Leveling Up Fast in Ark: A Beginner’s Guide to Rapid Progression
The fastest way to level up in Ark: Survival Evolved as a beginner involves a strategic combination of early game actions, understanding experience mechanics, and utilizing specific game features. While you gain XP simply by playing, focusing on crafting, early taming, and completing explorer notes will significantly boost your level progression in the early stages. Start by rapidly crafting items, specifically structures and tools. Then, target low-level dinos like Dodos and Lystros for easy taming. Finally, actively seek out explorer notes that will provide massive experience boosts. By utilizing these methods, you’ll quickly move past the initial grind and get to the core of the game much faster.
Crafting for Quick XP
The Power of Early Construction
Your first few levels in Ark are crucial. Forget about running around aimlessly; instead, focus on crafting. Every action, from gathering resources to placing structures, nets you experience. Start by building a small, functional base. This typically includes a simple bed (vital for respawning), a campfire (for cooking), a storage box (to hold your materials), and a crafting station like a mortar and pestle. Craft multiples of these basic items, especially storage boxes, as they’re quick to make and yield a surprising amount of initial XP.
Tool Production is Key
Alongside base building, prioritize crafting tools. The pickaxe and hatchet are fundamental, but also craft spears and other early-game weapons, even if you don’t plan on using them right away. The constant act of making new items, gathering the raw materials, and refining them quickly compounds into significant XP. Every swing of a pickaxe and every processed piece of wood is pushing you towards the next level.
Taming for Experience and Utility
Focus on Easy Tames Early
While you will be tempted to tame large, impressive dinos early on, it is much more efficient to start with easier targets like Dodos, Lystros, and Moschops. These dinos are quick to tame, require very little in terms of resources, and provide you with a constant flow of experience. Taming is not only a great source of XP but it also provides early resources and utility to help you collect even more resources faster.
Passive Taming and the Lystrosaurus
The Lystrosaurus is your key to a smooth beginning. Once tamed, its cuddle buff grants an experience boost to the user. This significantly increases the XP gained from every single task, effectively making it your best early game experience boost. Prioritize passive tames like Lystrosaurus as you will get lots of experience for a relatively low investment of time and resources.
Explorer Notes for Massive XP Boosts
The Treasure of Explorer Notes
Explorer Notes are hidden throughout the map and provide a substantial one-time experience bonus. These are typically easy to find and once collected, will provide a substantial XP boost, which is crucial in the early game. Using a guide can make this step extremely fast, as you will already know where the notes are.
Prioritize Note Gathering
Once you are established, actively dedicate time to collecting explorer notes. The immediate level boost they provide will allow you to unlock valuable engrams, craft better gear, and tame higher-level dinos. Don’t underestimate the significance of this strategy; it’s one of the most efficient methods for rapid progression.
Understanding the Experience System
It’s More Than Just Killing Dinos
While combat does provide experience, it is not the fastest way to level up. The main source of experience in the early game is crafting. Remember this when you are making a decision on what to do to level up. Crafting structures, tools and items is much better than running around fighting low-level dinos.
The Power of Passive XP
Tamed dinos receive passive experience over time when you are nearby. Although it is not the fastest method to level them, it is an important passive process. This combined with the early tames for utility will make the whole process more efficient.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. What stats should I level up first?
Prioritize Weight and Stamina early on. Weight allows you to carry more resources, and stamina is needed for running and gathering. Then focus on health and movement speed.
2. Should I stay near the beach in the beginning?
Yes. The beach is relatively safer and provides easy access to essential resources like stone, wood, and fiber. It also features many of the early game animals for taming.
3. How do I tame a Dodo?
Approach the Dodo and feed it berries. Keep feeding it until the taming bar fills up. Make sure to be quick, as the Dodo can run away.
4. What should I build first in my base?
Prioritize a simple bed, campfire, storage box, and mortar and pestle. These are the basic necessities. After those you need the crafting table, the smithing station and preserving bin.
5. Does taming give XP in Ark?
Yes, you get a decent amount of XP for each dino that you tame, and additionally your tamed creatures gain a small passive experience while you are online.
6. What does laying on a bed do in Ark?
A bed acts as a spawn point and allows for fast-travel between different beds.
7. What is the best skill to level up in Ark?
Weight is generally considered the most important early-game stat to prioritize, followed by Stamina, Health, and Movement Speed.
8. Do Dinos get XP in Cryopods?
Yes. Any creature inside a Cryopod will gain 5% more passive experience compared to the same creature not Cryopodded.
9. What boss should I do first in Ark?
The Broodmother Lysrix is the first boss most beginners should tackle. Make sure that you have powerful dinos and high quality armor.
10. What order should I tame in Ark?
Start with a Pteranodon, then a low level berry gatherer (Trike or Moschops) for narcotics, then an Argentavis, and finally a Quetzal.
11. Which Ark map should I play first?
The Island is the best map to start on. It is the most beginner-friendly map.
12. What should every Ark base have?
Essentials include a simple bed, campfire, mortar and pestle, cooking pot, preserving bin, storage box, smithy, and refining forge.
13. What is the best thing to have in Ark?
This is highly subjective, but some top contenders include a Vault for secure storage, a Bola for immobilizing enemies, Flak Armor for protection, and a Rocket Launcher for late-game situations.
14. How do you tame creatures using commands in Ark?
Open the console and enter “forcetame” while aiming at the creature. This will force tame them without a saddle.
15. Can you get to level 190 in ARK?
Yes. You need to kill all bosses on alpha difficulty, collect all explorer notes, and fully level a Chibi-Pet. It is not possible using cheats.