Primal Crystal
This strange crystalline material can be shaped into lenses, used as an electronics component, or mixed into powerful explosives. This particular crystal pulses with primal energy and is the Crystal Wyvern's favorite treat.
Details
- Category
- Resource
- Games
- ASE + ASA
- Expansion
- Base
- Loot crates
- 1 crate
Video guides: search YouTube for Primal Crystal guides
How to get Primal Crystal
Primal Crystal is found in 1 loot crate.
Loot crates
1 crate
- Alpha Crystal WyvernThe Island, Scorched Earth, Aberration, Extinction, Genesis Part 1, Genesis Part 2, The Center, Ragnarok, Valguero, Crystal Isles, Lost Island, and Fjordur · ASE
Primal Crystal — Detailed Guide
The crystal that feeds Crystal Wyverns
Primal Crystal is a resource in ARK: Survival Evolved and ARK: Survival Ascended, and the ARK Wiki files it under the Crystal Isles expansion map. Its in-game description: "This strange crystalline material can be shaped into lenses, used as an electronics component, or mixed into powerful explosives. This particular crystal pulses with primal energy and is the Crystal Wyvern's favorite treat."
Harvesting the crystals
The crystals come from a wild Crystal Wyvern, or its Heir counterpart, after it has been knocked out. While the creature is unconscious, press E (the default use key on PC) to take them from its body. A high-level wyvern gives more than a low-level one, and the wiki warns that the drop rate is low. A harder method, which the wiki does not recommend, is to kill an Alpha Blood Wyvern: it drops around 20-30 crystals. In our records the item has a single loot entry, the Alpha Crystal Wyvern.
Raising and taming Crystal Wyverns
- Young wyverns: babies are raised and imprinted with Primal Crystal, and each crystal eaten restores 400 hunger points. Until adulthood a Crystal Wyvern eats nothing else; babies, juveniles and adolescents will not touch raw or cooked meat.
- Adults: it is also a food source for taming an adult Crystal Wyvern.
- Preparation: the wiki suggests having a few crystals ready before raising one.
- On the wyvern: crystals placed in a Crystal Wyvern's inventory spoil more slowly, after about 6 hours according to the wiki. Give adult wyverns other food too, or they may eat the crystals by accident.
Spoilage and storage
A Primal Crystal weighs 1 and does not stack. Its spoil time is 45 minutes (2700 seconds), after which it turns back into Crystal. Neither a 
Fenrir nor a 
Preserving Bin slows that timer, and 
Preserving Salt has no effect on it either.
Tribute for the Crystal Wyvern Queen
The crystal is also a tribute item for summoning the 
Crystal Wyvern Queen. In ASE our records list 4 portal recipes: 
Generate Crystal Wyvern Queen Portal takes 1, while the (Gamma), (Beta) and (Alpha) portals take 10, 20 and 30. Given the spoil time, the wiki advises gathering the crystals only right before the boss fight.