How to get polymer in Ark Survival Ascended is a complicated process, especially if you want a lot of the material quickly. Organic polymer only comes from a few locations, some of which are easier to deal with than others. You can craft polymer from a few common resources, though, and while it does end up costing a lot, this crafting method is the best way to get the material in the long run. This guide explains where to find polymer and Ark Survival Ascended and how to farm it efficiently.
Where to find polymer
Polymer in its organic form comes from several sources, some less savory than others. The easiest way to get it is by harvesting certain animals. The penguin–Kairuku, in Ark-speak–is one of the more common polymer sources, though you can also find it from the little Hesperonis duck-dinosaurs swimming around the island’s rivers. Kairuku waddle around the ice floes in the map’s northwestern corners. They’re a rare bird, or they were for me at least, so it might take a few days before you encounter some.
The mantis dropped polymer in Ark Survival Evolved, though I haven’t encountered it in Ascended yet.
One of the more popular methods players use to gather a lot of polymer quickly involves taming a male and female penguin and starting a small penguin farm with temperature-controlled rooms to support egg growth. They harvest polymer from the baby penguins and repeat the cycle. Since harvesting involves harming the animal in question, though, that’s not a method I and others really want to practice.
Polymer from bees
Bee hives also drop organic polymer if you harvest them with a hatchet. You can set up a different kind of polymer farm this way, as long as you take the right precautions. If you tame bees and create a space for them to build hives, you can harvest polymer from the hives without harming any creatures. The downside is that you destroy part of the hive in the process, and your tame bees will likely attack. However, a bug suit or some repellant will keep you–and the bees–safe, and the hives will eventually respawn their polymer nodes.
Bees and hives spawn in the Redwoods area, the large island south of the volcano. They should be fairly common, though I only encountered one or two near the region’s swamp. That’s likely a bug (ha), so just keep checking the area after you reload or when a new day cycle starts to see if you can find them.
Polymer from Achatina
The most hands-off method is picking up polymer from the Achatina slug. These slimy lil’ guys ooze around the Swamp and surrounding mangroves south of the Redwoods area, and you can just get polymer from them without having to do anything. If you tame Achatina and create an area for them to slide around in, you can check back every day or so and get a few polymer for your trouble. It’s not going to fill your pockets, but it’s easy and a decent way to complement your other activities.
The last method involves making polymer yourself, and while it’s the most resource-intensive way to get the material, it ultimately benefits you in the long run.
Organic polymer or regular polymer
Once you have a mortar and pestle, you can mix obsidian and cement paste to get polymer. It takes two of each item to produce one stack of polymer, though both are fairly common across the island. If you get tired of trying to find it, just use one of Ark Survival Ascended’s console commands to give yourself more.
Crafted polymer lasts forever, unlike organic polymer, which spoils after a set amount of time. You can also carry more of it than organic polymer, so if you plan on crafting a lot–which you should–this is probably the easier choice to work with.
If you’re after some additional crafting materials, check out our guide for finding metal in Ark Survival Ascended with minimal hassle.
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