Tiberius3223

Well, she for sure not looking at the Discord either. I know others whose tried to contact her on these issues.

@banggugyangu I agree that mod developers should be compensated for their work, as long as it’s a polished, finished product with an agreement to maintain the mod for a set period of time. However, I strongly disagree with forcing server owners and players to buy what should be optional content just to play together. Arguing otherwise is shortsighted and frankly ignorant. But sure, let’s punish the majority of the player base. We see how that one is working out already, just look at the games reviews across the board, and the actual player count. ASA is already heavily pay-to-win. Players with DLCs have a significant advantage over those without, and that's a whole other discussion. You need to step out of your bubble and take a closer look at the real issues at hand.

@TonyTempah Dollie is now the lead community manager. If she's not engaging with these forums, it speaks volumes about Wildcard. You know what I mean?

@StudioWildcard @Dollie I'm probably going to get in trouble for tagging this, but here goes. It would be great to have some communication on these issues. I don’t see anyone actually responding, but it would be nice.

You're absolutely right. In my opinion, Wildcard shares a lot of the blame at this point. The developers have allowed Snail Games to take advantage of them and could do much more to prevent these poor business practices, but they choose not to. They're just as greedy as Snail Games, because it's literally the same people. Which is why we see a lack of communication from the community manager, poor game design decisions, and more. Don’t be fooled.

@TonyTempah When hosting an Ark server, whether it's dedicated, self-hosted, or privately owned, players must purchase all premium mods themselves in order to join and play if the server has them installed. The server or session will not allow you to join otherwise. This creates a barrier for private server owners, like myself and others, as we're forced to avoid using premium mods. No one wants to pay extra just to play with friends or a group on unofficial servers, where 99% of the player base actually plays. As you know, the official Ark servers are notoriously bad for countless reasons, making unofficial servers the preferred choice. Wildcard was supposed to have already addressed this issue, but once again, they can't keep a deadline, or their word.

@banggugyangu @TonyTempah I recommend both of you read Wildcard's statement directly from Crunch 408. The premium mods are creating issues by restricting access to servers, and this needs to be addressed. Most players are playing on unofficial servers. Premium mods on unofficial servers are overly restrictive, especially when you're just trying to play with friends without constantly being nickel-and-dimed by mods. Which is what's happening. They should keep their commitment to resolving the problem. That said, I agree with all your other points. I provided the quote and link below.

@banggugyangu Well, it obviously holds weight since even Wildcard had to address it, and they've confirmed a fix is coming. You're acting like ASA isn’t struggling, but it clearly is. The reviews and player numbers speak for themselves. It seems like you're ignoring the actual facts and data.

@banggugyangu The real issue is that players never wanted premium mods, and still don’t. Some of these mod developers are making a significant profit, despite trying to downplay it—and that’s just the plain truth. I know several of them personally, and I’ve seen it firsthand. Players shouldn’t be forced to pay for premium mods just to play on unofficial or even official servers. Wildcard promised to address this back in June, but nothing has changed, and it probably never will. We're tired of being nickel-and-dimed just to join servers.

You'd think they'd just add this stuff to the base game for everyone to encourage game sells in general. It'd make them more money... But apaprently they don't understand basic economics.

They know what they are doing. This time it's just flat out pay to win. And the only way to see change is to hold their feet the the fire.

My friends and family uninstalled the game today too. The pay-to-win situation has gone too far. Wildcard isn’t fooling anyone.

Wildcard has introduced a new Gene and Trait system, which sounds really exciting and innovative. However, Genes can't be bred or passed down; instead, they have to be collected by taming wild creatures and extracting their Genes. These Genes come in tiers and also scale with the creature’s level. Unfortunately, this feature isn’t part of the base game—it’s locked behind the Bob’s Tale DLC pay wall, meaning you need to own the DLC to even interact with the Gene system. This creates a significant advantage for DLC players in both PvE and PvP, leaving non-DLC players at a clear disadvantage. It’s pay-to-win. For those who care about the future of Ark as a franchise, it's important to send a strong message. Avoid purchasing the game, its DLCs, or any premium mods, and most importantly, leave a negative review to ensure Wildcard hears the feedback loud and clear.

I've noticed the growing discussion around paid mods recently in the Ark community, which surprised me because I thought the Ark community had given up on the idea of "no paid mods". However, I realized that many in the Ark community might be new to this discussion, especially if they weren't part of earlier debates around modding. So, I wanted to share my thoughts on why paid mods are problematic. I'll keep it brief, but I encourage discussion—just keep it respectful, as this is meant to foster insight and constructive dialogue. For context: I’m a modder with extensive experience in creating, editing, and experimenting with mods. I tend to cringe when I hear statements like 'Modders should be paid for their time.' There’s no inherent entitlement to payment—it’s not a job, it's a hobby. People do it for personal satisfaction, and part of the joy comes from sharing your work with others and seeing them enjoy it. That said, if you want to turn your hobby into a job or make money from it (like with premium mods), then you should enter a whole different realm with different rules. This includes responsibilities toward those who aren’t just fans anymore—they're paying customers. With that comes criticism, expectations, and the need to deliver on time. The same applies to commissioned mods. 1. The Cost Issue: The idea of charging $2–20 per mod quickly becomes financially restrictive for users. Mods are meant to customize and enhance your gaming experience, and some players use a handful while others use hundreds. Paying for each mod would limit the creative possibilities, making it harder to tailor the game to your liking. Moreover, Wildcard hasn't implemented a system where mods on servers don't require every player to purchase them, and it seems unlikely they will, possibly due to profit motives. 2. Unreliable Products: Mods are often plagued with bugs, incompatibilities, and other issues. Even with paid mods, these problems won’t disappear, and support can be inconsistent. When modders stop maintaining their work, users might end up paying for something that doesn’t function as expected. The community-driven support that steps in when mods are free could dwindle if modding becomes a pay-to-play environment. There are also already many unfinished mods being sold... Which a whole other issue. 3. Premium Mods gate Unofficial Servers: When hosting an Ark server, whether it's dedicated, self-hosted, or privately owned, players must purchase all DLC and premium mods themselves in order to join and play if the server has them installed. The server or session will not allow you to join otherwise. This creates a barrier for private server owners, like myself and others, as we're forced to avoid using DLC or premium mods. It's also creates a barrier for players who just want to play with friends. No one wants to pay extra just to play with friends or a group on unofficial servers, where 99% of the player base actually plays. As you know, the official Ark servers are notoriously bad for countless reasons, making unofficial servers the preferred choice. For those who want to support modders, there are plenty of optional ways to do so. Many modders accept donations through platforms like Nexus, Ko-fi, Patreon, PayPal, or have monetized YouTube channels. These are great ways to show support without putting a paywall around our community, which ultimately undermines the spirit of modding. As for Ark ASA. I would encourage you at least for now, to give the game a negative review on whatever platform you play. Unless Wildcards sees that players are not going to tolerate a certain behavior, they will just keep pushing it. And above all else, don't purchase paid mods, you aren't actually helping the game, or that creator. It's a cycle of exploitation that never should have been started. Just look at Bethesda...

I kindly request that ASA's Ragnarok Map be given its own unique boss, such as a Griffin with distinct fight mechanics. Or any unquie boss, just not the Dragon and Manitore duo from ASE. Ragnarok truly deserves a distinctive boss, in addition to the original bosses in their respective arenas. Personally, I've always found fighting multiple bosses simultaneously to be an unsatisfying mechanic.