Survival of the Fittest Starters Guide

[Skywise]

So your interested in trying out Survival of the Fittest?  Awesome!!

 

 

Here are some helpful starter tactics that I have picked.

 

Very first thing to note..  You are going to Die!  You will probably die a lot.   Don't get discouraged death is a common thing in Ark.

 

Prior to starting the match determine what you want to do:

Tech up:  Where you create a camp and advance your weaponry and armor as fast as possible.  This usually results in you getting to full chitin armor and firearms. (is dependent on access to iron)

Tamer: This is where you try to tame the world.  Your focus is on taming and leveling your dinos.  Should end with a high level dino gang and chitin armor.

Hunter:  You’re ever on the move and should be going after the different drops and hunting survivors.  (You need to go for drops to advance your gear, also helps if you can get an early tame on a fast mount.)

Platform Camper:  This revolves around staying near the center platform to collect mega drops and tame the dragon. Normal most people will tame a few dinos that are around the center island and bring them to the top and then throw down a small building to hide in.

 

You should have each one of these goals on your mind but defiantly make one a priority.  (Teching up is my favorite style which results in me taming dinos for utility more (trikes for berries and as pack mules) and hoping for that random carnivore to wander by.)

 

So once you have kind of figured out what you want to do in game now it’s time to find a sort of safe spot to do it at.  Finding the perfect spot for you is a lot of trial and error, and it’s important to remember no spots 100% safe.  Many times you can go to what you thought was a safe spot and have a Trex or some other carnivores hanging out all around it. Some things to note about finding a spot, one there is a Dome around the whole island that is constantly shrinking.  So the farther you go out the less time you'll have there.

 

Now its game time, the game is about to start you have some sort of idea what you want to try and do and where to go.  How do you survive that first 30mins of the game?

• First decide if you’re going to run to the middle and try for some gear or if you’re going to high tale it to your spot.  (One deciding factor for me is the amount of players starting and spot location.  If its 40+ players I won’t bother with the middle unless I need to run through it to get to my spot.)

 

*Note: the items in the middle can be (Water skin, Rocks, Stone arrows, Tranq Arrows, Bow, Cooked meat, Metal Pick, Metal Hatchet, Spear. I might have missed a couple.)

 

• As you’re floating down decided on which path you’re going to take to get to your desired destination.  Then hit the ground running!! 
• No matter what direction you are heading, be sure to be collecting as you are running.  This will give level ups as your on the move as well and materials and food for when you setup camp.  (Beware of over collecting Rocks tho.)
• So as you’re heading to your spot, I recommend you find a safe spot in the woods to do some engrams and craft some tools, armor and a weapon or two.  (I always look for some nice big rocks or a lot of bushes for me to hide in while I do this.  (When you are in your menu you are very vulnerable, so I recommend trying to hide some.)

 

*Note: I recommend you crafting a pick axe, cloth hat, chest and legs.  Go hit a tree and rock a few times with the pick axe and then make a hatchet and three spears.  I recommend 3 spears because they can break at the worse moments and they are fun to throw.

 

• So you survived the run and you are at your new home…  Now it’s time to really work.   A lot of first timers get somewhat over whelmed at this point because of all the tasks at hand.  If you’re planning on staying you need to get some security.  The best way to do this is get levels!!  (Usually by the time you are at your base you are anywhere between lvl 5-10.  If you aren’t 10 I recommend you start gathering more to level. Once level 10 i find that making bows is the best experience because you should have a excess amount of fiber and all you need is wood then.  
• Decided if you want a thatch house or go straight for wood.  I personally don’t recommend upgrading unless you have to if you do thatch.  I also recommend your place being at least a 2x2 box, so you have room to place all your stuff.
• As you are building your “house” keep an eye out for dino’s.  You are going to want to start taming right away as well.  See what’s around and go bring it down to tame.  Having some dino’s will help in case you get attacked.  (Also a Dino on the ground makes a great storage place.

At this point your on your own!!  

 

Some things to always remember:

1. You aren't alone, there are always other survivors around so don't get complacent
2. You are going to die!  Don't stress it!  (I die all the time to random things)
3. Pay attention to the different events that happen.  (I have died more then id like to admit to Mega Cold and Mega Heat because i wasn't paying attention)
4. Learn to use the different whistles in the game and hot key them to faster key binds
5. Loot drops are for the most part worth while.
6. Learn to crouch and lay down, it just may save your life.
7. Play the way that is fun to you, push the limits of the game..  Tame a dodo army and become victorious!!
8. Finally its always more fun to play on a team with others!

 

Always remember..     The goal isn’t just to survive but to be the fittest survivor.  Meaning at some point you will be in conflict with other survivors.. 

 

Also COTP has a private SOTF server that anyone can play on and practice their mad SOTF skills.. 

 

Hope this guide helped you out some.  Good luck!!!!

 

 

The different Evolution Events:

Mega-Cold – Extreme cold that can kill you in minutes if you’re not wearing insulated gear (hide) or near a source of heat (fire). A torch can also provide a small boost of heat if you’re not near any other sources.

Mega-Heat – The opposite of mega-cold, mega heat will quickly fry and dehydrate you if you don’t stay near the water and/or have heavy flak or chitin armor on. You should try to stay near water if you can, as submersing yourself in it will provide a quick cool down.

Carnivore Dino Drop – A random species of carnivorous dinosaur is dropped in large numbers all over the arena. This could be anything from a raptor to a Rex, so either get to high ground, arm yourself for battle, or mount up on a dinosaur for safety.

Survivor Tracker – Places a large yellow pillar above the location of every player still alive. If you’re trying to hunt down other players this is great, if you’re trying to hide not so much.

Mega-Fog – An intense fog blankets the entire arena. This fog makes it almost impossible to see where you’re going. Your best bet is to hunker down where you are until it clears.

Beast Within – Sends all of the wild creatures into a frenzy setting them to aggressive. Approaching any non-tamed dinosaur will cause them to attack you on sight.

Harvest Famine – Reduces the rate at which you harvest materials like berries, wood, metal and stone.

Day/ Night Swap – Not really a helpful or a harmful event, this one swaps day with night and night with day. Can be a pain if it swaps it to night in the middle of a fight or while there is a mega-fog.

Herbivore Drop – Just like the carnivore drop except it’s plant eaters this time. The only downside of this one can be if it’s brontos that get dropped as they can really interfere with any fights/ farming you’re doing.

Harvest Bounty – Greatly increases the rate at which you harvest materials like berries, wood, stone and metal.

Super Loot Crate – An extra large crate of goods that falls to the center platform. Usually contains large numbers of the more powerful goods you can get in SOTF, like guns, flak armor and some of the more rare saddles.

Dragon – when the powerful dragon swoops into the center platform any tribe with meat can tame it. The dragon does not agro until it is tamed, but because many players will be vying for it, you should try to have at least 2 or 3 teammates to protect it during the taming process.

Double Taming – Doubles the speed at which creatures are tamed while it is active. This is a huge leg up for tribes trying to get some of the larger dinosaurs like Spinos that can take a longer time to tame

[Vraith]

Excellent starter guide!!! New stuff coming tomorrow(ish) too... :-)

 

 

V

[Shae]

As an encouragement for new players to try out the game, I have changed the private server configuration so that it can start with as few as 4 players.

 

Once 4 tribes are formed, the 5 minute timer will start.  4 players can each make a tribe to start the timer, and then rearrange into 2 teams of 2 if desired.  

There is also no need to only have 4 teams, until 4 tribes are formed, the timer won't start.

 

The xp, taming, and harvesting have all been bumped up to 6x.

 

 

Enjoy!

 

edit: We tried out the 10x settings this weekend and it was just way too much.  I have bumped it down to 6x now.  The match time is just about an hour so as to be friendly to weeknight matches.

Edited September 28, 2015 by Shae

[pat311]

Great guide, Shae! Thanks for taking time to write it for all those who are curious about SOTF.

[Shae]

I am an amazing guide writer! or that could be Sky...