Worth it for solo/coop?

[shadowsite]

Hi guys,

currently I am thinking about getting the full ark experience, but I am still hesitating.
Thing is: I wouldn't want to play on servers with 20 other people.
So my question is: is the game worth getting for a singleplayer experience or maybe with a friend together?
Is there even a real story or reason why you should/can play singleplayer?

I haven't done any research on this topic and thought it would be best to simply ask veterans of the game, since 50€ isn't something you pay everyday for a game.

[𝔇ave]

i personally think solo is where the game shines but co op can be fun also. finding a server with 20 chill people who don't want to grief you might be a challenge tho..

there is a story and it's an interesting one but it requires work to understand it all. the game doesn't give you story through cutscenes or missions.

also ark is kinda grindy and takes time to master. expect to spend at least 500 hrs in preparation for boss battles and such.

would i recommend? yes. but it's not for the faint of heart and i would also mention if your PC is not all that powerful then ARK would not run well.

[Sleazy Ninja]

Solo: do what you want, set the rates and mods just as you like it and just build, explore and fight as much as you want. I find this incredibly fun and prefer solo over a server any day.

However, it will be slower and sometimes lonely as you are only setting your own goals.

Multi: you abide the server rules, unofficial servers can just stop at any time, other players can either be great or total ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥. There is definitely fun to be had on pve servers and good pvp ones, but your experience may vary

Story: read explorer notes, learn about the lore and ultimately ascend from map to map as you evolve. Nice addition, but not on par with Subnautica for example.

[Temet Nosce]

Hi,

I have 1.600 hours in ARK. Approximately around 1.200 hours playing solo on my local server.

Is this game worth getting for a singleplayer? I'd say yes, but it depends on your goals and expectations. If you want to tame and breed dinos, build, explore and just relax and have fun - you will love this game.

Do not buy DLCs yet. The basic game is huge and has a lot of awesome maps, which you can download for free (Ragnarok, TheCenter, TheIsle and so on) and you can probably spend 1.000+ hours just playing on one map.

Here's my advice in case you buy this game: adjust (local) server rates, like harvesting, taming speed, XP etc. - test different rates and see what works for you best.

Example:
On my (local) server it will take around 15 minutes to tame 150 lvl dino. With the standard rates it would take way more time.

[tatiana]

I will just copy/paste my answer to a very similar question in another thread:

"Playing with friends is the best experience - you level up faster and can specialise in different tasks. You can host a non-dedicated session and invite them to your game, or you can set up a dedicated server to play together on. Look for settings guides on the internet/YouTube and adjust the gameplay settings to make the game more fun.

If you don't have anyone to play with, single-payer is ok too. Again, adjust the settings. This is a good mode to test settings and mods on, to see what you like.

If you don't have anyone to play with, but still want to play with other people, join an Unofficial server. Make sure it has the settings you like and the mods you wish to use.

Official servers don't have their settings adjusted in any way, and don't have any mods. You can try a PvE server, but it may be difficult to start on a server where people are higher level than you (I'm not sure, as I've never played on an official server)

Whatever you do, Don't play on an Official PvP server. No player I have spoken to on these forums so far has Anything good to say about them."

[Raekor]

i have 3k+ hours and i play solo on official servers, if you want to play for the Story, then you might wanna play PVE Servers, you can do your thing and no one will annoy you.

playing on a PVE servers you can interact with others, they can help you, you can trade them buying dinos, beware tho as a new player i wouldn't accept free things if you want a good experience, its better if you try taming dinos and learn, that's the amazing part of the game.

now its very important to know joining an official server with 50+ active people you will experience server lag, doesn't matter how good your internet is, that said here where you want to choose if you still going to play official, or Singleplayer or (rent a server if you play with a friend).

if you want to play for the Story and solo without a friend, go for singleplayer, if you going for co-op with a friend and you don't want anyone els, Rent a server, if you still want to play solo or with a friend and still have some people on a server then go official but don't forget about the lag, also important note you still can join Old servers that are up and running with almost no lag if the server has less than 10 players, and yes those servers exist, some servers have only 5 players and even less, so on those servers you wont be Experience any lag, and any trolls so you wont have to worry, and once you are done with that map, and done everything you want on it cleared the bosses and explored it, you can Take everything you farmed / Tamed and transfer into another map with the same character you progressed on previously, you will keep the same stats/ level etc.

in short, the game is fun, and 100% worth it imo, good luck n have fun.

[necaradan666]

Worth it for solo? 100%

[Cobretti]

90% of my hours are solo but it's incorrect to say one way is better than another when discussing a sandbox. I personally do no feel challenged when playing this game in a tribe while others have no interest in challenging gameplay and just want to play through easier content, collect dinos, build nice looking bases or just kill others in PvP.

So is it worth it solo? Like all survival games, if you are after a challenging PvE experience, it's the only way to play it imo

[𝔇ave]

Originally posted by Cobretti:

90% of my hours are solo but it's incorrect to say one way is better than another when discussing a sandbox. I personally do no feel challenged when playing this game in a tribe while others have no interest in challenging gameplay and just want to play through easier content, collect dinos, build nice looking bases or just kill others in PvP.

So is it worth it solo? Like all survival games, if you are after a challenging PvE experience, it's the only way to play it imo

damn son 10.5k hrs! that's some serious dedication right there

[General McCreevous]

i play this game always in singleplayer

[shadowsite]

Thank you all for answering my question.
By now I get the impression the game is actually played best in singleplayer or coop with a few friends :)
I read online that unofficial servers are mostly a ♥♥♥♥ show, since a lot of player want to play out their power fantasy with their end game pets and crush newer players, is that true in your experience?

Btw. probably going to buy it, since A: the game looks fun as hell, espacially the mid game and B: this community (at least so far) is actually quite nice :)
At least way better than the R6 community, a toxic wasteland.