[Top 10] Ark Survival Best Base Locations And Why They're So Good

Ark Survival Evolved Best Base Locations

Updated:

02 Aug 2021

Top 10 Base Locations in Ark: Survival Evolved

10. Island to the northeast of the blue obelisk

This location is on the original map, the island, as far as base locations go this is on the top 10 because it is near all of the major resources. You can find oil, metal, and crystal all within walking distance of wherever you choose to build your base in this location. It is also close to the blue Obelisk, which is a point of extreme importance on any Ark. It ranks as number 10, because while resources are plentiful, so is danger. There are predators around every corner and the temperatures themselves here are one of the worst dangers on the island.

The following is a list of reasons why this location made it into the top 10:

Resources: Resources are extremely plentiful, oil, water, pearls, crystal, and metal are literally around every corner. If you have the proper defenses you will never have to travel too far for any resource.
Near the Obelisk: The obelisk is a teleporter to the boss battles, which are the only way to get the most valuable in-game resource element. Being near the obelisk allows you to easily reach the boss fight and farm the element you will undoubtedly need later in the game.

You can find this location at coordinates (Lat 15, Lon 10) as the image below depicts.

9. Herbivore Island

This location is also on the map “the Island” it is located at coordinates (Lat 85 Lon 83). Herbivore Island made it to number 9 on the list because of its location and seclusion. This makes the ideal base for PvE or PVP players because it is self-sufficient. All major resources are located on the island or in the ocean surrounding it. If you play in a PVP environment it is also hard to raid, because it is in very deep water surrounded by an endless supply of dangerous creatures, even though the island itself has nothing dangerous on it.

The following is a list of reasons why Herbivore Island made it in the top 10:

Location: It is completely on its own, cut off from the rest of the ark by miles of the open ocean. This makes it very desirable in PVP because to raid it you have to come at it from the air or sea, which will limit the amount of gear and tames you can bring on a raid.
Resources: All of the major resources are available on the island itself, so you do not have to venture far to get the items you need.
Safety: The island itself has no dangerous creatures, it is a haven if you are lucky enough to make it ashore.

You can find Herbivore Island on the map below.

8. The Oasis near the blue obelisk

The next location takes us to the “Scorched Earth Map”. Scorched earth is an important map because it is the only story map that wyverns naturally spawn on. The Oasis near the blue obelisk makes the perfect home on the scorched earth map, it keeps you near water, and near the world scar, where the wyverns spawn. The oasis contains the key ingredients to life on the ark and makes an excellent home for anyone wanting to tame the fearsome wyverns.

Below is a list of reasons why the oasis makes it to number 8 on the list:

Water: On the scorched earth map water is almost non-existent as the map is a desert world. The oasis is one of the places that will always have water and lower temperatures.
Proximity to the world scar: Most people play scorched earth for one of 2 reasons. 1 is wyverns and 2 is story progression. If you intend to raise wyverns you will need a long-term base here on scorched earth. The oasis gives you access to water and the world scar with minimal travel.

The oasis is depicted on the map below and is located at coordinates (Lat 35 Lon 12):

7. Manticore Arena

The manticore arena is a location in the desert, that is the remnants of an arena the inhabitants worshiped the manticore at. It is now the bones of a city which makes for a pretty awesome base location. You can get water from the many wells close and it acts as a natural wall for your base, it also puts you near the desert loot drops, which gives you the best possible loot in the game.

Below is a list of reasons why the manticore arena makes it to number 7 on the list:

Loot Crates: The loot that can be found in the drops made here can range from MasterCraft to ascendant, sometimes including blueprints so you can fabricate more items of that nature.
Natural Walls: The arena comes with walls existing around it that cannot be destroyed by anything in-game, if you patch the holes this location can make for an outstanding fortress.
The manticore arena can be found at coordinates (lat 85, Lon 15) as depicted below:

6. The Fertile Lakes

Ark Aberration is one of the most difficult maps to survive on, you have to contend with extreme radiation at many locations, making it difficult to find anywhere to live. The fertile lake is one of the few locations where it is always safe from the radiation. There are resources, and several different species of animals to tame here to help you take on the aberrant landscape. This is why the fertile lake is one of the best places to build in Ark Aberration.

Below is a list of reasons why the fertile lake made it to number 6 on the list:

Resources: There are a vast majority of the resources you need to survive located in and around the lake. There will be times you will have to venture into the aberrant landscapes deeper in the ark, but overall this is a good place to run your aberrant base of operations.
Safe: It is much safer here than anywhere else on the map. Going to the surface will surely see your survivor burned to death by the extreme radiation, and venturing deeper into the ark will likely see your survivor torn apart by the fearsome “nameless” creatures. Building by the lake limits your exposure to these extreme dangers, at least while at home base.
You can find the Fertile lake at coordinates (Lat 20, Lon 40) and is depicted in the image below:

5. The Sanctuary

The sanctuary is probably one of the best places to build in the extinction map. There are plentiful amounts of every resource imaginable in the ark, including element. It is the remnants of humanity, and is actually on the planet earth, unlike the other ark maps. Additionally, there are guardians in the sanctuary that defend you from wild and tamed dinosaurs, new players can consider this a blessing while seasoned veterans will likely find the guardians an annoyance.

Below is a list of reasons why the sanctuary is one of the best locations to build in Ark: Survival Evolved

Safety: The sanctuary was built by humanity to defend against the monstrous boss that has all but eliminated the human race. As such it is a pretty secure location to build at and has a plethora of resources.
Resource Drops: The sanctuary is surrounded by a vast desert landscape, and in this landscape are dropping that fall from space, delivering with them precious resources that would normally take the best survivors weeks to amass.

The coordinates to the sanctuary are (lat 50, Lon 45) and are depicted on the image below:

4. The Sunken Forest

The sunken forest is a builder’s paradise. There are tons of flat land and is inaccessible to new players who don’t have a flyer. Resources are plentiful and it is surrounded by all of the typical redwood forest creatures. The large areas of flat land and plentiful animals to farm meat from making the sunken forest a breeder paradise.

Below is a list of reasons why the sunken forest made the list:

Secluded: Its location makes it a wonderful place to build, hidden away from everyone who lives on the surface, it also makes it challenging to raid players who live in the sunken forest.
Plentiful Meat: Anyone who has raised babies in ark knows that farming meat can be a huge challenge when raising numerous babies at the same time. The sunken forest has a significant amount of game animals to hunt to supply your ark babies with a near-infinite supply of meat.

You can find the sunken forest at the coordinate (lat 30, Lon 30) as depicted in the image below:

3. Genesis Ocean

Ark Genesis is significantly different from the previous arks created. The biomes all have the same resources as the previous maps, but it also has challenges that can award you with some of the best items in the game. The oceanic biome has the easiest challenges to complete that offer some of the highest rewards in-game, including element and tek. Making the ocean biome of genesis one of the best locations to build a base in-game.

Below is a list of reasons why the oceanic biome in ark genesis made it on the list:

Resources: The oceanic biome has a generous amount of resources to mine to further your ark career.
Challenges: The challenges in this biome are some of the most rewarding in the entire genesis expansion.
Scenery: The scenery in this biome makes for one of the best-looking bases in the ark.

You can find the ocean biome at the location indicated in the image below, due to the new teleporter coordinates are unnecessary.

2. Genesis Tundra

The snow biome in the genesis expansion has so many resources you could never run out. There are infinite amounts of metal, crystal, stone, and of course the challenges. There is also a very special creature that can be found in this biome. The ferox can be found deep in the tundra caves and can be found exploring during extreme weather events.

Below is a list of reasons why the genesis snow biome:

The Ferox: The ferox can sniff out and detect Element, the most valuable resource in the ark. They will sniff it out and dig it up for you. Building in the arctic will allow a survivor to breed and build up an army of element sniffing ferox’s.
Resources: The resource spawns on this map are far greater than on any of the previous maps. These resources will help any survivor create the ultimate base.

You can find the snow biome at the location indicated in the image below, due to the new teleporter coordinates are unnecessary.

1. Genesis Volcano

The volcanic biome is a high risk, high reward place to build. It is the one place in all of the ark where Element can be mined raw. If you build in a safe location you can have a strong and prosperous base. However, if you build in a poor location the eruptions can destroy all of your hard work. The payoff of mining raw Element is immense though, making it the most valuable place to build in the ark.

Below is a list of reasons why the genesis volcanic biome is the best place to build in the ark:

Raw element: It is the only place to mine raw elements without fighting the bosses. Element is the most valuable item in the game.
Separates you from the rest: The natural dangers of the volcano limit the people capable of attacking you, only the strongest player will survive the dangers in this biome, and even then they will have significant losses. Adapting to this home will truly make a statement about your abilities as a survivor.

You can find the volcanic biome at the location indicated in the image below, due to the new teleporter coordinates are unnecessary.