The role of Aratai in ARK 2 and the reason why they exist. Plot theories.

[VELUKO]

I want to start with the most obvious answer to one of the questions - Aratai exist as NPCs from which we will receive experience or leveling points, we do not know for sure whether the way to level up in ARK 2 will be the same as in ARK:SE so this moment remains for developers. Just my opinion tho.

 

Who are these Aratai guys? In the first trailer for ARK 2 released in 2022, we first saw these humanoid people(?) and clearly showed us that they will confront the survivors, some time after that we were shown several armor concepts shown in the trailer, which in my opinion is quite interesting. From that moment on, we were not told or hinted at what role these guys would play in the plot. By all the laws of predictability and genres of video games, series or films, Aratai must be some kind of force of nature or a "great evil" that, for some reason, wants to get rid of people (hello Rockwell). Speaking of this, I have heard and read that many believe that the Aratai are native sentient species of the planet Arat. I don't think this is correct because the Aratai are very different from the environment in which they supposedly lived before the arrival of the survivors.

+ the fact that the Genesis Ship chose the planet for human settlement given that there is already a sentient species on Arat that could be a big competition and problem... pretty weird.

So my theory is that the Aratai are corrupted survivors who somehow ended up on the planet with the other survivors during the undocking of the Eden ring. I'll say, it's not even a theory, but an evidence base: when we defeat the VR Corrupted Master in Genesis: Part 1 we get a cutscene where the player wakes up on the Ship. HLN-A flies up to us and says that we could be the only one who woke up - it is at this moment that we are shown how Element infects human body in the pod. Perhaps in some part of the uninfected ring, Rockwell was able to corrupt some of the survivors through the simulation and leave them in reserve. When we get the Ark: Genesis Part 2 ending, we see dozens of escape pods falling on Arat, possibly containing corrupted survivors who, at Rockwell's whim, are still trying to kill survivors. Given that survivors and Aratai have the same level of crafting weapons, clothing and armor, all of the above may be true. 

Why am I sure that Aratai are corrupted survivors?  As an example, I want to give a description: tall hunchbacked creatures with gray-lilac skin, faintly glowing eyes, spikes on the body, sharp teeth and claws. Sounds familiar, right? Is it possible that some part of Rockwell's legacy has survived, and even after his death, it continues to harm the survivors? And I know that this old man is finished and that it is pointless to continue this fuss, but the problem is that this ambassador of Element may be dead, but Element itself as a material has not been destroyed.

From a gameplay point of view, I can only assume that the developers are preparing for us:

• Raids and claims of territories (like in some RPG)
• Protecting your settlements (survivor POV)
• "Clearing" important locations from Aratai
• The return of Element through Aratai and another fight between good and evil (unlikely)

If we assume a plot role (just assume!), then Santiago will most likely attempt to shut down all possible sources of the Tek Element, and Aratai that co-dependents with this metal, will obviously try to prevent him from doing this.

 

 

[Gecko1611]

That sounds likely. What I thought was that the orcs (the Aratai) are natives to Arat. What the second teaser trailer said about old life (from the Genesis Colony Ship) and new life from Arat probably means there are new creatures on Arat, including a humanoid race. Perhaps their aggression toward the survivors is perhaps due to a misconception of the survivors "invading" Arat. Perhaps there will be a third "faction" of survivors from the Genesis Colony Ship who still show loyalty to the Master. 

Maybe in the game you will be able to play as different factions. The weapons customization concept supports this possible idea. It's really exciting, the possibility of ARK II being more customizable and detailed instead of just being an overhaul of new creatures on a new map.

Everything about ARK II lore is mostly speculative at the moment, however.