Cache Resource Missions on Lost Colony are one of the best farms in ARK: Survival Ascended right now — especially if you want fast leveling and high-value rewards without spending hours roaming aimlessly. These missions were recently buffed and they now give 5x experience from the enemies that spawn during the mission, which turns each cache into a massive XP generator.
Even better: if you use a Drakeling during Cache missions, you can convert that farmed XP into Drakeling chest rewards — and with a strong loop, players are getting up to 5–10 Mastercraft Drakeling chests in a single session.
What is a Cache Resource Mission on Lost Colony?
A Cache Resource Mission is a repeatable open-world event where you activate or approach a valuable cache and then defend it from waves of enemies until the mission completes. Think of it like a “defend the objective” event:
- You find a cache mission in the world
- You defend the cache against attackers
- You complete the event
- You get rewards (and now a lot more XP than before)
If you’re new to ARK, that’s all you need to know: stay near the objective, clear the waves, don’t let the cache get destroyed.
Why Cache Missions Are So Good Right Now (5x XP Buff)
Cache missions are currently popular because they’re simply more efficient than standard farming. The biggest reason is the current buff:
- Enemies spawned by the Cache mission give 5x experience
That means instead of grinding XP slowly from random kills, you can step into an event where enemies come to you and each one is worth far more than usual. Even players who don’t care about loot often run cache missions just to power-level quickly.
The Drakeling Chest Method (How players get 3–4 Mastercraft chests)
The Drakeling isn’t just a shoulder pet. Used correctly, it becomes a “reward engine” because the XP you earn during missions can be used to trigger chest outcomes.
The simple idea behind the method:
- Cache missions spawn lots of enemies
- Those enemies currently give 5x XP
- You run caches efficiently to farm huge XP fast
- You use the Drakeling to convert that XP into Drakeling chest rewards
When you chain this properly, you can stack multiple chest outcomes in one farming session. This is how people push toward 5–10 Mastercraft Drakeling chests when the run is smooth and efficient.
Step-by-step: The fastest Cache farming loop (Beginner friendly)
Step 1: Bring a simple “Cache kit”
You don’t need to be endgame, but you do need to show up ready. A simple kit makes these missions consistent:
- One strong combat tame you can control under pressure
- A good weapon for cleanup (especially if enemies get close to the cache)
- Healing items (medical brews / food / anything you rely on)
- Your Drakeling (if you’re farming chests)
Step 2: Start the cache and play “objective-first”
Cache missions punish tunnel vision. If you chase enemies too far, the cache takes damage and the mission becomes chaos. Stay close enough to defend the objective and clear enemies efficiently.
A good mindset:
- Protect the cache first
- Clear enemies quickly
- Don’t over-chase into bad terrain
Step 3: Farm the 5x XP while waves spawn
This is where the buff matters. Enemies spawned by the cache are basically “XP delivery.” The more efficiently you clear waves, the more total XP you can earn per hour because you can move on to the next cache faster.
If you’re newer to ARK combat, focus on staying alive and staying consistent — you will earn more long-term by completing caches smoothly than by attempting risky plays.
Step 4: Convert the XP into Drakeling chest rewards
After you’ve stacked XP from a few caches (or after each cache, depending on your style), use your Drakeling method to convert the stored XP into chest reward outcomes. The goal is to make your cache loop do two jobs at once:
- Level you up fast (5x XP)
- Feed the Drakeling chest pipeline
Step 5: Repeat the loop
This is the real secret: don’t treat it like one lucky event. Treat it like a repeatable route:
- Find cache mission
- Clear fast and clean
- Farm XP (buffed)
- Convert via Drakeling
- Move on immediately
That’s how you get multiple chest outcomes in one session — and why some runs end with 3–4 Mastercraft Drakeling chests when everything goes smoothly.
Common mistakes that make Cache missions feel “bad”
- Starting underprepared and losing the objective early
- Chasing enemies too far and letting the cache take free damage
- Farming too slowly (speed and repetition is where the value comes from)
- Forgetting the Drakeling step and missing the chest potential
Final tip: Consistency beats “harder difficulty”
If you have to choose between a hard run that fails and an easier run you can repeat, always pick the repeatable one. On Lost Colony, the best farming is the farming you can do consistently without wiping.