ARK: Acquiring experience points, engram points, crafting ARK Survival Evolved guide, tips

Last update: 12 June 2020

Experience points can be received by:

• Acquiring crafting materials;
• Crafting items;
• Killing creatures found in the game.

The maximum level your character can achieve is 100 and with each level-up you will also get engram points. Those can be used to acquire engrams. Engrams are, to put it simply, crafting recipes allowing you to create items from the materials you collect. The full list of the most useful engrams, as well as their requirements can be found in a separate chapter.

At the beginning you should focus on learning all of the recipes allowing you to create tools to acquire all of the thatch fragments - thanks to that you will be able to build your first shelter. Afterwards, learn the fireplace recipe, used to keep the body warmth, as well as the bed. The latter one will allow your character to respawn at the place where it (the bed) was placed.

Other schematics that you should look into at the beginning of the game:

• Slingshot - the first weapon allowing you to stun the enemies from a safe distance.
• Cloth Set - the first clothing in the game. Aside from keeping your body temperature from decreasing, it also gives a small protection against damage.
• Mortar and Pestle - this will allow you to craft drugs that are used to stun and tame animals.
• Blood Extraction Syringe - this item will sacrifice 25 health points of your character to create a bag of blood. This bag can be used to heal your character when its needed.
• Stone Irrigation Pipe - those are, basically, waterworks, allowing you transport water from a water reservoir.
• Bow and Arrow - it has better damage and longer range than a slingshot, giving you more freedom when hunting.
• Storage Box - required to store items.

When you acquire enough levels and learn the necessary engrams, the only thing that's left is creating them. Go to the Craftables tab - there you will see all of the schematics your character knows and the materials that are requires for you to craft specific items.

General hints

Below you can find information necessary for survival.

1. All food types and some of the crafting materials are perishable. Remember to store meat in a refrigerator, or to quickly process a crafting material that is due to be expired.

2. Remember that the beach is a safer starting location for a player than a forest, swamp or ice lands.

3. Always monitor your stats that tend to change quickly. It often depends on the weather conditions or the location you are currently in.

4. Before the first night comes you should have either a torchlight or another item allowing you to create artificial light around your character.

5. To hydrate your character you can drink water from a river, sea or lake.

6. Try to avoid contact with bigger enemies. Focus on fighting Dodo, Dilophosaurs and Coelacanths - those three will provide you with large quantities of raw meat and experience points and they won't pose a serious threat to a beginner player.

7. You can create tribes in the game. You should look for one as quickly as possible, as playing with others becomes a lot easier.

8. Start off by constructing a basic straw shelter to protect your character from the harsh nights - unprotected character starts freezing, leading to faster starvation.

9. If you pay attention you will be able to notice "drops" flashing in different colors. You can valuable recipes and items from them, making the game a lot easier. Unfortunately, you must watch out for those, as all of them have a level restriction. There's no point in rushing towards them when your character is too low too open them.

• White - requires at least level 3 character to open.
• Green - requires at least level 15 character to open.
• Blue - requires at least level 25 character to open.
• Violet - requires at least level 35 character to open.
• Yellow - requires at least level 45 character to open.
• Red - requires at least level 60 character to open.

11. When you log out of the game, your character will still be there. This is why you should only do that in a safe place (like a settlement constructed by you). Otherwise you might wake up without any of your items.

12. Try to avoid swimming. The ocean is full of Megalodons and other dangerous creatures that will easily spot you from afar. You should also watch out for lakes and rivers, as there are swarms of Megapiranhas there.

13. Remember that you can easily swap straw elements of your shelter with the ones made from wood.

14. Leave large quantities of Narcoberries. Those will allow you to create drugs that are required to tame dinosaurs. Additionally, each drag you create gives you 2 points of experience, making this a quick leveling method for a low-leveled character. More information on the taming topic can be found in a separate chapter.

15. Remember to tame a creature in a safe spot, far away from aggressive enemies.