Tek Helmet

The head piece of Tek armor

The Tek Helmet occupies the head slot of the Tek Armor set in ARK: Survival Evolved and does a lot more than absorb hits. The in-game text: "Never get lost again with the Tek Helmets night vision. Also provides a targeting mode that reveals other characters' positions, and infinite oxygen while underwater." It has an armor rating of 180 and 300 durability, and weighs 4.

Switching modes

A long press of R cycles through the helmet's modes; on PS, hold reload for several seconds to open the function wheel.

• Pulse Mode: outlines nearby creatures and survivors by relationship, green for your tribe, white for neutrals and red for enemies. The outline gets darker as the target loses health, and it works through walls within a small radius. Wild Equus Unicorns show up yellow instead of green.
• Night Vision Mode: brightens dark surroundings; where the Night Vision Goggles turn the screen white in daylight, this mode does not.
• Underwater: the helmet supplies unlimited oxygen, and a powered full Tek set gives very clear first-person vision below the surface.

It also makes the overseer language in the Sanctuary on Extinction readable. It does not, however, count as a Gas Mask in the Swamp Cave on the Island or in The Lair on Valguero.

Getting the Tekgram and crafting

The helmet cannot be equipped until its Tekgram is learned, and that comes from boss fights. The ARK Wiki names the Ice Titan, Alpha Moeder, Beta Rockwell and Alpha Broodmother Lysrix. After that it is crafted in a Tek Replicator or Exo-Mek from:

• 450 Metal Ingot (or Scrap Metal Ingot)
• 120 Polymer (Organic Polymer or Corrupted Nodule also work)
• 120 Crystal (or Primal Crystal)
• 55 Black Pearl
• 20 Element (or Red Element)

Crafting takes 5 seconds and gives 0.8 XP. Repairs on our records use the same materials without the Element. Finished helmets also come from loot: 46 crate types can contain one, among them the Desert Titan crate, the Dragon Hoard and the Extinction Orbital Hard and Legendary drops.