Break out your shades and catch some rays in the 2020 Summer Bash event. If you ever needed an excuse to celebrate summer and soak in some sun, we've got you covered. From June 25th to July 14th the second Summer Bash event will be underway. Spend your time relaxing by the beach in the new Hawaiian shirts or have a fight your tribe using the new water-gun skin. However you choose to spend your summer in ARK, Summer Bash is bound to cook up a lot of entertainment.



Server Settings
-activeevent=Summer

Event Start
PC: 10AM PDT
XBOX & PS4: 1PM PDT

Rate Boosts

• 3X Breeding (mating interval, egg hatch speed, and maturation)
  
• 4X Player XP
  
• 4X Harvesting
  
• 4X Taming

New Emotes

• Guitar Riff
  
• Drum Solo
  
• Head Banger

New Skins

• 4 new Hawaiian-style shirt Skins
  
• 3 new Swimsuit Skins
  
• BBQ-themed Grilling Spatula (Club Skin)
  
• Frisbee Skin (Boomerang)
  
• 1 Sunglasses Skin w/ customizable lenses
  
• Super Soaker style Squirt Gun Skin (Flamethrower)

New Chibi Pets

• Manta
  
• Ammonite
  
• Cnidaria
  
• Plesiosaur
  
• Astrocetus

Event-Colored Wild Creatures

• Dino Dark Blue
  
• Red
  
• White
  
• Dino Sky Blue
  
• Dark Red
  
• Blue
  
• Light Grey
  
• Cream
  
• Cammo
  
• Orange
  
• MediumTeal
  
• DarkBlue
  
• LemonLime
  
• Peach
  
• Coral

The event kicks off at 10AM PDT.




With the start of the 5th Anniversary event, we implemented some changes to the way our servers calculate growing baby dinos. By distributing these calculations we can recover some of the performance costs related to breeding calculations, which is quite cost-intensive.

In more technical terms, we have done this by measuring the stress on a server with each tick and batching the actors to process their breeding calculations over the course of several ticks rather than all of them on every tick. For a server that is already in a stable state not much might be noticed, but for a server under intense stress players may notice that breeding calculations, and the initial start of mating may be a little delayed.

The good news is that players should notice less performance issues during boosted breeding rates. Servers will always be put under extra strain during event rates, especially so in regards to breeding rates but we've sought to minimize that with these changes and we've noticed some positive improvements.

If you are on a busy server and experiencing some delays, this is why and we're currently iterating on this so these response delays don't feel like as much of a disruption.



We're moving the Community Crunch back to Friday's! In addition to moving the Crunch back to Friday's, we'll start to feature community content in the Community Crunch rather than its own separate day. If you are creating or sharing ARK content, be sure to tag it with #playARK for a chance to be featured!



Kick back enjoy a great start to your summer with the ARK Summer Sale. For a limited time, ARK will be up to 80% off!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/346110



While Summer Bash is active from June 25th to July 14th, there will be no special EVO event rates.

Summer Bash Rates

• 3X Breeding (mating interval, egg hatch speed, and maturation)
  
• 4X Player XP
  
• 4X Harvesting
  
• 4X Taming

Crystal Griffin by @bluedragonark


Fire Reef by @ProjectTiamat


ActualBlack Megatherium by @TiiaAurora


Argentavis on Genesis by @PicturesofArk


Epic Viking Longhouse by @ThePilgrimz


Wyvern Drawing by @RunsWithPencil



See you next week!

Studio Wildcard

Twitter: twitter.com/survivetheark
Facebook: facebook.com/survivetheark
Reddit: reddit.com/r/playark
Instagram: instagram.com/survivetheark
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Steam: steamcommunity.com/app/346110
Youtube: youtube.com/survivetheark

Break out your shades and catch some rays in the 2020 Summer Bash event. If you ever needed an excuse to celebrate summer and soak in some sun, we've got you covered.  From June 25th to July 14th the second Summer Bash event will be underway.  Spend your time relaxing by the beach in the new Hawaiian shirts or have a fight your tribe using the new water-gun skin. However you choose to spend your summer in ARK, Summer Bash is bound to cook up a lot of entertainment. 

3X Breeding (mating interval, egg hatch speed, and maturation)
4X Player XP
4X Harvesting
4X Taming

Guitar Riff
Drum Solo
Head Banger

4 new Hawaiian-style shirt Skins
3 new Swimsuit Skins
BBQ-themed Grilling Spatula (Club Skin)
Frisbee Skin (Boomerang)
1 Sunglasses Skin w/ customizable lenses
Super Soaker style Squirt Gun Skin (Flamethrower)

Manta
Ammonite
Cnidaria
Plesiosaur
Astrocetus

Dino Dark Blue
Red
White
Dino Sky Blue
Dark Red
Blue
Light Grey
Cream
Camo
Orange
MediumTeal
DarkBlue
LemonLime
Peach
Coral

We at Studio Wildcard wish everyone a sun-filled summer with tons of fun.  Until next time!

Twitter: twitter.com/survivetheark
Facebook: facebook.com/survivetheark
Reddit: reddit.com/r/playark
Instagram: instagram.com/survivetheark
Twitch: twitch.tv/survivetheark
Steam: steamcommunity.com/app/346110
Youtube: youtube.com/survivetheark

Celebrate the return of an ARK community classic, updated with a new real-world dinosaur for you to tame, and now added to ARK’s Official Server networks! Crystal Isles is 150 square kilometers of colorful scenery and awe-inspiring biomes teeming with life. This map's supernatural beauty has won the hearts of the ARK community since its debut as a mod in 2016, and we've polished it to bring out its shine.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1270830/Crystal_Isles__ARK_Expansion_Map/



Whether you think you know Crystal Isles or plan to explore this map for the first time, you should be prepared for new discoveries. Build your bases high in rainforest canopy and mysterious floating islands, then dive deep into undersea caverns in search of resources. Tame and saddle up your own Tropeognathus—ARK’s newest pterosaur—for a dizzying jet-fuel-powered ride into aerial combat, complete with powerful mounted flak cannon!





Crystal Isles includes:

• A 150 sq km map with a wide variety of unique biomes to explore
  
• The Great Valley, a rainforest with bogs and towering tree limbs that lend new options for base-building
  
• Emberfall, a fantastic region of vibrant foliage and volcanic danger that also rewards exploration
  
• Eldritch Isle, an eerie and challenging realm worth braving for its valuable resources, like Element and oil
  
• Apotheosis, a cluster of floating islands tangled with vines and roots, shot through with cavernous pockets, and spilling over with waterfalls
  
• Three types of crystal wyvern types for you to tame and breed
  
• A new custom boss arena
  
• New Dinosaur Tame: Tropeognathus! This large pterosaur from the Cretaceous period can now be found making its home on Crystal Isles. Tropeognathus’ keel-tipped snout can quickly gnash victims’ armor into bits, and when outfitted with a saddle containing a jetpack, its speed and maneuverability are second-to-none. Also providing a built-in flak cannon available to the pilot, this terror of the skies can engage in aerial combat with extreme deadliness

Twitter: twitter.com/survivetheark

Facebook: facebook.com/survivetheark

Reddit: reddit.com/r/playark

Instagram: instagram.com/survivetheark

Twitch: twitch.tv/survivetheark

Steam: steamcommunity.com/app/346110

Youtube: youtube.com/survivetheark

It’s been five exciting years since ARK: Survival Evolved opened the way to the ARK and survivors around the world set out on half a decade’s worth of adventure.

In this Crunch, we’ll be covering the unique, real-world dino, the Tropeognathus, the much anticipated Crystal Isles launch, our fun Anniversary Event, and a blast from the past by way of Timecapsule Servers.




If you’ve been following the mod community, you’re probably familiar with Crystal Isles. Its supernatural beauty won the hearts of the ARK community since its debut as a mod in 2016. For four years it has grown to over 240K subscriptions and has called for many requests for the community to make it an official map.

We’ve decided to give it a new coat of polish to bring out its true shine. The newly updated Crystal Isles launches with a 150 sq km map with a wide variety of awe-inspiring biomes teeming with life. Whether you think you know Crystal Isles or plan to explore this map for the first time, be prepared for new breathtaking discoveries.




Build your bases high in rainforest canopies or mysterious floating islands, then dive deep into undersea caverns in search of resources. The Great Valley, a rainforest with bogs and towering tree limbs, lends new options for base-building and traversal. Eldritch Isle, an eerie and challenging realm, will be worth braving for its valuable resources like element and oil. Emberfall, a fantastic region of vibrant foliage and volcanic danger, will reward those who chose to explore in the region. Perhaps most awe-inspiring, Apotheosis, a cluster of floating islands tangled with vines and roots, shot through with cavernous pockets and spilling over with waterfalls. With three types of crystal wyvern for you to tame and breed and a new custom boss arena, Crystal Isles is sure to keep you busy.



Celebrate ARK’s anniversary with an updated Crystal Isles map and a new real-world dinosaur for you to tame on ARK’s PC Official Server networks!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1270830/Crystal_Isles__ARK_Expansion_Map/

And of course, with a new map, comes new servers! Please remember that transfers into these servers will only be enabled for characters and not creatures or items. We'll be opening those up at a later date, however, transfers out are enabled for characters, items, and creatures.

Unofficials can host the map themselves using the following map name: CrystalIsles

Protip: Adjust your map filter to CrystalIsles to find them quicker!





We couldn’t let our fifth anniversary pass without an in-game event to accompany it! Bring out your party hats, because from June 11th to June 24th, ARK will be celebrating the memories we’ve made along the way. In addition to Tropeognathus making its grand debut, we’ll be introducing 5 new chibi’s to collect. Looking to complete your chibi collection? A brand new feature for this event allows you to trade 4 for a new one in the forge.

Throw a surprise party for your tribe-mates with the new pop-out birthday cake structure and have a get-together with your tribe wearing party hat skins from prior events!

This event can be manually activated with the server arg parameter: -activeevent=birthday​​​​​​​
Event Dates: June 11th to June 24th
Event Rates:

• 3X Breeding (mating interval, egg hatch speed, and maturation)
  
• 4X Player XP
  
• 4X Harvesting
  
• 4X Taming

Event Creatures:

• 5 New Chibi pets
  
• Party Dodo (Harvested to get cake slices for event content)

Event Content:

• Pop Out Birthday Cake Structure

Tame and saddle up your own Tropeognathus—ARK’s newest pterosaur—for a dizzying jet-fuel-powered ride into aerial combat, complete with powerful mounted flak cannon!
This large pterosaur from the Cretaceous period can quickly gnash victims’ armor into bits, and when outfitted with a saddle containing a jetpack, its speed and maneuverability are second-to-none. Also providing a built-in flak cannon available to the pilot, this terror of the skies can engage in aerial combat with extreme deadliness.

Tropeognathus makes its debut on the ARK with the introduction of our anniversary event! The creature can be found exclusively on Crystal Isles when playing on PC, and on console the flying terror can be encountered as a rare spawn on the following maps: The Island, The Center, Scorched Earth, Ragnarok, and Valguero.




Before TEK suits and replicators, survivors experienced the Island in a much different way. Traversing the landscape provided unique challenges without many of the creatures we know and love. It might be hard to imagine The Island without the Redwoods biome or the numerous caves that have been added but earlier survivors will have distinct memories of this era in ARK’s history.

Many of the latest creatures that serve as companions, utility, and defense in ARK’s modern era weren’t a concept yet. Time capsule servers will offer a unique perspective and highlight the progression of ARK’s content, lore, and community when compared to the current day.



While we’re happy to take this trip down memory lane it’s important to remember that Timecapsule servers are a snapshot of a moment in time. They won’t receive any customer service support or future updates.

Here are a few notable features of the 2015 Timecapsule build:

• No TEK Engrams
  
• No fabricated snipers, compound bows, pump action shotguns or longneck rifles
  
• Flyer speed can be increased

If you'd like to take a look at ARK in its most primitive days, you'll need to opt into our special branch in your steam ARK configuration. You can do so by following the steps below:

1) Right-click on the ARK game in your Steam library and select "properties"
2) Select the "Beta" tab
3) Locate "timecapsule" in the drop-down menu and select that.
4) Select close, patch ARK, and remember to launch the game without BattlEye then go forth and punch trees!




While the Anniversary event is active, there will be no special EVO rates. The event rates for Official servers:

• 3X Breeding (mating interval, egg hatch speed, and maturation)
  
• 4X Player XP
  
• 4X Harvesting
  
• 4X Taming

We’d like to thank the community once more, as we truly appreciate all the passion and support you’ve shown the game. While we couldn’t have foreseen quite how the last 5 years would play out, from primitive dwellings to hyperspace whales, our vision for the ARK franchise is as strong as ever. So stick with us on this rollercoaster ride into the future, as we look forward with you to tremendously exciting years ahead for ARK, where the very definition of survival continues to evolve.
With gratitude,



The Studio Wildcard team!

Common Name: Tropeo
Species: Tropeognathus mesembrinus
Time: Cretaceous
Diet: Piscivore
Temperament: Neutral

Up close, Tropeognathus mesembrinus is easily recognized by the keeled crests on its snout, but with wingspans of up to twenty-seven feet, you’re sure to spot it before then. 

These large wings are not only ideal for catching air currents over its ocean hunting grounds, but they also let Tropeognathus draft off of other flying creatures by flying behind them. While not the fastest flyer on the Isles, when combined with its remarkable stamina, this makes Tropeognathus well suited for long distance flight.

Because it’s on the wing so much, Tropeognathus is best snared by those riding another flier. I've noticed the more clever tribespeople using chain bolas to capture them while airborne.

Domesticated
Once tamed, Tropeognathus has proven quite useful to the people of the Isles beyond mere transportation. For example, its toothed beak can grind down many common goods to their base components, which is a great way to recycle items and gear! Well, so long as you have a rag handy to wipe off the spit...

That bite is punishing enough to crack armor and grind through it over time, and Tropeognathus can blow away flora and fauna alike with a gust from its wings. Air-to-air combat is where this creature really shines, though. And with the right tools, some survivors have managed to fit them with a saddle-mounted flak cannon and jet engine for maximum lethality. 

Trust me, you haven't lived until you've ridden a jet-powered pterosaur into a dogfight. Saddle one up and see for yourself - you can be my wingman anytime!





Prepare your tribe and get ready for another epic adventure! Crystal Isles will be coming to PC on June 4th!



Want to introduce your friends to the world of ARK?  Right now, the ARK: Survival Evolved Explorer's Edition Bundle is available for 75% off on Steam! The Explorer's Edition gives you access to the base game as well as the Scorched Earth, Aberration, and Extinction Expansion Packs.

Go grab your copy now!



As mentioned previously, we'll be keeping 2X rates on until further notice.

Studio Wildcard 

Twitter: twitter.com/survivetheark
Facebook: facebook.com/survivetheark
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Youtube: youtube.com/survivetheark

Greetings Survivors!

June 2020 will mark the 5th anniversary of ARK: Survival Evolved, and what an amazing five years it’s been! We have some special treats planned to commemorate the occasion with our fantastic community!

We’ll be celebrating this momentous milestone with multi-week long revelries which will include a special birthday in-game event, the arrival of a new dinosaur, and the initial rollout of the one-of-a-kind experience of the expansive Official “ISO: Crystal Isles” map!



Here’s a little teaser of our new real-world dinosaur primed to make its dizzying mark upon the skies on June the 4th across all platforms! Can you guess what it is?



Crystal Isles is a stunning, other-worldly map filled with a vibrant display of teeming life scattered amidst its varied landscapes, awe-inspiring floating islands, and breathtaking biomes.

Ever since Crystal Isles launched as a mod in 2016, its fantasy appeal has secured its place as one of the most popular maps within the ARK community and we’re thrilled to bring it to players as a fully supported free DLC.


Crystal Isles will initially launch for PC on June the 4th, with an Xbox and PS4 launch coming later this summer as the team continues to hunker down and iterate on the console version.

We hear you on the Crystal Wyverns and they’ll certainly be making their tameable appearance on the Isles! ;)

And finally, we’ll be donning our party hats and celebrating with a time-honored in-game event commencing on all platforms on June 4, featuring Party Dodos, interactive cakes, new chibis & surprises, and dazzling unicorns frolicking on rainbows. Yes, really!


It’s been an incredible journey over the last 5 years filled with so many unforgettable memories and we can’t wait to celebrate with you once more!

There were so many amazing entries we found it hard to choose just one winner from each category. We’ve decided to award more prizes!

GrandPrize: 100$, plus a copy of the Genesis Season Pass and a special ARK Goodie bag!

ButWhyTho


Congratulations, what an epic creation!

Winners: 100$ prize each!

DodoPandora

Progress Pictures

AlannahJay101


Mitharen


Congratulations to these winners! And finally...

Runners Up: 50$ prize each

Amitaya1982


Magmamage


Thank you all for the creative entries!


Want to introduce your friends to the world of ARK? Right now, the ARK: Survival Evolved Explorer's Edition Bundle is available for 75% off on Steam! The Explorer's Edition gives you access to the base game as well as the Scorched Earth, Aberration, and Extinction Expansion Packs.

Go grab your copy now!



As mentioned in a previous post we've enabled 2x XP, taming, breeding, and harvest. We'll continue to run these rates for the time being as a gesture towards our community as we all deal with the isolation and stress during these tough times.


We’re proud of what we’ve accomplished over the past five years and couldn’t have done it without your love and support. Thank you! Stay safe and take care!

Studio Wildcard

Twitter: twitter.com/survivetheark
Facebook: facebook.com/survivetheark
Reddit: reddit.com/r/playark
Instagram: instagram.com/survivetheark
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Youtube: youtube.com/survivetheark

Greetings Survivors!

In this edition of the Community Crunch, we’ll cover the details of opening Genesis Transfers on our Official Networks, the Dupe Protection System, Meshing detection, Third-party software, hardware upgrades for our servers, player dedicated servers for console, Mac, Linux, and we’ll touch on what we’ve been working on recently along with an overview of our focuses over the coming weeks.

Before we dive into that, we’ll take a brief pause to acknowledge these unprecedented times for all of us - our team, our players, our families, and yours - things are tough right now and we could all use some support and camaraderie. Now, more than ever, activities like gaming allow us to stay connected and engaged with our community, particularly for those of us practicing social distancing, often in isolation. As a small gesture of appreciation for our extended ARK family, we will be continuing to run 2x rates for the foreseeable future. As we continue navigating our way through these extraordinary and challenging times together, our heartfelt thoughts are with all of you. Stay safe Survivors!



We’ll be opening full transfer of items and dinos into Genesis on May 15th, 2020 with two notes. The first note is that Extinction Titans will be restricted from transferring and the second is that Managarmr will be marked as unrideable. In the case of the latter, this decision was made in relation to their close-to-flyer status and their ability to dash through certain missions. We have opted to allow Gigas as they serve as a counter to tanking dinos, and Rockdrakes, as they bring some utility whilst being less mobile than Manas.

These were the latest servers added in tandem with our free weekend. Similarly to Genesis One servers, on May the 15th, they’ll also have their transfers enabled:

• EU-PVE-Official-TheIsland705
  
• EU-PVE-Official-TheCenter706
  
• EU-PVP-Official-TheIsland707
  
• EU-PVP-Official-TheCenter708
  
• EU-PVE-Official-Ragnarok709
  
• EU-PVP-Official-Ragnarok710
  
• EU-PVP-Official-Valguero711
  
• EU-PVP-Official-TheIsland712
  
• EU-PVE-Official-Valguero713
  
• EU-PVP-Official-TheCenter714
  
• EU-PVP-Official-Ragnarok715
  
• EU-PVP-Official-Valguero716
  
• NA-PVE-Official-TheIsland717
  
• NA-PVE-Official-TheCenter718
  
• NA-PVP-Official-TheIsland719
  
• NA-PVP-Official-TheCenter720
  
• NA-PVE-Official-Ragnarok721
  
• NA-PVP-Official-Ragnarok722
  
• NA-PVP-Official-Valguero723
  
• NA-PVP-Official-TheIsland724
  
• NA-PVE-Official-Valguero725
  
• NA-PVP-Official-TheCenter726
  
• NA-PVP-Official-Ragnarok727
  
• NA-PVP-Official-Valguero728

We’ve also been recently working on upgrading the last of our servers to new hardware. A lot has already taken place across all platforms, these were our most recent that took place over the last week:

• EU-PVE-Official-Aberration222
  
• NA-PVE-Official-TheIsland339
  
• NA-PVE-Official-Extinction502
  
• EU-PVE-Official-Valguero526
  
• EU-PVE-Official-TheIsland198
  
• EU-PVE-Official-TheIsland43
  
• EU-PVP-Official-Ragnarok189
  
• EU-PVE-Official-Ragnarok397
  
• LEGACY-The-EU-PVE-OfficialServer262 (on Nitrado)
  
• EU-PVP-Official-TheIsland333
  
• EU-PVE-Official-TheIsland343
  
• EU-PVE-Official-TheCenter349
  
• LEGACY-The-EU-PVE-OfficialServer272 (on Nitrado)
  
• EU-PVE-Official-TheIsland346
  
• EU-PVE-Official-TheIsland347
  
• EU-PVE-Official-TheIsland344
  
• EU-PVE-Official-TheIsland395
  
• EU-PVE-Official-TheCenter396
  
• LEGACY-The-EU-PVE-OfficialServer263 (on Nitrado)
  
• EU-PVE-Official-Valguero523
  
• EU-PVE-Official-Valguero525
  
• LEGACY-The-EU-PVE-OfficialServer265 (on Nitrado)
  
• LEGACY-EU-PVE-TheCenter633
  
• EU-PVE-Official-Ragnarok389
  
• LEGACY-The-EU-PVE-Isolated-Ragnarok60
  
• EU-PVE-Official-TheIsland78
  
• EU-PVE-Official-GenOne661
  
• EU-PVE-Official-GenOne662
  
• EU-PVE-Official-GenOne663
  
• LEGACY-The-EU-PVE-Ragnarok59
  
• EU-PVE-Official-TheIsland705
  
• EU-PVE-Official-TheCenter706
  
• EU-PVP-Official-TheIsland707
  
• EU-PVP-Official-TheCenter708
  
• EU-PVE-Official-Valguero518
  
• EU-PVE-Official-Valguero519
  
• OC-PVE-Official-Ragnarok208
  
• NA-PVE-Official-Ragnarok383
  
• EU-PVE-Official-Valguero516

Late last week we were able to push out fixes for both the Mac and Linux versions of the game, which should allow those clients to play on the latest servers, with all the latest content. We appreciate your patience and will be working on improving our pipeline to get these out to you in a quicker and more stable state.

Over the past couple of months, we’ve shifted our primary focus for our regular patches between balance/quality of life and bugs/exploits. The past few weeks have been primarily dedicated to bugs and exploits in this regard. We’ve also been working on various crash fixes. We plan to pivot back to further balance and QoL improvements soon, including a pass on breeding to improve player’s experience and further tweaks to mission rewards and crates on Genesis.

The last time we spoke about our efforts to combat cheaters, we unveiled our work on our Anti-Meshing systems which focused on detection and prevention. After rolling out the system entirely, we saw a 90% reduction in overall meshing cases across the board. Since then, we've continued the fight against the various ways that underhanded survivors try to cheat on the ARK, and we'd like to give you an update on that fight.

Our Anti-meshing Detection System is proving effective and we’re continuing to see a vast decline in incidents. Like all exploits/cheats, this is an ongoing battle and here's our latest progress:



As you can see the battle against meshers is not over, but cases remain low and will continue to decrease over time. Some of the additional changes we've been working on have included:

• Improvements to the Anti Meshing detection system. This has involved being able to detect meshing in new areas of the map, as well as eliminating false positives and refining the system where edge cases could slip through.
  
• Level Design changes across all maps which focused on filling in holes and ensuring that collision has been set correctly to prevent players from entering unintended playable areas of the map
  
• Tackling mesh-methods head on to prevent players from being able to get into the mesh in the first place
  
• Initial rollout of the Anti Mesh Biting solution on all platforms, to prevent creatures from attacking through the mesh. Still early days so far, but a lot of the primary methods of mesh biting have been eliminated and we’ll be continuing to monitor for new methods and reports to squash them too!

We really appreciate and want to thank the ARK community for the reports and support, as the information provided helped us to improve the system overall. Keep it coming guys! <3

Similarly to meshing, this has been another hot topic that has plagued the game. In one of our most recent updates, we were able to release a system to identify duped items (in some cases retroactively), as well as prevent many instances of duping from occurring in the first place. It's still early days, but so far the results have been outstanding, as we're sure some of you have seen. The system is still being monitored by our team and we'll continue to iterate on improvements where possible whilst having our enforcement team dish out harsher punishments.

Fixing bugs and exploits has been the main focus of our most recent patches. We’d intended to push out some patches focusing on balance but they were put on hold whilst we address what we consider to be more pressing issues.

Examples exploits we’ve fixed recently include:

• Fixed an exploit with the Rock Drake
  
• Fixed an exploit that allowed mission creatures to be used in unintended ways
  
• Fixed an exploit which allowed certain creatures to attack structures through walls
  
• Additional server-side protection against exploits
  
• Fixed an exploit with turrets and ziplines
  
• Fixed an exploit with meshing and the cruise missile
  
• Fixed an exploit that allowed you to get under the map.
  
• Fixed a mounting exploit with Magamasaur

And there’s definitely more if you go through the rest of the patch notes, as well as a whole host of bug fixes!

We know that the patch notes regarding exploits aren’t super detailed. We typically just reference the object surrounding the exploit and that is because we prefer to hold these cards close to our chest, especially to prevent these methods from being exploited on unpatched Unofficial servers.

We recognize that some of the auto-responses on tickets could be worded in a more precise manner so as to mitigate confusion and we’ll be working with our GM’s to update them. Something we’d like to clarify is that an auto-response with the ticket being closed does not denote that the case isn’t being investigated. It means one of the following:

• enforcement action has taken place
  
• an investigation is ongoing
  
• no further information from the reporter is required.

Our enforcement team (GM’s) does not disclose the outcome of player reports for player privacy reasons but rest assured that if a reported player or tribe is found in violation of the Code of Conduct, the enforcement team will be taking the necessary action against them.

For those wanting to report a player for breaking the code of conduct on an Official Server, it can be done so here.

Over the past few months, we’ve seen a spike in our CCUs across the platforms, which usually leads to a spike in cheaters too. In particular, on PC and Crossplay servers, we’ve witnessed a rise in aimbot reports and the team has been working hard with our partners to combat the use of third party software.

For some additional insight into the cycle of fighting against aimbots, this is usually what happens: We notice an increase in the number of aimbot reports, we work with our anti-cheat partners to identify and detect the new software and once that has been done, we’ll issue a ban wave and punish cheaters accordingly. Following this, we’ll see a slight dip in the frequency of aimbot reports on our Official Networks, until either new software is released or older software has been updated, and then we repeat the process again of identification, detection, and punishment. This cycle can be as long as a few weeks, or as short as a few days. It’s a constant cat and mouse and our team is working diligently with BattlEye in order to detect new third party software and keep our officials as safe from cheaters as possible. In addition to that, we have also ramped up our enforcement measures, including, not only player bans but full wipes of tribes associated.

In regards to Crossplay specifically, we’ve recently implemented and improved our systems & heuristics to identify those using malicious third party software and it is proving effective. Over the past week, our enforcement team has wiped multiple tribes and banned a large number of players on our Crossplay servers with more to come very soon. We’ll continue to enforce hard against these cheaters.



As a reminder, the Eggcellent Painting contest is ongoing. There will be two competitions with a prize for the winner of $100!

In-Game Painting
Real-life Egg Painting

The entries will be judged by our community team. Submissions are limited to three eggs per survivor, so choose your best egg. You'll have the month of April to enter, with April 30th being the final day to enter. Submit your images in the comments below, and we look forward to seeing your creativity!

Click here for more details and enter your painting for a chance to win



Along with continuing to squash bugs, improve performance, and address any exploits that may arise, we will be working on planned balance and QoL for the Live Game. Some of the team are busy working on the upcoming Crystal Isles map and a unique new creature. We’re excited to release Crystal Isles on our Official Networks in the not too distant future!


Want to introduce your friends to the world of ARK? Right now, the ARK: Survival Evolved Explorer's Edition Bundle is available for 75% off on Steam! The Explorer's Edition gives you access to the base game as well as the Scorched Earth, Aberration, and Extinction Expansion Packs.

Go grab your copy now!



As mentioned above, we've enabled 2x XP, taming, breeding, and harvest. We'll continue to run these rates for the time being as a gesture towards our community as we all deal with the isolation and stress during these tough times.

That’s about it for this Community Crunch. Stay safe and take care!

Studio Wildcard

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