If you’ve spent any time scrolling Ark: Survival Evolved community forums or seeing clips of weird space dinosaurs on your social media feeds, you’ve probably asked what is Ark Genesis Part 2 at least once. As the final official expansion for the original Ark game, it wraps up the eight-year long story of the ARK simulation while throwing in dozens of new features, creatures, and challenges that still keep players logging on years after its release. I still remember waiting for the release livestream back when it dropped, and I’ve put over 300 hours into this map alone, so I’m breaking down everything you need to know before you spawn in for the first time.
What is Ark Genesis Part 2’s Core Story and Setting?
This expansion picks up right after the events of Genesis Part 1, where you’ve escaped the broken simulation and woken up on the Genesis colony ship. This massive craft is carrying the last remaining human survivors, heading back to a restored Earth after the planet was destroyed by corruption centuries earlier. The ship is split between two main playable biomes, plus a dangerous void area between them that most new players don’t find for their first few days. Unlike every other Ark map, Genesis Part 2 takes place entirely inside a functional space colony ship, not a planet-side simulation.
The ship’s control is split between your AI companion HLNA, and the corrupted villain Sir Edmund Rockwell, who wants to take over the ship and turn all surviving humans into his corrupted minions. You don’t have to play through the main story to enjoy the map, but going through the quest line gives you exclusive rewards you can’t get any other way, including permanent stat boosts and rare creature skins. Even if you only play for PvP or building, the story missions are worth running just for the free loot.
New Creatures and Features You Won’t Find On Any Other Map
Genesis Part 2 added 16 brand new creatures to the Ark roster, plus unique variants of existing dinos that have special abilities. The Shadowmane, a lion-fish hybrid that can turn invisible, teleport, and stun groups of enemies, is still one of the most popular PvP and boss fight tames in the entire game. The Stryder, a customizable robotic mount, can be fitted with everything from mining drills to crop harvesters, cutting resource grinding time by 70% compared to older maps. There’s even the Astrodelphis, a space dolphin that can fly through the void, shoot laser beams, and carry up to three players at once.
On top of new creatures, the expansion has a bunch of exclusive quality of life features that make it much more accessible for casual players:
I once used a Stryder with a mining attachment to grind enough metal for a full Tek base in 30 minutes, something that would take me 3 hours on the original Island map. That level of convenience is why so many players stick to Genesis Part 2 even after all these years. Just note that some of the rarer tames require you to unlock specific mission rewards first, so you can’t just stumble across a high level Shadowmane and tame it first thing.
Essential Tips for First-Time Players Spawning In
If you’re new to the map, always spawn in the Eden ring first, not the Corrupted ring. The Eden ring has very few aggressive creatures at lower elevations, so you can build your first base without getting attacked by a level 150 Corrupted Giga 10 minutes in. The Corrupted ring is for endgame players, with constant environmental hazards and super strong creatures that will one-shot you if you only have cloth armor. Never go into the void between biomes without a space-ready mount or a hazard suit – the vacuum will drain your health in seconds, and there are roaming void wyverns that will attack you on sight.
Start with the easy hunting and fetch missions first, they give you enough hexagons to buy your first set of Tek gear within an hour of spawning. Hexagons, the in-game currency for Genesis Part 2, don’t disappear when you die, so you can save up for big purchases without worrying about losing them to a random dino attack. If you’re playing PvP, build your base either deep in the Eden ring’s dense redwood forest or in the hidden void spots, those are the hardest locations to raid. Don’t try to tame a Shadowmane until you have at least a full set of flak armor and a longneck rifle, they hit hard and will run away if you get too close without camouflage.
How Genesis Part 2 Ties Into The Wider Ark Franchise
As the final expansion for the original Ark: Survival Evolved, Genesis Part 2 wraps up the entire story line that started with the base game’s release in 2015. The final cutscene leads directly into the events of Ark 2, so if you’re invested in the franchise’s lore, you’ll want to play through the full story line at least once. All of the creatures and items from Genesis Part 2 are also available in Ark: Survival Ascended, the remastered version of the game, so you don’t lose access to your favorite tames if you upgrade to the new version. If you want to experience the full Ark story in order, play Genesis Part 2 last, after you’ve finished the base game and all other expansions.
Even years after its release, there are thousands of active servers running Genesis Part 2, both PvE and PvP, so you’ll never have trouble finding a group to run missions or raid with. There are also hundreds of community mods that expand on Genesis Part 2’s content, from new creatures to full custom story campaigns, so you can keep playing even after you finish the official content. It’s the most versatile map in the entire franchise, and it’s easy to see why it’s still the most popular pick for both new and veteran players.
At the end of the day, what is Ark Genesis Part 2? It’s equal parts a love letter to long-time Ark fans and a perfect starting point for new players who want to skip the slow early grind of older maps. It has something for every type of player, from casual builders who want to make a pretty base in the Eden ring to hardcore PvP players who want to fight over the best void base spots. I still come back to this map every few months just to mess around with the Stryder and run missions with my friends, and I’d recommend it to anyone who’s even slightly curious about the Ark franchise. Just don’t forget to bring a hazard suit the first time you head to the Corrupted ring.