How to Use the Mortar and Pestle in ARK: Survival Evolved

The Mortar and Pestle is a very handy tool that players will use quite a bit as they explore and survive the dangerous world of ARK: Survival Evolved, newly released for the Nintendo Switch. Not only is this item useful for making ingredients in cooking recipes, but you’ll also need the Mortar and Pestle to make items like Narcotics and Sparkpowder, which are both highly useful items you’ll need on your adventure.

How to Use the Mortar and Pestle

Once you unlock the Mortar and Pestle at Level 6, you can start crafting things like Narcotics and Sparkpowder, both of which will be extremely useful during your time on The Island. To use the Mortar and Pestle, you’ll first need to craft it by gathering 65 Stone and 15 Hide. With the item crafted, place it down on a player-made structure, such as a ceiling, table, or foundation.

When the Mortar and Pestle has been placed, you can access its inventory and place items inside of it. This will allow you to craft recipes that you have unlocked like Narcotics, Sparkpowder, and eventually Gunpower and Stimulant. All these items will prove useful in some way throughout your adventure, and you’ll want to have a good grasp of how they work early on.

To craft Narcotics, you’ll need to gather up several Narcoberries and several pieces of Spoiled Meat. For every one Spoiled Meat and five Narcoberries, you can craft one Narcotic. With several Narcotics crafted, you can combine them with arrows or ammunition to craft Tranq Arrows or Tranq Darts, both of which are useful for taking down larger dinosaurs so you can tame them more easily.

To craft Sparkpowder, which is used in Gunpowder, you will need to acquire two Flint and one Stone for each Sparkpowder.

Of course, there are other recipes you can unlock through your Engrams that you’ll want to learn how to make, like Gunpowder. The nice thing about crafting in the Mortar and Pestle is that it won’t slow you down at all. You can begin crafting items and then walk away to continue your adventure while they craft. You’ll still receive the experience for the items, and they’ll be safely stored inside the Mortar and Pestle’s inventory when you return.

Now that you know how to use this extremely useful item, you can continue your adventure. As you level up, you’ll also unlock the Chemistry Bench, which allows you to craft the same items a Mortar and Pestle would, as well as some additional, more advanced items. ARK: Survival Evolved  is available now on Nintendo Switch, so grab your trusty console and head out on a new adventure today.