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Rogue One - An Ark Story


theronin

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"If I determine the enemy's disposition of forces while I have no perceptible form, I can concentrate my forces while the enemy is fragmented. The pinnacle of military deployment approaches the formless: if it is formless, then even the deepest spy cannot discern it nor the wise make plans against it." — Sun Tzu, The Art of War

Given the current state of the game with cross-server transfers and being a player that prefers the solo or small-tribe game, I was forced to take a reprieve from official PVP servers. I spent some time playing on just my second unofficial server with set ground rules. As great as the admin and other players have been, it just doesn't have the same high stakes feel as an official PVP. Unfortunately, there is absolutely zero chance of someone like me surviving for any substantive length of time playing conventionally. So I decided it was time to go unconventional.

In the spirit of Sun Tzu, my latest Ark incarnation will now follow this modus operandi:

  1. Formless - No main base of operations. A number of strategically located and hidden 4x3 forward operating bases (FOBs) consisting of 2x3 functional quarter 2 walls high and 2x3 fully enclosed dino pen enough to hold 2 dinos.
  2. 99% Offense - No need for metal structures, xplants, turrets, or any major defensive investment. If a FOB gets hit, there will be several others fully self sufficient and operational.
  3. Maximum Op Sec - To maintain maximum oprational security, nonexistent global chat and face to face interaction unless it serves a grander purpose like misinformation, misdirection, or ambush. Absolutely no alliances and no face to face trading. Absolutely no fire or lights at night unless it is mission critical.
  4. Guerrilla Style Warfare - Offline raiding, fair game; afk griefing; fair game; no head-on conflicts and no even matches. Any advantage will be taken.
  5. KOS ROE - Rule of engagement is simple: kill on sight any perceived threat, ask questions later. 
  6. Consistent Playstyle - No need for metal engrams, no need for end game dinos. Fast flyers, tanks, and basic utility dinos will be the standard. Skills will be prioritized for CQC and force recon style engagements: melee, health, speed, stamina.
  7. Primary Goal - Drive the residing foreign alpha crazy. Secondary mission - obtain all necessary assets to accomplish primary mission even at the expense of bystander players.


Week 1

I chose the first official that I picked based on decent pop (~16/70 at the time) and ping. I saw the telltale signs of an Island ravaged by server zerging Chinese with the typical [][][][] naming. I saw large signs warning of the invasion and to abandon the server. But yet I saw noobs abound busily building their wooden bases and asking what kibble is for what dino on global. This was a good pick.

I knew I needed to have several stone FOBs set up as quickly as possible so I picked a tame part of the Island to break ground. I raided my first base on this Island with nothing more than a stone hatchet and lucked out with metal tools and a stack of narcotics. My first FOB was a measley 2x2x1 stone box without an inch of interior left unused. Four small boxes, preserving bin, campfire, bed, forge, pestal, and smithy all managed to fit in this FOB. Although I had been surrounded by trees, a particularly eager and paranoid noob decided to farm all the trees around me. Not a good start. I shared some words with the noob asking him noob questions that stroked his ego and re-assured him I was not a threat. Still, I knew this spot was compromised and I needed to find a location deeper inland away from noob farmers. I am well aware of the render difference between player structures and environment but one can still mitigate being seen by being well hidden. I never though I would be spending engrams on "re-fertilizer" that's for sure.

After a couple of days, I met with other noobs, all of whom were busily carrying about their wood base building and every so often hearing a complaint about getting raided by the Chinese. So they are in fact active. But not so much since I can tell that they have gotten sloppy at fencing off damn spawns and otherwise no direct visual confirmation of their players.

I'd set up my first 4x3 deep inland buried by natural elements a good distance from the coast and unbeknownst farming noobs. I need to battle the errant alpha raptor now and then but that's a small price to pay for survival.

I got lucky with a trike and high level ptera tame which really opens the game up for me now. As I gather higher level mats, I am reconning player locations and sizing up their capabilities. Honestly, I've seen no one of consequence and I suspect the Chinese alpha has written this server off as "taken over." To send a message, I destroyed one of their cages and will soon be targeting their defenses closing off beaver damns. At some point they will respond swiftly and that will be a great ambush opportunity.

While FOB Alpha serves to gather basic mats, I will be scoping out potential sites for FOB Bravo which will serve as a higher level taming base particularly for argents. I need that carrying capacity to get higher level mats and really open up my offense capabilities. Unfortunately, I will have no room for egg farms so all of my tames will have to be brute forced with raw prime or simply raid bases for kibble. Thank goodness for global chat and noobs' general lack of opsec when it comes to talking about what they have to trade.

Rogue One out.

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I am as eager to find out what becomes of my insurgency as well, friend lol.

I will say that I never get this anxious feeling playing on a rules based unofficial.  This is the primary draw for me with official pvp and why server transfers really made me angry.  But perhaps this "survival evolved" is exactly what the game demands.

Attached is FOB 1 2x2 temp base.  Yes, I violated opsec by forging at night but desperately needed to repair the stolen metal tools so I could proceed with FOB Alpha as soon as possible (i.e., I was running late for real-life dinner lol).

 

rogueone1.jpg

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38 minutes ago, theronin said:

I am as eager to find out what becomes of my insurgency as well, friend lol.

I will say that I never get this anxious feeling playing on a rules based unofficial.  This is the primary draw for me with official pvp and why server transfers really made me angry.  But perhaps this "survival evolved" is exactly what the game demands.

Attached is FOB 1 2x2 temp base.  Yes, I violated opsec by forging at night but desperately needed to repair the stolen metal tools so I could proceed with FOB Alpha as soon as possible (i.e., I was running late for real-life dinner lol).

 

rogueone1.jpg

Great story :) 

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Very nice, I too love this method of play at times. A few tips, use mortar and pestle a instead of storage boxes. You can walk over them and they store just as much. 

Place a bed, then a smithy on top of it. You will have to break the wall next to where you want to put the smithy so you can have it flush against the wall. The bed and smithy are functional.

Excited to read more :)

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You can also hide dinos almost in plan site in safer areas of the island, just remove the saddle and most peps fly by them.

I hide a Trike like this for weeks and also a Parasaurolophus.  I would just make a visit to harvest narco berries and to feed them.

The Parasaurolophus is tamed 1st then the Trike, I just keep the Paras. as back up incase someone finds and kills the Trike.

 

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I also make back up forge, smithy and fab. and hide them in a box off site so I could be up and running in a new spot fast.

The last time I was wiped/raid offline I logged on to dirt. Nothing left, all foundations where gone, Including the foundations that I hide my BP in small boxes inside of the floors. 

This base wasn't hidden just hard to get to in the snow area on the side of the cliff in a crevasse.

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2 minutes ago, TheLastNerb said:

You all should check out a YouTuber called kishko and a YouTuber called onewing. Both very good at small scale pvp

I was JUST going to post about kishko as well.  It's been a fun series to watch so far. :)  He's doing it all solo right now, at least the last one I watched he was still solo.  

And has some other cool build videos too.

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3 minutes ago, mleii said:

I was JUST going to post about kishko as well.  It's been a fun series to watch so far. :)  He's doing it all solo right now, at least the last one I watched he was still solo.  

And has some other cool build videos too.

It really is a fun series. He doesn't expend a lot of time and still has fun and is very entertaining. Can't say enough good things about his channel

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Week 2

I am still alive.

However, I'm also beginning to appreciate that insurgent living is not for the faint of heart.  I've grown far too accustomed to lavish multifloor metal bases with purposed storage boxes and designated functional rooms.  I woke up to find a 100+ parasaur chilling inside my already cramped 2x3 living quarter.  I piked the interloper which proceeded to literally climb out of my base through the walls and away it went.  But then a 100+ TheriZ somehow got aggro'ed outside.  After dealing with the Theriz, I was greeted by a pack of rabid raptors.  Just another day in paradise.

Old habits do die hard though, and while I may not have the luxury of a metal behemoth enclosed palace, I can still paint my armor.  As an aside I do find the psychology of well painted armor to be more than just easthetics.  Like a good suit, a well painted, threatening looking armor can strike unfounded fear in players.  This is how we managed to look like a much larger tribe - uniform battle dress and saddles.  At the end of the day, to me, it just looks cool.  If I can hang onto any semblance of "normal Ark life," I will take it.

The Chinese were busy.  The only other active tribe nearby appeared to have been wiped.  Although their base was metal, it was poorly hidden and practically undefended.  I'm not sure what their theory was with their base.  Another very well defended base which I initially thought was foreign evidently was fair game as well - all turrets were limp and large crop plots were without their plants.

Then it happened.

Flying fast and low between trees and structures to minimize being spotted, I see an errant, landed ptera.  I quickly took up a defensive position and waited.  And waited.  The pilot never showed.  I moved in a little closer.  Maybe this is a lost bird?  Then I noticed it.  An unconscious body laying next to the ptera.  After a little more time, I decided to move in quickly to investigate ... a low lvl character with mid-level armor named "[][][]".

I had to think quickly in case his buddies were on a SAR mission.  I decided it was not worth poking the dragon over such a low lvl grunt.  So I did what any good insurgent would do.  I robbed the body, flew it to water, and dropped dilos on the ptera to kill it for the free saddle.

Score one for the little guy.  Rogue One out.

rogueone2-min.jpg

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Thank you guys for the comments, well wishes, and private messaged advice and concerns.

I would want to mention that these are not real life "weeks."  I had in mind to just document whats happened on a real life week basis but for things like the latest Week 2 entry, I just couldn't wait to share it.  So these things will have happened very recently if not the night before.

As for opsec, yes, I am well aware that a particularly astute player can probably figure out what server I'm on or recognize structrues or players.  I am well aware of this and may (or may not) be intentional ;)

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Guys I do need your advice on water reservoirs.  I've never had to use them before since I always had a huge base that had a water source within its walls.  What are some creative, space saving ways to stack reservoirs?  I have a single reservoir and it works well for emergency water needs but hardly suffices as a constant water source.  Ideally, I wouldn't mind being able to have enough reservoirs for personal consumption as well as to irrigate a single (or two?) medium crop plot(s).

I also extended my base to make use of the second floor (since the dino pen is 4 walls high).  This extra space opens things up a bit for me but I need to be careful not to extend my footprint.  Piping to a water source is absolutely out of the question.

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lay down one intersection pipe and you can put 3 tanks connected to it leaving one tap for your plants. the stone tanks have a low profile.

Not sure of what one tank will supply, I used to use one tank for two X plants plots and never ran out of water.

The metal tanks are to shiny for my liking and hiding bases. 

I keep 4 or 5 glass bottles full in the base at all times. At first just to jump start the crop plots then its back up for base defense drinking.

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You are right, East.  You need water in the large crop plot.  But if you wait for it to rain, then plant the seed, I have never had to worry about irrigation.  The rain occurs enough so you do not have to irrigate the large crop plot.  I believe it only uses fert when shooting but don't hold me to that.  Either way, I've been under attack numerous times and never had a problem with the xplants irrigation.  They were always filled to capacity with fert though and never set to attack wilds.

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I have and do use both irrigated and un-irrigated X-plants, and your right it rains or snow enough ones there started to keep them alive.

Also I use bottles to fill the plots so no waiting for them to fill :) Water, firt. and plant all at the same time. ill do some digging and see if I can find out if they use water when shoot.

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