The Drex Drop

Introduction:

Hello everyone and welcome back to this week’s Drex Drop. The past two weeks have been packed with unexpected chaos, last minute problem solving, and a healthy amount of admin sighing. If you were here for it, you already know. If you were not, buckle up. Let’s get into it.

Server News & Updates

Wildcard Broke It!

As mentioned in the last post, a major update was announced and expected to land over the weekend of the 10th. Instead, Wildcard chose violence and dropped it on a Monday. While the update did bring some genuinely good fixes and tweaks, it also introduced something they absolutely did not anticipate. Breeding completely broke.

For those who missed the chaos, a breeding exploit allowed dinos to breed with dinos they did not belong to, including other tribes’ tames. Dinos that were not enabled for breeding simply decided they were ready to start families anyway. Consent was ignored. Tribe ownership was ignored. Logic was ignored. It was pure, unfiltered Ark chaos.

Because of this, we temporarily shut the servers down to prevent further damage. After a community vote, the servers were brought back online a little over 24 hours later. Thankfully, this exploit and several others, including the reaper exploit, have since been fixed. We survived!

Upcoming Maintenance

In my ongoing quest to undo whatever Wildcard and various mods decide to break, I will be testing some coding changes on Island 1 later this evening. There is no exact time planned, but I will be watching player activity closely and aim to test while the server is empty so no one actively playing gets kicked.

These changes should be quick to implement and are aimed at resolving some long standing spawn issues. The goal is fewer empty maps and fewer moments of running in circles wondering why boss tribute dinos have collectively decided not to exist.

Astraeos, The Trouble Child

The latest update did not stop at breeding. It also decided Astraeos had lived long enough.

After nearly ten days of nonstop testing, trial and error, and support tickets that can only be described as aggressively unhelpful, the map is finally back online. This one took some serious patience, but it is stable again and behaving as intended. 

New Addition: Minecraft

While our ASA servers were offline, I decided to spin up a Minecraft server to help fill the void. It was meant to be temporary, but there has been enough interest that the server will be staying online for those who want a change of pace or just enjoy building without dinos trying to kill them.

Sometimes it is nice to punch trees instead.

Event Corner

Past Events Highlight

1. Holiday Build Contest
Voting has officially concluded and we had some fantastic entries.
- 1st Place: Sunchez with an incredible Christmas Village build
- 2nd Place: Deya with a beautifully done Holiday Fantasy Forest Village
Both winners, please open a ticket so we can get your prizes to you.

Current Events
1. January Build Event
Currently ongoing and ends on January 28th, 2026
If you have been procrastinating, this is your sign.

Upcoming Events

February is stacked, and this is just a preview.
- February Build Event
- Mystery Box
- Fishing Event (ASA)
- Cupid's Wish
- Breeding Event
- And Plenty More Surprises!

There will be something for builders, grinders, breeders, and chaos enjoyers alike.

Community Highlights

Note From the Admin Team

Starting next month, we are rolling out more consistent and varied events across both ASE and ASA. The goal is simple. More opportunities for everyone to earn admin currency and more chances for players to interact outside of their own bubbles.

If you have the spare time, please consider showing up to events. Seeing players participate genuinely makes the planning and prep worth it.

We will also be introducing monthly donation goals. These goals are meant to provide transparency around out of pocket costs and show exactly how much is received each month.

If a monthly goal is met, the community will receive special boosts. If donations fully cover all maps for that month, the wild dino level cap will be increased for the final weekend of the month. Wild dino max level will increase from 300 to 350. The taming map will increase to a max of 375

These bonuses are cluster specific. If ASE meets the goal but ASA does not, only ASE will receive the boosts. There will also be smaller donation milestones that unlock boosted weekend rates, so even if the final goal is not met, there is still something to earn.

Survivor Tip of the Week

Admin assistance tickets are a lot like taming a tough dino. You prep, you start the process, and then the hardest part begins, waiting.

Just like walking away too soon can ruin a tame, bumping tickets or getting impatient can actually slow things down. Trust the process, give admins time to work through the queue, and your patience will pay off in the end.

Wildcard Community Crunch Recap

Astraeos

The biggest topic from this week’s Community Crunch is Astraeos. This already stunning map is getting a major update on February 25th, 2026, adding a brand new immersive desert biome.

If you love Scorched Earth vibes, heat, sand, and questionable life choices, this update might be worth adding to your exploration list.

Upcoming Changes

Enjoy those overpowered Gloons while you can. Balancing changes are coming, and they are not here to be gentle.

Upcoming Major Update News

- Character screen crash fix

- Additional map fixes

Small wins still count.

Closing Message

The past two weeks have been a rollercoaster of updates, bugs, fixes, and unexpected downtime. Thank you all for sticking with us, being patient, and continuing to show up even when Ark decides to Ark.

Here’s hoping the next major update gives us fewer heart attacks.

Until next time, survivors.