ARK: Survival Evolved is a game about, well, survival, which means that you only ever have what you can scavenge and forage from the environment. Having these resources can be the difference between life and death in this game- so you need to know exactly how and where to find them. That’s where we come in with this guide!

Black Pearls

A mid-late game resource; you can find them by killing the creatures on all corners of ‘The Island’ map. The creatures you can kill to harvest these are:

• Deathworm
• Eurypterid
• Ammonite
• Trilobite
• Tusoteuthis
• Alpha Mosasaurus

The following resources can either be gained directly from the source, or by killing a dinosaur which nets you the best chances of getting them.

• Wood can be obtained from Tress using a hatchet or obtained from Therizinosaur and Mammoth.
• Silk can be obtained from Plants or obtained from Lymantria.
• Thatch can be obtained from Tress using a pick or from Brontosaurus.
• Tree Sap can be obtained from Redwood Trees, Joshua Trees using Tree Sap Tap.
• Hide can be obtained from Corpses using a hatchet or from Therizinosaur.
• Flint can be obtained from Rock using a Pick or from Ankylosaurus.
• Obsidian can be obtained from Black Rocks using a pick or from Ankylosaurus.
• Chitin can be obtained from corpses of insects using a hatchet or from Direwolf.
• Keratin can be obtained from corpses of animals using a hatchet or from Therizinosaur.
• Oil can be obtained from  oil rocks using a oick or from Dunkleosteus.
• Pelt can be obtained from Raptor.
• Metal can be obtained from Ankylosaurus.
• Crystal can be obtained from Ankylosaurus.
• Sillica Pearls can be obtained from Anglerfish
• Sulfur can be obtained from mountains using a pickaxe or from Ankylosaurus.
• Fiber can be obtained from Plants or obtained from Therizinosaur and Gigantopithecus.
• Stone can be obtained from rocks and ground using a hatchet or from Doedicurus.

ARK: Survival Evolved is a survival game, and like the best survival games, it has a lot of moving pieces that you need to keep track of if you are to do well and master the game. That’s where we come in- in this guide, we share some general tips and tricks that will help you get the most out of your time with the game.

• Your dinosaurs’ stamina will only go down if you have mounted them- if you want to get somewhere quickly with your dino, the best bet is to get off it, and let it follow you itself
• Do not keep attacking when you are out of stamina- you could pass out
• If you run out of stamina, stop moving, and crouch or lay low to the ground to regain it
• You can also regain stamina using Stimberries (though these will make your thirst meter go up in turn)
• Generally speaking, don’t jump a lot while moving- that drains your stamina faster
• Cloth armor is highly effective against hot weather
• Switch on damage overlays- this can tell you which enemies might be easiest to take down (anything with a lot of blood is closer to death)
• You can inflict more damage during archery by pulling back the arrow further

ARK: Survival Evolved is mostly a test of your ability to survive in a hostile world (which would explain the presence of the word ‘Survival’ right there in the title), but it is also a game that necessitates that you level up in game- this allows you to take on higher level bosses, and also to have your own army of dinosaurs.

This guide is a quick overview of leveling up in ARK: Survival Evolved, so you know what you are doing, and you know how to rank up quickly:

• Leveling up nets you points to allocate to stats, but also Engram Points (EP)
• Engrams are recipes you can craft- they are instrumental to your survival
• Upon reaching Level 8, you can craft yourself a cooking pot
• The Broth of Enlightenment can be used to gain 150% more XP for 20 minutes (leading to quicker leveling). You can make it by putting the following ingredients into a cooking pot:
  • 2 x Savoroot
  • 1 x Water
  • 10 x Mejoberry
  • 2 x Longrass
  • 1 x Black Pearl
  • 5 x Woolly Rhino/ Deathworm Horn
  • 2 x Rockarrot
  • 2 x Citronal
• Joining a tribe is highly advised for earning XP quickly:
  • You get half the XP for something another player is doing simply by being in their vicinity
  • You get XP boosts overall
  • Taking on enemies is far easier, meaning XP gained is facilitated again
• You can use a Mindswipe Tonic to respec your character, if you feel you have invested in the wrong build.
• Crafting nets you a lot of XP (and is an easy way to earn some quickly in the early game). In the early game, look into crafting the following:
  • Cloth Hats
  • Notes
  • Wooden Rafts
• Naturally, actually fighting dinosaurs will net you XP as well

ARK: Survival Evolved is a survival game, which means just about everything in the world is out to kill you- including the environment and your own body, if it gets the chance. You can get disease, and that disease can be debilitating and even kill you.

On the flip side, you get to tame dinosaurs (which often involves a step called ‘imprinting’), which, you know- you win some, you lose some. In this guide, we talk about both of these steps.

CURING SWAMP FEVER

You can catch this disease because of a Diseased Leech, and requires a Lesser Antidote to be cured. You can craft a Lesser Antidote with the following ingredients:

• Rare Flowers x 10
• Rare Mushrooms x 10
• Leech Blood OR Whooly Rhino Horl OR Deathworm Horn x 3
• Pain Reliever x 1

IMPRINTING

Imprinting is a simple process for dinosaurs  where you can get them an up to 97% stats boost before they reach maturity- effectively making them capable of going toe to toe with beasts double their level.

Every three to four hours during a dinosaur’s maturation process, once the timer runs out, you will get a prompt- performing these simple actions will help you ‘imprint’.

1. Wants a random kibble: feed the dinosaur whatever it seems to want
2. Wants a cuddle: cuddle the dinosaur
3. Wants to walk with player: walk back and forth with the dinosaur

The full imprinting process can take 27-34 hours- that is a lot of dedication. But it is necessary for the boost we were talking about.