🦖 ARK: Survival Ascended · Master Cave Hub

All Ark Survival Ascended Cave Locations

Every cave on every ARK: Survival Ascended map — coordinates, artifacts, bosses, difficulty ratings, and the best dinos to bring. The Island, Ragnarok, The Center, Scorched Earth, Aberration, Extinction, Valguero, and Astraeos. One hub, all the maps, no wiki-hopping.

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Last updated: May 2026 Verified for: ARK: Survival Ascended (UE5 build) Coverage: All 8 maps
8
Maps covered
50+
Artifact caves indexed
100+
Cave entrances with coords
Free
No paywalls, no logins

Cave Guides by Map

Each map has its own full breakdown — caves, coordinates, artifacts, bosses, and what to bring. Click in.

🏝️

The Island

The classic. 22 caves total — 10 artifact caves plus the Tek Cave, with 12 underwater resource caves on top. Three bosses to summon: Broodmother, Megapithecus, Dragon.

22 caves 10 artifacts 3 bosses Tek Cave / Ascension
View Island guide
⚔️

Ragnarok

The fan-favorite community map, remastered for ASA. Multiple artifact caves, wyvern trench loot, and metal- and crystal-rich grottos that double as some of the best buildable cave bases in the game.

13+ caves Wyvern trench Buildable caves
View Ragnarok guide
🌋

The Center

A floating-island map with deep ocean trenches, hidden cliffside entrances, and a lava biome packed with element-rich resources. 11 artifacts scattered across one of ASA's prettier maps.

Multiple caves 11 artifacts Deep trenches
View Center guide
🏜️

Scorched Earth

Heat-heavy desert caves, open-area artifact sites, and the Oasis Cave — a brand-new ASA addition near the red obelisk. One of the best base locations in the game if you can defend it.

Desert caves Oasis Cave Element-rich loot
View Scorched Earth guide
☢️

Aberration

The radiation map. Bioluminescent caverns, glowing flora, mutated dinos, and aberrant artifact-guarding bosses. Stays one of the most atmospheric and dangerous maps in the franchise.

Radiation zones Aberrant dinos Rock Drakes
View Aberration guide
🌆

Extinction

The endgame map — Titan terminals, OSDs, resource caves, and the loot drops that make tek-tier crafting actually possible. Best after you've beaten the rest of the campaign.

Titan terminals OSDs Endgame loot
View Extinction guide
🌲

Valguero

Community map with surface-accessible caves, the Aberration trench, open-area artifacts, and unique biomes like White Cliffs. Easier to navigate than The Island and packed with character.

Surface caves Aberration trench White Cliffs
View Valguero guide
🏛️

Astraeos

The Greek-myth megamap. 13 artifacts across four boss fights — Thodes, Natrix, the Hydra, and the Manticore — plus the brutal Pyranthos desert and an Aberration-style blue zone cave. Marble temples, cherry blossoms, and lava all in one.

13 artifacts 4 bosses Pyranthos desert Blue zone cave
View Astraeos guide
⚙️

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Universal Cave Survival Tips

A few things that apply to every ARK cave, every map. Worth carrying on every run.

Common Questions about ARK Caves

How many caves are in ARK: Survival Ascended?
Cave counts vary by map. The Island has 22 (10 artifact caves + the Tek Cave + 12 underwater resource caves). Ragnarok has 13+ caves including the famous buildable grottos. Each other map has its own set — click any map card above for exact counts and coordinates.
Which ARK map has the most caves?
The Island has the most caves at 22 total. But Ragnarok arguably has the most useful caves — its metal- and crystal-rich grottos are some of the best buildable bases in ASA, especially on PvE servers where you can park infrastructure inside them.
Which ARK cave has the most loot?
Loot-rich caves vary by map, but the underwater artifact caves (The Caverns of Lost Hope on The Island, deep-ocean trenches on The Center) tend to drop the highest-tier rewards. The Island's underwater resource caves yield dense clusters of Silica Pearls and Oil, which fuel tek-tier crafting. Extinction's OSDs aren't caves but they're the closest thing to a guaranteed loot fountain in the game.
Can you do ARK cave runs solo?
Yes — most artifact caves are solo-clearable with the right preparation. Easy and Medium-rated caves are reasonable solo targets even mid-game. Hard caves are punishing but doable. Extremely Hard caves (The Island's Snow Cave, Caverns of Lost Hope) are technically possible solo but most players bring a tribe or come back significantly over-leveled. The Tek Cave is the exception — most solo players treat it as the final exam, not a regular run.
Do I need a flyer for ARK caves?
Flyers can't enter any artifact cave in ASA — the entrances are sized to block them. You'll need ground mounts (Baryonyx, Thylacoleo, Megatherium, Yutyrannus, Direwolf) or aquatic mounts (Basilosaurus, Megalodon) depending on the cave. A flyer is useful for getting to the entrance, but not for the cave itself.
Are ARK cave coordinates the same as ARK: Survival Evolved?
Mostly yes, but with small shifts. ASA cave entrances are usually within a few latitude/longitude points of their ASE counterparts because Studio Wildcard rebuilt the maps in Unreal Engine 5 and made small terrain adjustments. The coordinates in our per-map guides are verified for the current ASA build, not the old ASE ones.

Bookmark this page — new ASA cave guides drop here first as Wildcard rolls out more maps. Each per-map page gets updated when a patch changes coordinates, difficulty, or cave contents. If we got something wrong, tell us and we'll fix it.