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What is ARK like now?


cwbh

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What is ARK like now?

I played ARK during its EA phase. I logged 1,175.2 hours via steam (tons of sleepless nights killing chinese raiders at 5am XD) . I played the absolute poop out of this game. It was awesome. It seems like a ton has changed. I want to say I stopped mostly at Scorched Earth/their Sci-fi DLC thing, they were finally adding stuff to the ocean and fixing optimization. Snow areas, The Island had been the only map until they added that new one with the center area/Redwood type stuff. I remember bears and beavers and the big Quetzecolt that people would use the rock/metal grinder ankylos on to mine metal. Do people still do that weird glitch thing lol? They were continually adding more advanced technology related build items/gear, elevators, you could mount ballistas. So that is where I stopped playing at...
What do people do now when coming back to ARK? Are there DLC/expacs that are better than the base game? Should I just enjoy solo relaxing experiencing on my own solo game? Do official pvp servers still have alpha tribe metas? PVE servers have pve griefers like using pillars to stop spawns and base building? Camping spawn points etc? I don't mind pvp or pve but I am wondering if its just the same. Starting off on a new PVP official server you need to be diligent because you'll just get popped when you log off for the night/day. Is there a heavier population with privately owned personal servers now? They were kind of a thing during the EA phase.

I'd like to be filled in from about 2017>to now ? thanks for your insight

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There's a ton of information to fill you in on if you haven't played since Scorched Earth.  I'd say I'm kind of jealous of you though.  There are 2 new free DLC maps called Valguero and Ragnarok that came with their own special creatures Deinonychus and Griffin.  There's also three new expansions called Aberration with a hole host of content and creatures, as well as Extinction and now Genesis the newest expansion.  

What do people do now when coming back to Ark?  I guess it depends on what you're looking for.   

Are there DLC/Expacs that are better than the base game?  I'd say yes.  Aberration is superior for metal farming still I believe (and people still go after Rockdrakes and Reapers for PVE/PVP).  Genesis is probably the best spot in the game now for element farming, and has Magmasaurs (metal gathering kings) and the Bloodstalker which are fun, but Extinction used to be the best for element farming.  Extinction has Velonasaurs, Snow Owls, and the Managrmr which is great after breeding in good stats.  These are my opinions but I'd argue many would perhaps agree they are practically required if you want to compete with others in pvp.

Should I just enjoy solo relaxing experiencing on my own solo game?  Sure why not!??  Especially if you have friends that can join you or better yet set up a private server with to play on to experience everything.  I'd argue trying things in single player first to get used to it all might not be a bad idea, but you might learn faster with a group on official/unofficial servers.

Do official pvp servers still have alpha tribe metas?  Oh yeah, and this will always be a thing.  

PVE server have pve griefers like using pillars to stop spawns and base building?  I think they've improved on this some but it's not full proof.  I'd recommend ORP servers as they seen almost the same as pve in many respects but you can get raided if online of course.  The main issue I always have with PVE is that you can't pick up dinos to drop them in base/traps, and people tame so much the servers hit a cap at times I think.

Camping spawn points?  Sure people do this still I guess, or the obelisks if you might have some valuable loot.  You just can't build turret towers and block off spawn points.

As for your last question I am guessing there is still a pretty healthy private server population, I know MTS which is heavily pvp focused is VERY popular at least.  Can't speak for any others maybe someone else can better answer that.

 

Anyway, there's a LOT to catch up on Survivor I'd advise diving right in and checking out just what Ark has in store for you!

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Wow thanks for the info and response!!

So what do you recommend for getting back into it? I don't feel like spending on DLC's too quickly but I respect that they expanded on their content. So the DLC's have everything the base game has PLUS more right? Or do the entire dynamics/meta changes?

Is it worth just toughing it out on a pvp server vs pve? I like the possible dynamic of pvp. But if alpha tribes just lord over their server and regularly wipe smaller groups/lil survivors its kinda hard to get started. I can play a lot but I can't play as much as I used to non-stop no lifing, so sometimes that can play against you on pvp server.

Maybe I should check the recruitment page or something for a tribe? You mentioned abberation is better than the base game...why? Just for "metal" farming?

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@cwbhif you want to come back for official PVP I would highly recommend to not do so unless you have a connection into a bigger tribe. 

PVE could become boring for you since there isn't much to do other than breeding endlessly or doing endless missions on Genesis and the same bosses over and over again. It would probably still be fun to reach that certain point but after you reached it there is nothing to do in PVE besides mindless grinding, breeding or trading. :D 

Private PVP for a while could be fun if you manage to find a good server without admin abuse or control freak admins this would also highly help against any forms of hackers or cheaters.

Just be aware that many, many official servers have been struggling for months with heavily lags, rubber banding, weekly/daily and even hourly crashes and that you will spend a lot of time being frustrated not because the game is hard, mechanically difficult or punishing but because you will stumble through lags, glitches, crashes, bugs, dupers, cheaters and griefers.

If you don't mind all the things I listed, I wish you fun on official.  :D 

 

PS: I don't think it's worth it to come back to ARK because this game is a time sink and the decay timer could hold you hostage as I have seen it on many people. The game is like crack to some people, you pay a harsh price for the enjoyment. (I say this while remembering an old friend in WoW days who stopped leaving his house to play tirelessly for weeks) ^^

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I won't bore you with a healthy, lengthy response. I'll just tell you that right now its...pretty terrible. You'll sink hours upon hours into what could amount to - at any given point - nothing at all due to something that happened with literally any recent patch, only to get trolled when you question why and mostly ignored when requesting assistance. The integrity of the current official servers make it seem largely that of a laughable parlor trick. All of this will likely happen to the point where you just pokeball your tames and only log-in a day or so out of the week just to make sure things haven auto-decayed because the problems caused make the gameplay seem much more like a mundane chore than actual enjoyment, as as such no longer worth your time.

 

It is okay though...because there's a new map and a creature coming out...

 

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The two free DLC's, Ragnarock and Valgureo will give you a very good feeling for most of the "new" content in Ark. My opinion Ragnarock is by far the best Ark map released!

After such a long break there is LOT of changes to the game content and mechanic. Were I you, I would go for the relaxed single player experience - explore the new free maps & creatures and so on. If you still hooked after that then think of online with maybe some paid for DLC's

 

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Game is no longer about dinosaurs. Almost all the new creatures added since Scorched Earth has been fantasy creatures. These creatures are very overpowered and have largely eclipsed dinosaurs as focus of the game.

The DLCs are basically pay2win if you are playing on a PVP server. If you have just the base game creatures you have zero chance against the DLC fantasy creatures like managarmrs, titans, meks etc. DLCs are also extremely op for farming as well. All metal is farmed on Abberation map, where you can get a slotcap (300 stacks) of metal in 6-7 minutes using a skiff (flying TEK aircraft from Genesis DLC) and magmasaur (a new dinos thats better than anky). You can slotcap of organic polymer in 2-3 minutes on Abberation using a bear in the red zone. To tell you the truth no one really farms anything on the base game maps like island or center anymore. Metal and polymer are imported from farming bases on Abberation. Element is farmed on Extinction or Genesis where you can farm several thousand element an hour. Most TEK equipment is crafted at bases on this map and exported to other maps.

With the genesis hexagon shop you basically dont need to farm anything other than metal and polymer. Need raw meat for dinos ? no need to do a meat run. Just buy a slotcap of meat from the shop for 15K hex. It takes 5 mins to make 30K hex with missions. Or better yet dont even need to actually play the game and do a mission. You can setup beds at glitch spawns and farm 30K hex in 8 minutes.

Extinction brought gachas, basically duping machines that can spawn any resource for you. You feed them owl pellets and seeds, which can be made in infinite quantities in minutes with iguanadon and a greenhouse. You sit in your base AFK and your vaults fill up with crystal, black pearl, sulfur, red gems etc.

Farming and resource gathering which was a core part of the game does not exist anymore. There is no need to truly explore the map. To setup far flung farming outposts in snow for polymer. Venture into the deserts of ragnarok to build oil wells. Brave the deep sea to collect black pearls. You dont have to brave dangers of Abberations radiation zone escorting your karkinos with megalos as you collect red gems. No you just sit in your base and watch youtube as the ingame legal duping system called Gacha spawns everything for you. Or buy stuff from an ingame shop like a mobile game.

I might sound bitter but I will also say this game is still fun. New creatures have lot of interesting abilities and really fun to play with. TEK tier has been greatly expanded and offer some amazing gameplay once you get TEK suits, teleporters, MEKs, skiff etc. What I am bitter about is that ARK is not ARK anymore. It's now a pokemon game where you collect creatures in cryoballs and do battle with them. It's no longer survival game where you are trying to survive in a dangerous island with dinosaurs.

The old ARK from 2015-2017 era is dead and never coming back. Its a completely different game now. Many of us on officials are nostalgic about days of legacy servers. If you cherish those memories it might be upsetting to come back. But if you come back with no expectations and embrace TEK and fantasy creatures the game is still loads of fun.

 

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thank you again for all your replies

@covenantgrunt well, all the things you said that were in the game that harken back to 2015-2017 are what i crave. base building, resource gathering, pvp here and there. the extra lengths you had to go to get your resources and secure good items....gone?

i dunno if i'd be as super hardcore no life no sleep like i played last time.

so let me get this straight, the entire official servers revolving around the base game (free maps) is completely dead? you basically use the DLC's to farm high end mats and you use the obelisks to transfer those materials?

someone mentioned above its worth joining an established tribe if you want to have fun. that is doable i guess. i just don't feel like spending on the DLC's right now if I somehow just don't play it in the future. but all the new content there looks cool.

i was thinking, oh i'll just do a solo game and enjoy building and playing the survival portion. build up a cool base and make it more for looks compared to something to defend against PVP or built for protection. but i dunno how lonely that might get. =(

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16 hours ago, cwbh said:

i just don't feel like spending on the DLC's right now if I somehow just don't play it in the future. but all the new content there looks cool.

The Center, Ragnarok, and Valguero are all free DLCs, so no need to spend there.

As for the state of the Ark, it still has major problems, especially on official, but it is so much better than back in EA.  Just the simple addition of cryopods  which allow us to pod up babies and get some sleep is significant. As for recommendations,  I suggest you find a good unofficial server. The mods used take away much of the tedious grinding and you are less likely to get an overcrowded server which is common on most official PVE servers. 

Lastly, if you find renewed interest in the game but cant find an unofficial you are happy with, you can rent one or more servers and take control yourself. I have a two server cluster and it is about $25 a month. I keep mine private, but you could invite friends who might chip in on the costs.

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18 hours ago, cwbh said:

thank you again for all your replies

@covenantgrunt well, all the things you said that were in the game that harken back to 2015-2017 are what i crave. base building, resource gathering, pvp here and there. the extra lengths you had to go to get your resources and secure good items....gone?

i dunno if i'd be as super hardcore no life no sleep like i played last time.

so let me get this straight, the entire official servers revolving around the base game (free maps) is completely dead? you basically use the DLC's to farm high end mats and you use the obelisks to transfer those materials?

someone mentioned above its worth joining an established tribe if you want to have fun. that is doable i guess. i just don't feel like spending on the DLC's right now if I somehow just don't play it in the future. but all the new content there looks cool.

i was thinking, oh i'll just do a solo game and enjoy building and playing the survival portion. build up a cool base and make it more for looks compared to something to defend against PVP or built for protection. but i dunno how lonely that might get. =(

As it stand official PvP simply isn't worth starting new on. If you want a base that lasts over 2 weeks it basically needs to be in a cave with 100 turrets and have tribe members online at all times, or be so tiny and hidden away that you can never do end game content. I recommend you find an unofficial PvE server. You can do your own thing but its not terribly lonely like singeplayer. That's where I've spent most my time playing. I've not played much unofficial PvP so I can't tell ya much.

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