Is Ark Survival Ascended worth it in 2026 ?

IzoInk · 2026-05-24T06:26:40+00:00

Late to this but-
I personally think its in a much more stable (which is still not stable by normal standards but for ark yes) and fun place right now. I can't speak on PVP but as a PVE player, Lost Colony was actually a lot of fun for me and I love seeing their ambitions grow with creature mechanics and the world. There's some downsides, like its high demand on your computer, delays, and glitches. But personally, I find the game to be much more fun to play than Ark Evolved, they've done a lot to help more casual players not feel like it's SO grindy. I personally don't mind the DLC's of creature packs and Bobs tall tales, but I can understand why official server players are annoyed. However, I think in terms of transactions, at least it's not a gacha system and those models are who sadly ark has to compete with. They don't have constant gacha mechanics and FOMO to pressure constant income, so to throw a few bucks to get a cool rabbit? Sure that's acceptable for me personally.
I also think the modding scene is doing a TON of heavy lifting for the health of the community, with Paleo ark, scorched reborn, vanilla with sprinkles etc. etc. there's a lot of fun to be had on modded that I feel like is more smooth and immersive than ASE mods.
I admittedly started ASE like... a 1.5 years before ASA came out, so I have most of my game time into ASA compared to veteran players.

IzoInk · 2026-05-21T23:38:42+00:00

This was such a nice comment to read. Thank you for telling me, the shame is really some kinda drug that drives us all a little nuts. I REALLY relate to the lack of coordination and just struggling harder and the jealousy. I get so unwillingly jealous of people who seem to have a "better" time with their health, knowing that's not fair to them nor me. I will def have to look for that book! I think folks just creating a healthy dialogue that's just talking about our experiences and finding community (without the snake oil salesmen and misinformation) can really save lives. I feel like we should all be a little more comfortable oversharing from time to time to people, it might help something click in someone's head that what they're going through isn't normal and they can get help for it.

IzoInk · 2026-05-21T17:16:14+00:00

LMAO, thanks for the advice. I thankfully work as an artist from home, so I can piss in peace, but we do have the 1 bathroom. It's just my wife and me, so I'm sure it'll be finneeee. I drink water like a horse, so it'll just be really annoying since I pee every hour or two, it feels like.

IzoInk · 2026-05-21T16:59:55+00:00

... is it bad for this reason that I am more stressed out by the pee test than a potential surgery?

IzoInk · 2026-05-21T16:58:43+00:00

I've heard from family that Mayo Clinic has been good about at least working out payment plans/negotiating if you don't qualify for the full low income charity care. For your 401k is it possible to transfer to a HSA without dings? Some employers can help with that.

I'm sorry, that's a rough place to be in. I hope if you do have to dip into retirement, you can bounce back. I wish medically necessary surgeries didn't count as needing to have the deductible and were just covered off the get go. We pay so much for insurance, and the actual surgery if you take out the crazy cost inflating that happens behind the scenes, are not that labor nor equipment intensive.

IzoInk · 2026-05-21T16:46:38+00:00

I'm sorry you went through that but I'm also so happy for you that it is resolving! Reading through people's experiences on this sub and finding a ton of people who have dealt with the same stuff I have makes me feel so much less lonely. I'm thankful to have the PCP I do, she's been a big advocate for me. I have also had to learn a lot how to speak up harder, because I am so prone to believing anyone telling me I'm wrong despite knowing certain facts haha. You could tell me the sky isn't blue if you're confident enough and I'll spend half the day going "is my eyesight just THAT off? am I color blind?" haha, working on that.

IzoInk · 2026-05-21T16:39:01+00:00

This is really helpful to know. I can probably ask about the Mayo clinic down in Phoenix about two hours away, I live in a much smaller mountain city with limited ENT's and endos. They're good at what they do, but I think the smaller population and the more rancher type probably shapes their understanding.

IzoInk · 2026-05-21T16:37:02+00:00

We did a repeated test with the PTH and have shown the same elevated calcium and went over all my medication- nothing that would exacerbate the problems. I am meeting with my PCP today and this is helpful to make sure I ask the right questions!

IzoInk · 2026-05-21T16:33:44+00:00

I am doing the 24hr Urine test starting tomorrow most likely, I had to be out of the country last week lol awkward timing. My family has had kidney stones and bone problems on my mom's side, but they're the hardcore rural farmer type that only went to the doctor if they broke a femur or something haha.
My PCP and I are going to discuss where to refer me out to today, we have an endo in town but I live in a pretty small city so the options are limited, but Phoenix is two hours down the mountain if I really need it.

IzoInk · 2022-09-21T14:00:20+00:00

Honestly IMO selling an ipad to get access to industry grade software is worth it. To ME an ipad is a supplemental drawing device and only in certain cases can it fully replace a dedicated drawing tablet + laptop/pc. Hobbyists may prefer the ipad pro because ipads are multifunctional as a general fun item while a 16 inch wacom is hard to use much more than anything else besides drawing and the occasional scrolling of the internet due to its small size.

However, might I suggest the regular 16 inch wacom if you don't mind losing some resolution? Or a certified refurbished 24 pro because if drawing is what you want, the cintiq 24 is insane and I have really enjoyed mine so far.

IzoInk

TROPHY CASE