If you’ve spent hours building two separate treetop outposts on adjacent redwoods, you’ve probably stared at the gap between them wondering how to make moving between them safer and faster than climbing down and risking a run-in with roaming raptors. Figuring out how to connect 2 tree bases in ARK doesn’t have to involve hours of trial and error, wasted resources, or watching your hard work collapse mid-build because you missed one small detail. I’ve messed up this exact build over a dozen times across The Island, Scorched Earth, and Lost Island, so I’ve narrowed down the exact process that works every time, no random collapses or last-minute fixes required.
Pre-Connection Checks to Avoid Costly Structural Collapses
The last thing you want is to spend an hour building your connecting walkway, only to watch it crumble the second you step on it. These quick checks take less than five minutes total, and they’ll save you hundreds of wasted resources. First, confirm both tree platforms are fully snapped to mature, fully grown redwoods. Thin sapling redwoods can despawn without warning, and a partially snapped platform will never support a connected structure. Always make sure both tree platforms are fully snapped to their respective trees first—if one is floating even a tiny bit, the entire connected structure will collapse the second you put weight on it. Next, measure the gap between the two platforms. The maximum safe span for an unmodified wooden connection is 3 foundation widths, so if the gap is larger than that, you’ll need to add support pillars or adjust the height of one of your platforms to close it. You’ll also want to clear all hidden foliage between the two bases, because even a small hidden branch can break your build even if it looks perfectly aligned from the ground.
Step-by-Step: How to Connect 2 Tree Bases in ARK Safely
Once you’ve completed your pre-checks and gathered all your building materials, you can start the connection process. Start with the lower of the two platforms if they’re at different heights, it’ll make aligning the tiles much easier. First, place a single ceiling tile out from the edge of the first platform’s floor, facing directly toward the second base. Only use ceiling tiles that match or exceed the structural strength of your tree platforms—if you used wooden tree platforms, don’t use thatch ceilings, they’ll snap under even light weight from dinos or storage chests. Next, snap a second ceiling tile to the first, extending toward the second base. Keep adding tiles until you’re one tile away from the edge of the second platform. Now, move to the second platform, and place a ceiling tile out toward the last tile you placed from the first side. If they snap together cleanly, your base alignment is perfect. If they don’t snap, you’ll need to add a single low wall or ramp on one side to adjust the height slightly until the tiles connect. For spans longer than 3 tiles, add a wooden or stone support pillar under every other ceiling tile to boost structural integrity. I once skipped these pillars on a 5-tile span, and a random dilo spit hit one edge of the walkway. The whole thing collapsed, and I lost all the rare gear I was carrying back to my storage base.
Useful Modifications to Make Your Connected Tree Bases More Functional
A basic walkway gets the job done, but you can tweak your connection to fit your tribe’s specific needs and make your base far more practical. I’ve tested dozens of modifications over the years, and these three are the only ones that are worth the extra resource investment:
- Reinforced defensive walls along the walkway: Add wood or metal walls on both sides of the connection to stop enemies from shooting you as you move between bases, and prevent you from accidentally falling off when you’re sprinting with a full inventory of resources.
- Shared storage and crafting stations mid-walkway: If your two bases serve different purposes (one for farming and cooking, one for combat gear and dino storage), add a small midpoint area with shared chests and a forge so you don’t have to carry heavy resources back and forth as often.
- Emergency breakaway tiles for raid defense: Add one or two easily destroyed tiles along the walkway that you can break if your base is getting raided, to stop enemies from moving between the two tree platforms even if they breach one of them.
Don’t go overboard with modifications right away. Test the walkway for a full in-game day first to make sure it doesn’t shift or collapse when you’re moving smaller dinos like raptors or direwolves across it. If you’re planning to move larger dinos like parasaurs across the walkway, you’ll need to widen it to at least 2 ceiling tiles across, otherwise they’ll get stuck or fall off mid-crossing.
Common Mistakes to Avoid When Linking Tree Bases
Even if you follow the steps exactly, it’s easy to make small mistakes that can ruin your entire build. These are the most frequent errors I see new (and even experienced) players make when connecting their tree bases. First, using the wrong snap point for your ceiling tiles. A lot of players snap ceiling tiles to the edge of the tree platform’s railing instead of the main platform floor, which makes the entire connection way weaker and more likely to collapse. Always snap your connection tiles to the base floor of the tree platform, not the railings or attached walls. Second, ignoring structural integrity warnings. If you hover over a ceiling tile and the integrity bar is red, that means it’s going to collapse eventually, don’t ignore it. Add a pillar or a support rope (if you’re using the S+ mod) to fix it before you add any weight to the tile. Third, forgetting to account for flying dino takeoff space. If you park argentavis or pteranodons on your tree platforms, make sure the walkway is low enough that their wings don’t hit it when they take off. I once had an argentavis take out half my walkway because I built it too high, and it took me three hours to rebuild while a pack of raptors circled below waiting for me to fall.
At the end of the day, learning how to connect 2 tree bases in ARK is one of the most useful quality of life upgrades you can make for your treetop outpost, especially if you play with a tribe that needs separate space for different activities. Take your time with the pre-checks, don’t skip support structures, and test the connection thoroughly before you start moving valuable resources or dinos across. You’ll save yourself a ton of frustration, and you’ll end up with a way more functional base that’s harder for raiders to take down. If you run into alignment issues, don’t be afraid to tear down a tile or two and adjust, it’s way better than losing your entire build later.