How Big is Fjordur in ARK? An In-Depth Expert Look at the Vast New Map - 33rd Square (2024)

As an ARK enthusiast, I couldn‘t wait to explore the vast new world of Fjordur. At over 144 square kilometers, this long-awaited expansion map completely changes the survival experience. In this guide, I‘ll use my 1300+ hours in ARK to provide detailed insights into the sheer scale and content of Fjordur. Let‘s delve into this gigantic new adventure together!

Just How Giant is Fjordur‘s Map Size?

To comprehend the scale of Fjordur, let‘s compare it to existing ARK maps and real-world areas:

• Fjordur is 3.5 times larger than The Island, the original ARK map.
• It‘s approximately 15% larger in size compared to ARK‘s previous biggest map, Ragnarok.
• The map is larger than many real islands on Earth. For example, it‘s bigger than Jamaica which is only about 11,000 square km!
• Placed in the USA, Fjordur would cover an area larger than the state of Maryland.

These staggering comparisons put the sheer size of Fjordur into perspective. It‘s not just big – it‘s ARK‘s first true giant map!

What does this mean for us survivors? Huge amounts of exploration and travel time! Whereas maps like The Island can be crossed on foot in under an hour, exploring all of Fjordur could take 20+ hours or more. Even flying across the map on a speed-leveled Pteranodon takes significant time. We‘ll need to strategically place bases and outposts to aid travels.

How Map Size Impacts Gameplay

Fjordur‘s giant dimensions directly impact many aspects of survival gameplay:

• Breeding – With creatures spread across biomes, breed times will be lengthy. For example, mating Ice Wyverns and Fire Wyverns will require big travels.
• Building – We‘ll need to be strategic with base spots to avoid extremely long material runs. Central locations like Sylvermyre Meadow could be ideal.
• Travel – The map‘s scale makes flyers like Tapejara a must-have. For land dinos, high-speed creatures will be preferred.
• Taming – Due to vast distances between biomes, it‘s smart to tame creatures native to one area before moving to the next. This saves potential tame deaths during long transfers.
• Resources – It will take vastly more resources to build up and connect distant base locations. Advanced miners like Ankylos and Doedics are crucial.

As an ARK expert, I predict successfully surviving on Fjordur will require much more planning and strategy compared to past maps. The scale changes everything!

Fjordur‘s 150+ Caves: More Than Meets the Eye

Fjordur contains over 150 caves ranging from small alcoves to sprawling networks. But the amount of caves alone doesn‘t convey their scope and impact.

Many of these caves are truly massive. For example, the Amethyst Cave spans a voluminous area – miners could spend hours extracting its valuable element shard deposits!

Other caves contain complex obstacles and winding paths. Particularly on PVP servers, large caves enable tribes to build impressive hidden bases. Smaller caves can house Portal rooms to link remote base spots.

Overall, Fjordur‘s caves encourage exploration and provide new base building opportunities we haven‘t seen before. They meaningfully complement the vast scale above ground.

Habitat Expansions: Finding Your Favorite Creature

In addition to new creatures, Fjordur expands the habitats for existing dinos and wildlife. As an ARK expert, I‘m most excited for the habitat ranges of Reapers and Wyverns.

Reapers

On maps like Aberration, Reaper spawns are confined. But on Fjordur, Reapers inhabit multiple areas including:

• Underground Forest biome
• Witchwood Forest biome
• Cave entrances

Their expanded habitats make finding high-level spawns much easier. I‘ve also noticed more frequent Queen sightings, which is great news for gathering Reaper pheromones.

Wyverns

Fjordur adds something ARK has never seen before – habitat diversity for all four Wyvern types!

• Poison Wyverns dwell in the Underground Forest.
• Lightning Wyverns nest in the Witchwood Forest.
• Ice Wyverns inhabit the snowy Hidden Lake region.
• Fire Wyverns occupy the Volcanic Islander volcano.

This diversity opens up new breeding potential. We can also more safely transfer separate Wyvern types via Obelisks and Portal rooms.

With smarter hunting approaches, Fjordur gives virtually unlimited access to these incredible creatures.

Surviving Fjordur‘s Diverse Biomes

Fjordur contains 10+ unique biomes, each presenting their own challenges:

To survive, specialists like Otters and Direwolves shine in their native biomes.

But generally, I recommend all survivors pump Fortitude to 30+ before exploring. Health should also be leveled as each biome presents environmental and creature threats.

With the appropriate prep, we can safely experience all Fjordur‘s biomes!

New Creature Spawns & Locations

Fjordur adds 5 exciting new tamable creatures:

Based on my initial scouting, ideal areas to find each creature are:

• Andrewsarchus – plains east of Asgard Peak or south biome bayou
• Fjordhawk – mountain slopes and cliffs
• Desmodus – concentrated in underground bioluminescent region
• Sinomacrops – witchwood forest Redwoods (rare)

Use these areas as starting points to locate high-levels of each new creature. With smart trapping strategies like Bolas and Tranq Arrows, even elusive tames like Sinomacrops can be captured.

Ideal Tames For All Situations

Beyond new creatures, Fjordur demands smart tame selection to thrive in virtually any situation:

• Travel – Tapejara, Snow Owl, Griffin, Bloodstalker
• Underwater – Tusoteuthis, Megalodon
• Caving – Megalania, Thylacoleo, Spinosaurus
• Boss Fights – Tyrannosaurus, Therizinosaurus, Deinonychus
• Resource Gathering – Ankylosaurus, Doedicurus, Castoroides
• Building – Argyentavis, Quetzal with Platform Saddle

By obtaining a stable of ideal creatures covering all scenarios, we‘ll be prepared to fully experience Fjordur‘s diverse biomes and challenges.

Strategizing for Bosses & Challenges

Fjordur introduces new high-level challenges including three epic boss fights. Based on my ARK expertise, here are some tips to defeat them:

Alpha Fenrir

Stats: 1.2 million health
Strategy: Bring 19+ high-level Deinonychus to inflict bleeding damage over time. Continuously heal and revive Deinonychus during the battle while avoiding Fenrir‘s attacks.

Alpha Jormungandr

Stats: 800k health
Strategy: Use a Mossaosaurus to battle Jormungandr in the lake arena. Level health to 20k+ and melee damage. Avoid Jormungandr‘s venom attacks.

Alpha Steinbjorn

Stats: 1 million health
Strategy: Employ tanks like Rexes or high-damage Therizinosaurus. Avoid boulder attacks and watch for burrowing strikes underground.

While challenging, smart preparation and battle knowledge helps overcome these epic encounters!

Base Building: Optimizing for Fjordur

Choosing base locations is more critical than ever on this vast map. Central areas like Sylvermyre Meadow could provide an ideal starting point with nearby resources.

However, I recommend building smaller outposts throughout biomes once established. This provides lifesaving shelter during long distant travels.

Within bases, be sure to build:

• Wind Turbines – take advantage of frequent wind sources on the cliffs and peaks.
• Industrial Forges – required for central metal processing to conserve resources.
• Large Crop Plots – utilize the fertile soil across the map to grow essential crops.
• Preserving Bins – store extra meat and resources in remote outposts.

As your needs grow in the late-game, interconnected Portal Rooms become extremely useful for fast travel.

My Take: How Fjordur Changes the ARK Meta

As an ARK expert, I believe Fjordur will completely reshape the survival meta compared to past maps. The sheer scale changes everything, forcing us to completely rethink base building, taming strategies, and resource planning. New creatures also provide exciting abilities like the Fjordhawk‘s diving and freezing attacks.

Fjordur represents ARK at its very best. No other map provides this sense of grandeur and adventure. The visuals are breathtaking, and the regions beg to be explored. You feel small traversing Fjordur‘s epic mountains, forests and ruins – like you‘re rediscovering a legendary lost world.

I cannot wait to master this vast realm with you, my friend. See you on the frontier of Fjordur!

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