ARK: Survival Ascended Beginner’s Guide: Your First Hours on a Fresh PvP Server

What this guide is, and what it is not

On a freshly wiped PvP server everyone starts with nothing, and the first few hours decide how comfortable the next few days are. Raconin’s video is a short, two-minute look at how he personally opens a wipe as a solo or duo player on The Island: a note run, a flying tame, a temporary base and a round of PvP crafting. This page follows that plan in the same order and then fills in what a two-minute video has no room for: what each step really gives you, which engram levels stand in the way, and what to watch for.

The plan at a glance

Step 1: start with a note run

Raconin’s first move is not to build or tame but to run the map collecting notes. His reasons are speed and unlocks: notes level you quickly, and levels are what open up the engrams you need later.

Here is what that means in game terms, from the ARK wiki. Explorer Notes are collectibles scattered across the map, and most are picked up simply by walking or flying into them. Each one grants XP and the Explorer Note Found! effect, which doubles the XP you earn for 10 minutes. The effect does not stack when you collect several notes, but each new note extends the timer, so a tight route keeps it running. The wiki also says that collecting every note unlocks an additional 10 levels for your Survivor, and that single-player games and the She Who Waits notes give a stronger version of the effect that quadruples XP.

Levels matter because every level-up grants Engram Points, and engrams cost points as well as a minimum level. The wiki’s Engrams page notes that with default multiplayer settings you cannot earn enough points to learn everything, so you have to choose. Server owners can also change the costs, so check your own engram menu rather than trusting any list, including ours.

Step 2: tame your way out of walking

Raconin’s first tame priority is mobility: a Pteranodon or a Maywing. A flyer shortens every later trip, whether you are gathering, scouting for a base site or leaving a spot you do not like.

The Pteranodon

The wiki lists The Island among the Pteranodon’s habitats, describing it as common on beaches and in interior regions. It is a knockout tame, it is not immune to torpor, and its preferred food is Raw Mutton. It is a light flyer, so it carries less than an Argentavis, but the wiki describes it as outrunning both the Argentavis and the Quetzal, which suits scouting and quick trips. The wiki gives the saddle unlock as level 38. That page mixes numbers from the original game, so confirm the level in your own engram list before you plan around it.

Because the saddle sits at level 38, the note run and the first tame depend on each other: a few early levels get you the weapons and tools to knock a flyer out, and the flyer then makes the rest of the note run faster.

The “Maywing”

The creature the video calls a Maywing is spelled Maewing on the wiki. We could not confirm it as an Island creature in Ascended. The wiki’s Maewing page lists Genesis: Part 2, Lost Island and Fjordur as habitats and does not list The Island, and community spawn data points the same way. Raconin’s list is therefore best read as “whichever early flyer your map offers”. On The Island, plan around the Pteranodon, and check your map before you plan around a Maewing.

Step 3: a small temporary base

With a flyer under you, Raconin sets up a small temporary base to prepare for the next stage. The point of the word temporary is that this is a workshop, not your home: it exists to give you somewhere to put crafting stations and storage while you build up gear, before you move to the real base location.

Our suggestions for what that means in practice: keep it cheap enough that losing it does not hurt, put it close to the metal and stone you will need for the next step, and keep the valuable things (saddles, blueprints, ammo) with you or on a tame rather than in a box. None of that is from the video; it follows from the base being disposable.

Step 4: craft the PvP essentials

This is the part of the video where the plan becomes PvP-specific. Raconin names forges, a smithy, metal tools, gunpowder, ammo, turrets and other important gear. The order matters because each item depends on the one before it, and the wiki shows how:

Two things stand out. First, turrets sit at a far higher level than everything else on the list, which is exactly why the note run comes first: you cannot craft turrets on day one without the levels. Second, turret ammo is built from gunpowder, so the gunpowder step is not optional if turrets are the goal. The levels above come from the wiki’s item pages, which are written mainly for the original game, so treat them as a guide and confirm them in-game.

A sensible order of work, which matches the sequence Raconin lists, is to build the forge, smelt metal, craft the smithy and metal tools, then make gunpowder and ammo, and only then think about turrets.

Step 5: moving to the main base

Raconin says the temporary base is where you craft the essentials before moving into your main base location. The video stops there. Choosing the site, building it, and defending it are exactly the things he offers to cover in a longer video if viewers ask, and we have not tried to guess what he would say.

Common mistakes to avoid

These are our suggestions, built from the steps above rather than from the video.

• Crafting before leveling. If the engram you need is a level or two away, another stretch of notes is faster than waiting. Turrets are the clearest example.
• Spending points without a plan. Engram Points are limited on default multiplayer settings, so put them into forge, smithy, tools and gunpowder first and leave luxuries for later.
• Treating the temporary base as permanent. If you start filling it with valuables, you have built the wrong thing.
• Taming without a plan for the knockout. A knockout tame works only if you can keep the creature unconscious and fed. Gather the food and tools for it before you pick a target.
• Assuming a flyer you saw in a video exists on your map. See the Maewing note above.

If you are not playing PvP

Raconin’s plan is built for a server where other players are a threat, which is why it ends with turrets. If you play single-player or PvE, the first three steps still apply, and you may find them easier: the wiki says that in single player a Survivor can earn enough Engram Points to learn every engram, and that single-player games give the stronger, quadruple-XP note effect. You can usually skip the defensive turret work and spend that time on taming and building instead.

What the video does not cover

The video is two minutes and eleven seconds long, and it says so itself by asking whether you want more. It does not cover choosing a main base location, defending a base against raids, tribe play, or what to do after the first few hours. For those, the ARK hub collects Raconin’s other guides, including the Template Hammer for rebuilding a base quickly and five taming trap builds compared. If you would like his full wipe guide, ask him in the comments on the video.

Frequently asked questions