Mini-HLNA Skin

A talking companion in the shield slot

Mini-HLNA is a cosmetic that floats next to your survivor as a companion in ARK: Survival Evolved and ARK: Survival Ascended. ASE lists it as the Mini-HLNA Skin, while ASA calls it just Mini-HLNA. The in-game text explains how it is worn: "HLNA can be equipped to the shield slot or attach HLNA to an existing shield." It weighs 0 and stacks to 1. The ARK Wiki links it to the Genesis: Part 1 and Genesis: Part 2 DLCs and names 298.3 as the version that added it.

Getting Mini-HLNA

According to the wiki, buying the Genesis Season Pass, priced at $34.99 USD, is how players acquire it. After that, it shows up in the survivor's inventory whenever they respawn or fast travel, and the "Give Default Survivor Items" option turns this on or off. Owning the Season Pass is required for it to spawn.

Reactions and voice lines

Certain actions of the survivor often draw a random remark from her; the wiki's examples are pooping, an emote, and idling while she is being looked at. Each emote also gets its own icon and voice line from her, depending on what the survivor did. The wiki notes that event emotes, Light and Hide Hat get no reaction from her. It also describes the skin as a fragment of Helena, with her personality and carefree voice.

Genesis Chronicles and story notes

Collecting the Genesis 2 Chronicles and the Genesis Chronicles depends on her: they are picked up as you approach specific cave locations or Santiago Logs. Ahead of the release of both Genesis DLCs, the skin was updated to hand out story notes about them. Her discoveries open the way an explorer note does, repeating what she said when the note was first found, with visuals added. The wiki's version of the item description also hints that scanning Elemental Disturbances found in caves can uncover hidden information.

Trading, paint and known quirks

The skin cannot be dropped, which leaves trading nearly impossible. The wiki gives one way around it: unequip everything, Mini-HLNA included, then fast travel to a bed, after which the transfer works normally. Paint does not last either, since death or a transfer returns it to the unpainted look. With Mini-HLNA equipped, a complete Ghillie Armor set still gets the bees debuff at a Giant Bee Hive. Reported glitches include two copies hovering after Soap removes her Dye (leaving and rejoining fixes it) and stacked voice lines about pooping after a Scout or Cruise Missile is used.