We've prepared a special announcement for ARK fans that you won't want to miss. It all starts at The Game Awards on December 10th!


Classic PvP is a competitive player experience for PC players which focuses on the PvP experience from the days of old. Next week we'll be kicking off Season 3 of Classic PvP (bringing an end to our Conquest season). If you're unfamiliar with what Classic PvP is, there's a quick breakdown below.

• Experience gain, taming, gathering, breeding, hatching, and raising rates have been doubled compared to our standard Official Servers (2x)
  
• Tribes are set to 25 players max
  
• Tribe alliances are disabled, though informal alliances are allowed
  
• Servers have a maximum player count of 100
  
• Classic PvP servers are unaffected by Evolution Events
  
• These maps will be available: The Island, Scorched Earth, Ragnarok, Valguero, and The Center
  
• Tek dinos (Tek Parasaur, Tek Quetzal, Tek Rex, Tek Raptor, Tek Stego), Paracer, Tapejara, and the Titanosaur are not available for taming on Classic PvP
  
• All Aberration and Extinction content is unavailable on Classic PvP
  
• Scaling of weapon damage has been reduced
  
• No TEK Engrams
  
• No cave building
  
• Cryopods enabled

Prior to the launch of Season 3 next week, we'll share more details on the launch and timing.



Survivors on all platforms will be receiving a special Evolution Event perk as part of the Turkey Trial event! It will be active from Tuesday the 24th of Nov at 4 PM EST until Thursday the 10th of December. All Official Servers across each platform will be undergoing this evolutionary change which includes:

• 2x Breeding/Maturing/Egg Hatching
  
• 2x Harvesting
  
• 2x Taming
  
• 2x XP

DodoRex by Silatria


It’s a pink Argy by Beastboy (Discord)


The Kings Call by FoxFox87


Therizinosaurus by kawarayane


Face Off by nikout13 (Discord)


Giganotosaurus at the Meadow by Cucumberg


We can't wait to catch up with you at The Game Awards!
Studio Wildcard

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

From Tuesday, November 24th through Tuesday, December 8th grab your tribe and flock over for Turkey Trial 4. Go on the hunt for the unforgiving “Super-Turkeys” and harvest wishbones to gain new chibis, cosmetic items, event-themed skins, and all new emotes!


This event can be manually activated with the server arg parameter: -ActiveEvent=TurkeyTrial

Dates: November 24th to December 8th

• 2X Breeding (mating interval, egg hatch speed, and maturation)
  
• 2X XP
  
• 2X Harvesting
  
• 2X Taming

• Super Turkeys (Untamable creature)
  
• DodoRex (Craftable Temporary Tame)

• 2 Thanksgiving-themed Sweater Skins *NEW*
  
• 2 Thanksgiving-themed Swimsuit Skins *NEW*
  
• 2 Hawaiian-themed Shirt Skins *NEW*
  
• Bonnet Hat
  
• Chieftan Hat
  
• Pilgrim Hat
  
• Turkey Hat
  
• Dodo Pie Swim Bottom & Top
  
• Meat Swim Bottom & Top
  
• Turkey Swim Bottom & Top
  
• Pitchfork
  
• Turkey Leg

• Tuso *NEW*
  
• Broodmother *NEW*
  
• Bonnet Otter *NEW*
  
• Mantis *NEW*
  
• Dunkleosteus *NEW*

• Wishbones (acquired from killing Super Turkey's)
  
• Thanksgiving Dino Candy

• MediumAutumn *NEW*
  
• LightAutumn *NEW*
  
• BurntSienna *NEW*
  
• DarkMagenta *NEW*
  
• DarkViolet *NEW*
  
• Vermillion *NEW*
  
• MidnightBlue *NEW*
  
• BlackSands *NEW*
  
• DarkBlue *NEW*
  
• Orange *NEW*
  
• Brown
  
• Dark Red
  
• Dino Dark Red
  
• Dino Albino
  
• NearBlack
  
• Red
  
• Light Brown
  
• Black
  
• Dino Darker Grey

A message from our Product Manager:

While gamers can sometimes squabble over the little things, like which console is better, the ARK community is nonetheless tightly-knit. It's no surprise then, that when the community loses one of their own, fellow players are eager to reach out and honour the player that has passed away

Over the years, we have received some very touching messages from players who have lost fellow tribe members, family members and friends and chose to share their ways of paying tribute to them in-game with us.

Many of us at Wildcard were touched by a player’s story shared on Reddit about his lovely wife Heather, who passed away suddenly. He and his sister made a tribute to her on Valguero (her favourite map) and shared this screenshot with the community



We put our heads together to come up with a way we could add a lasting memorial to the game for, not only Heather, but for all of the Survivors who have Ascended.

Jackson Lawrence, one of our talented Level Designers, kindly offered to spend his own time creating a lasting memorial and I think his work is just beautiful! I’m humbled to be able to share our new addition to the Valguero map with the community.

Thank you for not only allowing us to entertain you but also for inviting what we created into your lives. As a bunch of people wanting to make something exciting and immersive, we’re honoured when players take that beyond anything we can possibly do to forge their own connections with the game. Our world may not be real but your sentiment and attachment to it is.



We hope our small gesture brings some comfort to players who have lost loved ones.

- Dollie and the Studio Wildcard Team.

Improving the health and stability of our network infrastructure is a huge priority for the team. One of the biggest hurdles we've faced stem from DDoS (distributed denial of service) attacks. These are malicious attacks on our network which lead to server issues such as downtime, poor performance, or not being able to connect. While these attacks are impossible to prevent entirely, the team has spent a considerable amount of engineering time on mitigating these attacks with our hosting partners to reduce the impact they have on your playing experience.

As of the past few weeks, we have deployed some serious enhancements to the system and have such seen a dramatic decrease in server issues related to DDoS attacks on PC, Xbox, and PS4. Although things have improved, we will continue to monitor the overall health of the Official Network and work on advancing the technology to mitigate these attacks.

Preventing character loss remains of utmost importance to us. We've recently implemented the technology (and have had it running live on our Official Network) to auto-restore characters in the event that a server has experienced a rollback. Specifically, if a player has recently transferred to a server and for some reason, that server has done down without saving the world (crashed/restarted), upon it's next start up that character (presuming it hadn't left the server), will be automatically restored. We'll continue to monitor for character loss reports and identify opportunities to advance the auto-restoration technology.

We have identified and fixed the issue causing players to regularly disconnect from Player Dedicated & Non-Dedicated servers on Xbox/Win10 every 30 minutes. The fix will be rolled out the upcoming Turkey Trial update on the 24th of November.

Just a friendly reminder that we're close to the next reset date on Beginner servers, which will take place on December 1st. For those not familiar, Beginner Official Servers are an experience for new ARK players to test the waters without the threat of thoroughly developed tribes.

Unlike our regular servers, these have undergone some changes and will wipe every 8 weeks. First of all, there have been some limitations on how much a player or dino can progress. Player levels hit their cap at 44 and the highest encounter possible for wild creatures is level 30. Tamed creatures can receive up to an additional maximum of 30 levels. Due to the progression limits, some engrams are not achievable through leveling up but are found via supply crates. Some other changes include the disabling of alliances and tribe sizes have been limited to 5 members maximum.

Below are the subsequently planned wipes based on the 8-week wipe schedule:

• January 26
  
• March 23
  
• May 18
  
• July 13
  
• September 7
  
• Nov 2
  
• Dec 28

Don't miss your chance to grab ARK for up to 80% off in the XBOX Black Friday Sale



Get started on your Black Friday shopping with ARK while it is up to 80% off in the Playstation Black Friday Sale!



Survivors on all platforms will be receiving a special Evolution Event perk this weekend! It will be active from Friday the 20th of Nov at 4 PM EST until Tuesday the 8th of December at 3 PM EST. All Official Servers across each platform will be undergoing this evolutionary change which includes:

• 2x Breeding/Maturing/Egg Hatching
  
• 2x Harvesting
  
• 2x Taming
  
• 2x XP

Poglin from ImEnFuego


Brontos Grazing from RoxaneLapa


Parasaurolophus from Drekaava


Crystal Isles: A quiet sunset by Melina799


Reaper Queen from Bob van Dorst (Discord)


From MrMEOLA


Catch you next week!
Studio Wildcard

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

What an eventful week it's been! We hope you had a chance to check out the Extra Life charity stream that happened this past Saturday. A tremendous thanks to the ARK community for helping us raise over $180,000 for sick children. Year after year, the ARK community continues to come together to support a great cause.

Speaking of the Extra Life live stream, In case you missed it we've detailed all of the Genesis 2 reveals below. From Noglin, to the Egg Incubator, the community is having trouble identifying a favorite.

Genesis 2 Extra Life Reveals

During the Extra Life live stream we also revealed that we'll have a special announcement for the ARK community at The Game Awards on December 10th. Be sure to tune in for a special treat from Jeremy and Jesse!

We recently deployed a patch that made changes to structure placing and demolition to help increase server performance.

Previously when replacing a structure, the server had to do complex calculations involving checking all snapped structures to the structure being replaced to verify structural integrity. That calculation has now been eliminated as it is a replacement rather than the placement of a new structure in a new area. This will really only be highly noticeable on servers with large save files

The change to demolishing structures reduced how much is being calculated. It's less complex which makes it less intensive and "cheaper" on the server's performance thereby reducing lag, stalls and/or server drops when demolishing.



There will be no EVO event this week.


The pinnacle of mankind's ingenuity by TheShadowStone


King Of The River by SoldierofFortuna


Snack? by Omgods1


Trashcan McGee (Discord)


DodoRex - Lisalyulf (Discord)


The Noglin by ARION


Nezuyu (Discord)


Catch you next week!
Studio Wildcard

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

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1113410/ARK_Genesis_Season_Pass/

ARK: Genesis Part 2 introduces a vast contiguous world filled with strange new biomes, story missions, and exotic creatures! The final confrontation between the spritely HLN-A and the villainous Sir Edmund Rockwell occurs on a gigantic colony ship traveling through deep space. Players will need to draw on all their ARK experience to succeed.



ARK's largest Expansion Pack yet has game-changing additions for every kind of Survivor: whether it's taking possession of enemies via brain-controlling "Noglin" creatures, zooming around doing radical tricks on the skateboard-like Hoversail, or managing and viewing your base remotely with security cameras, among tons of other new items and creatures!




This expansion pack also introduces new voiceover talent to the ARK universe with David Tennant (Doctor Who, Good Omens) playing the villainous Sir Edmund Rockwell, and Madeleine Madden (The Wheel of Time, Picnic at Hanging Rock, Dora and the Lost City of Gold) taking on the in-game robotic AI companion HLN-A/Helena Walker.




But even with HLN-A's help, will your powerful skills, gear, and tames be sufficient to put a stop to Rockwell's demented plans once and for all? We're about to find out because The End is Near!





We at Studio Wildcard would like to give our heartfelt thanks to our wonderful ARK community for participating in our latest 24-hour ExtraLife charity event!

With the help of our community and ExtraLife team, we placed Top 3 globally and raised over $180,000 for sick children and beat all of our past records by a significant amount, including last year's jaw-dropping $112,206.35! We couldn't have done this without the help of our generous community, our amazing sponsors, and our dedicated community who signed up to join our team.

As with prior ExtraLife events, we take this as an opportunity to share sneak peeks at upcoming content. We revealed a bunch of what we have in store for our players in genesis Part 2 including Creatures, Items, Structures, and the Environment/Biome which we'll go through in this post!

We're excited to take you on a journey into the dark mind of the villainous Rockwell as he strives towards godhood and we very much look forward to sharing more unseen Genesis Part 2 content!

Special Thanks:
Syntac (Raised over $22,800), RoyaleWithCheese (Raised over $7,300), MTSArk (Raised over $6000), RoycePlayers (Raised Over $5000), EliteARK (Raised over $2500), Lilmonsterr (Raised over $2,300), Telmo Sampaio (Raised over $2200), PaceyAU (Raised over $1500), Belle (Raised over $1200), Shockist (Raised over $1100), Project Tiamat (Raised over $1000), KoolKyleLive (Raised over $1000) and so many more (can't name em all!)

Thanks to our sponsors: Blue Microphones, Nvidia, Nitrado, Grove Street Games, Apex Gaming PCs

Special rates

As a further thank you to our community, we will be implementing 2x rates right through to Tuesday 12 PM Pacific/3 PM Eastern.



The Noglin may look cute but don't be fooled! There's a mind-bending surprise in store when it wraps around the noggin of a target -- it enables you to temporarily take control of enemy creatures, tames, or even other humans!


This chimerical prowler has powerful group-cloaking abilities for all your sneaking-needs, while also making use of a lightning-fast chain-teleport-strike that can decimate groups of targets. By the time its victims are aware of its presence, it's often already too late!


Better brush up on your hacking skills to claim one of these giant mechanical Stryders! Patrolling the colony ship, they are outfitted with a variety of randomized individual components across their body, which gives each Stryder a different potential set of unique skills whether in defense, offense, or utility!


This curious extraterrestrial creature may look like the cetaceans that once swam in Earth's oceans, but they seem to be at home in the interstellar medium, far from any planet's surface. Place the versatile Tekwing saddle on them, and they're a veritable fighter spacecraft capable of blasting targets out of the sky with lasers or homing charges or bombing them into oblivion. And yes, they can do a shot-repelling barrel roll!

Some old friends will be making a reappearance in Genesis Part 2 -- here's an early look at our GEN-X variants, which include new versions of many previous expansions' creatures!




You've never really traveled until you've tried hoversailing! There's no better way to get yourself across the ring than jumping on one of these hi-tek boards and surfing the air currents, and no better feeling than skimming the skies to find the perfect tailwind while nailing flashy tricks to boost your speed!


Run into trouble aboard the ship? The Federation issue TEK bow materializes arrows of any type on the fly and uses electromagnetism to shoot them at blinding velocities.


Suit up, survivor! You'll find this to be an upgrade from what you experienced wearing inside the Genesis simulation. This sleek, hi-tek exo-armor should protect you in a variety of otherwise lethal situations -- and best of all, on Genesis Part 2, this suit has unlimited jetpack power without the need for Element -- and Flyers are also fully supported this time around!


Not simply just for recreation, you can pick your canoe up and place it down again in any body of water. With multiple rowers working in tandem, the canoe can travel exceptionally fast. Fishing from a canoe is especially convenient, as is the built-in cooking pot!


Need a massive barrage of bullets to keep your enemies under pressure? What this Minigun lacks in accuracy and tendency to overheat, it makes up for in sheer firepower. Place it in stationary mode to improve its accuracy and clear targets around corners!


Each crew member will be issued a Federation phase pistol, equipped with multiple lethality settings. Take care not to aim one of these in the vicinity of any crewmate or shipboard fauna, unless it is set to healing or stun mode



Who needs to fuss with eggs when you can use the fantastical mechanical egg incubation device to cook them to perfection? This device lets you view all the statistics and mutations of eggs and incubate them at an optimal temperature while hatching them at your convenience!


This handy new structure will automatically fill all nearby turrets with all the varieties of ammunition, while its floating HUD shows you its total ammo stats without the need to open the inventory (and also reflected visually with the ammunition models displayed on it).


Secure your base in Genesis Part 2 with the Remote Camera Security System. Issue commands, view, and communicate all from a remote location. You can even use them to spy-on and communicate with your enemies!


No need to scream "who moved my kit from my vault?" at your tribe mates again while your turrets are soaked and you run in circles. Kit up quick and get to those griefers by storing your loadouts on trusty Loadout Mannequins, which also visualize your gear and hotbar items, for a single-press full equipment swap!


Want to take up gardening aboard ship? Crew members can make use of this hi-tek crop plot to efficiently raise harvestable plants just about anywhere!


Welcome to your new home, survivor! You've been returned to life aboard this immense vessel representing the pinnacle of mankind's ingenuity... What could have motivated so desperate a measure, to cast all of nature itself adrift in this interstellar lifeboat?




The idyllic sunlit meadows and rolling hills of this tranquil biome show little to indicate what's in store under the influence of Rockwell's insanity.


Enjoying this view, survivor? Perhaps you'd fancy a stroll along this promenade? Don't be shy -- those bridges are spacious enough for any beast you've tamed, and its observation towers offer the best vantage of the sprawling artificial gardens you see before you.


Creation is an exhilarating undertaking, one of the incomparable perquisites of godhood. I'm afraid you won't find much in the way of creature comforts here. This garden isn't meant for you, after all...


"How foolish you are, to have scurried into my inner sanctum. Did you truly expect to evade my notice here? I am this place now. And you're merely a parasite."

And of course, this isn't everything there is to see about Genesis Part 2! We have so much more in store and can't for you to check it out in March 2021! Thank you once again for tuning in this weekend and for all your fundraising efforts to help sick kids! We couldn't be more proud of our community.


TLC Pass 3 finds its way marching through the ARK with some tender loving care for some old friends; the Mammoth and Stegosaurus have received varied gameplay and visual upgrades! This update also includes a bunch of Quality of Life changes to make your time on the ARK more enjoyable!



War Drum Saddle and Buff

• 1 additional passenger seat on a saddle that comes equipped with a war drum that must be played to maintain an AoE buff that improves stamina regen and makes them immune to fear.

Tusk Sweep

• Sweeps tusks left or right to gather and harvest thatch

Trunk Trumpet

• Emits a trunk roar that does an AOE debuff to all enemies within range which reduces damage dealt and increases damage taken
  
• After stepping in water, the next Trunk Trumpet used by the Mammoth will spray the rider with water, hydrating them, removing fire debuffs, and reducing their temperature.

Foot Stomp

• Mammoth rears up and then puts all of its weight into a forward “slam” with its front legs to directionally knock back enemies and gather wood

Trunk Grab

• Similar to the Karkinos’s grab, it is able to grab, hold, aim and release smaller targets

Backplate Modes
Backplate passive buff and can switch between three modes. Different modes will be indicated visually

• Hardened Plated: Applies a damage reduction buff; Wood harvesting benefit
  
• Heavy Plate Mode: Applies a slow when attacking with the basic tail whip; Thatch harvesting benefit
  
• Sharpened Plate Mode: Applies an armor penetration effect when attacking with the tail whip. Also useful for harvesting berries

Impaling Tail Whip

• Able to impale and immobilize players and smaller creatures

Impaling Tail Whip

• The rider is prevented from dismounting effects and attacks
  
• Has a berry weight reduction buff

The insects and creatures that can now be bred are: Spider, Onyc, Moth, Scorpion, Arthropluera, Mantis and the mighty Wyverns!

The new (Wyvern are unchanged) hatching/gestation and maturation times are as follows:

• Egg Hatch Time: 1 hour and 25 minutes (Matches Pachy)
  
• Total Maturation Time: 1 day, 1 hour, and 1 minute (Matches Dimorph)

• Total Gestation Time: 3 hours and 58 minutes (Matches Procoptodon)
  
• Total Maturation Time: 1day, 4 hours, and 3 minutes (Matches Kairuku)

• Egg Hatch Time: 1 hour and 30 minutes (Matches Kairuku)
  
• Total Maturation Time: 1 day, 6 hours, and 51 minutes (Matches Pegomastax)

• Egg Hatch Time: 1 hour and 59 minutes (Matches Raptor)
  
• Total Maturation Time: 1 day, 13 hours, and 12 minutes (Matches Raptor)

• Egg Hatch Time: 2 hours and 29 minutes (Matches Sarco)
  
• Total Maturation Time: 2 days, 3 hours, and 26 minutes (Matches Stego)

• Egg Hatch Time: 2 hours and 46 minutes (Matches Stego)
  
• Total Maturation Time: 2 days, 6 hours, and 27 minutes (Matches Tapejara)

In addition to insect breeding, we went back and showed some love to a few of ARK's well-known inhabitants.

• Reduced maturation time by approximately 15% (Total growth is around 10~ days)

• Increased base health by 33% (from 190 to 250.3)
  
• Increased movement speed when ridden by 25%

• Added a (slow draining) bleed to its basic attack

• Reduced depth requirement for breeding so that it can be bred on other maps

• Wyverns are now breedable (Zombie Wyverns cannot be bred)
  
• Slight stat rebalance now that they’re breedable and to bring them in line with Crystal Wyverns

• Reduced gestation/aging times to match Megaloceros
  
• Pack Bonus: Damage Reduction and Damage Increase per pack member within range
  
• Added a bleed to its basic attack

• Increase base weight capacity from 55 to 120 (Matches Bulbdog)

• Increase metal weight reduction by 10% (from total reduction of 75% to 85%)

• You can now turn when rolling with a Doed (similarly to the Genesis Race Mission)

• Now has eyes

Use the interactive taming HUD to monitor your unconscious wild tamable creatures. Keep track of the following:

• Creature's Gender and Level
  
• Taming and Unconscious Progress
  
• Taming Effectiveness
  
• Current Health and Food status.
  
• Distance from your location
  
• An option to track specific creatures via in-world waypoints (which can be hovered for an over-screen overlay displaying additional information).

We’ve decided to increase the Boss Element reward on some maps to bring the Ele more into line with where we’re at with new expansions.

• Element reward from The Island bosses has been increased by 100%
  
• Element reward from The Center bosses has been increased by 100%
  
• Element reward from Scorched Earth has been increased by 50%

A quick and easy way to update the settings of your nearby turrets within a radius. It’s set to currently match the Official Server Turret Limit radius, but players can also toggle viewing the radius on/off. The current functionality it supports is as follows:

• The ability to set a pin code to all turrets in range
  
• The ability to copy settings to all turrets in range
  
• The ability to copy settings to pin code-selected turrets in range
  
• The settings which can be copied are: power state, range, targeting, warning

• Fixed a bug where HLN-A would jitter a lot at low client fps
  
• Fixed a bug which allowed you to blow up 2 pieces of C4 without consuming them
  
• Fixed the Onyx having the wrong icon
  
• Fixed a lot of typos
  
• Fixed a shoulder pet offset issue with the Ferox on the Gigantopithecus
  
• Fixed a bug on localized/translated Cryopods which prevented it from displaying the correct information
  
• Fixed multiple level-design related bugs such as holes, floating foliage, incorrect volumes, etc.
  
• Fixed a bug which prevented you from placing Cliff Platform structures in the Genesis Part 1 Ocean Biome
  
• Fixed a bug which broke biome specific overrides
  
• Fixed a bug which allowed players to fly across the map with certain creatures and grappling hooks
  
• Completely disabled the option to set teleporters as Public on Official PvP (including using them).
  
• New Dynamic Ini options: HexagonRewardMultiplier (multiplies hex rewards for missions), BabyImprintAmountMultiplier, and BabyCuddleIntervalMultiplier
  
• Hotkey for GCM demolished has changed to "G" when using keyboard and mouse

As we reach various donation goals, we will increase the Official Server Network rates. We'll also be extending the event past the regular 24 hours as a gesture towards those with slower connections who may be downloading for a portion of the livestream.

If you are interested in joining our team to help raise money, we'd love to have you! Check out this link for more information on how to get started. All donations go to the Extra Life organization and contribute to raising the Official Network rates!



For specialized game modes, we'll be using the rates below:



And of course, this isn't everything there is to see about Genesis Part 2! We have so much more in store and can't for you to check it out in March 2021! Thank you once again for tuning in this weekend and for all your fundraising efforts to help sick kids! We couldn't be more proud of our community.

All the best!
Studio Wildcard

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

Get ready, our 24-hour Extra Life stream is approaching on November 7th at 10AM PST. We're anxious to beat or prior year record of $112,206.35 and see what good we can do for the kids through gaming and giving.

We'll be coming to you live from our Seattle Studio to bring 24 hours of entertainment, giveaways, Collector’s Edition boxes, game keys, and much more! You don't want to miss out because at the top of the hour, every hour, we will be sharing juicy Genesis 2 details and teasers. If you want to know what's in store for Genesis II, be sure to tune in!

• Genesis updates from the ARK team every hour!
  
• IRL games and mischief
  
• ARK developer interviews
  
• Updates from the ARK Modding Community
  
• Official server rates bonuses as we reach our donation goals

• Studio Wildcard Goodie Bags!
  
• Sponsor Giveaways!
  
• Collector's Editions periodically throughout the Extra Life stream!
  
• Genesis Season Pass giveaway periodically throughout the Extra Life stream!
  
• ARK:Mobile Giveaways!
  
• Milestones for increased ARK rates until end of Extra Life
  
• Every person that donates to our team will receive a special SurviveTheARK forum badge (redeemable by a code via email). Donators over $500 USD will receive a special gold version badge!
  
• Donations over $2,500 USD will be added to the ARK permanently as "Extra Life Superfan"

As we reach various donation goals, we will increase the Official Server Network rates. If you're an ARK: Survival Evolved Mobile survivor, you're in luck! Our friends over at Grove Street Games will be matching our final rates for at least 24 hours at the close of our stream at 10am PST on Sunday, November 8th. We'll be extending the event past the regular 24 hours as a gesture towards those with slower connections who may be downloading for a portion of the livestream.

If you are interested in joining our team to help raise money, we'd love to have you! Check out this link for more information on how to get started. All donations go to the Extra Life organization and contribute to raising the Official Network rates!



For specialized game modes, we'll be using the rates below:



November 7th also marks the date that the Tender Loving Care 3 update will be reaching PC, Xbox, and PS4. Aside from the dedicated reworks of the Stego and Mammoth you may have seen in prior Community Crunches, we’ve added a bunch of Quality of Life changes to make your time on the ARK more enjoyable. Check out this thread for more information!

We'll be keeping you up to date as we hit our donation goals and increase rates on the Official Network but we'd love for the entire community to come and hang out with us while we raise money for a great cause. Pop a squat in our Official Discord or hang out in our Twitch chat when the action starts.



Looking to expand your tribe? Introduce your friends to the world of ARK for free from Thursday, November 5th until Monday, November 9th.

Begin your quest for survival with a free-play weekend!



Wishing for an ARK sale on Steam? Your wish is our command!

Grab ARK for up to 75% off as part of the Steam sale!




SOTF 2: Revival Mod is a community effort to pick up where SOTF left off. The team has made many QoL changes based on community efforts and even hosts tournaments! If you were a fan of the original SOTF, this community made revival may be just what you are looking for!

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2097253226



[HG]Hulk has created a lot of utility and other mods with very focused scopes. Now they have added a wonderful set of clean futuristic building pieces. prefabricated structures, domed rooms, and clean line architecture everywhere.
A e s t h e t i c

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2116500182



ARK Chaos Creator is a unique addition to the sponsorship program; this isn't just a mod for ARK, the Chaos Creator mod will open a line from a twitch stream right to the game. Stream viewers can influence the game for the streamer either making things more difficult, giving them useful (Or sometimes ridiculously chaotic) gifts, or spawning a bunch of mayhem directly on top of them. There is also a version in the works to allow content creators to use channel points instead of bits if they choose.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2187784730



Survivors on all platforms will be receiving a special Evolution Event on November 7th 10AM PST. See above for details on the Extra Life event and specifics on the rates.


Dont Move! by sis_6193


Titano Taming Pen by ThePilgrim


Megalosaurus (Night Hunter) by GuidiNox


Raptor Shrine by skywalker81 (Discord)


Dodowyvern by nezuyu


We can't wait to see you for Extra Life on November 7th!
Studio Wildcard

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Welcome to a spooky edition of the Community Crunch and Happy Halloween!



What better time to introduce you to a creepily cute new creature preparing to make its debut on the ARK for Genesis 2. Would that adorable face mean you any harm? Of course not!

Stay posted for more exciting Genesis 2 reveals and teasers during our Extra Life stream!

...speaking of...

We are gearing up for another year of Extra Life. The Extra Life charity stream is a 24-hour stream where all proceeds directly benefit children in need. This year's Extra Life event kicks off on November 7th at 10 AM PST! Expect prizes and giveaways like Collector's Edition's, boosted Official Network rates, and sneak peeks at upcoming content. We also have some very special guests lined up to make an appearance and it's something we don't think you'll want to miss! The rates for the Extra Life event are listed below. Can we hit a billion?



You can sign up to the Studio Wildcard Extra Life team here

And you can read all about Extra Life here


November 7th also marks the date of the much-awaited Tender Loving Care 3 patch. We can't wait to get the turbo-boosted Wolly Mammoth and Stego into your hands along with some juicy Quality of Life additions! Read more about what's included below:
https://survivetheark.com/index.php?/articles.html/community-crunch-243-tender-loving-care-3-details-official-server-maintenance-and-more-r1658/


This past week, we completed an Official Network upgrade that will have a positive effect on all platforms. The intent of the upgrade was to resolve problems relating to character loss, player timeout, latency, and failure to download or upload player data. We thank you for your understanding and patience as the upgrade came with a brief interruption in service on the Official Network. Ensuring a smooth playing experience on the Official Network remains a top priority.



Survivors on all platforms will be receiving a special Evolution Event perk this weekend! It will be active from Thursday the 22nd of Oct at 4 PM EST until Friday the 6th of Nov at 3 PM EST. All Official Servers across each platform will be undergoing this evolutionary change which includes:

• 2x Breeding/Maturing/Egg Hatching
  
• 2x Harvesting
  
• 2x Taming
  
• 2x XP

Zombie Wyvern by PicturesofArk


Jerboa by Amberghini


My Tribe Mate and I by Trashcan Mcgee (Discord)


Wild Caard, notice me! by Timidd (Discord)


Architecture Fun by Gamecruisers


Arks theropod offspring by Apal (Discord)


Wyvern by kawarayane


Have a safe and happy Halloween!
Studio Wildcard

Twitter: twitter.com/survivetheark
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Our Tender Loving Care 3 update approaches on November 7th and, aside from the dedicated reworks of the Stego and Mammoth, we’ve added a bunch of Quality of Life changes to make your time on the ARK more enjoyable.

We’re particularly excited about introducing insect and wyvern breeding to the game and look forward to players getting their new breedlines goin!. We’re aware these creatures may need some balance once breedlines get underway and we’ll monitor and adjust as necessary.



The insects and creatures that can now be bred are: Spider, Onyc, Moth, Scorpion, Arthropluera, Mantis and the mighty Wyverns!

The new (Wyvern are unchanged) hatching/gestation and maturation times are as follows:

• Egg Hatch Time: 1 hour and 25 minutes (Matches Pachy)
  
• Total Maturation Time: 1 day, 1 hour, and 1 minute (Matches Dimorph)

• Total Gestation Time: 3 hours and 58 minutes (Matches Procoptodon)
  
• Total Maturation Time: 1day, 4 hours, and 3 minutes (Matches Kairuku)

• Egg Hatch Time: 1 hour and 30 minutes (Matches Kairuku)
  
• Total Maturation Time: 1 day, 6 hours, and 51 minutes (Matches Pegomastax)

• Egg Hatch Time: 1 hour and 59 minutes (Matches Raptor)
  
• Total Maturation Time: 1 day, 13 hours, and 12 minutes (Matches Raptor)

• Egg Hatch Time: 2 hours and 29 minutes (Matches Sarco)
  
• Total Maturation Time: 2 days, 3 hours, and 26 minutes (Matches Stego)

• Egg Hatch Time: 2 hours and 46 minutes (Matches Stego)
  
• Total Maturation Time: 2 days, 6 hours, and 27 minutes (Matches Tapejara)

• In addition to insect breeding, we went back and showed some love to a few of ARK's well-known inhabitants.

• Reduced maturation time by approximately 15% (Total growth is around 10~ days)

• Increased base health by 33% (from 190 to 250.3)
  
• Increased movement speed when ridden by 25%

• Added a (slow draining) bleed to its basic attack

• Reduced depth requirement for breeding so that it can be bred on other maps

• Wyverns are now breedable (Zombie Wyverns cannot be bred)
  
• Slight stat rebalance now that they’re breedable and to bring them in line with Crystal Wyverns

• Reduced gestation/aging times to match Megaloceros
  
• Pack Bonus: Damage Reduction and Damage Increase per pack member within range
  
• Added a bleed to its basic attack

• Increase base weight capacity from 55 to 120 (Matches Bulbdog)

• Increase metal weight reduction by 10% (from total reduction of 75% to 85%)

• You can now turn when rolling with a Doed (similarly to the Genesis Race Mission)

• Now has eyes

Use the interactive taming HUD to monitor your unconscious wild tamable creatures. Keep track of the following:

• Creature's Gender and Level
  
• Taming and Unconscious Progress
  
• Taming Effectiveness
  
• Current Health and Food status.
  
• Distance from your location
  
• An option to track specific creatures via in-world waypoints (which can be hovered for an over-screen overlay displaying additional information).

We’ve decided to increase the Boss Element reward on some maps to bring the Ele more into line with where we’re at with new expansions.

• Element reward from The Island bosses has been increased by 100%
  
• Element reward from The Center bosses has been increased by 100%
  
• Element reward from Scorched Earth has been increased by 50%

A quick and easy way to update the settings of your nearby turrets within a radius. It’s set to currently match the Official Server Turret Limit radius, but players can also toggle viewing the radius on/off. The current functionality it supports is as follows:

• The ability to set a pin code to all turrets in range
  
• The ability to copy settings to all turrets in range
  
• The ability to copy settings to pin code-selected turrets in range
  
• The settings which can be copied are: power state, range, targeting, warning

We are anxious to get these community requests and quality of life improvements into your hands! The Tender Loving Care 3 update launches on November 7th on all platforms! We realize the TLC patch releasing at the same time as Extra Life is less than ideal for players. To compensate, we'll be extending the duration of the Extra Life boosted rates so everyone can enjoy the boost!


Next week on Tuesday/Wednesday the 27th/28th, we plan to upgrade our Server Transfer infrastructure. The intent behind these upgrades is to resolve problems with character loss, player timeout, latency, and failure to download or upload player data at times.

We've recently put a lot of time into refining the transfer logic, and combined with the hardware upgrades; we should see some significant improvements with our Official Servers. Our goal is to get these upgrades to you as soon as possible, particularly before our Extra Life weekend, where we expect a lot of player transfer footprint to take place so that our servers and transfers are running as smoothly as possible.

We anticipate that the TRANSFER downtime could last up to 24 hours, and this could be simultaneously on PC, Xbox, and PS4 or take place one after the other. We will provide a more specific timeline of when this update will take place per platform early next week.



Survivors on all platforms will be receiving a special Evolution Event perk this weekend! It will be active from Thursday the 22nd of Oct at 4 PM EST until Friday the 6th of Nov at 3 PM EST. All Official Servers across each platform will be undergoing this evolutionary change which includes:

• 2x Breeding/Maturing/Egg Hatching
  
• 2x Harvesting
  
• 2x Taming
  
• 2x XP

Ravager by bluedragonark


Velonasaur Variant by Nisis


Snow Owl by Allomro_395


Inktober 2020: Day 15 by vernhestand


Deinonychus by dra


Atmosphere May Inn and Uzi by kawarayane


Catch you on the flip side!
Studio Wildcard

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

The Extra Life charity event and TLC 3, the community has been asking "when" and we're here to deliver.


Download in high resolution

Check out your new ride! Twin ceramic rotor drives on each wheel! And these look like computer controlled anti-lock brakes! Wow, 200 horses at 12,000 RPM! Looks a bit...fishy...to us. Tune into our Extra Life event for some epic Genesis 2 reveals.



TLC 3 is getting close, Saturday, 7th November at 10 AM PST to be exact!

We have much in store for our players: The Mammoth and Stego revamp including visual and functional upgrades, some creepy crawly evolutions, and various QoL additions. Stay posted for more details on what will be included in TLC 3 in next week's Community Crunch!


We'll be adjusting our boosted rates for the event! From the 22nd of October through to November the 6th, the Official ARK network will be receiving a spectral treat with:

• 2X Breeding (mating interval, egg hatch speed, and maturation)
  
• 2X XP
  
• 2X Harvesting
  
• 2X Taming

Our 24 hour Extra Life stream is fast approaching and we invite everyone from the community to join us for a great cause. Let’s try to beat or prior year record of $112,206.35 and see what we can raise for the kids through gaming and giving. This year's ExtraLife event kicks off on November 7th at 10 AM PST!

We'll be coming to you live from our Seattle Studio to bring 24 hours of entertainment, giveaways, Collector’s Edition boxes, game keys, and much more! Whether you’re a streamer, a donor or just keen to be along for the ride, we’d love to have you!



Like prior events, we will be enabling boosted rates for all players on our Official Networks. These rates increase incrementally as each fundraising milestone is reached. Further details on milestones and rates will be shared closer to the start of the event.

If you’re feeling heroic, and want to support the event with your own stream and donation goals, sign up, and let’s raise some money for the kids! Gather your tribes, alliances, and stimberries, and feel free to hop into the official ARK discord for an epic 24hr adventure!

If you'd like to join the cause and help us fundraise or contribute a donation, check out our Extra Life page!





Survivors on all platforms will be receiving a special Evolution Event perk this weekend! It will be active from Friday the 16th of Oct at 4 PM EST until Monday the 19th of Oct at 3 PM EST. All Official Servers across each platform will be undergoing this evolutionary change which includes:

• 2x Breeding/Maturing
  
• 2x XP

Gallimimus by kawarayane


Ember by stray-galaxy


Outpost by FaFpNd


Managarmr Watercolor by Marbleschu


Tiamat by ProjectTiamat


Crystal Wyvern Queen by AnuDoriniTalah


Yutyrannus by sangwiss16


TEK Raptor Building by skywalker81 (Discord)


Catch you next week!
Studio Wildcard

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

It's time to Trick or Treat whilst howling under the blood moon! The Dodorex and Dodowyvern will be striking fear into the hearts of Survivors with their fearsome return to the ARK! Hunt for new diabolical chibis, spectral creature skins, event themed threads, and new holiday emotes. Fear Evolved is one of our favorite events and we can't wait for you to experience what we've conjured up this year!

This event can be manually activated with the server arg parameter: -ActiveEvent=FearEvolved

• October 22nd to November 6th

• 2X Breeding (mating interval, egg hatch speed, and maturation)
  
• 2X Player XP

In addition to some of the past favorites from Fear Evolved, survivors will find themselves on the hunt for 11 new spooky themed chibi's to add to their growing collection and 7 new ghostly dinosaur skins.

• DodoRex (Untamable Boss)
  
• DodoWyvern (Untamable Boss)
  
• Zomdodo
  
• Zombie Fire Wyvern (claimable & persist after Fear Evolved)
  
• Zombie Lightning Wyvern (claimable & persist after Fear Evolved)
  
• Zombie Poison Wyvern (claimable & persist after Fear Evolved)
  
• Skeletal Giganotosaurus
  
• Skeletal Quetzal
  
• Skeletal Jerboa
  
• Bone Fire Wyvern
  
• Skeletal Bronto
  
• Skeletal Stego
  
• Skeletal Trike
  
• Skeletal Raptor
  
• Skeletal Rex
  
• Skeletal Carnotaurus
  
• Ghost Reaper (Surface reapers) *new*
  
• Ghost Bulbdog *new*
  
• Ghost Rex *new*
  
• Ghost Basilisk *new*
  
• Ghost Snow Owl *new*
  
• Ghost Mantis *new*
  
• Ghost Direwolf *new*

• Skeletal Giganotosaurus *new*
  
• Skeletal Quetzal *new*
  
• Skeletal Jerboa *new*
  
• Skeletal Bronto *new*
  
• Skeletal Stego *new*
  
• Skeletal Trike *new*
  
• Skeletal Raptor *new*
  
• Skeletal Rex *new*
  
• Skeletal Carnotaurus *new*
  
• Bone Wyvern *new*
  
• Zombie Wyvern *new*

• Reaper *new*
  
• Bulbdog *new*
  
• Rex *new*
  
• Basilisk *new*
  
• Snow Owl *new*
  
• Mantis *new*
  
• Direwolf *new*

• Pumpkin
  
• Stolen Headstone
  
• Scarecrow
  
• Dinosaur Bone
  
• Dino Candy Corn

• Scare Emote *new*
  
• Knock Emote *new*
  
• Panic Emote
  
• Dance Emote
  
• Zombie Emote

• Reaper Swimsuit Skin *new*
  
• Jack-O-Lantern Swimsuit Skin *new*
  
• Pumpkin Helmet Skin
  
• Headless Costume Skin
  
• Hockey Mask Skin
  
• Araneo Swimsuit Skins
  
• Onyc Swimsuit Skins
  
• Vampire Dodo Swimsuit Skins

• Dino Darker Grey
  
• Dino Light Blue
  
• Dino Dark Yellow
  
• DragonBase1
  
• Light Brown
  
• Light Grey
  
• Dino Light Brown
  
• Dino Dark Brown
  
• DragonFire
  
• Vermillion *new*
  
• ActualBlack *new*
  
• MidnightBlue *new*
  
• MediumAutumn *new*
  
• DarkWarmGray *new*
  
• Orange *new*
  
• DarkLavender *new*
  
• Jade *new*

The latest major PC version supports our Initial Implementation of the 'Live Tuning' system. The 'Live Tuning' system is a dynamic configuration system which will allow server hosts to easily modify supported game properties without the need for mods. All that is required is a simple edit of a json file, and you're good to go! As you can imagine, this new dynamic configuration system will provide useful options for server administrators, especially as we grow it out to support more properties.

For the modding community, this system is also very powerful. Modders may have actually seen it before in the property details panel. When you add variables there is a checkbox for "Live-Tunable". Checking that box on properties will opt them into the system. By doing so, this will allow server owners to tweak mod settings on the fly without the need for mod updates.

As the system evolves, we hope to add more options and expose more values to tweak. The 'Live Tuning' system provides ways for server administrators to offer dynamic events in a quick, simple, and straightforward way. For more information on the 'Live Tuning' system and how to set it up, check out the following thread. We'll be adding more details as the system continues to expand:

https://survivetheark.com/index.php?/forums/topic/569366-server-configuration-live-tuning-system/



One of our constant priorities is monitoring the live-game and server reliability. Over the past few weeks, we've noticed an increase in reports about server instability. The causes of server instability may range but our engineering team has been hard at work diagnosing the root causes.

In a past Community Crunch we noted that we've been working on technical changes behind the scenes to increase server performance and mitigate some of the attacks we're seeing against the servers. We've made improvements to mesh detection, added more protection against DDOS, and fixed various exploits/cheats that could be used to intentionally crash servers. Since deploying those changes we have seen a noticeable decrease in some of the server instability reports and attacks we were seeing. Although things have improved, we will continue to work against malicious players who intend to ruin the experience for others.

We've made some changes with a focus on improving performance. This reworks how structures are loaded/unloaded on the server. The simple idea is that fewer calculations take place at a given time with the new system so the server doesn't have to do as much. Something to note is that the performance gains are more noticeable when more active structures are present (so think really busy, large bases) and an increased number of players on a server.

The structures are now broken up into a grid, when a player logs in they are assigned grid cells appropriate to their location, and the structures in those cells are loaded. That way not all are loaded.

This setting is enabled by default on Official Servers, and Unofficials can now opt-into using the new system too by setting the following server parameter in their commandline:

-UseStructureStasisGrid

This will work on both PC and Console, but we highly recommend that it is not used on servers with mods, as there are some assumptions made about structures in stasis and this could cause issues with modded content, however in a future devkit update, you'll be able to opt said structures out of the system to avoid the issues.

TLDR: Predominantly busy servers with a lot of players and big bases will be seeing the most significant performance gains.



Our Official ARK Discord launched a few weeks ago and it's thriving with 35k users already! If you'd like to get in on the action for updates, patch notes, a community hub, bulletin board, and sometimes chatting with us, you can join on the invite below!

https://discord.gg/playark



Survivors on all platforms will be receiving a special Evolution Event perk this weekend! It will be active from Friday the 9th of Oct at 3 PM EST until Monday the 12th of Oct at 3 PM EST. All Official Servers across each platform will be undergoing this evolutionary change which includes:

• 2x Breeding/Maturing
  
• 2x XP

Winston


Sith


Kawaranaye


FireRayDragon


Saurvax


moon0w0


Bandi

We're always thrilled to see what our talented Community create and love sharing your fanart. Keep it coming!




Until next time!
Studio Wildcard

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