Brand New Player - Tips Wanted

[Adarajin]

Hello all, I am a brand new player not only to this game, but to survival games in general - previously I've had quite a bit of experience with RTS Games and a couple of MMORPG's, as well as some FPS games - but the survival/buildup is a new genre for me.

As such a player, I was wondering where I could go to find tips and tricks on how to get started and the like - are there good guides to read? Where at? What server do you recommend that I join? I'm thinking that I'll try out an official one to start with, and I'd prefer it be a PvE server if I can get my friend to agree to that (more on that in a bit) for the learning, then I'll think about moving to a PvP server once I have the hang of things.

I picked up the game during the sale on Wednesday, and I'm wondering - is this a 'buy it and play it forever' game? Or is there a recurring membership that I will need to pay later - and if so, how much is it? Fyi, I'm probably not going to be playing until tomorrow when my friend (who I think DOES have some survival type gameplay under his belt, but not this game) is available, and maybe not even until next weekend - but I'd like to know what I"m getting into first :-) (yes, I can be one of THOSE players who likes to read first, then play lol)

Anywas, a quick summary of what I"m looking for:

1. Recommended server to start on
2. Recommended order of tasks to complete (collect what, tame what, etc)
3. Type of progression to prepare for going towards a longer gameplay (I'm hoping not to make this a try it and leave it game - it looks good)
4. Any other tips that you can think of would be nice, along with links to guides since I can't find them yet on this site.

 

EDIT#1: Another thing that occurred to me, is a question of servers... is your character locked to a single server and every time you join a new/different server your pretty much starting over? Or do you have one character that follows you from server to server? Or some other variation?

I'll add in edits instead of a new post until someone responds, at which time I'll start posting again...

 

EDIT#2: And I just realized, totally forgot to mention - I'm on the PC platform.

In regards to the question #1, reading through some of the news archives, I was able to locate that there are some *Beginner* servers that is probably where I should start... the article also mentions a bit about server transferring, which gives me the impression that each server will host a different character for me and if I am on one server, I will not be playing on the character on another server - is this correct?

[HiImZech]

go to the beginner server.

start in single player. resist the urge to cheat

go unofficial server if you're a working adult

go officialpvp server if you're playing 24/7

go official pve if you don't want to come online and find everything is now ashes

[Vengecide]

1 hour ago, Adarajin said:

Hello all, I am a brand new player not only to this game, but to survival games in general - previously I've had quite a bit of experience with RTS Games and a couple of MMORPG's, as well as some FPS games - but the survival/buildup is a new genre for me.

As such a player, I was wondering where I could go to find tips and tricks on how to get started and the like - are there good guides to read? Where at? What server do you recommend that I join? I'm thinking that I'll try out an official one to start with, and I'd prefer it be a PvE server if I can get my friend to agree to that (more on that in a bit) for the learning, then I'll think about moving to a PvP server once I have the hang of things.

I picked up the game during the sale on Wednesday, and I'm wondering - is this a 'buy it and play it forever' game? Or is there a recurring membership that I will need to pay later - and if so, how much is it? Fyi, I'm probably not going to be playing until tomorrow when my friend (who I think DOES have some survival type gameplay under his belt, but not this game) is available, and maybe not even until next weekend - but I'd like to know what I"m getting into first ? (yes, I can be one of THOSE players who likes to read first, then play lol)

Anywas, a quick summary of what I"m looking for:

1. Recommended server to start on
2. Recommended order of tasks to complete (collect what, tame what, etc)
3. Type of progression to prepare for going towards a longer gameplay (I'm hoping not to make this a try it and leave it game - it looks good)
4. Any other tips that you can think of would be nice, along with links to guides since I can't find them yet on this site.

 

EDIT#1: Another thing that occurred to me, is a question of servers... is your character locked to a single server and every time you join a new/different server your pretty much starting over? Or do you have one character that follows you from server to server? Or some other variation?

I'll add in edits instead of a new post until someone responds, at which time I'll start posting again...

 

EDIT#2: And I just realized, totally forgot to mention - I'm on the PC platform.

In regards to the question #1, reading through some of the news archives, I was able to locate that there are some *Beginner* servers that is probably where I should start... the article also mentions a bit about server transferring, which gives me the impression that each server will host a different character for me and if I am on one server, I will not be playing on the character on another server - is this correct?

To answer your question yes there is new player servers they actually just recently came out with them. However you cannot transfer from from a PvE to PvP server they are two different clusters. You can transfer your character between different servers using air drops or the arks. I would suggest PvE starting out as your bound to lose your stuff from grievers an trolls before you get to know the game, or the new player pvp servers. If you choose the new player pvp servers once you leave the servers you cant  go back to them.

[Frozenhole]

1 hour ago, Adarajin said:

Hello all, I am a brand new player not only to this game, but to survival games in general - previously I've had quite a bit of experience with RTS Games and a couple of MMORPG's, as well as some FPS games - but the survival/buildup is a new genre for me.

As such a player, I was wondering where I could go to find tips and tricks on how to get started and the like - are there good guides to read? Where at? What server do you recommend that I join? I'm thinking that I'll try out an official one to start with, and I'd prefer it be a PvE server if I can get my friend to agree to that (more on that in a bit) for the learning, then I'll think about moving to a PvP server once I have the hang of things.

I picked up the game during the sale on Wednesday, and I'm wondering - is this a 'buy it and play it forever' game? Or is there a recurring membership that I will need to pay later - and if so, how much is it? Fyi, I'm probably not going to be playing until tomorrow when my friend (who I think DOES have some survival type gameplay under his belt, but not this game) is available, and maybe not even until next weekend - but I'd like to know what I"m getting into first ? (yes, I can be one of THOSE players who likes to read first, then play lol)

Anywas, a quick summary of what I"m looking for:

1. Recommended server to start on
2. Recommended order of tasks to complete (collect what, tame what, etc)
3. Type of progression to prepare for going towards a longer gameplay (I'm hoping not to make this a try it and leave it game - it looks good)
4. Any other tips that you can think of would be nice, along with links to guides since I can't find them yet on this site.

 

EDIT#1: Another thing that occurred to me, is a question of servers... is your character locked to a single server and every time you join a new/different server your pretty much starting over? Or do you have one character that follows you from server to server? Or some other variation?

I'll add in edits instead of a new post until someone responds, at which time I'll start posting again...

 

EDIT#2: And I just realized, totally forgot to mention - I'm on the PC platform.

In regards to the question #1, reading through some of the news archives, I was able to locate that there are some *Beginner* servers that is probably where I should start... the article also mentions a bit about server transferring, which gives me the impression that each server will host a different character for me and if I am on one server, I will not be playing on the character on another server - is this correct?

Play the game and read the wiki, play on an official server which one there are many to choose from. Learn as you go better way to play this game

[Guest DJRone89]

55 minutes ago, HiImZech said:

go to the beginner server.

start in single player. resist the urge to cheat

go unofficial server if you're a working adult

go officialpvp server if you're playing 24/7

go official pve if you don't want to come online and find everything is now ashes

I agree with these points except; I think everyone should try official first regardless but if it doesn’t work out for them, unofficials (including SP) can fill the void.

[Adarajin]

Ok, so one thing that is occurring to me to ask (for confirmation at least) is "is this a persistent game or does your character and all its assets go into stasis when you log out?" It sounds like this is a persistent, at least for part of your stuff, but I guess I'm going to have to play the game a bit to find out what is persistent and what isn't.

If this IS a persistent game, I probably am going to stick to PvE for most of the time (and I understand and agree with the game developers decision to not allow characters to transfer between PvP and PvE) because I AM a working adult and don't feel like dedicating my sleep schedule (or sneaking on at work and getting in trouble there too) in order to avoid losing everything in a game - that's why I put my account into vacation mode on another game and haven't logged in to the account for a year plus...

Question: The "Air Drop" or "Ark" that Vengecide mentioned - is this an in-game feature that connects different islands? Or is this a feature that you have to log out and request and admin's assistance in your transfer?

Anyways, I guess I'll be referring to the Wiki for my next batch of reading as I go, not certain why I didn't think to look for it earlier. I appreciate the time people have put into their responses, and if people have more answers for #2 and #3 of my original questions, I'd appreciate hearing them :-).

[HiImZech]

it depends if your server has decay timer. official pve has decay timer so everything is dead on the 8th day.

no vacation mode on official server. you snooze you lose

 

and I have been coming online every 2 days to feed and reset the timer ever since...

[Adarajin]

What exactly does this Decay Timer do? I usually can get on in the evenings after work as well as on weekends so it shouldn't be an issue, but I"m curious what this decay timer does. I did a quick search on the wiki https://ark.gamepedia.com/ARK_Survival_Evolved_Wiki and I'm not finding the results to be very clear at first glance - there's a decay thing for foods and the like, but it sounds like you are talking about the entire character decaying.

Anyways, that's my last post for the night - need to get to bed, but I'll definitely be digging my teeth into this tomorrow I think, with my friend - or not :-)

[Guest DJRone89]

2) You’ll want a herbivore to berry farm ASAP. Aim for a Trike as it’s saddle unlocks early on (level 20 I think), and it’s a pretty strong mount.

Tame a few female Dodo’s for eggs to prep for your first flyer, the Pteranodon. You’ll need to grow some rockarrot too.

As you progress through the levels, your main aim should be to tame resource gatherers first as they will make a significant difference to game play.

[Weiss]

Get the dododex app. It will show you how long it takes to tame dinos and what their favourite food is. (better food=shorter taming time, more levels after taming)

 

Create a tribe so you will have a log and can see if dinos/structures were killed/destroyed, starved to death etc.

Decay timers mean you can't go on holidays for more than a week if you play solo on official servers, unless you can/want to access the game while you're away from home.

Structures have different timers that will reset if you render them. If you don't they will vanish. The lowest is 4 days for thatch, in 8 days dinos/wood/adobe will be gone. Stone/metal/tek lasts longer, but what's the point when the dinos are gone. Unofficial server can have different or no decay timers at all.

When you join a map you will see what people mean by air "drops" and obelisks 

your character will remain ingame and can be killed while you're offline, so make sure to log out inside a building. to be completely safe better put your stuff in a box every time you log out.

if you die you can respawn. Building a bed (and a small box house around it ofc) is high prority, you can choose to spawn on it instead of randomly spawning somewhere and trying to find your base again. Beds have a cooldown (5minutes?) 

on pve, your dinos and structures can be harmed for 15 minutes after every tribemember has logged off, and will be "offline protected" after that.

use the spawn area temporarily and move away to a better base location sometime soon. Don't block paths/waterways with buildings. Foundations or pillars with ceilings on top prevent resources and wild dinos from spawning, so don't build too close to important resources (metal, crystal etc.).

don't try to hide in your base when being attacked, unless you know your defenses are good enough. lead the predators away and respawn at your base if you die.

be prepared to die a lot in the beginning. 

 

 

[mgsgta3]

Add me, Id be happy to join whatever server you play on and tribe up or make an alliance, then i can help you out when you have any questions. After 5k hours I can likely answer most of them ha . my steam is mgsgta3, but its nicknamed Antagonist.

[FraggleRock]

My advice - ignore everything people tell you and simply just play the game. After 1k hours ask questions and pursue the answers. 

On any server there is going to be content in-game you should "observe". Especially on official servers. Learn from it and continue on. 

[Guest DJRone89]

6 minutes ago, FraggleRock said:

My advice - ignore everything people tell you and simply just play the game. After 1k hours ask questions and pursue the answers. 

On any server there is going to be content in-game you should "observe". Especially on official servers. Learn from it and continue on. 

Ignore helpful being looking out for you? What a great tip. OP asked a question asking for help and they got it.

[ForzaProiettile]

My advice would to be play on a PVP Official Small Tribe server. This will make you into a good player and you will learn a lot about the game. PVP is how the game was designed to be played as intended by the developers. The other mode far from being a paradise is filled with giant lag inducing bases, maxed out server dino tame limits, structures on every part of the map that prohibit you from building and a weird kind of passive PVP where players do stuff do really annoy you since they can't actually kill you. For instance building walls around your base or building over resource spawns and so forth. If you like being messed with but can't retaliate then go by all means play PVE and enjoy the roleplay..

In PVP it is true you might get attacked but you have to be realistic with what you do in the game relative to what time you can spend on it. If you are a solo player that plays 2 hours a day then build your base with that in mind. Keep things simple don't go and tame heaps of dinosaurs if you can't defend them. Build a small base somewhere hidden and don't keep your good loot inside it but rather make a 1x1 tiny base and hide it in there instead. Your base will get raided but you won't lose anything.