ARK: Lost Colony Thralls Guide – How to Get, Use

In the Lost Colony DLC for ARK: Survival Ascended, Thralls are one of the most interesting and useful additions to the game. These NPC companions are not regular tames. Instead, they act like armed support units that can fight, defend your base, and even manage resources for you. In this ARK: Lost Colony Thralls guide, we will see how to unlock Thralls, how their different modes work, and what makes each type useful.

Thralls Guide – ARK: Lost Colony

Thralls are unique NPC companions, each with:

• A specific class name
• An infinite-use weapon
• A hidden talent or ability, similar to passive perks

Each Thrall plays a distinct role, making them extremely powerful for combat, base defense, logistics, and automation. There are several Thrall classes available, and each one focuses on a different combat style or purpose:

• Deadeye
• Warden
• Scattershot
• Piercer
• Marauder
• Herald
• Gunslinger
• Archer
• Enforcer
• Snarer

Hidden Thrall Abilities

Along with their main role, every Thrall comes with a random passive ability, also called an ability. Some examples include:

• Bloodthirsty
• Pack Mule
• Beast Master

How to Get a Thrall

Thralls are not found in the wild and cannot be tamed normally. You earn them by completing Objective Missions. The overview of them is as follows:

• These missions appear as city-style development events
• They are similar to defense-style supply drop missions
• They usually take place near statues spread around the map
• Missions have three difficulty levels:
  • Gamma (easy)
  • Beta (medium)
  • Alpha (hard)

When you start an objective mission, here is how it usually goes:

1. Defend a central structure through multiple waves
2. Build and upgrade defenses (turrets, traps, etc.)
3. Collect resources between waves
4. Defeat the final boss
5. Obtain a key
6. Use the key on the main vault to unlock loot
7. Claim the Thrall reward

Harder missions give better and stronger Thralls.

Feeding and Healing Thralls

Thralls do not eat food like dinosaurs or survivors. They do not consume meat. Instead, they rely completely on Blood Bags. Blood Bags act as their food source and their healing method. Always keep Blood Bags in their inventory so they stay healthy

Thrall Mode System

Every Thrall has four different modes that control how they behave. You can access these by holding the E key and choosing Set Mode.

Available modes include:

• Follow Mode
• Turret Mode
• Harvest Mode
• Logistics Mode

Each mode turns the Thrall into a different type of worker or fighter.

Follow Mode

In this mode, the Thrall behaves like a normal follower. It performs these things:

• Follows you wherever you go
• Attacks nearby enemies automatically
• Helps protect you during exploration

Turret Mode

In Turret Mode, the Thrall turns into a stationary defender. It does the following things:

• The Thrall stays in one spot
• Automatically attacks enemies that come into range
• A lock icon appears above its head
• Ranged Thralls work best in this mode
• Melee Thralls only attack when enemies get close

This mode is very useful for base security.

Harvest Mode

Harvest Mode allows Thralls to collect resources for you. To set it up, do these steps:

• Open Thrall’s inventory
• Place the resources you want it to collect
• Right-click each item and select Add as Input
• You can choose up to ten different resources

Storage Setup

After telling it what to collect, you also need to set up the storage.

• Set up a chest with matching input items
• The Thrall collects resources
• It automatically deposits them into the assigned chest

This reduces manual farming significantly.

Logistics Mode

Logistics Mode focuses on organizing and moving items.

• Move items between containers automatically
• Keep resources stored where they belong
• Support automated deposit and withdrawal systems. Example: Thrall removes wood or crystal from one chest and transfers those items to dedicated storage

• Repeats this process automatically

Controlling a Thrall in ARK: Lost Colony

You are able to directly take control of a Thrall and play with it. To control it:

• Hold E on the Thrall and choose Control Thrall
• Your character switches to the Thrall
• The Thrall’s special weapon appears in the first hotbar slot
• Your original character stays behind and can still take damage

While controlling a Thrall, you can gain experience and levels. You can carry items in your inventory and use weapons, tools, and explosives.

Thralls are very flexible when controlled. They are capable of using:

• Shotguns and firearms
• Crossbows
• Grappling hooks
• C4 and explosives

However, Thralls cannot craft items. They can only use items that are already placed in their inventory. To return to your character, hold R and select Control Character.

Thrall Weapon Types

Each Thrall type comes with its own main weapon:

Thralls can also ride the dinosaurs. To do this, bring the Thrall close to the dinosaur. Interact with the Thrall and choose Assign Dino. Once assigned, the Thrall will ride the creature and attack while mounted. Example: An Archer Thrall riding a Rex can fire arrows while the Rex attacks.

To remove a Thrall from the dinosaur, ride the dinosaur yourself. Interact with the Thrall and select Clear Assigned Dino. Thralls can be stored using cryo pods. They are extremely useful in PvP situations.

That is all for this guide. Additional ARK: Lost Colony guides are linked below:

• ARK: Lost Colony Outposts Guide – All Outposts, Missions
• ARK: Lost Colony Items Guide – All New Items and Consumables Detailed
• ARK: Lost Colony Resources Guide – All Resources, Where to Find
• ARK: Lost Colony Best Base Locations Guide – Early Game, Late Game
• ARK: Lost Colony Loot and Blueprints Farming Guide – Best Spots to Farm Loot and Blueprints
• ARK: Lost Colony Best Creatures Guide – 10 Creatures You Need to Tame
• ARK: Lost Colony PvE Base Locations Guide – Best Locations for PVE

This concludes our ARK: Lost Colony Thralls Guide. If you want to add anything to this guide, feel free to use the comments section below.