Ark: Survival Ascended — How to Get Silk (The Ultimate Guide for 2024)
Unlock the secrets of crafting premium gear, taming elusive creatures, and dominating the ARK ecosystem — starting with one of its most underrated yet vital resources: silk.
In the lush, treacherous world of Ark: Survival Ascended, every material matters. Whether you’re reinforcing your base against a Rex raid or preparing for a deep-sea dive in the Aberration biome, resource management is king. And among those resources, silk stands out — not for its abundance, but for its strategic value. Used in everything from parachutes to high-tier saddles, knowing how to get silk isn’t just helpful — it’s essential for late-game progression.
But here’s the catch: unlike berries or hide, silk doesn’t grow on trees — literally. You’ll need cunning, planning, and sometimes a little brute force to harvest it reliably. This guide will walk you through every legitimate, efficient, and safe method to farm silk in Ark: Survival Ascended, including creature-specific drops, biome hotspots, and pro tips most players overlook.
Why Silk Matters More Than You Think
Before diving into acquisition methods, let’s clarify why you should care. Silk is a crafting component in several high-demand items:
- Parachute – Essential for cliff diving or escaping aerial predators.
- Ghillie Suit – Critical for stealthy hunting or avoiding heat-seeking dinos in Scorched Earth.
- Desert Cloth Gear – Reduces overheating in arid biomes.
- Rock Drake Saddle (Aberration) – A must-have for vertical mobility in caves.
- Tek Armor variants – Some Tek gear recipes still require silk as a base component.
In short, if you’re serious about surviving — let alone thriving — in ARK’s most punishing environments, you need silk. And lots of it.
Method 1: Harvesting from Araneo, Arthropluera, and Leeches
The most direct way to get silk? Kill the right creatures. Three critters drop silk consistently:
🕷️ Araneo (Giant Spiders)
- Location: Forests, caves, especially in The Island’s Spider Cave or Ragnarok’s lava biome.
- Drop Rate: High — 10–30 silk per kill.
- Taming Tip: While you can tame Araneos, they’re not ideal for silk farming unless you’re kiting them into traps. Wild spawns are faster to kill en masse.
🦂 Arthropluera (Giant Centipedes)
- Location: Redwood forests, swamp edges, Scorched Earth canyons.
- Drop Rate: Moderate — 5–15 silk per kill.
- Bonus: Also drops chitin and rare scorpions — great for multi-resource runs.
🩸 Leeches (Aquatic)
- Location: Swamp biomes, underwater caves.
- Drop Rate: Low — 1–5 silk, but respawns quickly.
- Pro Tip: Use a tamed Sarco or Baryonyx to clear leech clusters fast. Bring narcotics — leeches inflict torpor.
Case Study: Player “SilkQueen_92” on Official PVE Server #47 reported harvesting 287 silk in 20 minutes by circling the Redwood Forest on Ragnarok with a tamed Therizinosaurus — using its high melee damage to one-shot Arthroplueras.
Method 2: Taming and Breeding Araneo for Passive Farming
If you’re playing long-term or on a PvE server, consider taming a few Araneos. While they don’t produce silk like a Dung Beetle produces fertilizer, you can:
- Trap and kill wild Araneos near your base — respawn cycles ensure steady supply.
- Use tamed Araneos to lure and aggro wild ones into kill zones.
- Breed for higher melee Araneos — faster kills = more silk/hour.
Note: Tamed Araneos do NOT drop silk when killed — only wild ones do. Don’t waste your tames!
Method 3: Biome-Specific Hotspots
Certain regions in ARK are silk goldmines. Here are the top 3:
1. The Island – Spider Cave (Southwest)
- Dense Araneo spawns.
- Bring flares, a good weapon, and a climbing pick. Avoid bringing tames unless they’re Rock Drakes or Manas.
- Estimated yield: 100–200 silk per 15-minute run.
2. Ragnarok – Lava Biome (Volcano Area)
- Araneos spawn near lava pools and inside tunnels.
- High risk, high reward — bring heat-resistant gear.
- Combine with obsidian runs for efficiency.
3. Valguero – White Cliffs Region
- Arthroplueras spawn in clusters along cliff bases.
- Easy to clear with a fast mount like a Thylacoleo or Argentavis.
Method 4: Using Environmental Tools & Mods (If Allowed)
On unofficial servers or single-player, you might have access to quality-of-life mods or admin commands. Use responsibly:
- Structures Plus (S+): Some versions add silk-generating structures or automated harvesters.
- Admin Commands (Single Player):
cheat gfi Silk 100 0 0— but where’s the fun in that?