Introduction
Cementing Paste is the lifeblood of any serious ARK: Survival Evolved survivor. Without it, you’ll be stuck with rudimentary tools and structures, unable to progress to the mid and late game. It’s a crucial component in crafting everything from basic building materials to powerful weapons, advanced machinery, and essential saddles for taming formidable creatures. Securing a reliable source of Cementing Paste is paramount to your survival and dominance in the ARK. This guide will cover all the methods for obtaining this vital resource, from early-game scavenging to late-game automated production, ensuring you have a consistent supply for all your crafting needs. We’ll explore the raw materials required, crafting methods, and alternative strategies to keep your crafting benches humming.
Understanding Cementing Paste
Cementing Paste is a composite crafting material essential for progressing through ARK: Survival Evolved. Unlike simple resources like wood or stone, Cementing Paste requires combining two distinct components: Chitin or Keratin and Stone. This seemingly simple recipe unlocks a vast array of crafting possibilities, allowing you to construct advanced structures like metal buildings, fabricate potent firearms, craft durable armor sets, and even create the specialized saddles required to ride your tamed dinosaurs.
The standard recipe for Cementing Paste requires a combination of four Chitin or Keratin and five Stone. This ratio is consistent regardless of the crafting method you employ. Understanding this recipe is the first step towards establishing a reliable Cementing Paste production system.
Gathering the Raw Materials
The first step in procuring Cementing Paste is gathering the necessary raw materials: Chitin or Keratin and Stone. While Stone is relatively easy to acquire, Chitin and Keratin can be more challenging, particularly in the early stages of the game.
Chitin and Keratin Acquisition
Early Game Methods
Insect Extermination: In the early game, your primary source of Chitin will be through hunting and harvesting insects. Creatures like Ants, Arthropleura, Spiders (Araneomorphus), Pulmonoscorpius (Scorpions), Trilobites, and Dung Beetles are all excellent sources of this resource. The best early-game weapons for dispatching these creatures include spears and bows and arrows. Aim for headshots whenever possible to maximize damage. Some areas with higher concentration of insects are swamps and caves. Harvesting with a pickaxe will maximize chitin acquisition from these corpses.
Early Creature Hunting: Besides insects, other creatures also drop small amounts of Chitin. Examples include Carbonemys (Turtles). While the chitin gain isn’t huge, it is an option if other easier options are not available.
Mid Game Methods
Tamed Scorpions: Taming a Scorpion can dramatically increase your Chitin harvesting capabilities. Scorpions are relatively easy to tame and can efficiently harvest Chitin from insects and other creatures. Focus on leveling up their damage stat to make them even more effective hunters.
Cave Exploration: Caves often teem with insects and other creatures that yield large quantities of Chitin. However, cave exploration can be dangerous. Always bring Bug Repellant to minimize aggro and consider bringing a strong, tamed dinosaur for protection. Ensure you are prepared for the specific challenges of each cave.
Larger Creature Hunting: Hunting larger creatures like Direwolves and Sabertooths provide a larger source of keratin, which can also be used in creating cementing paste.
Late Game Methods
Megatherium Domination: The Megatherium is a game-changer when it comes to Chitin harvesting. This creature receives a damage buff when fighting insects, making it an extremely efficient Chitin harvester in caves. Level up its damage and health stats to maximize its effectiveness.
Advanced Weaponry: As you progress, upgrade your weaponry to shotguns and high-tier melee weapons. These weapons allow you to quickly dispatch larger groups of insects and other creatures, significantly increasing your Chitin yield.
Megatherium Breeding: Breeding Megatherium with good stats is essential for increasing chitin yields. Breed for high melee damage and health, then imprint them for maximum effectiveness.
Artifact Cave Runs: End game is often artifact cave runs. These provide significant amounts of chitin, as well as access to artifacts.
Stone Procurement
Stone is a much more readily available resource. It can be found virtually everywhere in the ARK.
Early Game Stone Gathering
In the early game, you can gather Stone by hand or with a pickaxe.
Mid to Late Game Stone Gathering
A Doedicurus is invaluable for gathering Stone. This creature has a Stone-gathering bonus, allowing you to collect vast quantities of Stone quickly. Pair the Doedicurus with an Argentavis for easy transport back to your base. The Doedicurus also has a weight reduction for Stone, meaning it can carry more before becoming encumbered.
Crafting Cementing Paste
Once you have sufficient quantities of Chitin/Keratin and Stone, you can begin crafting Cementing Paste. There are two primary crafting stations for this purpose: the Mortar and Pestle and the Chemistry Bench.
Mortar and Pestle
This is the early-game crafting station for Cementing Paste. To craft it, you’ll need to learn the engram and gather the necessary materials. Place the Mortar and Pestle in your base and interact with it to access the crafting menu. Add the correct ratio of Chitin/Keratin and Stone, and begin crafting. Note that the Mortar and Pestle has a relatively slow crafting speed.
Chemistry Bench
The Chemistry Bench offers a significantly faster crafting speed compared to the Mortar and Pestle. You’ll need to obtain the Chemistry Bench engram and gather the required materials to build it. The Chemistry Bench requires Gasoline to operate. Once fueled, it can quickly produce large quantities of Cementing Paste.
Alternative Methods of Obtaining Cementing Paste
While crafting is the most reliable method, there are alternative ways to acquire Cementing Paste in ARK: Survival Evolved.
Beaver Dams
Beaver Dams, built by Castoroides, often contain significant quantities of Cementing Paste. Be aware that looting a Beaver Dam will enrage any nearby Castoroides, so be prepared for a fight. Beaver Dams also contain Wood, Rare Flowers, and Rare Mushrooms. Keep an eye out for them near rivers and lakes. Destroying the Dam will anger the Beavers.
Dung Beetles
Taming Dung Beetles can provide a steady supply of Cementing Paste. When fed feces, Dung Beetles produce Fertilizer and Oil. Fertilizer can be used to grow crops, while Oil can be refined into Gasoline. You can also use dung directly as fertilizer. Setting up a Dung Beetle farm can be a worthwhile investment.
Gacha Claus (During Events)
During the Winter Wonderland event, Gacha Claus can sometimes produce Cementing Paste as a resource. Keep an eye out for these festive creatures and take advantage of their generous offerings.
Loot Crates and Supply Drops
In rare cases, Cementing Paste can be found in Loot Crates and Supply Drops. These are not reliable sources, but they can provide a welcome boost to your Cementing Paste reserves.
Tips and Tricks for Efficient Cementing Paste Production
Location Selection: Choose a base location near abundant sources of both Stone and insects. This will minimize travel time and maximize your resource gathering efficiency.
Tame Optimization: Focus on taming and breeding dinos specifically for resource gathering. Breed Megatherium for Chitin harvesting and Doedicurus for Stone gathering. Imprint your tames to further boost their stats.
Weight Management: Managing weight is crucial for efficient resource gathering. Upgrade your character’s weight stat, use pack dinos to carry resources, and consider investing in Tek Armor for its weight reduction capabilities.
Consumables: Consumables like Stimberries can help combat the effects of weight encumbrance, allowing you to carry more resources for longer periods.
Automated Production: As you progress, automate your Cementing Paste production. Set up dedicated crafting areas with resources readily available. Use Industrial Grinders to quickly convert Stone into smaller stacks, making it easier to manage.
Conclusion
Mastering the art of Cementing Paste production is essential for success in ARK: Survival Evolved. By understanding the various methods for obtaining this vital resource, from early-game scavenging to late-game automation, you can ensure a consistent supply for all your crafting needs. Whether you prefer hunting insects in caves, raiding Beaver Dams, or building a Dung Beetle farm, the key is to find a method that suits your play style and optimize it for maximum efficiency. Experiment with different strategies, adapt to the challenges of the ARK, and you’ll soon be crafting advanced structures, weapons, and saddles with ease. Remember to constantly adapt your strategies, as new content and updates may change the landscape of resource gathering. Happy crafting!
