Gunpowder

The propellant behind firearms and explosives

Gunpowder is a crafted resource in ARK: Survival Evolved that most guns and explosives depend on. The item text puts it bluntly: "Necessary for any firearm or explosive." It is made from 1 Sparkpowder and 1 Charcoal in a Mortar and Pestle, a Chemistry Bench or an Equus Saddle.

Unlock and crafting numbers

The engram unlocks at level 15 for 2 engram points. Each craft takes 1 second, produces a single unit and gives 0.05 experience. Gunpowder weighs 0.1 and stacks to 100, so a full stack weighs only 10.

Making it in bulk

The ARK Wiki suggests chopping plenty of wood and burning it in a campfire or forge, which turns it into charcoal (a standing torch burns wood far more slowly), while an Ankylo gathers the flint and stone needed for Sparkpowder. By the time the Ankylo is full, the wood has usually burned down. Burnt trees drop charcoal directly as well; the wiki points to those on The Center's burnt islands and near Ragnarok's volcano. Because charcoal comes so early, storing it as you go saves burning wood later just to make powder.

What Gunpowder goes into

Our ASE data counts 36 recipes. Some of them, with the amount each needs:

• Barrel of Gunpowder: 250
• Cannon Shell: 200
• Homing Underwater Mine: 100
• C4 Charge: 60
• Rocket Homing Missile: 50
• Rocket Propelled Grenade, Explosive Arrow and Net Gun: 40 each

Ammunition in that list needs less per craft: 3 for an Advanced Bullet or Simple Shotgun Ammo, 6 for a Simple Bullet, 9 for Tracer Rounds and 12 for Simple Rifle Ammo. A Flaming Arrow takes 1, as do several dyes such as Forest, Pink and Sky Coloring. The wiki's list also includes grenades, the Flare Gun, Grapeshot and the Tribe Tower. Loot is a further source: 66 crate types can contain Gunpowder, including the Aberration Blue and Purple crates.