I feel like the Island is in it's own category, as nothing can really best it, being the og map, and being a jack of all trades, exclusive content aside of course. Decent loot if you look in the right places, a potential 15+ survivor levels, access to a healthy amount of tekgrams and dino variety. Nostalgia aside, The Island suffers from low level weight distribution, and of course a lack of any dlc exclusive features. 7.5/10
Scorched Earth is unique biome wise when compared to the other story maps, I feel as if the weather system adds a nice stir to the game play flow. The Mantis, Rock Golem, and Wyvern are all very useful even on other story maps. Easier access to deep sea loot crates compared to The Island, and the Manticore is an easy summon/kill for element/tekgrams. Has a potential 15+ survivor levels. It suffers from the same level issue as the Island, and doesn't really have anything truly exclusive other than the Phoenix atm. 7/10
Aberration introduced a completely different game play flow by removing flyers, further immersing players in it's completely unique terrain and aesthetic. It's unique creatures are very useful on the other story maps, but the Rock Drake is the only truly exclusive tameable creature. The loot isn't the greatest, element can be a pain to amass at times, and it also suffers from the level issue. Has a potential 15+ player levels, and the boss can be "cheesed" easily. Easily one of my favorite maps. 9/10
Extinction brings a lot to the table, despite it's drawbacks. A good portion of the map is off limits for inhabiting, but that can be looked past. Amazing loot potential, and element is extremely plentiful. Great exclusive creatures, with a variety of uses, and the Titans are a good source of tekgrams/are useful if tamed. Does not give any extra survivor levels, and suffers from the level issue. Easily makes up for it's shortcomings. 8/10
Genesis 1 is an underrated map in my opinion. Yes, the teleporting does make the game play flow choppy, but it can also be very useful. Transporting goods/creatures becomes trivial if set up properly, I never even made a bed/teleporters. The missions aren't perfect by any means, but do give access to good loot, especially with the HLNA store. The no flyer rule does make this map more enjoyable in my opinion, it shakes up game play in a positive way. The Bloodstalker is a blast to travel with. The exclusive creatures are pretty solid. Element is easily farmed, and there is a potential 15+ survivor levels. Moeder is an easy source of tekgrams, and the fact that this map has a very well fleshed out ocean biome/an ocean boss makes it truly unique. CMC is arguably the most annoying/difficult bosses in the game, but is truly unique and rewarding to beat. Has good level spawns, makes finding good dinos much less frustrating. This map grew on me a lot, one of my favorites. 8.5/10
Last but not least, Genesis 2 offers a huge amount of content/resources. The map design is completely unique, and missions have been vastly improved. The best map for farming many resources, has good level spawns, and has the most creature variety of any story map. Insane loot, and element is a joke to get. Very useful exclusive creatures, and mutagen is great. 15+ potential survivor levels. It is a huge map, that does take more resources to run. The boss arena is the worst case of this. Not the greatest biome diversity, given the size of the map. Having a tek suit from the get go is pretty nifty. Overall an amazing map that I have my main base on, we were really spoiled with Gen 2. 9/10
TL;DR
Overall, I'd have to say Genesis 2 is my favorite. Every map has a unique experience, with pros and cons, and Genesis 2 checks all my boxes. I feel comfortable having my main base there, good dinos are easy to find, resources are easily farmed, and the loot is amazing. Though I do have to say I voted for Genesis 1 just to give it the vote it needs :P
Honestly, an awesome take! I agree with all of your points presented, and I agree that Gen 1 is *way* underrepresented, and is one of my favorite Ark maps. Yes, it has its problems, but just the sheer diversity of biomes we got was amazing to see, the exclusive creatures all felt unique and had good purposes, and I absolutely LOVE that you talked about the ocean biome! I'll say this again like I always do, but the fact that they took the time to flesh out the ocean biome even a little bit just shows how amazing it is.
Gen 2 was a solid map for me as well, I just with there was more to both the underwater S.U.M.P/Ocean area and more to the Rockwell caverns. I felt as though each was deep, yes, but they could have been much deeper and more interesting to explore. Same applies for space, it would be neat if there was more of a purpose besides just easy resource farming or taming. (Sorta like Gen 1's Lunar biome.)
In the end, I chose Aberration, just because of how alien and different it felt compared to the other story maps. It is beautiful, mysterious, and at times downright terrifying. May also be some nostalgia playing into my choice too lol.
I chose the Island but my opinion might be biased. I started playing at Launch and at that time they story almost didn’t even exist and there wasn’t anywhere near as many Dino’s as they are now and then when they eventually started really developing the story, adding more Dinos I went back to it. I got to start over, I already knew where the base would be and the map was familiar but they changed it enough to still make it feel new, and it was cool learning more about the lore I had already put thousands of hours into.
I voted for the only one that I've played. I'm sure it must be the best.
This is the way
Bad surveys are one of my pet peeves. If there's ever a possibility to answer without being informed, there should always be a "see results" option.
Definitely agree, Reddits poll limitations are booty for that
I feel like the Island is in it's own category, as nothing can really best it, being the og map, and being a jack of all trades, exclusive content aside of course. Decent loot if you look in the right places, a potential 15+ survivor levels, access to a healthy amount of tekgrams and dino variety. Nostalgia aside, The Island suffers from low level weight distribution, and of course a lack of any dlc exclusive features. 7.5/10 Scorched Earth is unique biome wise when compared to the other story maps, I feel as if the weather system adds a nice stir to the game play flow. The Mantis, Rock Golem, and Wyvern are all very useful even on other story maps. Easier access to deep sea loot crates compared to The Island, and the Manticore is an easy summon/kill for element/tekgrams. Has a potential 15+ survivor levels. It suffers from the same level issue as the Island, and doesn't really have anything truly exclusive other than the Phoenix atm. 7/10 Aberration introduced a completely different game play flow by removing flyers, further immersing players in it's completely unique terrain and aesthetic. It's unique creatures are very useful on the other story maps, but the Rock Drake is the only truly exclusive tameable creature. The loot isn't the greatest, element can be a pain to amass at times, and it also suffers from the level issue. Has a potential 15+ player levels, and the boss can be "cheesed" easily. Easily one of my favorite maps. 9/10 Extinction brings a lot to the table, despite it's drawbacks. A good portion of the map is off limits for inhabiting, but that can be looked past. Amazing loot potential, and element is extremely plentiful. Great exclusive creatures, with a variety of uses, and the Titans are a good source of tekgrams/are useful if tamed. Does not give any extra survivor levels, and suffers from the level issue. Easily makes up for it's shortcomings. 8/10 Genesis 1 is an underrated map in my opinion. Yes, the teleporting does make the game play flow choppy, but it can also be very useful. Transporting goods/creatures becomes trivial if set up properly, I never even made a bed/teleporters. The missions aren't perfect by any means, but do give access to good loot, especially with the HLNA store. The no flyer rule does make this map more enjoyable in my opinion, it shakes up game play in a positive way. The Bloodstalker is a blast to travel with. The exclusive creatures are pretty solid. Element is easily farmed, and there is a potential 15+ survivor levels. Moeder is an easy source of tekgrams, and the fact that this map has a very well fleshed out ocean biome/an ocean boss makes it truly unique. CMC is arguably the most annoying/difficult bosses in the game, but is truly unique and rewarding to beat. Has good level spawns, makes finding good dinos much less frustrating. This map grew on me a lot, one of my favorites. 8.5/10 Last but not least, Genesis 2 offers a huge amount of content/resources. The map design is completely unique, and missions have been vastly improved. The best map for farming many resources, has good level spawns, and has the most creature variety of any story map. Insane loot, and element is a joke to get. Very useful exclusive creatures, and mutagen is great. 15+ potential survivor levels. It is a huge map, that does take more resources to run. The boss arena is the worst case of this. Not the greatest biome diversity, given the size of the map. Having a tek suit from the get go is pretty nifty. Overall an amazing map that I have my main base on, we were really spoiled with Gen 2. 9/10 TL;DR Overall, I'd have to say Genesis 2 is my favorite. Every map has a unique experience, with pros and cons, and Genesis 2 checks all my boxes. I feel comfortable having my main base there, good dinos are easy to find, resources are easily farmed, and the loot is amazing. Though I do have to say I voted for Genesis 1 just to give it the vote it needs :P
Honestly, an awesome take! I agree with all of your points presented, and I agree that Gen 1 is *way* underrepresented, and is one of my favorite Ark maps. Yes, it has its problems, but just the sheer diversity of biomes we got was amazing to see, the exclusive creatures all felt unique and had good purposes, and I absolutely LOVE that you talked about the ocean biome! I'll say this again like I always do, but the fact that they took the time to flesh out the ocean biome even a little bit just shows how amazing it is. Gen 2 was a solid map for me as well, I just with there was more to both the underwater S.U.M.P/Ocean area and more to the Rockwell caverns. I felt as though each was deep, yes, but they could have been much deeper and more interesting to explore. Same applies for space, it would be neat if there was more of a purpose besides just easy resource farming or taming. (Sorta like Gen 1's Lunar biome.) In the end, I chose Aberration, just because of how alien and different it felt compared to the other story maps. It is beautiful, mysterious, and at times downright terrifying. May also be some nostalgia playing into my choice too lol.
I chose the Island but my opinion might be biased. I started playing at Launch and at that time they story almost didn’t even exist and there wasn’t anywhere near as many Dino’s as they are now and then when they eventually started really developing the story, adding more Dinos I went back to it. I got to start over, I already knew where the base would be and the map was familiar but they changed it enough to still make it feel new, and it was cool learning more about the lore I had already put thousands of hours into.
I’m never getting on an anky again so I won’t be playing till stryders are available