Jump to content

Don't Play Ark PvP If You're Solo/Small a Tribe


Crows

Recommended Posts

I strongly advise you to not bother even playing on any official PvP server as a solo player/small tribe. Just don't bother. Save yourself the time and energy. There's too much grinding and effort involved. 

Ark's focus is extremely heavy on big tribes when it comes to almost everything. You can waste a week building "hidden" even on a huge map like Ragnarok, playing smartly, farming all of that metal to smelt it simultaneously in a few forges while risking yourself and your tame (if you have tamed anything by then) to farm the rare resources to make a fab, generator, cables, outlet, gasoline, turrets and then ammo, after spending maybe 15+ hours in that 1 day just farming and then the alpha/local tribes of the server will find your base while you're offline (it's always while you're offline), soak your turrets and wipe you for everything you've got, leaving you back at square one and then you can either join the big tribes and PvE (tame, raise dinos, build, help allies out, do boss battles, caves, bla bla) or stay solo/small and question why you're even playing Ark because as a solo/small tribe, you're going nowhere. If you do get anywhere, you're lucky/are great friends with the alpha. That is all.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 51
  • Created
  • Last Reply

I played a lot on PvP solo. From my experience the key is to not give up. My small base was raided too to destroy all my storages and more - I just built 'em again - after that I was left alone. Doesn't count for every case but be sure, even the biggest tribe has better Things to do than wasting c4 and rockets an my small base that hasn't much to loot.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If youre solo, dont try to play on an official server, only if the alpha tribe supports you, i advise you to gather people for an people or just go for unofficial servers, where you can grow just like an medium tribe in an official server.

Edit: By support i dont mean necessarily to be friends with it, just like John said, be neutral with it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 hours ago, Crows said:

 farm the rare resources to make a fab, generator, cables, outlet, gasoline, turrets and then ammo, after spending maybe 15+ hours in that 1 day just farming and then the alpha/local tribes of the server will find your base while you're offline (it's always while you're offline), soak your turrets and wipe you for everything you've got, leaving you back at square one and then you can either join the big tribes 

If you're going for a true solo/small tribe experience with zero interaction with the server, then u r right, u will eventually be found so the most expensive base i would build is a two story, stone 2x1, fabricator on 2nd floor, smithy and bed on bottom, as many mortar and pestle as u can pack in (12 storage each). No turrets, a gen will give away the base, so will the turrets. Use all the resources u gather immediately, hide ur gear even further.

 

Otherwise, if u want a more traditional base, u can't avoid diplomacy, and it's hit or miss, trial and error. 

 

But the best solution is for everyone with this same complaint, myself included,  to join up and work together.  I've been working too much to play ark the way I want, idk if I will ever have decent free time again, but this is the option I would take if I had a few hours each day to spare to give to official pvp. I think ur PlayStation? I'm on xbox, plus my time problem, otherwise I would put us all in the same place and really get started, trolling (pvp) is more fun than anything. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 hours ago, Crows said:

I strongly advise you to not bother even playing on any official PvP server as a solo player/small tribe. Just don't bother. Save yourself the time and energy. There's too much grinding and effort involved. 

Ark's focus is extremely heavy on big tribes when it comes to almost everything. You can waste a week building "hidden" even on a huge map like Ragnarok, playing smartly, farming all of that metal to smelt it simultaneously in a few forges while risking yourself and your tame (if you have tamed anything by then) to farm the rare resources to make a fab, generator, cables, outlet, gasoline, turrets and then ammo, after spending maybe 15+ hours in that 1 day just farming and then the alpha/local tribes of the server will find your base while you're offline (it's always while you're offline), soak your turrets and wipe you for everything you've got, leaving you back at square one and then you can either join the big tribes and PvE (tame, raise dinos, build, help allies out, do boss battles, caves, bla bla) or stay solo/small and question why you're even playing Ark because as a solo/small tribe, you're going nowhere. If you do get anywhere, you're lucky/are great friends with the alpha. That is all.

I would have to disagree.

I am also seeing some conflicting statements in your post. You complain about pvp when it affects you, but then claim by joining a big tribe it turns the game into a pve game. So if that is the case then those big tribes aren't raiding if you think it is a pve only game once you join one. 

Honestly though, there are plenty of ways to play this game and have fun as a single player or even a small tribe. Yes you will be killed and even wiped from time to time, but guess what even those big tribes run into that issue... it might happen less for them, but it does still happen. That is the nature of this game. If you think they are only going to wipe you while you are offline then you could join one of the ORP servers that are out there. Sure, it has it's own drawbacks, but it means you will always be online when a raid happens.

The thing is PVP will happen on a PVP server. So I am not sure why people get so surprised when it does. Nothing is save EVER. You know that going in and you also know that all the time invested in gathering and building can be wasted in the event you are wiped. That is just how this game is designed. 

You seem opposed to forming alliances, so I am just assuming you want to hide in the shadows and raid people. That is fine and is also a fun way to play the game, but don't be upset when you are discovered and killed as others will be looking to do the same thing and some of those tribes will have much better resources as their disposal.

In the end you just need to enjoy playing the game. Building up a big base is fun, taming dinos and romping around on them is fun, getting wiped can be discouraging, but the journey to rebuild is fun again.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I wouldn't try being solo on Rag right now without any connections.  Better off maining Island or Scorched for a bit until you can network with an alpha that will let you build on their rag/center servers.  I just posted this somewhere else, but I've found the best way to establish yourself with an alpha tribe so that they don't think you're a threat and let you live is to buy stuff from them for good prices.  99% of alphas will do trades for Advanced Rifle Rounds.  Easy enough to make, but tedious.  Try buying something stupid like 10 scorp eggs and paying 1k adv. rifle rounds.  They will love it.  Do 3 or 4 more trades like that and I would bet they start talking to you more and in a good way.  Griffs for 2k bullets (obviously not max level) wyverns from 2k-5k bullets depending on stats. 

From personal experience, I just finished week 3 solodolo on one of the newer island servers.  Day 1 I put together enough to make a 3x5x2 stone base, found a spot near metal etc and kinda secluded and just went with it.  Used all resources as soon as I got them, hid all good stuff in a stone hut just off the beach under the water at night before bed.  Day 2 I had 6 plants and 4 turrets.  Day 3 I had a dozen or so turrets and met the alphas...  Since I'm not a jerk and they are actually decent people, it worked out.  Just from being on the server for those 3 days I was able to discern whether the alphas were jerks or not.  If I thought they were, I would have just jumped servers before investing too much.

Also, never type in general.  I typed in general chat for the first time yesterday to get my gear back after I ran into someone's base.  Just typed there tribe name with a ? and then sent a party invite.  Never, ever type in general.  It's too risky.  Game chat or party invites.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

of course it is possible to play solo/in a small tribe, but the thing is, as @Crows said, u are going nowhere. even if u really know the game, know how and when to communicate and found a good server, there will eventually be a stupidly big tribe coming for u, and then u will have no chance, no matter what. It might push ur end a bit further into the future if u are good with an alpha tribe, but then u are completely dependent on them.

It is not about that pvp happens, it is about the complete destruction that is certain from the moment u start on an official pvp server as a solo player or small tribe.

The chance, that others might successfully attack you, is what makes pvp interesting, but the current game mechanics encourage the formation of very very very big tribes, that u can only counter with a tribe of similar size. As it is now, there is no chance, there is just certainty. you will be wiped and there is only the choice to join them or to quit. the difference between small or average tribes to those huge tribes is just too big. This is why i dont even bother playing vanilla official pvp. I have tried to ask the devs if this is what their vivsion of ark is, but sadly they dont tell how they want their game to be.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It all depends on you. Solo pvp is do able on official,  yes it's more work than being in a big tribe but it's do able.  You just have to adjust your play style to suit.

Solo players should play like solo players,  I'd you build like you are a ten man tribe you will attract attention from ten man tribes so keep it small.  2X1 is your friend,  it will fit everything you need in it and look so pathetic no one will raid it. 

Talk in global chat,  be cool make jokes,  don't cry when raided,  offer help and trades to people the server will get used to you,  know your not a threat and leave you alone. 

Once established on the server you will pretty much be left alone and only have cross server trolls to deal with,  which are much less now due to the terrible timers.

Although this is a kind of pve life as well,  leaving you two options if you want PVP,  1. Troll other servers,  2. Attack people on your own server and risk being wiped.

This is why there are so many cross server trolls.  It don't make sense to cause trouble on your own doorstep. 

Plus it depends who you are,  if your a grown man that can hold his own in a conversation over xbox chat you will probably be OK,  I'd your an annoying kid or a squeaker you will probably get wiped.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 minutes ago, SmokeyB said:

It all depends on you. Solo pvp is do able on official,  yes it's more work than being in a big tribe but it's do able.  You just have to adjust your play style to suit.

Solo players should play like solo players,  I'd you build like you are a ten man tribe you will attract attention from ten man tribes so keep it small.  2X1 is your friend,  it will fit everything you need in it and look so pathetic no one will raid it. 

Talk in global chat,  be cool make jokes,  don't cry when raided,  offer help and trades to people the server will get used to you,  know your not a threat and leave you alone. 

Once established on the server you will pretty much be left alone and only have cross server trolls to deal with,  which are much less now due to the terrible timers.

Although this is a kind of pve life as well,  leaving you two options if you want PVP,  1. Troll other servers,  2. Attack people on your own server and risk being wiped.

This is why there are so many cross server trolls.  It don't make sense to cause trouble on your own doorstep. 

Plus it depends who you are,  if your a grown man that can hold his own in a conversation over xbox chat you will probably be OK,  I'd your an annoying kid or a squeaker you will probably get wiped.

this is all true and i have spent most of my time in ark solo as well. But when u look at how the game is designed with transfers, all vanilla servers being one huge cluster and no real limits to tribe/alliance size, dont u think this encourages the formation of megatribes? and if there are megtribes, dont u think they will eventually wipe u because they want to keep "their" server clean or are bored or whatever? As i said, in my eyes all these tricks dont matter in the end, because the fight will come and u have no chance to win it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 minutes ago, natman said:

this is all true and i have spent most of my time in ark solo as well. But when u look at how the game is designed with transfers, all vanilla servers being one huge cluster and no real limits to tribe/alliance size, dont u think this encourages the formation of megatribes? and if there are megtribes, dont u think they will eventually wipe u because they want to keep "their" server clean or are bored or whatever? As i said, in my eyes all these tricks dont matter in the end, because the fight will come and u have no chance to win it.

It depends what you count as winning,  if a tribe attacks me they will lose more tames and stuff than me over the next few days,  so technically they will take more losses but my small Base will still get wiped. 

Mega tribes don't waste time attacking solo players,  they target alphas and other mega tribes,  most would rather have a few solo players on the map to keep the server active 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

29 minutes ago, SmokeyB said:

It depends what you count as winning,  if a tribe attacks me they will lose more tames and stuff than me over the next few days,  so technically they will take more losses but my small Base will still get wiped.

respect that u can keep a tribe in front of ur gates for a few days when solo, but if everything u have is destroyed in the end i would call it a defeat.

29 minutes ago, SmokeyB said:

Mega tribes don't waste time attacking solo players,  they target alphas and other mega tribes,  most would rather have a few solo players on the map to keep the server active 

my experience is sadly different

Link to comment
Share on other sites

40 minutes ago, SmokeyB said:

Mega tribes don't waste time attacking solo players,  they target alphas and other mega tribes,  most would rather have a few solo players on the map to keep the server active 

If your aren't in our alliance, we'll wipe you. We don't really care if you are a solo player or small tribe. The way we see it, is that when the server gets slot capped at weekend you are taking up a slot that could be used by either us or one of our allies.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, natman said:

of course it is possible to play solo/in a small tribe, but the thing is, as @Crows said, u are going nowhere. even if u really know the game, know how and when to communicate and found a good server, there will eventually be a stupidly big tribe coming for u, and then u will have no chance, no matter what. It might push ur end a bit further into the future if u are good with an alpha tribe, but then u are completely dependent on them.

It is not about that pvp happens, it is about the complete destruction that is certain from the moment u start on an official pvp server as a solo player or small tribe.

The chance, that others might successfully attack you, is what makes pvp interesting, but the current game mechanics encourage the formation of very very very big tribes, that u can only counter with a tribe of similar size. As it is now, there is no chance, there is just certainty. you will be wiped and there is only the choice to join them or to quit. the difference between small or average tribes to those huge tribes is just too big. This is why i dont even bother playing vanilla official pvp. I have tried to ask the devs if this is what their vivsion of ark is, but sadly they dont tell how they want their game to be.

Thats a a sweeping statement that is just not true all the time as you frame it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just now, johnm81 said:

the eventuality or certainty of defeat vs larger or mega tribes when you are the smaller tribe.

well, we both cant tell what will happen in the future, and i admit that there of course might be some cases where a small tribe can avoid being wiped, but i think the overall picture is how i stated it. I just need to look at the game mechanics to know that what i wrote is the typical developement of things under these conditions

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I thought it was a good time to make this topic after my... 11th? "hidden" base was destroyed all while I was offline, on at least 6 different rag servers.

I even joined my friend's server who are alphas and I told them, I enjoy solo/small tribe play a lot and I like building, I like occasional small-scale PvP, so I allied with them and they gave me a wyvern. I'd fly around collecting resources and scouting building locations, found one hidden between two cliffs all the way next to the map's barrier, south east Ragnarok. Didn't last long...

Unfortunately the bonus event weekend had just ended so I was left to farm with a primitive hatchet and a mastercraft pickaxe.  Even with metal tools, gathering rates are so bad... huge, thick trees gave me 16-40 wood and a giant rock would only give like 20 stone. It's even funnier when you kill a massive bronto for 60 raw meat... I know there's a ton of farming tames and tools like a chainsaw, but even with the wyvern I'd still get similar/same meat gathered anyway. Took me a few days to get a litttle hidden base going with all of the usual stuff, turrets, etc. Always the same situation... you log off for the night thinking "will all of this still be here tomorrow?" and of course it isn't. Twice in a row, even after the alphas stated in global that I was their ally.

TLDR: I ended up just joining the alpha instead. (30+ member tribe) This game is so anti-solo/small tribe and yes on legacy servers back when I first started, we were a tribe of 3 who succeeded very well over 7 months and made friends, etc. Now that everyone is pretty much familiar with Ark on console, it's not a good place at all for anybody who doesn't know somebody in an alpha tribe. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.


×
×
  • Create New...