ARK: Survival Ascended Metal Farming Guide (Anky + Argent)

Metal is the gateway to mid-game gear, structures and saddles in ARK: Survival Ascended — and farming it efficiently is a rite of passage. This guide covers the proven Anky + Argent method, where to find the best metal nodes, and how to refine raw metal into ingots at scale.

The metal farming setup

The Anky + Argent combo

The classic metal engine pairs two creatures. The Ankylosaurus mines metal nodes far faster than a metal pick and reduces metal’s weight in its own inventory, so it can carry a huge haul. The Argentavis then picks the Anky up and carries it to mountain nodes — and because the Argent also reduces the weight of ore it holds, you can transfer the Anky’s metal onto the bird and fly home heavy. Bring a high-melee Anky: more melee means more metal per hit.

Where to mine

Metal nodes are the darker rocks with shiny gold/silver veins, clustered on mountains and volcanic areas. Regular grey rocks give mostly stone with a little metal — head for the rich veins on high ground. Map your map’s best clusters with our ARK resource maps and run a repeatable circuit before the nodes respawn. See the broader resource locations guide for every node type.

Refining into ingots

Raw metal is heavy and useless until smelted. Refine it into metal ingots in a Forge, or far faster in an Industrial Forge once you’ve unlocked it. Ingots are what most gear, structures and saddles actually require, so keep a forge (or several) running while you farm — by the time you’re back from a run, the last batch is done.

Frequently asked questions

What’s the best way to farm metal in ARK?

The Anky + Argent combo: an Ankylosaurus mines the nodes and reduces metal weight, while an Argentavis carries the Anky to mountain veins and reduces ore weight for the flight home. Keep a Forge or Industrial Forge running while you farm so raw metal is smelting into ingots as you go.

Forge or Industrial Forge?

Use a standard Forge early — it’s cheap and fine for small batches. Unlock the Industrial Forge as soon as you can: it smelts large quantities far faster and transforms your metal throughput, which is the real bottleneck once you’re mining with an Anky.

Why mine with an Anky instead of a pick?

An Ankylosaurus harvests several times more metal per node than a metal pick and reduces the weight of the metal it carries, so you gather more and haul more. A high-melee Anky multiplies that further — it’s the single biggest efficiency jump in metal farming.

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