A Clean War Room in ARK: Survival Ascended Without Canvases

The problem with canvases

Most players label storage with painted canvases or by trial and error. Both approaches fall apart when your base grows. Paintings take time, look different from one vault to the next, and are slow to update when you rearrange. Raconin's alternative is to use a cosmetic that shows the icon of whatever item you place in a small box. The result is a clean, uniform war room that looks professional and takes seconds to read.

The one mod you need

The method depends on a single mod. Raconin's video names it as Arkitect's Paradise, and on CurseForge it is listed as Arkitect's Paradise by BenzomineraMods. Its page describes it as a cosmetics mod "to make your base seem like one coherent structure", and it is marked as approved for official servers. At the time of our check (1 November 2026) it showed about 12.3 million downloads and a last update of 2 July 2026.

The cosmetics it adds that matter for this guide are small decor boxes and two display skins: an Icon Display, which shows the item you put inside the box, and an Inventory Slots Display, which shows used or available slots for the structure the box is attached to. The mod's listing also notes that the Icon Display saves the item image, so the item does not need to stay in the box.

Part 1: icon labels on vaults, fridges and Tek Troughs

1. Install the mod and restart. Download Arkitect's Paradise from the in-game mod browser, restart the game and load into your world.
2. Open your inventory and go to the cosmetics tab. Choose the option to apply cosmetics (the eye icon, according to the mod's page).
3. Take the Display skin icon and drag it onto your hotbar. This is the cosmetic you will apply to the box.
4. Craft some decor boxes. You want the small decor box.
5. Place a small decor box directly on the storage you want to label. Raconin places them on vaults, on fridges and even on Tek Troughs.
6. Use the Display skin on the decor box. The box now behaves as a display.
7. Put any item you like inside the decor box. The skin automatically shows that item's icon, which gives you a label for whatever lives in the storage behind it.
8. Scale the icon if you need to. Open the radial menu on the decor box and make the icon larger or smaller to suit your layout.

That gives you icons for bullets, resources, kibble, Medical Brews, electronics, gasoline or anything else. Because every label is an in-game item icon, they are all the same size, the same style and instantly recognisable.

Designing the layout

The video explains the mechanics; the layout is your job. These principles are ours, not from the video.

• One category per wall. Ammo on one wall, resources on another, consumables on a third. Walk the room once and you know where to go.
• Order by how often you reach for it. Items you grab mid-fight (Medical Brews, ammo) go closest to the door.
• Match the label to the content. A label that says "metal" on a vault of mixed items causes more trouble than no label. If a vault changes purpose, change its icon at once.
• Use a consistent scale. Pick one icon size for the room and stick with it, then use a larger one only for the doors or main aisle.
• Keep the room template-friendly. If you like the result, save it with the Template Hammer so you can put the same room into your next outpost.

Part 2: marking the cryo floor with taxidermy models

A cryo floor has the opposite problem: hundreds of identical-looking cryopods in rows. Raconin's solution is to put a small model of each creature type in front of each row.

1. Use the Taxidermy Tool on any dino. Hitting a creature with the tool gives you a new taxidermy item.
2. Place that item on a Taxidermy Base. The base now shows a small model of the creature you scanned.
3. Open the radial menu and choose the option to show or hide the base. Hiding the base removes the physical platform, so you can walk over it normally while the model remains visible.
4. Put a model in front of each row. Raconin's example: these rows are Stegos, these are Reapers, these are boss Rexes.

Combined with the decor-box labels on your vaults, the result is a war room where every item and every creature has a clear place.

Planning a cryo floor that you can navigate

• Group by role, not by name. Boss tames in one block, PvP tames in another, utility tames in a third. Then use one marker per row inside each block.
• Leave space between blocks. The point of a marker is that you can see it. Cramming rows together defeats the purpose.
• Add a marker the moment you add a row. Unlabelled rows turn into mystery rows quickly.
• Use the same row marker for every row of the same creature. If you keep two rows of Rexes, give them the same model so the pattern is obvious.

A sample war room plan

To put the pieces together, here is one layout that follows Raconin's method. It is our example, so adapt it to your base.

1. Wall A, ammo. One vault per ammo type, each with a decor-box icon of the ammo it holds. Put the most-used ammo nearest the door.
2. Wall B, healing and buffs. Medical Brews, Cactus Broth, Energy Brews and the other consumables you would grab before a boss fight.
3. Wall C, resources. Metal, polymer, cementing paste, electronics and gasoline, ordered by how often your crafting uses them.
4. Centre, cryo floor. Rows grouped by role, with a taxidermy marker at the head of each row.
5. Review monthly. Whenever a vault changes purpose, update its icon. A label that is wrong is worse than none.

Common mistakes

• Labelling before sorting. Sort your storage first, then place the icons. Relabelling a messy room is a second job.
• Relying on a mod your server does not allow. Check with the admin before you invest time on an unofficial server.
• Making the icons too small. The video shows scaling from the radial menu for a reason: pick a size you can read from the aisle.
• Leaving the taxidermy platform visible. If it blocks your walking path, use the hide option in the radial menu.
• Forgetting the mod when you transfer. If you move characters to another server, check that the mod is available there or the labels will not appear.

Why bother?

Time is the real cost in ARK, and a war room is where you lose it: hunting for the right ammo while a fight is on, or opening five vaults to find a Medical Brew. A labelled room helps your tribe too, because anyone can find and return items without asking. Raconin's method is cheap (one mod, a handful of decor boxes) and fast to build, and the results are consistent across the whole base, which is the thing canvases cannot offer.

Frequently asked questions