Survival in the harsh conditions of islands and continents often depends not only on your ability to fight off dinosaurs, but also on the ability to conserve resources. Refrigerator is one of the key devices in the game, allowing you to dramatically increase the storage time of perishable food. Without this item, your supplies of meat, berries and organic polymer can spoil in a matter of minutes, turning into useless manure.
The process of creating this equipment requires preparation, searching for rare resources and leveling up the character to a certain level. In this guide, we'll go into detail on how to get the blueprint, what materials you'll need, and what alternative ways to save provisions exist. ARK: Survival Evolved offers many mechanics, and proper inventory management is the skill that separates the newbie from the seasoned survivor.
It's important to understand that simply collecting resources isn't enough; It is also necessary to ensure the power supply to the device if you are not playing on official servers with changed settings. We will cover all the nuances, including the use of generators and electrical outlets. Let's dive into the technical aspects of survival.
Requirements for unlocking the blueprint
Before you think about collecting materials, make sure that your character has reached the required level of development. The drawing on fridge becomes available for study only at level 35. This means that you will have to actively explore the map, complete quests and defeat creatures in order to gain enough experience points.
After reaching level 35, you will need to spend 24 engram points. This is a significant investment, so weigh your priorities: it may be more important for you to unlock other weapons or tools at the moment. However, if you plan to engage in dinosaur breeding or long expeditions, this item will become indispensable.
It is worth noting that on some servers with modified settings (PVE or PVP with rates), the level requirements may be lowered by administrators. In such cases, check the engram menu at the very beginning of the game so as not to waste time on leveling up unnecessary things.
⚠️ Attention: On servers with Hardcore mode enabled or complex survival settings, losing blueprints when a character dies can be fatal. Study engrams only in the safe zone!
It is also possible to obtain this item through divine console commands if you are a server administrator or playing in single player mode. To do this, use the command GiveItemNum 51 1 0 0, which will instantly add the item to the inventory, bypassing the need for crafting.
Required resources and materials
Creating a refrigerator is a labor-intensive process that requires visiting various biomes. You will need not only basic resources, but also rare components, which are often guarded by aggressive creatures. The list of materials is as follows:
- 🧊 120 × Metal Ingot - a basic building material that requires smelting ore.
- 🌿 40 × Polymer - a rare resource mined from certain creatures or in cold regions.
- 💎 15 × Crystal - necessary for creating electronic components of the device.
- 🛢️ 20 × Black pearl - the most complex component that requires immersion to depth.
- 🔩 5 × Electronics - a complex component that must be manufactured separately.
The greatest difficulty is usually production black pearl i polymer. Pearls can be found on the ocean floor in oyster shells or obtained from the carcasses of ammonites and trilobites. Be careful: diving for pearls often attracts the attention of megalodons and plesiosaurs.
The polymer is obtained in large quantities in snowy biomes from penguins or from the carcasses of centosaurs. If you don't have access to a snow map, look for alpha creatures that also drop this resource. The crystal can be found in caves or on mountain peaks, where it grows in large clusters.
Crafting process and assembly
After all the components have been assembled, it is necessary to make intermediate parts. First of all, start creating electronics. One piece of electronics requires 1 metal ingot, 1 crystal and 1 black pearl. These actions are performed in a workbench or industrial workbench.
When you have 5 units of electronics and all other resources in your hands, go to the workbench. Find the refrigerator icon in the list of available items. Click on it to begin the creation process. Unlike many other items, a refrigerator cannot be made manually; a workbench is required.
If you use Industrial Forge (Industrial Melting) or Industrial Grinder (Industrial Shredder), the process of preparing materials will go much faster. An industrial smelter allows you to smelt ore into ingots instantly, and a grinder allows you to extract polymer from shells without having to kill hundreds of penguins.
☑️ Preparing for crafting
Remember that the weight of the finished refrigerator is 20 units, which is quite a lot for the early stage. Make sure you have a heavy-duty dinosaur, such as an Argentavis or Brontosaurus, to transport the finished product to your base.
Installation and Connection to the Power Grid
Once you place the refrigerator at your base, the question is: how to make it work? On standard official servers, the refrigerator operates autonomously and does not require an electrical connection, simply freezing the contents. However, many private servers and mods (such as Structures Plus) require a power connection.
If your server requires power, you will need generator. It requires gasoline or biofuel to operate. Connection is made through electrical cables and sockets. The sequence of actions is as follows: install the generator, connect the cable to it, bring the cable to the installation location of the refrigerator, install the socket and connect the refrigerator to the socket.
In the socket settings menu, you can set the operating mode, for example, turning on only at night or when the battery charge is low. This will help save fuel during the day if the refrigerator is used primarily for storage rather than for active cooking.
⚠️ Note: If the generator turns off or runs out of fuel, the refrigerator will no longer function as a freezer and the spoilage timer will start at normal speed. Keep an eye on your fuel reserves!
Storage efficiency and comparison
The main purpose of creating a refrigerator is to extend the life of food. How effective is this item compared to other storage methods? Let's look at the spoilage time multipliers for various containers.
| Container | Time multiplier | Slots | Requires energy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Character inventory | 1x (Basic) | 50 | No |
| Drawer / Cabinet | 1x (Basic) | 30 | No |
| Salt block | 2x | N/A | No |
| Refrigerator | 100x | 30 | Depends on the server |
| Industrial. refrigerator | 100x | 60 | Yes |
As can be seen from the table, refrigerator increases storage time by 100 times. This means that raw meat, which will rot in the inventory in 10 minutes, will be stored in the refrigerator for more than 16 hours in real time. This is critical for accumulating resources for raids or food.
The Industrial Refrigerator, available at higher levels, has the same storage properties but twice the space. However, its crafting is much more difficult and requires more rare resources, such as cement paste and additional ingots.
The secret of preserving organic polymer
Organic polymer deteriorates the fastest. It lasts 2 hours 40 minutes in the refrigerator versus 1.5 minutes in inventory. This is the only way to prepare it for future use for breeding exus.
Alternative methods of preservation
What to do if you have not yet reached level 35, but you already need to save the meat? There are several ways to extend the life of food without refrigeration. The most accessible of them is the use of salt blocks or Preserving Salt.
A salt block can be placed in inventory along with food, and it will slow down spoilage by 2 times. Salt is obtained in caves or by evaporating sea water in a boiler. This is a temporary solution that will help you wait for the refrigerator engram to open.
You can also use the mechanics of tamed creatures. Some dinosaurs, such as Deinonychus or certain mod creatures, have built-in storage multipliers. In addition, while meat is in the inventory of a living tamed creature, it may spoil slightly more slowly thanks to passive health bonuses, although this does not replace full storage.
Don't forget about cooking. Cooked meat lasts longer than raw meat, but still significantly less than in the refrigerator. Therefore, the best strategy is to keep raw meat in the refrigerator, and cook only what you plan to eat in the near future.
Frequently asked questions (FAQ)
Is it possible to make a refrigerator without a workbench?
No, it is impossible to make a refrigerator manually. To create it, you must have a Fabricator or an Industrial Workbench. Make sure it is placed on a flat surface and has access to resources.
How much space does the refrigerator take up in inventory?
The weight of the finished refrigerator is 20 units. It takes up quite a lot of space, so for carrying it is recommended to use large dinosaurs with a high weight index, such as Brontosaurus, Argentavis or Quetzalcoatlus.
Does food spoil in the refrigerator when the server is turned off?
In most server configurations, the spoilage timer stops when the server is turned off or the player is offline (if the Stop setting is enabled Decay). However, if the server is running and you are online, time passes. Always check the settings of a specific server.
Does the refrigerator need to be connected to electricity on official servers?
On official ARK: Survival Evolved servers, a regular refrigerator does not require connection to a generator or outlets. It works autonomously. The requirement for electricity is often found in mods (for example, Structures Plus) or on servers with modified rules (PVE/PVP).