Understanding Food Mechanics in Ark
The world of Ark: Survival Evolved is a brutal and unforgiving landscape. From the moment you spawn naked on a beach, you’re facing constant threats: hunger, thirst, predators, and the elements themselves. To survive, and even thrive, in this prehistoric sandbox, understanding the intricacies of food is absolutely crucial. Food isn’t just about staying alive; it’s the key to taming powerful creatures, healing from devastating injuries, and gaining vital stat boosts. Forget your modern-day grocery stores – in Ark, knowing the best food sources is the difference between becoming a dominant tribe and becoming dino-dinner. This comprehensive guide will explore the very best foods Ark: Survival Evolved has to offer, covering everything from maximizing taming efficiency to quickly patching yourself up after a brutal encounter.
Understanding Food Mechanics in Ark
Let’s break down the core elements of staying well-fed and hydrated in the Ark. You might think it’s simple enough: eat when you’re hungry, drink when you’re thirsty. But there’s more to it than that.
Player Food and Water
As a survivor, your hunger and thirst meters are constantly ticking down. Depletion speeds can vary based on the environment. Hot climates and strenuous activities deplete these faster. Failing to maintain your levels leads to serious consequences. Starvation and dehydration can cause reduced stamina, slower movement, and eventually, death. Starting out, basic food sources such as berries and cooked meat are essential, but as you progress, you will need more sustaining and effective food sources.
Creature Food
Your tamed creatures also have dietary needs. Unlike humans, dinos have very specific diets. There are herbivores, carnivores, omnivores, and piscivores (fish eaters). To get your creatures to join your tribe, you need to offer them food that they like. This creates a connection, also known as taming affinity. Not all food is equal, so don’t just throw any old meat into the trough! The higher quality of food that you offer the creature, the better results you will get. One of the biggest obstacles to keeping food on hand is that it spoils. Finding methods of preservation is vital to surviving long term.
Food Quality and its Effects
The best food can have a transformative effect, especially during taming. Food quality directly impacts the speed and effectiveness of taming. In other words, using the right food can significantly reduce the time it takes to tame a creature and increase the chance of it retaining a higher percentage of its wild stats. High-quality food isn’t just beneficial for taming. Some foods can provide faster healing rates, making them invaluable in combat situations. Certain foods can also temporarily boost stats like stamina, crafting speed, or resistance to temperature extremes, giving you a significant edge in various situations.
Best Foods for Taming
Taming in Ark can be a long and arduous process. Making the best food choices can make a massive difference.
General Taming Food Hierarchy
The most basic taming foods include berries, raw meat, and raw fish meat. These options are readily available, especially in the early game, but they’re far from optimal. The lower quality of food gives very low taming effectiveness and will require a lot of food.
Top-Tier Taming Foods
The pinnacle of taming efficiency lies with Kibble. What is Kibble, and why is it so much better? Kibble is a specially crafted food item created from specific dinosaur eggs and other ingredients. Kibble offers drastically increased taming speed and effectiveness compared to raw meat or berries. Each type of Kibble corresponds to a specific group of dinosaurs. Feeding the correct Kibble to a creature will significantly speed up the taming process and maximize its potential stats.
Kibble types are created using different eggs and resources. Crafting recipes can be found throughout the world. One of the best things you can do is make a kibble farm. With a kibble farm, you can have a large quantity of all sorts of kibble. Making a kibble farm can be a labor intensive, but is very worth it.
Exceptional Kibble is the ultimate choice for taming. Exceptional Kibble is crafted from superior ingredients. The dinosaurs that benefit the most are Carnivores such as Rexes, Spinosaurs, and Therizinosaurus.
Extraordinary Kibble also exists, however, it is only available in certain expansions and has different dinosaurs that it benefits. Check the specifics for your game.
Specific Dino Taming Recommendations
Let’s look at some specific examples. For a Rex, Exceptional Kibble is the way to go. It provides a huge boost to taming speed and effectiveness. As an alternative, raw prime meat is also effective, though less efficient. For a Triceratops, crops or berries are the preferred choice. These herbivores thrive on plant-based food. You can’t just throw meat into it’s face and expect it to be friendly! For a Pteranodon, raw fish meat or simple kibble are effective. These aerial predators have a particular fondness for seafood. To get the specific recommendations, you can use a taming calculator to determine the exact amount of food needed for a specific creature level.
Considerations for Taming
Several factors can impact your taming success. Food spoilage is a major concern, especially with raw meat. Using preserving bins or refrigerators can significantly extend the shelf life of your taming food. The availability of resources also plays a role. You may need to travel to different regions to gather the necessary ingredients for Kibble or other specialized taming foods. Finally, the dino level affects the amount of food required for taming. Higher-level dinos will require more food and a longer taming time.
Best Foods for Healing
Injuries are a constant threat in Ark. Knowing how to heal yourself and your creatures quickly is essential for survival.
Player Healing Foods
For players, cooked meat is a readily available source of healing. It provides a decent amount of health regeneration. Sweet vegetable cake offers excellent burst healing, especially for taming pacifist creatures. Its recipe requires rare ingredients, but the healing benefits are significant. Medical brew provides rapid health regeneration over a short period. Crafting it requires specific resources, but it’s a valuable tool for combat situations. Finally, custom consumables can be created with specific effects. Experiment with different ingredient combinations to create personalized healing potions.
Creature Healing Foods
For creatures, raw meat and fish meat provide basic healing. Cooked versions offer improved healing rates. Sweet vegetable cake is a fantastic option for herbivores, providing a significant health boost. Snow Owl Pellets, if available, offer unique healing properties. They can be used to heal both players and creatures. Carnivore vs Herbivore Healing Differences is an important thing to keep in mind. Carnivores often need meat, while herbivores will not get any healing from meat products.
Special Healing Strategies
Forcing food on unconscious creatures can accelerate the healing process. This is especially useful for recovering injured creatures after a battle. If you have access to a snow owl, its healing ability can be used to quickly heal both players and creatures.
Best Foods for Stat Buffs and Sustenance
Beyond basic survival, certain foods can provide valuable stat buffs and improve your overall gameplay experience.
Food for Stamina and Fortitude
Energy brew provides quick stamina replenishment, allowing you to run further and fight longer. Focal chili increases crafting speed and experience gain, making it ideal for crafting sessions. These foods impact gameplay significantly by improving resource gathering, crafting efficiency, and combat effectiveness.
Food for Temporary Buffs
Shadow steak saute provides night vision, allowing you to navigate dark environments with ease. Lazarus chowder allows for underwater breathing and reduces oxygen consumption, making it essential for underwater exploration. Calien soup provides hyperthermic insulation, protecting you from extreme heat. Fria curry provides hypothermic insulation, protecting you from extreme cold. The duration of these buffs varies, but they can provide a significant advantage in specific situations.
Everyday Sustenance
For daily sustenance, cooked meat and fish are reliable and readily available. Jerky offers an extended spoilage time, making it great for long journeys. Crops provide a sustainable food source from farming, ensuring a steady supply of nutrients.
Farming and Food Preservation
Farming and food preservation are essential skills for long-term survival in Ark.
Basic Farming Setup
Building a garden requires plots, water, and seeds. Different crop types offer different benefits, providing essential nutrients and resources. Efficient farming involves proper irrigation, fertilization, and crop rotation.
Food Preservation Techniques
Preserving bins reduce spoilage, extending the shelf life of your food. Refrigerators significantly extend spoilage time, requiring power. Salt is used for preserving Jerky, giving it a long shelf life.
Advanced farming techniques
The advanced part of farming comes in when you breed your plants for better stats. The higher the stats of your plant, the better the yields will be. If you want to have a better farm and get a larger quantity of food, then you will want to keep breeding your plants. Fertilizer helps boost this process. If you want to yield the largest quantity of food, you will need to make sure your crops are fertilized.
Conclusion
Mastering food in Ark: Survival Evolved is vital for survival. From taming powerful creatures with exceptional kibble to healing from injuries with sweet vegetable cake, understanding food mechanics is essential. This guide has covered the best foods for each purpose, providing you with the knowledge to thrive in the Ark. Experiment with different strategies and find what works best for your playstyle. Remember, knowledge is power, and in Ark, food is life. Go forth, survivor, and conquer the Ark, one delicious bite at a time!
