Competitive survival games are relentless, and ARK: Survival Ascended is no exception. Needing to fend off various dangerous carnivores, opportunistic players, and aggressive tribes, players often rely on having an optimal stat spread to boost the chances of victory. The meta for increasing stats has seen a slight alteration in ARK: Survival Ascended, thanks to the removal of movement speed as an improvable stat for both players and dinosaurs.

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Without the ability to pump levels into movement speed, players are a lot more likely to rely on their health, fortitude, and stamina. Still, whether it’s harvesting, fighting another player, or attempting to tame a strong dinosaur in dangerous territories, efficiency and tact are key to surviving ARK: Survival Ascended's unrelenting PvP. While every player likely has their own particular playstyle, improving the following stats is the most recommended method for survival. This article focuses on the best stat spread for a player at level 100.

5 Melee Damage

Boosts Harvesting Efficiency And Speed

• Increases by 5% per level.
• Optimal amount of melee damage: 200%.

Melee Damage is a great stat to level in the early game where the player doesn’t have access to strong firearms. With a high melee damage stat, low-level players can easily take out opponents with spears or even their fists if it comes to it. As well as being the main stat used to take down enemies, high melee damage impacts the amount of resources gathered from a single node. Rushing melee damage isn’t optimal, but it’s still handy to have a few points pumped into the stat to help with early combat.

Unlike ARK: Survival Ascended's PvE, where things are generally a lot slower-paced, PvP is all about efficiency. The ability to chop down a tree quickly and collect as much wood or thatch as possible is all impacted by the amount of levels put into melee damage. Having any more than 200% melee damage is inefficient, however, as the player should look to transition to ranged weapons as soon as possible.

4 Fortitude

Reduce The Risk Of Deadly Disease.

• Increases by 2 per level.
• Optimal amount of fortitude: 40.

Fortitude represents the survivor’s natural resistance to damage, extreme temperatures, disease, and torpor. Acting as the player’s innate armor, only a few levels are required in fortitude to substantially boost the chance of survival. Raising fortitude to 10 in the early levels is a great way to enhance the players' defense, especially as early-game armor is typically extremely weak and breaks very easily.

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Fortitude is essential for players looking for the best loot or hoping to unlock Tek engrams, as they’ll need to explore ARK: Survival Ascended's various caves. Dangerous creatures lurk within the caves, including the Onyc. Fighting Onyc’s is risky, as the cave bats have a chance of infecting the player with Mega Rabies. Having high fortitude will reduce the chance of catching the deadly disease from the Onyc, making caving slightly less dangerous. Having at least 40 fortitude is recommended, but the higher the fortitude, the better.

3 Weight

Carry An Endless Supply Of Ammo

• Increases by 10 per level.
• Optimal amount of weight: 300.

The most relied-on stat for much of ARK: Survival Ascended’s game-play, weight dictates how much the player can carry before becoming over-encumbered. While over-encumbered, the player will have restricted movement and maneuverability, making them an easy target for opportunistic opponents. To avoid this, players should look to put a handful of points into the weight stat early on.

Mid-to-late game equipment, such as Flak Armor, can be quite heavy. Combined with the need to carry various weapons and ammunition, the player will quickly find themselves encumbered without a good number of levels in weight. Between 250 and 300 weight should be decent enough to allow the player to carry plenty of weapons, ammo, and armor without being weighed down. Furthermore, having a decently high weight stat additionally impacts the amount of materials a player can hold, also improving the efficiency of gathering.

2 Stamina

Easily Out-Pace Opponents

• Increases by 10 per level.
• Optimal amount of stamina: 250.

Since the removal of Movement Speed in ARK: Survival Ascended, having high stamina has become increasingly important. While players could easily sprint across the map at inhuman speeds previously, it’ll now require a little more tact to traverse enemy territories. Additionally, as well as needing to escape enemy players, players must pay attention to wild dinosaurs looking for an easy meal.

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Putting 15 points into stamina and increasing the stat to 250 is a great way to ensure the player can run, fight, and swim for a decent amount of time. Placing any more than 15 points could be considered a waste, as most movement can be achieved on a fast mount instead, reducing the overall need for extremely high stamina points. Still, dedicating a few points to stamina during early levels is extremely important for surviving, as even having 50 extra points in stamina at the beginning can make all the difference.

1 Health

The Ultimate Stat For Survival

• Increases by 10 per level.
• Optimal amount of health: 350.

The health attribute in ARK: Survival Ascended represents the life source and value of the survivor. Falling long distances, starvation, dehydration, asphyxiation, diseases, eating rotten or raw meat, and taking damage all reduce the overall health of the player, putting them at risk of death. In PvP, health is the most vital stat, as the player will heavily rely on it during intense battles.

The health stat will increase by 10 per dedicated point, and it’s recommended to level the health stat to at least 350 for the optimal chance of survival. Although reaching this number will require 25 levels, high health will drastically increase the likelihood of the player surviving interactions with enemies. It’s important that players focus on raising their HP as quickly as possible, dedicating most of their points to the health stat during early levels.