Lost Colony ARK Guide: Map, Creatures, Lost King, Skill Tree
What is Lost Colony in ARK: Survival Ascended?
Lost Colony is ARK: Survival Ascended's first fully new, canonical, paid expansion map. It released on 19 December 2025 (4am UK; the night before in the US) on Steam, PlayStation and Xbox for $29.99, after being promised for November and then slipping a month, and then slipping eight more hours on launch night. It is not on Nintendo Switch.
It is set on Arat Prime, "the site of humanity's last stand", roughly a thousand years after the Reseed Protocol at the end of Extinction. The story has you recovering the Engram Codex, a virtual library of humanity's stored minds and genetic data, against a Lost King who has been using that Codex to clone an army. Karl Urban's Bob narrates. It is the first expansion with animated cutscenes by MAPPA, the first with a creature that evolves into two different forms, and, per the wiki, the one with the most skins of any ASA pack.
On BG Gaming: Lost Colony is one of our 11 cluster maps. You need to own the DLC to join that map, and once you are on it you can move between it and our other ten maps freely. Details at the bottom.
The map: regions of Arat Prime
Lost Colony is two worlds stitched together, a city and a wasteland, with a lot of strange territory around them.
- The gothic metropolis. A tiered, cathedral-like city guarded by the Thrall army and lit in crimson. This is where the Palace, the Red Terminal and the boss fight live, and where the city outpost missions hand out Crimson Sigils.
- The arctic expanse. A desolate tundra scarred with craters and the wreckage of a huge fallen ARK. Cold, open, and the home of the tundra Defense Outposts that pay out Aberrant Sigils.
- Twilight Forest. Permanent dusk and bioluminescent flora. The prettiest part of the map and the least dangerous, relatively.
- Craggy peaks and rocky spires, a twisted woodland, a collapsed volcanic crater and hot springs fill out the interior.
- Aberrant Crash Sites. Pockets where Edmundium, a liquid substance, has turned the ground into "radioactive nightmares". Bring a hazard suit and low expectations.
Nowhere on Lost Colony feels like The Island. It is closer to Extinction's mood with Aberration's rules.
New creatures in Lost Colony
Nine creatures are exclusive to the expansion. Three of them are not tameable at all, which is new for ARK.
| Creature | What it is | Tameable? |
|---|---|---|
| Veilwyn | A small fox-like companion that opens portal-like holes to teleport through. | Yes, and it evolves. |
| Malwyn / Solwyn | The two evolved forms of the Veilwyn, each with its own abilities. The first ARK creature with a branching evolution. | Via the Veilwyn. |
| Ossidon | A monstrous, demonic primate of "raw endurance and cryogenic elemental might". Alpha Ossidon skulls are a boss tribute. | Yes. |
| Gloon | A strange frog-like creature with large translucent eyes and "unusual reactions". One of the few things that hurts a Neophyte properly. | Yes. |
| Aureliax | A colossal Chinese-style dragon with gravity and healing powers. | Yes. |
| Cryolophosaurus | A theropod that spits a torpor-inducing glob or exhales a freezing blast. The map's knockout tame of choice. | Yes. |
| Gigadesmodus | A massive bat-like "flying fortress". Cannot be knocked out; you get one by beating the Lost King and Lost Queen for a fertilised egg sac. Heals 15% of all damage it deals, rider 5%. | Boss reward only. |
| Neophyte | A feral, bat-like humanoid that patrols for the Lost King and, uniquely in ARK, hunts you down without spawning in the wild. Tamed creatures deal 95% less damage to it; player attacks, Gloon and Gigadesmodus ignore that. Its horns are a boss tribute. | No. |
| Thrall | The Lost King's cloned army, made from humans via the Codex. | No. |
Also roaming the map: Revenants (survivors and creatures reanimated by Rockwell, untameable) and Gargoyles (creatures frozen in time by a statue). Most of the usual ARK roster spawns too, so you are not starting from nothing.
New systems: skill tree, outposts, sigils
Lost Colony is the first ASA map with progression beyond levels.
- Skill Tree. Hitting Milestones (taming firsts, exploration, kills, crafting) earns points you invest in skills. It is account progression on top of the normal level curve, and it carries real power, so do the milestones.
- Outpost Missions. Dynamic enemy outposts in three flavours: Defense (hold a position against waves), Attack (raid a Thrall outpost) and Resource Caches. They are repeatable and they are how you earn sigils.
- Sigils. Two currencies gate the boss: Crimson Sigils from missions in the city, Aberrant Sigils from Defense Outposts in the tundra. Minor, Greater and Prime tiers map to Gamma, Beta and Alpha.
- Red Element powers the Great Dome barrier and is the headline boss reward.
The Lost King and Lost Queen boss fight
The boss is a pair, fought together, in the Red Palace. You start it at the Red Terminal with the "Red-Handed" mission, which is a gauntlet through the Palace Gates before you even reach the arena.
Tributes per difficulty
| Gamma (level 55) | Beta (level 70) | Alpha (level 95) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alpha Ossidon Skull | 1 | 5 | 10 |
| Alpha Zombie Brains | 1 | 5 | 10 |
| Neophyte Horns | 5 | 10 | 15 |
| Aberrant Sigil | 100 Minor | 150 Greater | 200 Prime |
| Crimson Sigil | 100 Minor | 150 Greater | 200 Prime |
How the fight works
Phase 1. The Lost King is airborne on his Gigadesmodus and cannot be damaged by normal or ranged attacks. Find and destroy the four power poles around the arena while Thralls spawn on you.
Phase 2. With the poles down he lands. Exploding crystals spawn around the arena; detonate them to stun him, and that stun is your damage window. High-damage tames (Rexes, Reapers) and shotguns are the wiki's recommendation, and ours.
The ten-player trap. Bringing ten or more players triggers a scaling damage-reduction buff on the boss that makes him "nearly impossible to kill". Nine is the ceiling. This is the single most common way a Lost King run fails.
Rewards
Beat both and you get Red Element, the Lost King Flag and Lost Queen Flag, trophies, a Gigadesmodus Egg Sac (the only way to get one) and Tekgrams unlocking across the difficulties.
How Lost Colony plays on BG Gaming
Lost Colony has been on the BG cluster since launch week. What is different here:
- Rates. 5x taming and breeding, 2.5x harvest, 2x XP, wild dinos to level 150. The Cryolophosaurus tame that takes an hour on Official takes a fraction of that.
- Welcome Centre. Our free public crafting hub on Lost Colony is at 81.0 / 1.0. Single drop-in point, fly or run straight there. All welcome centres →
- Organised boss fights. We run the Lost King as a community event through Discord, with loaner dinos for anyone short on Rexes and rewards split by contribution. Our organiser caps the group at nine for this fight, for the reason above. Coin rewards on top of the in-game drops: 2,500 (Gamma), 7,500 (Beta), 50,000 (Alpha).
- Transfers. Lost Colony is a full cluster member. Craft a Depot Terminal at level 1 and move your character, tames and items between it and our other ten maps.
- You need the DLC. Lost Colony is a paid map, so you have to own it to join that server. Our other ten maps are open to everyone; eight of them are free maps.
Not on the cluster yet? Search (BG) in the server browser (tick Player Servers, untick Password Protected) or join through Discord and register your character for 50,000 free coins.
Quick FAQ
Is Lost Colony free?
No. It is a paid expansion at $29.99 on Steam, PlayStation and Xbox. There is no Switch version.
When did Lost Colony come out?
19 December 2025 (4am UK; the evening of 18 December in the US), after slipping from November and then by another eight hours on launch night.
Is Lost Colony canon?
Yes. Unlike Astraeos and Dragontopia, Lost Colony continues the main ARK storyline after Extinction.
Can you tame the Neophyte or Thrall?
No. Neither can be tamed, bred or ridden. Revenants and Gargoyles are not tameable either.
How do you get a Gigadesmodus?
Beat the Lost King and Lost Queen. The Gigadesmodus Egg Sac is part of the reward; hatch and raise it.
How many players for the Lost King?
Nine at most. Ten or more triggers a damage-reduction buff that effectively makes the fight unwinnable.
Do I need Lost Colony to play on BG Gaming?
Only to play on the Lost Colony map itself. The other ten maps do not need it.
Sources
- Lost Colony, ARK Official Community Wiki
- Lost King, ARK Official Community Wiki
- Gigadesmodus and Neophyte, ARK Official Community Wiki
- Worthplaying: Lost Colony delayed until December
- ARK Ascended News: worldwide launch times
- Karl Urban brings Bob to ARK: Lost Colony, Games Press
- BG Gaming boss organiser data (tributes cross-checked against the wiki)
Last updated 21 September 2026. Part of our ARK Ascended maps list.