The Heaven & Abyss update closes out the Astraeos DLC for ARK: Survival Ascended, and its headline additions are two brand-new biomes sitting on the western side of the map. One is a sunlit realm of floating islands and open flower fields. The other is a fog-choked stretch of deep ocean built around a sunken city. Each also hides its own Ascension boss fight.
Quick answer: The two new biomes are Helianthos, a peaceful sky-island paradise where you summon the Kraken (Shallocis, the Void Above) from a boss terminal on a nearby shipwreck island, and Abyssanthos, an underwater city with breathable air bubbles where you summon Abyssalus, the Void Beneath, from an underwater boss terminal.
Helianthos, the sky-island biome
Helianthos is the most scenic stretch of Astraeos. Towering mountain ridges rise over open, flower-filled plains, and smaller islands hang suspended in the sky above the landscape. It marks the first time this kind of floating-island terrain has appeared in ASA, paired with a wide network of caves cut into the land below.
What makes it stand out for settlers is the wildlife. Helianthos has no aggressive or carnivorous creatures roaming the island, apart from a single miniboss. With almost nothing hunting you, it is one of the safest places on the map to lay down a first base, which makes it a strong pick for newer players.
The biome’s boss is Shallocis, the Void Above, one of two Kraken Ascension encounters in the update. To trigger it, head to a nearby island marked by a massive shipwreck and giant stone tentacles, then use the boss terminal there to summon the fight on the surface.
Abyssanthos, the underwater city biome
Abyssanthos flips the mood entirely. It is a fog-shrouded, deep-sea expanse built around a huge sunken city resting on the ocean floor, littered with the ruins of a long-gone civilization. Scattered through the depths are large clusters of underwater air bubbles where you can breathe and move around freely while exploring.
Those bubbles do more than keep you alive. The air pockets inside them are big enough to hold several bases, which opens up genuine deep-water building for the first time. Outside the bubbles you will find aquatic creatures to tame and rare resources to gather, so the risk of venturing beyond the safe pockets comes with a payoff.
The second Ascension boss lives here. Abyssalus, the Void Beneath is the underwater half of the Kraken fight, summoned through an underwater boss terminal within the biome.
Helianthos vs Abyssanthos at a comparison
| Detail | Helianthos | Abyssanthos |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Land biome with floating sky islands | Deep-sea underwater biome |
| Setting | Mountain ridges, flower plains, cave systems | Sunken city, ruins, air bubbles |
| Danger | Peaceful; no carnivores except one miniboss | Aquatic creatures roam outside the bubbles |
| Base building | Beginner-friendly surface base | Multiple bases fit inside the air pockets |
| Ascension boss | Shallocis, the Void Above (surface Kraken) | Abyssalus, the Void Beneath (underwater Kraken) |
| Boss trigger | Terminal on the shipwreck island nearby | Underwater boss terminal in the biome |
How the two biomes fit the final update
Heaven & Abyss is the completion update for Astraeos, pushing the Greek-mythology map to its 1.0 state across a world of more than 264 square kilometers. Both new regions sit on the western edge of the map, and the split Kraken fight ties them together, with one encounter waiting above the waves and the other far below.
If you want a calm foothold, start in Helianthos, tame what you need, and build somewhere safe. When you are ready for the harder half, drop into Abyssanthos, claim an air bubble, and prepare for the fight beneath the surface.
