Crystal
This strange crystalline material can be shaped into lenses, used as an electronics component, or mixed into powerful explosives.
Details
- Category
- Resource
- Games
- ASE + ASA
- Expansion
- Base
- Loot crates
- 87 crates
- Item ID
- 77
Engram
How you unlock it
- Required level
- None
- Engram points
- 0
- How to unlock
- Resource (Not an Engram)
Maps
Found on 9 maps
Video guides: search YouTube for Crystal guides
How to get Crystal
Crystal is gathered best by Ankylosaurus; found in 87 loot crates.
Best gatherers
AnkylosaurusLoot crates
87 crates
- Astraeos BlueAstraeos · ASA
- Astraeos Blue BonusAstraeos · ASA
- Astraeos Desert BlueAstraeos · ASA
- Astraeos Desert Blue BonusAstraeos · ASA
- Fishing Items (Net)The Island, Scorched Earth, Aberration, Extinction, Genesis Part 1, Genesis Part 2, The Center, Ragnarok, Valguero, Crystal Isles, Lost Island, and Fjordur · ASE
- Fishing Items (Pole)The Island, Scorched Earth, Aberration, Extinction, Lost Colony, The Center, Astraeos, Ragnarok, and Valguero · ASA / ASE
- Genesis BlueGenesis Part 2 · ASE
- Genesis CyanGenesis Part 2 · ASE
- Genesis GreenGenesis Part 2 · ASE
- Genesis OrangeGenesis Part 2 · ASE
- Genesis PurpleGenesis Part 2 · ASE
- Genesis RedGenesis Part 2 · ASE
Show all 87 crates
- Genesis WhiteGenesis Part 2 · ASE
- Genesis YellowGenesis Part 2 · ASE
- Island BlueThe Island, The Center, Ragnarok, and Valguero · ASA
- Island Blue BonusThe Island, The Center, Ragnarok, and Valguero · ASA
- Island GreenThe Island, The Center, Ragnarok, and Valguero · ASA
- Island Green BonusThe Island, The Center, Ragnarok, and Valguero · ASA
- Lost Colony Cave RedLost Colony · ASA
- Lost Colony Cave YellowLost Colony · ASA
- Lost Colony City RedLost Colony · ASA
- Lost Colony City YellowLost Colony · ASA
- Mission 'Bulbdog Fetch' EasyGenesis Part 2 · ASE
- Mission 'Bulbdog Fetch' HardGenesis Part 2 · ASE
- Mission 'Bulbdog Fetch' MediumGenesis Part 2 · ASE
- Mission 'Circuit Chase' EasyGenesis Part 2 · ASE
- Mission 'Circuit Chase' HardGenesis Part 2 · ASE
- Mission 'Circuit Chase' MediumGenesis Part 2 · ASE
- Mission 'Downriver Run' EasyGenesis Part 2 · ASE
- Mission 'Downriver Run' HardGenesis Part 2 · ASE
- Mission 'Downriver Run' MediumGenesis Part 2 · ASE
- Mission 'Ferox Cull' EasyGenesis Part 2 · ASE
- Mission 'Ferox Cull' HardGenesis Part 2 · ASE
- Mission 'Ferox Cull' MediumGenesis Part 2 · ASE
- Mission 'Maewing Poach' EasyGenesis Part 2 · ASE
- Mission 'Maewing Poach' HardGenesis Part 2 · ASE
- Mission 'Maewing Poach' MediumGenesis Part 2 · ASE
- Mission 'Paracer Roundup' EasyGenesis Part 2 · ASE
- Mission 'Paracer Roundup' HardGenesis Part 2 · ASE
- Mission 'Paracer Roundup' MediumGenesis Part 2 · ASE
- Mission 'Shadowmane Prowl' EasyGenesis Part 2 · ASE
- Mission 'Shadowmane Prowl' HardGenesis Part 2 · ASE
- Mission 'Shadowmane Prowl' MediumGenesis Part 2 · ASE
- Mission 'Slide and Glide' EasyGenesis Part 2 · ASE
- Mission 'Slide and Glide' HardGenesis Part 2 · ASE
- Mission 'Slide and Glide' MediumGenesis Part 2 · ASE
- Mission 'Slipstream Sweep' EasyGenesis Part 2 · ASE
- Mission 'Slipstream Sweep' HardGenesis Part 2 · ASE
- Mission 'Slipstream Sweep' MediumGenesis Part 2 · ASE
- Mission 'Starwing Strike' EasyGenesis Part 2 · ASE
- Mission 'Starwing Strike' HardGenesis Part 2 · ASE
- Mission 'Starwing Strike' MediumGenesis Part 2 · ASE
- Mission 'Team Downriver Run' EasyGenesis Part 2 · ASE
- Mission 'Team Downriver Run' HardGenesis Part 2 · ASE
- Mission 'Team Downriver Run' MediumGenesis Part 2 · ASE
- Mission 'Velonasaur Stalk' EasyGenesis Part 2 · ASE
- Mission 'Velonasaur Stalk' HardGenesis Part 2 · ASE
- Mission 'Velonasaur Stalk' MediumGenesis Part 2 · ASE
- NeophyteThe Island, Scorched Earth, Aberration, Extinction, Lost Colony, The Center, Astraeos, Ragnarok, and Valguero · ASA
- Outpost: Lost Resource Cache EasyLost Colony · ASA
- Outpost: Lost Resource Cache HardLost Colony · ASA
- Outpost: Lost Resource Cache MediumLost Colony · ASA
- Outpost: Molten Works EasyLost Colony · ASA
- Outpost: Molten Works HardLost Colony · ASA
- Outpost: Molten Works MediumLost Colony · ASA
- Quake Biolum 1Aberration · ASA / ASE
- Quake Biolum 2Aberration · ASA / ASE
- Quake Forest 1Aberration · ASA / ASE
- Quake Forest 2Aberration · ASA / ASE
- Quake Radiation 1Aberration · ASA / ASE
- Quake Radiation 2Aberration · ASA / ASE
- Scorched BlueScorched Earth, Ragnarok, and Valguero · ASA
- Scorched Blue BonusScorched Earth, Ragnarok, and Valguero · ASA
- Scorched GreenScorched Earth, Ragnarok, and Valguero · ASA
- Scorched Green BonusScorched Earth, Ragnarok, and Valguero · ASA
- Thrall ArcherThe Island, Scorched Earth, Aberration, Extinction, Lost Colony, The Center, Astraeos, Ragnarok, and Valguero · ASA
- Thrall DeadeyeThe Island, Scorched Earth, Aberration, Extinction, Lost Colony, The Center, Astraeos, Ragnarok, and Valguero · ASA
- Thrall DemolisherThe Island, Scorched Earth, Aberration, Extinction, Lost Colony, The Center, Astraeos, Ragnarok, and Valguero · ASA
- Thrall EnforcerThe Island, Scorched Earth, Aberration, Extinction, Lost Colony, The Center, Astraeos, Ragnarok, and Valguero · ASA
- Thrall GunslingerThe Island, Scorched Earth, Aberration, Extinction, Lost Colony, The Center, Astraeos, Ragnarok, and Valguero · ASA
- Thrall HeraldThe Island, Scorched Earth, Aberration, Extinction, Lost Colony, The Center, Astraeos, Ragnarok, and Valguero · ASA
- Thrall MarauderThe Island, Scorched Earth, Aberration, Extinction, Lost Colony, The Center, Astraeos, Ragnarok, and Valguero · ASA
- Thrall PiercerThe Island, Scorched Earth, Aberration, Extinction, Lost Colony, The Center, Astraeos, Ragnarok, and Valguero · ASA
- Thrall ScattershotThe Island, Scorched Earth, Aberration, Extinction, Lost Colony, The Center, Astraeos, Ragnarok, and Valguero · ASA
- Thrall SnarerThe Island, Scorched Earth, Aberration, Extinction, Lost Colony, The Center, Astraeos, Ragnarok, and Valguero · ASA
- Thrall WardenThe Island, Scorched Earth, Aberration, Extinction, Lost Colony, The Center, Astraeos, Ragnarok, and Valguero · ASA
- Volcanic RockRagnarok · ASA / ASE
Crystal — Detailed Guide
Lenses, electronics and explosives
Crystal is a raw resource in ARK: Survival Evolved and ARK: Survival Ascended, and it matters more the further a tribe progresses. It is gathered rather than crafted. The in-game text lists its uses: "This strange crystalline material can be shaped into lenses, used as an electronics component, or mixed into powerful explosives."
Mining it
White crystal formations are the main source, and cave stalactites can drop Crystal too, although some formations are purely decorative. A metal pick is the tool to use; a stone pick can work, but its drop chance is very low. Certain creatures do the job well: our records name the 
Ankylosaurus as a gatherer, and the wiki adds the 
Magmasaur and the 
Tek Stryder. The Stryder is not the quickest collector, but it can link to dedicated storage boxes and ship its haul home from any point on the map.
Richer spots on some maps
- Scorched Earth: the Wyvern Trench and the Artifact Caves hold rich crystal nodes in clusters, and one node can give hundreds of Crystal if farmed carefully.
- Aberration: white crystal is scarce here, but
Green Gem, 
Blue Gem and 
Red Gem patches are common and give Crystal far more efficiently. - Extinction: inside the Sanctuary, lampposts, benches and tables yield Crystal when you harvest them.
- Genesis: the crystal bushes of the lunar biome are a strong source when harvested with a Bronto.
What Crystal goes into
Our records list 129 recipes that use it in ASA and 165 in ASE. Some armor pieces call for large amounts: Tek and Federation Exo pieces need 120 each, the 
M.S.C.M. 200 and the 
M.O.M.I. 100, while in ASE the 
M.D.S.M. costs 280. Attachments use it as well, with 60 for the 
Laser Attachment and 40 each for the 
Flashlight Attachment and 
Holo-Scope Attachment. Explosives use smaller amounts, such as 10 per 
C4 Charge and per 
Rocket Propelled Grenade. The wiki's list also includes core machines and storage such as the 
Fabricator, 
Cryopod, 
Cryofridge, 
Cloning Chamber, 
Egg Incubator and 
Industrial Forge, and the Greenhouse building pieces.
Stack weight and loot
One Crystal weighs 1, so a full stack of 100 weighs 100, a lot for a resource needed in such quantities. Loot is another source: 87 crate types can contain it, including the Astraeos Blue crates and the Fishing Items (Net) and Fishing Items (Pole) tables. Our records place it on 9 maps.