Introduction
Tired of constantly battling starvation on the shores of the ARK? Do you dream of effortlessly taming that high-level Rex, but struggle with inefficient resource management? The key to unlocking true survival and dominance in ARK: Survival Evolved lies in mastering the game’s often-overlooked culinary landscape. Food isn’t just a way to stave off hunger; it’s a powerful tool that can dramatically enhance your survivability, speed up taming, and even provide valuable stat boosts.
From the humble beginnings of cooking meat over a campfire to crafting complex concoctions in an industrial cooker, the ARK’s food system offers a diverse range of possibilities. This article will be your comprehensive guide to the most valuable and practical food recipes in ARK: Survival Evolved, providing detailed information on their benefits, ingredients, and preparation. Get ready to transform from a struggling survivor into a culinary master of the ARK!
Early Game Food Survival Basics
At the start of your ARK adventure, your primary focus will be survival. Hunger is a constant threat, and finding reliable food sources is paramount.
Cooked Meat
This is your most basic and readily available food source. Simply kill a small creature, harvest its meat, and cook it over a campfire. While Cooked Meat provides a decent amount of food, it’s not particularly efficient and spoils relatively quickly. It’s still a crucial stepping stone in your early game progression.
Cooked Fish Meat
When you get access to a fishing rod, cooked fish meat is a great alternative. Fishing can be a bit of a grind, but it provides a steady source of food, especially if you’re near a body of water. You can also tame an otter to help with fishing!
Jerky (Meat/Prime Meat)
Jerky is a game-changer in the early to mid-game due to its significantly longer storage life. This allows you to stockpile food for emergencies or extended expeditions. To make Jerky, you’ll need a Preserving Bin, Cooked Meat (or Cooked Prime Meat for Prime Meat Jerky), Oil, and Sparkpowder. Prime Meat Jerky offers better food restoration and spoils more slowly than regular Meat Jerky.
Berries
Don’t underestimate the power of berries! While they don’t provide a significant amount of food, they offer other benefits. Amarberry restores a small amount of health, while Mejoberry is excellent for taming herbivores. You can pick berries by hand or use a Trike to harvest them more efficiently.
Mid-Game Food: Taming and Beneficial Brews
As you progress, your focus will shift towards taming more powerful creatures and acquiring valuable buffs. Food recipes play a vital role in both.
The Kibble System and Simple Kibble Recipe Ark
Understanding the Kibble system is essential for efficient taming. Kibble is a special type of food that provides a significant taming effectiveness bonus for specific creatures. This means faster taming and more bonus levels after taming. Simple Kibble is the entry point into this system. It generally involves a cooked egg, cooked meat, and berries. The specific egg determines which creatures prefer this kibble. Using kibble compared to standard meats, berries, or crops will vastly improve your taming effectiveness on ark.
Basic Medicinal Brew
This is a crucial recipe for healing and reducing torpor. It’s especially useful during combat or when dealing with creatures that inflict torpor. The Medicinal Brew requires Tintoberries and Mejoberries, and it’s crafted in a Cooking Pot. Always keep a stack of these on hand.
Energy Brew
Need a quick stamina boost or a way to counter torpor? The Energy Brew is your answer. It provides a temporary increase in stamina regeneration and reduces torpor. The recipe calls for Stimberries and Azulberries, also crafted in a Cooking Pot.
End-Game/Advanced Food: Elite Taming and Stat Boosting for Survival
In the end-game, food recipes become even more powerful, enabling you to tame the strongest creatures, conquer boss fights, and significantly enhance your character’s stats.
Superior Kibble Recipe Ark
Superior Kibble represents the pinnacle of the Kibble system. It offers the highest taming effectiveness bonus for a wide range of creatures. The ingredients are more complex, often requiring rare resources and specialized crafting stations. You’ll need a high-level creature to lay the eggs for this.
Focal Chili
Crafters rejoice! Focal Chili temporarily increases your crafting speed, allowing you to produce items much faster. This is incredibly useful when building large structures, crafting complex equipment, or mass-producing ammunition. The recipe involves several vegetables, cooked meat, and specific berries. Remember that the duration of the effect is limited, so plan your crafting sessions accordingly.
Shadow Steak Saute
Need to sneak past a dangerous creature or infiltrate an enemy base? Shadow Steak Saute reduces your visibility and decreases the aggro range of creatures. This is a situational recipe, but it can be a lifesaver in certain scenarios. The recipe requires specific vegetables and a special seasoning.
Lazarus Chowder
Divers, this one’s for you! Lazarus Chowder extends the amount of time you can spend underwater, allowing you to explore underwater caves, retrieve sunken loot, or tame aquatic creatures more easily.
Battle Tartare
Need extra power for a boss fight or a challenging encounter? Battle Tartare provides a temporary boost to both damage output and damage resistance, making you a formidable opponent.
Enduro Stew
Stamina is key for survival and traversal, and Enduro Stew maximizes it. This recipe boosts your maximum stamina and fortitude.
Calien Soup
Extreme heat can be deadly, but Calien Soup provides insulation, allowing you to withstand scorching temperatures. This is essential for exploring desert regions or dealing with heat-based attacks.
Specialty Recipes: Situationally Vital Food
Beyond the general-purpose recipes, there are several specialty foods that cater to specific needs or creatures.
Sweet Vegetable Cake
Herbivores will love you for this. Sweet Vegetable Cake is a healing item specifically designed for herbivorous creatures. It’s especially useful for healing snails, which can be difficult to heal otherwise. It’s made from several rare sap types and crops.
Mindwipe Tonic
Need a fresh start with your engrams? The Mindwipe Tonic resets your engram points, allowing you to reallocate them as needed. However, use it with caution, as it’s a powerful but irreversible decision.
Custom Consumable
This is where ARK’s food system truly shines. Custom Consumables allow you to craft your own recipes with specific stat-boosting effects. Experiment with different ingredients to create a consumable tailored to your needs.
Tips and Tricks for Food Preparation Ark Mastery
Mastering food preparation in ARK requires more than just knowing the recipes. Here are some essential tips and tricks to maximize your efficiency.
Efficient Resource Gathering
Knowing where to find key ingredients is crucial. Use a Trike for harvesting berries, a Stego for fiber, and a Doedicurus for stone.
Industrial Cooker Power
The Industrial Cooker is a game-changer for mass production. It allows you to cook multiple items simultaneously, saving you valuable time and effort.
Preserving Food
Extending the shelf life of your food is essential. Use Preserving Salt in Preserving Bins or utilize Refrigerators to keep your food fresh for longer.
Automated Farming
Set up automated farms for berries and crops. This will provide a steady stream of resources with minimal effort.
Dino Assistance
Certain dinosaurs excel at resource gathering. A Trike is great for berries, a Castoroides is good for wood, a Pelagornis can harvest fish quickly, and a Therizinosaurus can grab fiber.
Conclusion: The Culinary Ark Master
Mastering food recipes in ARK: Survival Evolved is not just a matter of survival; it’s a key to thriving in the harsh environment. By utilizing these recipes strategically, you can tame powerful creatures, conquer challenging bosses, and enhance your character’s stats.
From Cooked Meat to Superior Kibble, the ARK offers a diverse culinary landscape waiting to be explored. Experiment with different recipes, discover your favorite combinations, and share your findings with the ARK community. Embrace the ARK Kitchen and unlock your full potential! Understanding the best food recipe ark has to offer will give you a major advantage. So, get cooking, and conquer the ARK!