their immense potential in taking down TEK structures in PvP and even for wild creature hunting if you're willing to master their unique abilities and accuracy. Best of luck out there, and stay safe, fellow survivors.