The Basics of Ark Survival Evolved

 Ark Survival Evolved (Ark for short) is an action and adventure game like "Minecraft" but with way better graphics and with dinosaurs. It is available on many platforms including Xbox, and Playstation, PC, and Mobile devices. It is fun to play with friends in Player Versus Player mode by building bases while fighting other players and dinosaurs or by yourself in Player Versus Earth mode where you can become comfortable with the game itself.

What To Do When You Spawn

Starting can be difficult, and death will occur if you don't know what you're doing. You spawn on a beach, which will be your best friend for the first few nights. The deeper you go into the forest or ocean, the more dangerous it can get. 

• You first want to punch trees and pick up as many stones as possible.
• Berries will be your first food source until your ready to hunt.
• As you do these things, you will level up and get Engram Points, new tech and items can be unlocked using these.
• The first tools you want to spend your Engram Points on are the hatchet and pickaxe which will help you gather materials more efficiently
• As you continue to gain, Engram points you will want to discover more advanced weapons along with advanced building items.

 Basic Tool Knowledge

Once you have unlocked the hatchet and the pickaxe, you will then start to gather more materials. But be careful because repairing your tools is necessary if they break. Here are some things to consider:

• When using your fist: You will get more thatch than wood and more flint than stone.
• When using a hatchet: You will get more wood than thatch, more hide than meat, more stone than flint.
• When using a pickaxe: You will get more thatch than wood, more meat than hide and more flint than stone.

 Like any survival game, your character can take damage or die of hunger/thirst. Likewise, this game has settings, like this which you must watch to make sure you don't die.

• Water Droplet: This shows your thirst level, and if it starts blinking, that means you need some water. Construct a water pouch or go into a body of water.
• Bone/Hambone: This shows the hunger level, and if it starts blinking, that means your character is hungry. Eat some berries or get some meat from near-by animals.
• Lightning Bolt: This shows the stamina level. Ark allows you to sprint or walk normally. If your stamina drops, you will need to stop running and rest.
• Plus Sign/Cross: This shows your health. Many things can damage you, and you will need to heal. Use food or sleep.

Roaming the island is not the best option when first start playing. Eventually, you want to settle down and find a place to build your first house.

• Look for a flat place that is near water- as you will eventually build a boat and go exploring.
• Try to build your first house near the beach or on an island where there is minimal danger.
• Now you will need to spend some Engram Points on thatch foundations, walls, doors, and door frames. 
• Make a house big enough to fit a few chests along with a bed and a campfire.
• Don't worry about your house being too small, as you can always add on to it.

 Dinosaurs will make tasks in Ark much easier. You will need to tame some start off animals like the Trike, Dodo, and Raptor.

• You will need to hit the animal with any tool, enough times, so it falls to the ground knocked but not yet dead. The animal will have a favorite food which, when fed to the animal- it will speed up the taming process.
• You will want to use Narcoberries, which will keep the animal asleep and prevent it from waking up.
• Once tamed, under your command, the dinosaur will follow you. Using a saddle, you can ride the dinosaur.
• Also, each animal has a kibble, which will decrease the taming time.

Overall, Ark Survival Evolved is a fun action-packed game. As you progress in the game, you will see missions and be able to find and reconstruct a notebook that will help you throughout the game and explain the mysteries of Ark. You can explore forests and snowy mountains along with caves and underwater caverns. Some guides and apps will help you tame and breed.