'Ark: Survival Evolved' v254 Update Today - Patch Notes Reveal Release Time, Tek Tier & More

Ark: Survival Evolved v254 launches today at 8 p.m. EST on PC and patch notes reveal everything players can expect. With the Tek Tier, four new Dinos and taming tweaks, there’s a lot to love about the patch. Here’s what we’re getting.

Upcoming Version: v254, ETA: Jan. 30 at 8 p.m. EST

• New Mechanic: Hairstyles & Facial Hair (with real-time growing), Hair Dyeing & Haircutting + Scissors
• Tek Tier Phase 1: Tek Engram system, Element Resource system, Tek Replicator, Tek Rifle, Tek Helmet, Tek Visor, Tek Jetpack, Tek Boots, Tek Gloves, Tek Rex Saddle, Tek Transmitter and more.
• New Dino: Ovis Aries - A docile sheep with large horns. Should be helpful in farming. [Dossier]
• New Dino: Basilosaurus - A dolphin-like mammal that’s specifically adapted for shallow-water travel. It’s gentle to humans but also hunted for its blubber. [Dossier]
• New Dino: Baryonyx - A mid-size predator dinosaur that swims fast and eats fish. When tamed, it can be used for land and aquatic traversal as well as fish hunting. [Dossier]
• New Dino: Purlovia - A small lizard-like carnivore that be tamed as a guard dog. You can’t ride it and it hibernates. [Dossier]
• New Item: Lance (for jousting of course), and you can now also use a Shield when Weapon-Riding (provided you are using an appropriate Weapon).
• Alliance-Chat channel
• Admin Command Logs & Chat Logs file-output options
• Troodon Scout now has an option to look for Corpses & Caches
• Tamed Dinos now have an option to disable their resource-harvesting
• Holding Left or Right when dismounting a Dino will now dismount you in that direction
• Significantly increased Scorched Earth loot drop quality
• Added five more Player and Dino levels
• Fixed Allosaurus spawning inside bases
• Fixed issue with being able to clip through world geometry
• Fixed Supply Crates respawn logic (would previously have stopped some cave crate spawns)
• 16 more Explorer Notes
• Soups/Beers can no longer be eaten by Dinos
• SteamOS version works properly again
• Audio system is now fully streamed. Hundreds of MB saved, slight potential perf loss. If you want to use the old system (memory-intensive), launch with -oldaudio

If you couldn’t tell, the v254 update promises to be a pretty meaty one compared to last month’s v253 patch. Many of its finest features, like the Tek Tier, have been in development and delayed for many months. In fact, some of the new Dinos listed above were announced well over a year ago. Hairstyles were first demoed more recently.

As opposed to focusing on unique tames, this month’s big update hangs its hat on introducing new gameplay features and creatures with exceptionally unique attributes. Domestication strategy doesn’t appear to be atypical, but the end results of that process will provide new ways to play.

While this update is currently only available on PC, it’s slated for release on PS4 and Xbox One in mid-February. Ark: Survival Evolved is in early access on those platforms as well as Linux and OS X.

What do you think of Ark: Survival Evolved update v254? What’s your favorite part of the patch notes? Tell us in the comments section!