Community Crunch 517 Recap: Therizino TLC, Switch Server Sunset and August Rates
Studio Wildcard packed several player-impacting announcements into Community Crunch 517. The headline reveal is a focused Therizinosaurus TLC for ARK: Survival Ascended, but the post also confirms a shutdown date for official ARK servers on Nintendo Switch, reiterates the closing schedule for Conquest Season 8, and activates boosted rates across the official network.
The Therizinosaurus TLC keeps its established role
The Therizino won its TLC through the Extra Life community vote. Wildcard is not rebuilding the creature around a completely different purpose. Instead, the update targets combat responsiveness, controls, movement, visual progression, and personality while preserving the versatile harvesting and fighting role tribes already rely on.
That is reassuring for players with established breeding lines. The announcement does not describe a replacement creature, a new taming method, or a reset that would make current Therizinos obsolete. Exact stat adjustments and breeding effects have not been published, so survivors should keep their existing lines and wait for the numerical patch notes before making major changes.
Wild encounters will communicate danger more clearly
Wild Therizinos will become more readable without becoming harmless. A territorial animal will stare at an intruder and spread its claws as a warning before committing to an attack. The behavior adds a moment of visual communication to an encounter that can otherwise escalate very quickly.
Harvesting specialization will affect appearance
The refreshed creature will show visible signs of the work it performs. Therizinos developed for delicate foraging are described with longer, sharper claws, while power harvesters will display worn and chipped claws. Their posture will also reflect their specialization.
This should make working animals easier to recognize around a busy base and give experienced mounts a stronger identity. The reveal does not explain whether appearance is controlled by harvesting levels, repeated use, a new progression value, or another system. That detail will need confirmation when the complete TLC notes arrive.
Movement and mounted combat are being improved
Mounted Therizinos are gaining tighter turning and the ability to hop onto or over obstacles that can stop bulkier creatures such as an Allosaurus or Rex. The dossier also highlights a double-swipe attack and the protection a saddled Therizino can provide its rider.
Those changes could make the creature less frustrating around bases, rocks, forests, and close defensive positions. Damage values, stamina costs, attack timing, cooldowns, and final PvP balance were not included in the reveal. The TLC itself is confirmed, but Wildcard did not announce its release date in Community Crunch 517.
Nintendo Switch official servers close August 31
Wildcard also announced that official servers for ARK: Survival Evolved and ARK: Ultimate Survivor Edition on Nintendo Switch will shut down on August 31, 2026. The studio says more than one million players have used those servers across the original 2018 Switch release and the rebuilt version launched by Grove Street Games in 2022.
The shutdown affects the official network, not every way to play. Single-player saves and unofficial servers are expected to remain available after the deadline. Anyone with progress on an official Switch server should review the available server-backup or transfer information well before August 31 rather than waiting for the final day.
Conquest Season 8 is approaching its finish
Conquest Season 8 remains focused on fast-start, large-scale PvP with increased rates. Wildcard lists 18 Genesis Part 1 servers: a 12-server Cluster A and a six-server Cluster B. Transfers between the clusters were scheduled to open on July 17 at 10 a.m. Pacific.
The season uses 5x rates and enables Tek with several exceptions. The disabled list includes the Tek Grenade, Tapejara Tek Saddle, Megalodon Tek Saddle, Rock Drake Tek Saddle, Mosasaur Tek Saddle, and Tek Railgun. The published season end remains Wednesday, August 5, 2026, giving active tribes only a short window to finish their plans.
Official-network bonus rates run through August 5
The wider official network is also receiving boosted rates through Wednesday, August 5:
- Standard PvP and PvE: 2x harvesting, taming, experience, and breeding.
- Small Tribes: 4.5x harvesting, taming, and experience, plus 4x breeding.
- ARKpocalypse: 5x harvesting, taming, experience, and breeding.
Players planning a tame, breeding push, resource run, or late-season rebuild should use the remaining event window while remembering that server rates can return to normal after the listed end time.
What players should watch next
- Therizino release timing: The feature set is official, but the TLC launch date and complete balance table remain unannounced.
- Switch preservation instructions: Official-server players should watch Wildcard and Grove Street Games support channels for any final backup guidance.
- August 5 deadlines: Conquest and the current bonus-rate period share the same published end date.
- Full patch notes: Movement, attacks, controls, visuals, and platform rollout should be judged from the live build rather than assumptions based on the dossier alone.
The bottom line
Community Crunch 517 matters for more than its creature artwork. It previews a practical quality-of-life upgrade for one of ASA’s most useful tames, starts the final countdown for official Switch servers, and gives official-network players a limited boosted-rate window. The Therizino TLC is confirmed but undated; the Switch shutdown and August 5 event deadlines are the dates players can act on now.