Is Farming Useful in Ark: Survival Evolved? A Comprehensive Guide
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Absolutely! Farming is incredibly useful, and frankly, essential, in Ark: Survival Evolved. From feeding yourself and your dinos to crafting crucial items and even powering advanced defenses, a well-established farm is the backbone of any successful tribe. It provides a reliable source of resources, reduces your dependence on scavenging, and sets you up for long-term survival in the harsh world of Ark.
The Foundations of a Thriving Ark Farm
Farming in Ark goes beyond simply planting a seed and waiting. It’s a multi-faceted process involving choosing the right crops, managing resources, and understanding the intricacies of the game’s mechanics. Let’s delve into the key aspects:
Crop Essentials: What to Grow
The core of any Ark farm revolves around four essential vegetables:
- Citronal: A vital ingredient in Advanced Crops and several useful recipes.
- Savoroot: Similar to Citronal, used in Advanced Crops and various culinary creations.
- Rockarrot: Another cornerstone of Advanced Crops, plus essential for certain taming strategies.
- Longrass: Used in Advanced Crops and can also be used in crafting recipes.
These vegetables are used to make Sweet Vegetable Cakes, vital for taming Ovis (sheep) and Liopleurodon. They are also needed for various kibble recipes, especially when paired with meat, to greatly improve the efficiency when taming creatures.
Crop Plot Size Matters (Sometimes)
Choosing the right crop plot size can optimize your farming layout.
- Small Crop Plots: Exclusively for growing berries.
- Medium Crop Plots: Perfect for the essential vegetables: Citronal, Savoroot, Rockarrot, and Longrass. These plots offer a good balance of space and yield for standard crops.
- Large Crop Plots: Primarily used for planting Plant Species X for base defense. While technically capable of growing other crops, they’re usually overkill for anything but the security aspect.
- Tek Crop Plots: The endgame solution, they can grow any seed or plant faster with sunlight.
The Importance of Fertilizer and Irrigation
Crops need the right conditions to thrive, and that means water and nutrients.
- Irrigation: Crop plots need a reliable water source. Connect a water reservoir to your plots using Stone Taps or Metal Taps and piping. Ensure consistent water flow to maximize growth. Rainwater also works for outdoor plots.
- Fertilizer: Essential for boosting growth speed. Regular application of fertilizer dramatically reduces the time it takes for crops to mature and yield harvests. You can obtain fertilizer through composting, dung beetles, or byproducts of certain creatures.
Advanced Farming: Tek Crop Plots
For serious farmers, Tek Crop Plots represent the pinnacle of agricultural technology.
- Power Requirement: Unlike regular plots, Tek Crop Plots require power from a Tek Generator.
- Accelerated Growth: They provide significantly faster growth rates than standard plots, without needing sunlight, thanks to their greenhouse effect of 500%.
- Internal Cooling: Tek plots help regulate temperature, preventing crops from dying from heat.
- Larger Storage: They also boast a larger storage capacity than regular plots.
Maintaining your Harvest: Preventing Decay
Harvested crops will eventually spoil, so it’s crucial to preserve them effectively.
- Refrigerators: The best option. Powered refrigerators drastically extend the lifespan of harvested crops.
- Preserving Bins: An earlier-game solution. Adding sparkpowder to a preserving bin slows down spoilage rates.
- Creature Inventories: Placing crops in a tamed creature’s inventory can slightly delay spoilage.
Farming and Self-Sufficiency
Beyond the basic need for food, farming opens doors to self-sufficiency in Ark.
Kibble Production
A dedicated farm allows you to produce a wide range of kibble, which is essential for taming higher-level dinos quickly and efficiently. Different dinos prefer different kibble types, so diversifying your crop selection will benefit your taming efforts.
Resource Independence
By cultivating your own food and crafting materials, you reduce your reliance on scavenging dangerous areas for supplies. This makes your tribe more resilient and less vulnerable to attacks.
Trade and Economics
Excess crops can be traded with other players for valuable resources or blueprints. Establishing a reliable farming operation can turn your tribe into a trading powerhouse.
Farming is an integral aspect of Ark: Survival Evolved. Developing a farm helps survivors or tribes become self-sufficient. Crops can be used to feed survivors and the majority of tamed herbivore creatures that in turn, produce eggs or feces. There are plenty of ‘farm animals’ or creatures like dinos. Farming is labor-intensive, but it has long-term payouts. If you are looking for ways to become involved with the gaming world, visit GamesLearningSociety.org.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About Farming in Ark
1. Do crops need sunlight in Ark?
Technically, the game simulates the need for sunlight, but it’s not as restrictive as you might think. Only the deepest parts of caves are considered “no sunlight” zones. Indoor structures generally don’t block sunlight, so your crops can thrive indoors. However, Tek Crop Plots eliminate the need for sunlight entirely, offering maximum flexibility.
2. How important are the four main vegetables (Citronal, Savoroot, Rockarrot, Longrass)?
Extremely important! They are the base ingredients for crafting Sweet Vegetable Cakes (for taming Ovis and Liopleurodon) and are crucial for specific kibble recipes. You’ll need them consistently throughout your Ark journey.
3. Can crops grow without fertilizer?
Yes, but very slowly. Fertilizer significantly accelerates the growth process. Without it, you’ll be waiting a very long time for your crops to mature.
4. What’s the best way to get fertilizer?
Dung Beetles are the most efficient method. Place feces in their inventory, set them to wander within an enclosed space, and they’ll automatically convert the feces into fertilizer and oil.
5. Do I need to manually water my crops?
No, as long as they are connected to an irrigation system (water reservoir and pipes) with a consistent water supply.
6. What is the most efficient crop plot to use?
Tek Crop Plots are the most efficient due to their increased growth rate, integrated cooling system, larger storage capacity, and independence from sunlight.
7. How do I prevent my crops from spoiling after harvesting?
Store them in a Refrigerator for the longest preservation time. Preserving Bins with sparkpowder are a less effective, but still viable, alternative for earlier in the game.
8. Are large crop plots worth it for growing vegetables?
Not really. Large plots are primarily intended for planting Plant Species X for base defense. Medium Crop Plots are perfectly adequate and more space-efficient for vegetables.
9. What drains my food the fastest in Ark?
Actions that consume Stamina (running, swinging tools, etc.) and regaining Health drain your food quickly. Being cold or injured also increases your food consumption rate.
10. Do trees and bushes grow back after harvesting?
Yes, they will respawn unless there are structures (like foundations) preventing them. You may need to leave the area and wait for them to regrow. Adjusting the “Resource Respawn Period” setting can influence the respawn rate.
11. What’s the best dino for producing poop to make fertilizer?
The Phiomia is renowned for its prolific poop production. Force-feeding it Stimberries will further increase its output.
12. Do S+ Tek Crop Plots need water?
S+ Tek Crop Plots will not generate water while in stasis (i.e. if they’re not loaded). However, while you’re rendering them, they will never run out of water.
13. What’s the point of “starve taming”?
“Starve taming” is a technique where you wait until a creature is very hungry before feeding it. This minimizes the risk of wasting food and narcotics during the taming process, especially for creatures with long taming times.
14. Why am I getting hungry so fast in Ark?
If you are injured, or are constantly refilling stamina, the food bar will diminish quickly. Eating cooked meat is more efficient than berries.
15. Does body size matter in Ark?
Hitbox doesn’t change based on the size of your character at all. No matter what your character looks like they use the default hitbox.