Polymer is a key ingredient to progress into mid to end-game territory in ARK: Survival Evolved as it is required for many industrial stage recipes and late-game weapons and armor. In this guide, we will run you through how to get polymer in ARK and all the valuable things it can be used for.
How to Make Polymer
The recipe to polymer is unlocked at level 48, meaning you will have to play quite a bit of time before getting there.
ARK’s polymer has a simple recipe:
- Two obsidian
- Two cementing paste
You should already be familiar with these items as they are needed a lot. Cementing paste is crafted in a mortar and pestle and obsidian can be found on top of some mountains and caves and can be mined.
The best dinos to mine obsidian are Ankylosaurus, a Magmasaur, or a Phoenix, but you can also use a simple metal pickaxe.
How to Get Organic Polymer in ARK
The organic polymer is an alternative to crafting normal polymer. It has all the same functions but you can collect it from creatures rather than craft it yourself. Only a few select creatures drop organic polymer, for example:
- Hesperornis
- Kairuku
- Karkinos
- Mantis
A chainsaw, sword, or wooden club, are the best tools to gather the material but anything works. Dire Bears, Sabertooths, Pelagornis, or Thylacoleos are the best creatures to use to collect organic polymer.
Uses For Polymer
Knowing how to get polymer in ARK becomes a big help as you will need a lot of it with the number of recipes that contain the material. Your first introduction to this resource will be the fabricator as it is used a lot in the crafting station.
You will also need Polymer for all of these items:
- Canteen
- GPS
- Transponder node
- Transponder tracker
- Industrial forge
- Industrial grinder
- Vault
- Chemistry bench
- Assault rifle
- Fabricated pistol
- Fabricated sniper rifle
- Compound bow
- Tek replicator
These are only a few of the many items you can use Polymer for in ARK: Survival Evolved. There are many more resources for you to gather and use and here are guides to help you with that:
How to Make Kibble in ARK: Survival Evolved | How to Collect Sap in ARK: Survival Evolved
