# ARK: Survival Ascended Community Crunch 495: Pyranthos awaits you!

- Product: ARK: Survival Ascended (https://whatsnew.fyi/product/ark-survival-ascended)
- Vendor: Studio Wildcard
- Date: 2026-02-21
- Original notes: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/2399830/view/506228251914405841
- Permalink: https://whatsnew.fyi/product/ark-survival-ascended/releases/2026-02-21-community-crunch-495-pyranthos-awaits-you

What's New is an index, not a publisher: every entry below links to the vendor's own release notes, which are the authoritative source. Entries are labelled where they are hand-curated sample data, pre-releases, or drawn from a secondary source such as a developer blog.

Reuse: the summaries, labels and curation here are © What's New. Quote freely with attribution and a link back; wholesale republication of the corpus is not permitted — terms: https://whatsnew.fyi/terms. The vendors' own release notes remain their publishers'.

---

- **added** — Scorpion King and Queen creatures added to Pyranthos
- **added** — Minotarchos boss creature added to Pyranthos caves
- **added** — Mod-browser integrated into the game for downloading and playing custom content
- **added** — Temporary expire servers available for farming and experiencing new content until March 2nd
- **changed** — Pyranthos mega update arriving on Astraeos on February 25th

The dunes of Pyranthos are not getting any friendlier. Alongside the Deathworms you already know to fear, a new threat now prowls the sands: the Scorpion King and Queen. Massive and bloodthirsty, they are absolutely not something you want to stumble into unprepared.

The desert doesn’t reward carelessness, and Pyranthos is happy to remind you.

[Download in full resolution](https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1whiauJtFY0ze6ovXprVFDbFUfZ6DAMZK?usp=drive_link)

Deeper in Pyranthos, the caves hold something else entirely. The minotaur Minotarchos awaits new challengers, and while it doesn’t rely on flashy gimmicks, its strength is worthy of its myth.

Those who bring it down will be greatly rewarded and one step closer to defeating the legendary Hydra. Consider it a test of raw endurance, and a warning that the ruins below are just as unforgiving as the sands above.

Pyranthos mega update arrives on **Astraeos** on** February 25th**. Prepare accordingly. You’ve been warned, Survivors.

MODSPOLIGHTLINK
Download & play new custom content created by players, including new maps, creatures, items, and game modes, through a dedicated new Mod-browser directly within the game. Enjoy an endless stream of new ARK content as the creativity and talent of the community is fully unleashed for the first time across gaming platforms and stay tuned as we spotlight more Cross-Platform Mods each week!

This video features:

-  [Galaxy High-Tech Structure Skins](https://www.curseforge.com/ark-survival-ascended/mods/galaxy-highteh-structure-skins) by CyberTree

-  [The Seasons](https://www.curseforge.com/ark-survival-ascended/mods/the-seasons) by Monark37

-  [LF Dino Skin - Desmodus](https://www.curseforge.com/ark-survival-ascended/mods/lf-dino-skin-desmodus) by LettuceFry1234

-  [Xyphias’ Creatures: Vetulicolians](https://www.curseforge.com/ark-survival-ascended/mods/xyphias-creatures-vetulicolians) by Xyphias

-  [The Island Reforged](https://www.curseforge.com/ark-survival-ascended/mods/the-island-rework-by-nekatus) by Nekatus_Modding

-  [Birdwatcher’s Collection](https://www.curseforge.com/ark-survival-ascended/mods/birdwatchers-collection) by EliteDodo

-  [ARK Abi’s Ultimasaurus Remaked](https://www.curseforge.com/ark-survival-ascended/mods/ark-abis-ultimasaurus-mod-remaked) by Abichan

Expire servers are temporary servers across the network that will eventually be removed, and you can find them by searching for **"Expire"** in the session filter.

These servers will be online until 10 am PST / 1 pm EST on March 2nd. We're preemptively using our allocation for future maps to host some additional sessions that players can travel onto to farm, tame, and experience the newest content Gameplay. The same transfer restrictions apply in that you are only able to download your character, but you can freely take anything off. This is to help reduce load off some of the other servers, or provide players an option for those who just want to jump onto a new map temporarily.

Please note that **these servers will no longer exist after 10 am PST / 1 pm EST on March 2nd**, so if you intend to use them, remember to transfer your items/creatures/characters off before that date, as nothing will be saved beyond that time period.

This weekend, the Official Network will be receiving bonus rates! It will be active until **Monday, February 23**.

-  **PVP/PVE: **2x Harvesting, Taming, and Experience, and Breeding

-  **Small Tribes: **4.5x Harvesting, Taming, and Experience + 4x Breeding

-  **ARKpocalypse:** 5x Harvesting, Taming and Experience, and Breeding

[Fan Art Gallery](https://survivetheark.com/index.php?/gallery/album/3617-featured-fan-art/) | [Screenshot Gallery](https://survivetheark.com/index.php?/gallery/album/3623-featured-screenshots/) | [Artist Feedback Form](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSftQUqoYHb2QhG-rqeRMmL2r4-GVtW56tCdclH5sD-YQ_5HKw/viewform)

**Creator**: **The Outcasts**
How well do you know your ARK maps? The Outcasts is abo

_[Truncated at 4000 characters — full notes: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/2399830/view/506228251914405841]_