Ark Scorched Earth took Ark Survival Evolved’s difficulty to a whole new level. Getting started on the right foot is key to surviving long-term on Scorched Earth. By the time you start Scorched Earth, you will be familiar with a ton of different resources available in the game, and while gathering them all is important, there are some other aspects you need to worry about.
Let’s start with the basics, setting up the base.
Best Base Location: Putting your base near a body of water should be your top priority, and you should absolutely try to find a location near a body of water. However, if a base location near water isn’t doable for you, find concentric stone rings on the ground and set up your base near them. As you progress in the game, you can upgrade them.
Get Shelter: Building a house should be your top priority after setting up a base but having a proper house takes time and resources. To start off, use Thatch to build a shelter to protect yourself from cold and heat.
Build a Tent: Your next step should be to build a tent, so go out to collect Silk, a resource that costs a lot, but it will protect you from most of the elements in Ark Scorched Earth.
Focus on Green Drops: Green drops are among the most valuable resources as they provide Adobe building resources and the desert armor that is a new addition to the game. But the main thing here is Adobe which is perfect for hyperthermal insulation. When building the proper house and focusing on long-term construction, you must gather Adobe and a lot of it.
Note: Wood building makes you hotter, so use Thatch before you can use adobe.
Predicting Weather Events: Use a Jerboas to predict weather events. The Jerboas can make noises, and each noise means a different weather event. Usually, the “brrrr” sound means a heat event. Jerboas is easy to tame due to its small size and lack of aggression. Our friends at Ark Fandom have an in-depth guide explaining everything you need to know about Jerboas and its behaviors.
Tame a Raptor Early: Use a Bola and Boomerang to tame a raptor. Its lightweight and high speed make it an awesome beacon-running tool.
Blue Jug Bugs are a Source of Water: Rivers and standing water are great water sources, but you can drink from Blue Jug Bugs when necessary. You can kill them to drink from them or sneak behind them and drink without killing them.
Get a Whip: It is a handy tool you can use to stun small dinos, or if you manage to tame a Doedicerus, you can use the whip to guide it where you want to go after enabling wandering.
Put Generators Inside Buildings: You can slow down generator decay by placing them inside buildings. Put a good amount of hyperthermic insulation to protect your generators. If you’re using a wind generator, place them somewhere with high wind. Wind stats are shown beside temperature stats if you hold H. It’ll help you set up base in a high-wind area.
Use Perserving Salts: Meat can spoil after a while, but if you place Perserving Salts in the same container as the meat or in the same inventory, it will help slow down the spoiling process.
Fortitude: Contrary to popular belief, Fortitude matters, so put at least 20 points into it.
That’s everything you need to know to get started on the right foot in Ark Scorched Earth. For more on Ark, check out Ark Scorched Earth Weapons and Armor Crafting.