In the various, harsh worlds of Ark Survival Evolved, players are immediately faced with an array of tough challenges and strong adversaries. Players must use all they can to their advantage, recruiting strong dinosaurs onto their side and obtaining strong weapons and defenses to ensure their homes are safe places.

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For new players, or for those who often find their earlier days in Ark: Survival Evolved has no structure, players should strive to set and complete certain goals while in the beginnings of their new world to retain their attention. Then, they will find that they have so much to do; that it will be hard to get bored.

10 Establish A Base

In the opening days of a playthrough, players will move around a lot, and shouldn’t be expected to stay in one place for too long. As the need for better, richer resources arises, players will eventually need to post up for good or decide to have multiple bases on the go at once.

Being able to locate an area suitable to build a base is paramount in Ark, and provides the player with something to work towards as they progress further in the game. Players should consider the surrounding environment and general dino spawn points before they call a place their home, or risk having a high-level Rex spawn nearby and cause pandemonium.

9 Tame An Argentavis Or Haul Dino

In the early game, an Argentavis is an incredibly useful asset that players should strive to obtain as soon as they can. They are relatively easy to tame even at high levels and can be knocked out by a good player just by kiting it in a circle and shooting as it struggles to make contact with its claws. Once tamed, any creatures the Argentavis kills or eats will grant it a short health regeneration boost, which helps ensure its survival in long battles.

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Not only are they agile while riding, but they also have an impressive carry weight should players decide to upgrade it, which is ideal for those looking to make expeditions to high mountains and bring back lots of metal to smelt. The claws of the Argentavis can pack a heavy punch, which can also be utilized to pick up other medium-sized dinos such as Raptors and Direwolves, who are formidable allies once tamed.

8 Tame An Arsenal Of Mid-Tier Dinos

There’s nothing quite like bolstering up an army than with the addition of dozens of would-be fodder to take into battle, and dinosaurs such as Direbears and Carnotaurus of a high level would make a fine addition in the early days of survival.

Players should be cautious when attempting to obtain high leveled dinos of any kind as even smaller enemies can hit like trucks, especially when part of a pack. Know that the brute force of these creatures, when joined together, can take down even the strongest of dinos, and players will find that over time, the creatures they once tamed as fodder to use in battle, become dinosaurs with names, colors, and stats that they deeply treasure, and are able to take on even a high-level Rex.

7 Prioritize Engrams

While players have access to hundreds of engrams that allow the creation of many useful items in the game, it should be known to players that not all engrams can be obtained even if the player reaches the maximum level cap.

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With this in mind, players should prioritize specific engrams based on their playstyle, while keeping in mind what they might need later down the line. Some DLC maps offer additional engrams that players can utilize to their advantage, so keep these in mind when looking to advance to the technological peak of evolution.

6 Build A Raft & Canoe

In a world full of dinosaurs that can easily kill the player and there are so many of them, sometimes a little adventure on the open waters can take the pressure off. That is until players realize that the seas, lakes, and rivers are just as treacherous.

Players should consider taking command of the waters via raft or canoe, as it is much preferable to swimming in open waters unaided. Strolling along the shallow-water beaches in a canoe can offer some incredibly beautiful views of the world. Building a base on a raft is certainly an accomplishable feat in Ark's deadly world, but those who dare to take such liberties should be extra wary of what lurks below them.

5 Choose Skills That Fit Individual Play Style

With a plethora of different skills comes dozens of different playstyles, that which can make no singular playthrough the same. Players looking to be pack horses can pump all their points into weight, while others may opt for movement speed for quick evasion or even torpor to increase resistance to creature poison and the erratic weather.

With a very high-level cap, players can be very flexible with their stats, and they can create a character that is an amalgamation of many desirable skills.

4 Begin Collecting Explorer Notes

Explorer Notes are a vital method that players can utilize to level up quickly, and an interesting way to delve into the lore of the game. With so many scattered around the map and them being somewhat easy to obtain, it really is a no-brainer for those looking to advance to higher levels and unlock more advanced engrams to craft.

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Players should also be advised to bring any dinosaurs with them that they want to level, as opening the explorer note chests while riding on a tame will give both the player and the tame the XP. The XP buff provided by opening explorer buffs makes leveling up easy and is one of the most efficient and easy ways to level up.

3 Create Better Tools

With so many different quality ranges in the game, ranging from primitive (white) to ascendant (light blue), players should strive to obtain higher qualities of gear wherever possible as early as they can acquire them.

Doing this will make the game easier in a plethora of ways, making tames require far fewer shots to knock out, making armor more efficient at reducing damage, and making nodes such as crystal and metal far easier to break. These higher quality tools can be acquired in falling supply beacons in their typical forms or as blueprints, or as alpha creatures. They can even be found in far more dangerous places, such as caves or in deep sea loot crates.

2 Explore

In Ark Survival Evolved, each map offers a unique, expansive, and atmospheric world teeming with life that players are free to explore. From wastelands full of corrupted creatures to biomes set in space and incredibly harsh climates, there is often much that is left unexplored.

With so much land available to adventure across and the oceans brimming with life too, players should take the time to properly investigate each individual biome on whichever map they decide to play on. Players should pay attention to the unique wildlife that dwells in each respective biome should they require taming, and consider delving into each map to experience the vast beauty of each map.

1 Begin Growing Crops

Growing crops in the early days is ideal for players looking to create a steady food source without having to mindlessly kill dinosaurs for meat, and is also perfect for those looking to tame dinosaurs via their most efficient method, kibble taming.

For players looking to utilize this method, growing the important vegetables; savoroot, citronal, longrass, and rockaroot are essential to make this work, and can be easily grown in crop planters of various sizes. Fruits such as narcoberries can also be grown in planters as well as other berries, but for most players, it is better to hop on a berry-collecting tame such as a Therizinosaurus and get to work.

ARK: Survival Evolved is available on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Android, and iOS.

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