There’s not much out there regarding the inner workings of the Ark Steampunk Mod and this amazing mod can be quite daunting to the new survivor! So fear not! I’ve decided to make a Top 10 Tips for Steampunk guide! Click here to find the one and only guide you need to understand all the glorious content this mod has to offer!

Steampunk Industrial Copper forge
Industrial Copper forge (LV27)

If you want to make full use of the steampunk mod, it’s best to have at least 6-8 of these forges running together with the Metal Blast forge (LV25) (this starts the copper process) and later, the Steampunk drill (LV60). Having a steady and ready supply of copper plates ensures you hit a high level quickly as a healthy dose of passive XP is granted when any item within the forge is crafted. You will need a good amount of crystal also to go toward glass panels, which in turn, are used to make the copper plates. The Steampunk drill (LV60) as well as the Diamond tip drill bits(LV80) are good for this. The Diamond tip drill bit(LV80) is autonomous, albeit at a reduced rate as opposed to the Steampunk drill (LV60). Go forth and make too many plates. Then make some more! Then the whole steampunk world will open up for you!

Steampunk Power Recycler
Power Recycler (LV35)

The Power Recycler (LV35) is a truly OP piece of equipment. Coupled with the Industrial Copper Grinder(LV35), it acts as the Steampunk version of the vanilla grinder. What makes this piece of equipment stupidly OP however is the fact it recycles 100% of your resources back as opposed to 25% with the vanilla and S+ counterparts. Use this to refine whatever Gacha crystals produce and you will be rolling in mats to your heart’s content! The only note I can make regarding any issues with the Power Recycler (LV35) is that it won’t grind down any element items. Use the S+ transfer control unit and pressure plates to automate this grind process.

Steampunk Power Crossbow
Power Crossbow (LV35)

GET THIS ASAP! This will be your life’s companion for the duration of your stay. As with all weapons, use the upgrade station to heighten the damage output and you will be killing off alphas (and bosses) in no time. Crafted in the Steam Workstation (LV 25). What makes this weapon so OP is that it’s a fully automatic crossbow that will consume only 1 bolt per 50 shots!! Assault rifles move over!! Shotguns move over!! Hold down that Left-click and watch your threats melt away. With minimal ammo consumption, you can even use the Power Crossbow (LV35) to fly around the lunar biome on Genesis!! Give it a try, It’s fun!

Steampunk Drill
Steampunk Drill (LV60)

Another thing to get and upgrade as soon as you can is the Steampunk Drill (LV60). This will be the item you use to get the crazy amounts of Copper Ore you need! (as well as metal, flint, stone and crystal.) Like I mentioned before, the copper plates are a must to really appreciate what this mod has to offer! Personally, I use the S+ inventory assistant to drop all the heavy mats I don’t need whilst farming for my copper ore as it’s not that heavy at all. Copper ore can be harvested from metal nodes.

Steampunk Hot Air Propeller Balloon
Hot Air Propeller Balloon (LV80)

Surprising as it is to have this on the list, the Hotair propeller balloon got me my first Giga and first Quetz! Crafted in the Construction Yard (LV 80). When made, it spawns as a dino and can be levelled like so in speed and weight. You can easily follow prey from a safe distance and tranq what you need without the need to even leave the ship. The ship uses Steampunks own Oil Barrels as fuel. The barrels are also made in the Construction Yard (LV80) but are a little bit on the costly side to craft. One of the crafting ingredients for this is Refine Oil. Another one of Steampunks own resources, which is also crafted within the Industrial Copper Forge (LV27) you can understand now why having more than one forge is beneficial!!!

Steampunk Cryo Chamber
Steam Cryo Chamber (LV90)

This one is rather misleading because it’s not like the Tek Cryo chamber at all; but more like (exactly like) the Personal Gravestone mod if you have ever used it. The Steam Cryo Chamber acts as a personal death item cache collector. Saving your time (and mental health) by no longer having to traverse the map to collect your valuables from your dead body.The Steam Cryo chamber is personally linked to whoever places it, so if you are in a tribe with a friend, make sure he places his own as you cant place one on his behalf.

Steampunk Magnetic Trike Generator
Magnetic Trike Generator (LV90)

It came as a very pleasant surprise to me when I found out that the Magnetic Trike Generator (LV90) also serves as a Tek Generator. Need I say more? The only thing I can mention about this amazing generator is that sometimes when you place additional powered structures down, they may show as unpowered. If this be the case, simply go to your Magnetic Trike Generator (LV90) and unlatch and relatch your trike. I have contacted the RSPCA about the use of trikes for power generation and they said they like the exercise and that their welfare needs are not affected by this.

Steampunk Armour
Steampunk Armour(LV90)

Throw your Tek armour away! In Fact throw all your armour away as the Steampunk Armour set is a one stop shop for everything you need in your armour! Crafted in the Steam Workstation (LV 25) It uses a lot of copper plates (another reason for a mass of forges) and leather. Leather is another unique resource to Steampunk and it can be crafted in the Steam Tannery (LV35). Like with the Industrial Copper forge (LV27) I would advise making more than one Steam Tannery (LV35) as the tanning process is rather time consuming. But once you have enough to craft the set you will never look back. The Helmet grants oxygen under water. The Gloves give OP damage resistance. The Chest Piece doubles your carry weight and the Boots give you a speed increase.

Add a power matrix(LV90) into inventory and you can speed boost super fast! The power matrix(LV90) is crafted in the Construction Yard (LV 80). All items of armor are crafted with a random crafting skill bonus. You could get journeyman gloves or ascendant gloves, who knows. If you are not happy and want a better version then just grind it down in the Power Recycler for 100% mats and recraft until every armor piece is 1000%+

steampunk Air Ship
Airship (LV90)

If I were to sum up the Airship in one word, that word would be “anti-climactic” I used a hyphen so it is still one word. Where to start as the airship is glitchy on so many levels. Like the Hot Air Propeller Balloon (LV80) it serves as a dino but furthermore, acts as a platform saddle dino and thus will take up 20 slots of your dino cap. (like all dinos with platform saddles equipped) Moving the airship with dinos onboard is NOT advised. I had dinos clipped into the ship. Dinos stuck in the propellers and dinos just outright teleporting to other places.  Sometimes when you spawn on a bed in the ship, you will encounter a glitch that makes it nearly impossible to walk about on the deck. I was really excited when I finally gathered the IMMENSE amount of resources required to craft this beast of a ship and now my Airship is unused, gathering rust like a fancy, oversized, ornament on a shelf. If you want to make this, I would recommend it being late game when you have the time and mats to spare. Don’t rush to make this.

Steampunk Tesla Coils
Tesla Coils (LV90)

And now for my favourite piece of OP game breaking material of amazement! The Tesla Coil! Straight away takes me back to my Command & Conquer days. The damage output of this defensive structure stacks to insane levels with the more coils placed in close proximity to each other. I am not lying when I say I’ve AFK’d purple OSD’s and killed Desert titan in less than a minute with only 12 tesla coils on top of a Quetz platform. Similarly, you want to go wyvern egg hunting. Just bring your flying tesla Quetz and watch it rain wyverns! It’s not uncommon to see damage numbers ranging from 10 to 12 thousand!

Ark Steampunk mod
Summary

This mod has A LOT of content, but it must. To be so awesome! Inspired by the great AAA title franchise Bioshock, the developer has a really polished creation here with the Ark Steampunk Mod! Giving the survivor constant material at every stage of the engram list, there is no dull point to the progression through the Steampunk side of your playthrough. What is really great about this mod, is that it’s perfectly suited to be that much needed stepping stone to tek. So for all the survivors out there who find it hard to get to tek; This mod will help you!

The survivor will find a host of new resources to hunt down and discover. By utilising these new materials, they can be processed into new engram crafts and in turn these new crafts lead to even more new craftables! Furthermore, the survivor is able to decorate their home with a plethora of beautiful decorations and visually appealing props and lighting. This mod really has everything for every style of game play.

Mentioned on survivetheark.com, Steampunks creator, iSPEZZ was awarded the July 29th ‘2019 mod contest’ winner at second place and you can find the article here:  Being a mod winner reflects on how polished the gameplay is when on the ARK.

Featured in Pcgamer at:
Pcgamer you can be safe in knowing that this mod is considered a finished creation and that most bugs have all been mostly worked out. If you have any suggestions, the creator has a dedicated discord page manned by attentive moderators and is constantly relevant and updated with his most recent ideas and visions. I thoroughly recommend giving this mod a try. Here is a guide I have made a guide on the best tips I can give to the survivor who is trying out this mod for the first time.

We hope you have enjoyed this guide, if you are looking for a server with Ark Steampunk Mod to play on why not check out our Ark Cluster