Mastering the Industrial Forge in Ark: Survival Evolved: A Complete Guide

Introduction

Ark: Survival Evolved is a game of constant progression. From punching trees and crafting stone tools, to riding dinosaurs and building sprawling bases, the core gameplay loop revolves around gathering resources and crafting increasingly complex items. As you venture further into the world of Ark, you’ll quickly discover the crucial role that refined resources, particularly metal, play in constructing durable structures, powerful weapons, and advanced machinery. While the humble Refining Forge can get you started, its limitations quickly become apparent. That’s where the Industrial Forge comes in, a game-changer for efficient resource processing. This comprehensive guide will cover everything you need to know to unlock and master the Industrial Forge in Ark: Survival Evolved, transforming your resource gathering and crafting endeavors. The Industrial Forge is a pivotal structure that significantly enhances your capabilities in Ark, enabling faster refining, improved fuel efficiency, and larger batch processing of vital materials.

What is the Industrial Forge?

The Industrial Forge in Ark: Survival Evolved represents a significant leap forward in resource refining. Essentially, it’s a massive furnace designed to smelt ores into ingots and refine other raw materials into usable components at a greatly accelerated pace compared to earlier, smaller methods. Imagine a supercharged version of the Refining Forge, capable of handling far greater quantities of materials with much less effort. Its primary function is to convert raw ores like metal ore, obsidian, and crystal into their refined counterparts. These refined materials are fundamental for crafting a wide array of essential items, from simple metal tools to complex electrical components and powerful Tek tier gear.

Consider the alternative methods of resource processing. The campfire, while a staple of early survival, is far too slow and inefficient for advanced crafting. The Refining Forge, a mid-game upgrade, offers a modest improvement but still pales in comparison to the sheer processing power of the Industrial Forge. The Industrial Forge drastically reduces the time required to smelt large quantities of ore, enabling you to maintain a steady supply of refined resources without constantly monitoring individual furnaces. Furthermore, it offers superior fuel efficiency, consuming less fuel per ingot produced than its smaller counterparts. The Industrial Forge is simply the best option when you need large quantities of metal quickly.

Why is the Industrial Forge so essential? As you progress through Ark, you’ll encounter increasingly demanding crafting recipes requiring vast amounts of metal ingots, cementing paste, gasoline and other refined resources. Building a strong base capable of withstanding attacks, equipping yourself and your tribe with durable armor and weapons, and crafting advanced machinery for resource gathering and transportation all depend on a reliable source of refined materials. Without the Industrial Forge, meeting these demands would be incredibly time-consuming and resource intensive.

Obtaining the Industrial Forge

Acquiring the Industrial Forge is a significant milestone in Ark: Survival Evolved, marking your transition into more advanced crafting. However, it requires a considerable investment of time, resources, and experience.

First, you need to reach the required level to unlock the engram. This milestone requires reaching level sixty, a goal that necessitates plenty of exploration, resource gathering, and combat to gain experience. In addition to meeting the level requirement, you’ll need to spend a substantial number of engram points. Be sure to plan your engram allocation carefully and prioritize essential engrams for resource gathering, taming, and base building to ensure you have enough points available when the time comes. Some helpful or perhaps necessary engrams to obtain first might be those of the refining forge, smithy, fabricator and gasoline.

Next, you will need the materials to craft the Industrial Forge. These are: one hundred twenty metal ingots, sixty cementing paste, one hundred twenty crystal, thirty oil, twenty hide, and eighty stone. Obtaining these materials can be a challenging endeavor, especially for solo players or smaller tribes. Metal ore needs to be mined from specific locations throughout the Ark, often requiring travel to dangerous areas teeming with predators. Cementing paste, a crucial ingredient for many advanced structures and items, requires taming and utilizing creatures like beavers to efficiently harvest the materials. Crystal is found in caves, often guarded by dangerous creatures. Oil must be mined from underwater deposits or obtained from creatures. Hide can be obtained from hunting most animals on the Ark, and stone can be obtained from just about anywhere on the map.

Finally, you need the right crafting station. The Industrial Forge itself cannot be crafted by hand. Instead, you’ll need to construct a Smithy to assemble the necessary components. Building a Smithy requires its own set of resources, so be prepared to invest time and effort into building this essential crafting station before you can even begin crafting the Industrial Forge itself.

How to Use the Industrial Forge Effectively

Once you’ve successfully crafted your Industrial Forge, it’s time to put it to work. However, maximizing its efficiency requires understanding its mechanics and employing smart strategies.

The Industrial Forge relies on gasoline as its fuel source. Gasoline is crafted from oil and hide in a Refining Forge or Industrial Forge. The consumption rate depends on the load, but typically an Industrial Forge will burn through gasoline at a faster rate when processing large quantities of resources. To optimize fuel usage, consider refining resources in batches rather than continuously running the forge with small quantities.

The Industrial Forge accepts various raw resources as input, including metal ore, obsidian, crystal, and even stone for converting into stone foundations. The output, of course, is the refined version of these resources: metal ingots, obsidian, crystal, and stone foundations. The crafting speed and capacity are significantly higher than those of the Refining Forge, allowing you to process much larger quantities of materials in a shorter amount of time.

To use the Industrial Forge, access its inventory and transfer the desired raw resources into the designated slots. Then, add gasoline to the fuel tank and activate the forge. The refining process will begin automatically, and the refined resources will accumulate in the output inventory.

To maximize the effectiveness of your Industrial Forge, consider the following tips. Establish a reliable resource gathering operation near the forge to minimize travel time. Utilize dinos like Ankylosaurus for metal ore gathering and Argentavis for transporting the ore back to the base. Build dedicated storage containers near the forge to hold both raw resources and refined products, streamlining the refining process. Organize your inventory carefully to avoid clutter and ensure that resources are readily available when needed.

When placing the Industrial Forge, there are a few things to consider. It’s a valuable target for raiders, so placing it within a well-defended base is crucial. Additionally, the forge generates a significant amount of heat, potentially attracting unwanted attention from hostile creatures. Consider placing it in a secluded location or surrounding it with defensive structures to mitigate these risks. Running a forge for extended periods can draw raiders, so be wary when operating the structure and keep base defenses in mind.

Advanced Techniques and Strategies

Beyond the basics, there are several advanced techniques you can employ to further optimize your Industrial Forge operation and streamline your resource processing.

One effective strategy is to automate resource delivery using dinos. Tamed creatures like Argentavis can be trained to automatically transport metal ore from mining locations to the forge. Similarly, creatures like Doedicurus can be used to automatically fill the forge with stone for converting into stone foundations. By automating these tasks, you can free up your time to focus on other aspects of gameplay. Tek Teleporters can also be invaluable for teleporting resources around your base.

Careful base design can also significantly improve the efficiency of your Industrial Forge operation. Consider building a dedicated “forge room” or industrial area within your base, complete with storage containers, crafting stations, and defensive structures. Place the forge in a central location that is easily accessible from all areas of your base, minimizing travel time for resource gathering and crafting.

Furthermore, you can optimize refining speed by maximizing your crafting skill. Increasing your crafting skill improves the speed at which you craft items, including refining resources in the Industrial Forge. This can be achieved through leveling up your character and allocating points to the crafting skill. Additionally, certain buffs and consumables can temporarily boost your crafting skill, further accelerating the refining process.

If you are experiencing any problems with your Industrial Forge, such as it not working or not smelting resources, double-check that you have gasoline in the fuel tank and that the input resources are compatible with the forge. Overheating is not typically an issue with the Industrial Forge in the base game, but it may occur in certain mods or custom game settings. In such cases, consider placing the forge in a cooler location or installing cooling systems to mitigate overheating. If the forge is not smelting, it is most likely out of fuel.

Industrial Forge vs. Other Refining Methods

The Industrial Forge stands as the pinnacle of resource refining in Ark: Survival Evolved, offering unparalleled efficiency compared to earlier methods.

Consider the Refining Forge, the mid-game upgrade to the campfire. While it offers a modest improvement in speed and capacity, it still pales in comparison to the Industrial Forge. The Industrial Forge can process far larger quantities of resources in a fraction of the time, making it an essential investment for serious crafters and builders. Compared to the campfire, the difference is even more dramatic. The campfire is simply not viable for refining large quantities of resources needed for advanced crafting. The Electrical Generator, though not primarily a refining tool, can power crafting stations that offer speed boosts, but this is dependent on having an Electrical Generator setup first.

Mods and Variations (Optional)

The versatility of Ark: Survival Evolved extends to its modding community, which offers numerous enhancements and modifications to the Industrial Forge. Some mods may alter crafting recipes, introduce new functionalities, or improve automation capabilities. These include mods that enhance the look of the Industrial Forge, mods that increase the amount of materials able to be smelted at once and mods that may remove the need for gasoline.

Different maps in Ark can have different access to various resources, which can indirectly affect how easy it is to power and use the Industrial Forge.

Conclusion

The Industrial Forge is an indispensable tool for any serious player of Ark: Survival Evolved. Its superior speed, efficiency, and capacity make it an essential investment for mid-to-late game progression. By mastering the techniques and strategies outlined in this guide, you can transform your resource gathering and crafting endeavors, unlocking new possibilities for base building, equipment crafting, and overall survival in the Ark. Remember to plan your resource gathering, optimize your base design, and experiment with advanced automation techniques to maximize the benefits of your Industrial Forge. Embrace the power of efficient resource refining and conquer the challenges that await you in the world of Ark: Survival Evolved. Build big, craft powerfully, and survive in style.