⚔️ ARK: Survival Ascended · Aberration Cave Guide

All Ark Survival Ascended Aberration Cave & Artifact Locations

Aberration is ARK's underground nightmare — radiation zones, gas traps, the Nameless, and three artifact caves carved into glowing mushroom forests and red hazard caverns. Grab the Depths, Shadows, and Stalker to summon Rockwell. Cave names and locations verified against the official ARK wiki and current ASA sources.

Last updated: May 2026 Verified for: ARK: Survival Ascended (Aberration DLC) Coordinate format: Latitude, Longitude
ARK Survival Ascended cave interior — placeholder image until an Aberration-specific image is added
Cave interior screenshot. Note: this image is a temporary placeholder — Aberration-specific image to be added.
3
Artifacts on Aberration
3
Artifact caves
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Boss: Rockwell
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Deep-sea crates (all underground)
All artifacts

Aberration Artifact Map & Coordinates

All 3 Aberration artifacts and their caves. Click an artifact to jump to its full breakdown below.

Jump to an artifact
Depths (Old Railway Cave) Shadows (Hidden Grotto) Stalker (Elemental Vault) Rockwell Summon
Artifact Cave Entrance Coords Difficulty Best Approach
Depths Old Railway Cave (near lake) 48.3, 27.2 Easy Zip-line, light pet
Shadows Hidden Grotto (vertical shaft) 55.2, 65.9 Hard SCUBA, zip-line, Bulbdog
Stalker Elemental Vault (Red Zone) 81.0, 47.0 Very Hard Hazard Suit, Rock Drake
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Full Aberration Cave Breakdown

Every cave's full details — entrances, hazards, gear, and the route inside.

Old Railway Cave Map & Location

Artifact of the Depths · Near the lake
Entrance 48.3, 27.2 → Artifact 51.2, 23.8
DifficultyEasy
Best ApproachSmall tame (Ravager), zip-line, light pet
HazardsNarrow cliff walkways, vertical drops, waterfall ledges, cave creatures
GearZip-line, climbing picks, shotgun, light/glow pet

The Depths is the easiest Aberration artifact and a great early-game grab. The Old Railway Cave entrance is near the lake at 48.3, 27.2, and the artifact sits at 51.2, 23.8.

It's essentially a one-way road. Use the notice crystals embedded in the walls as direction markers and keep moving until you reach a tunnel with a water area — head toward the waterfall, then toward the crystal formation on the left. Move right and continue forward, and you'll drop to the bottom of the waterfall area where the artifact waits.

Pro tip: A zip-line and climbing picks bridge the big gaps and save you from the waterfall drops. A small tame like a Ravager can come along; leave bigger mounts outside. Good first artifact to build confidence before the nastier two.

Hidden Grotto Map & Location

Artifact of the Shadows · Vertical underwater shaft
Entrance 55.2, 65.9 → Artifact 50.5, 72.6
DifficultyHard
Best ApproachSCUBA / Lazarus Chowder, parachutes, zip-lines
HazardsDeep vertical shafts, pitch-black tunnels, Nameless ambushes, drowning
GearSCUBA gear, parachutes, zip-lines, climbing picks, Bulbdog

The Hidden Grotto holds the Shadows, with an entrance at 55.2, 65.9 and the artifact at 50.5, 72.6. The entrance is a vertical underwater shaft, so you'll descend by swimming down — have your oxygen gear equipped before you drop in.

This cave feels more like an abyss than a tunnel. Secure any base tames outside before entering, manage the vertical drops with zip-lines or parachutes, and keep your light pet alive — losing your glowpet in the pitch-black sections is effectively a death sentence.

Pro tip: A Bulbdog (or any Aberration light pet) does double duty here — it lights the dark and its charge scares off the Nameless, which swarm in low-charge zones. SCUBA gear or Lazarus Chowder is mandatory for the underwater shaft.

Elemental Vault Map & Location

Artifact of the Stalker · Red Zone (radiation)
Entrance ~81.0, 47.0 → Artifact 91.7, 51.3
DifficultyVery Hard
Best ApproachRock Drake; Hazard Suit mandatory
HazardsRadiation, tight ledges, Megalosaurus & Carnotaurus, heavy climbing
GearHazard Suit, Rock Drake, maxed stamina, Bulbdog, ranged weapon

The Stalker in the Elemental Vault is the hardest of the three. The cave entrance is in the Red Zone at ~81.0, 47.0 (sources list 80.9–81.0), and the artifact is deep inside at 91.7, 51.3. The Red Zone is irradiated, so a Hazard Suit is mandatory just to be there.

Inside, you'll climb to a higher platform and work toward an area holding a group of high-level Megalosaurus and Carnotaurus — fight through them or camouflage past toward the pink crystal area. Follow the crystal markers up; you're looking for an entrance with three crystals in the wall. Keep the crystals as direction markers and you'll reach the artifact in a dino-filled room.

Pro tip: A Rock Drake is the difference between a manageable run and a nightmare here — its climbing and gliding skip most of the deadly ledge work, and its camouflage helps slip past the Red Zone predators. Max your stamina for the climbing, and never drop your Hazard Suit protection in the radiation.
🧠

Summoning Rockwell

All 3 artifacts → the Rockwell Arena

The three Aberration artifacts exist to summon Rockwell, the map's boss. You'll need all three — Depths, Shadows, and Stalker — as tribute. Unlike most maps, Aberration's boss isn't reached through a standard surface obelisk; you summon Rockwell at the Rockwell Arena terminal deep in the map.

Each artifact can only be carried one at a time per type, and they respawn quickly (about 3 minutes on servers, ~30 minutes in singleplayer), so a failed attempt doesn't mean re-running everything from scratch. Gather the difficulty-appropriate tribute items alongside the artifacts before you commit.

Pro tip: Run all three artifact caves in one trip and stage them near the terminal — since they respawn fast, you can keep a steady supply for repeat attempts. The Stalker run is the bottleneck, so build your route around getting in and out of the Elemental Vault efficiently.
Underground loot

Aberration Loot Crates — No Deep Sea Here

Aberration is entirely underground, so there are no deep-sea loot crates. Instead it has three loot sources, and their value is the opposite of what newer players expect.

📦 The three loot sources

  • Underground map crates — Mushroom Forest, Element River, etc.
  • Dungeon crates — inside the Stalker, Shadows & Depths caves
  • Surface supply beacons — dropped above the surface zones

⚠️ What's actually worth farming

  • Surface beacons = best, most consistent high-tier loot
  • Dungeon crates = rare (1–2 per cave), long respawns
  • Underground map crates = yellow-tier junk, skip them
  • Crate respawns are long (~20–30 min+)
  • Use a Rock Drake to reach surface drops fast

Farming reality check: The counterintuitive part of Aberration is that the surface supply beacons — the drops on top of the map — outclass both the underground map crates and the in-cave dungeon crates for loot tier and frequency. The random underground crates in the Mushroom Forest and Element River are weak yellow-tier and not worth a dedicated run. Hit the artifact caves for the artifacts, check their dungeon crates opportunistically, and farm surface beacons with a flyer for the real blueprints.

🎮

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Aberration Cave Survival Tactics

FAQ

Common Questions about Aberration Artifacts

How many artifacts are on Aberration in ARK: Survival Ascended?
Aberration has 3 artifacts, all introduced on this map: the Depths (Old Railway Cave, ~48.3, 27.2), the Shadows (Hidden Grotto, ~55.2, 65.9), and the Stalker (Elemental Vault, ~81.0, 47.0). All three are required to summon the boss, Rockwell.
What do you need to summon Rockwell on Aberration?
All three Aberration artifacts — Depths, Shadows, and Stalker — plus the tribute items for your chosen difficulty. Unlike other maps, Rockwell is summoned at the Rockwell Arena terminal deep in the map rather than at a surface obelisk.
Where is the Artifact of the Depths on Aberration?
The Depths is in the Old Railway Cave, with the entrance near the lake at around 48.3, 27.2 and the artifact at 51.2, 23.8. It's the easiest early-game artifact — bring a zip-line for the cliffs, a light pet, and a shotgun for the cave creatures.
Do you need a Rock Drake for Aberration caves?
Not strictly, but a Rock Drake makes the Stalker run far easier thanks to its climbing and gliding. The Depths and Shadows are doable with zip-lines, climbing picks, and a parachute. For all three, a Bulbdog helps deter the Nameless, and a Hazard Suit is essential for the Stalker's radiation zone.
Why are the underground loot crates so bad on Aberration?
The random underground map crates (Mushroom Forest, Element River) are yellow-tier, similar to basic Island cave crates — low value and not worth a dedicated run. On Aberration the surface supply beacons outclass them for loot tier and frequency, so farm those with a flyer and only check the in-cave dungeon crates opportunistically.
Other ARK maps

Browse Cave Guides for Other Maps

Aberration not your map? Jump to one of these.

The Island Caves → Ragnarok Caves → The Center Caves → Scorched Earth Caves → Extinction Caves → Valguero Caves → Astraeos Caves →
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