BREEDING & MUTATIONS

1. Stat Inheritance (Base Stats)

When you breed two creatures, the baby does not inherit their current stats. It inherits their Base Stats (the stats they had the exact moment they woke up from being tamed, before you added any player-leveled points).

2. Incubation & Hatching

Eggs require specific ambient temperatures to incubate. If it's too hot or too cold, the egg will lose health and eventually die.

3. Stacking Mutations (The Math)

Mutations are the endgame of ARK. A mutation occurs randomly during breeding (approx. 7% chance) and grants the baby +2 stat levels in a random stat, plus a random Color Change to one of its color regions.

How to Stack (The 20/20 Cap)

A creature can only naturally generate mutations if its matrilineal or patrilineal mutation counter is under 20. To stack infinitely, you must follow the Clean Female Strategy:

1. Tame dozens of "Clean Females" (0/20 mutations).
2. Breed your best Male with all the Clean Females.
3. Check the babies. If you get a Male with a Health mutation (1/20), he becomes the new Alpha Male.
4. Replace the old Male with the new (1/20) Male. Breed him with the same Clean Females.
5. Because the females are always 0/20, you will never hit the hard cap on the female side, allowing you to stack the male side infinitely (you can reach 254 stat points in a single stat!).
6. WARNING: Never breed a mutated female back into the line, or you will double the mutation counter without actually gaining stats (this ruins the bloodline).

4. Imprinting Buffs

Once a baby hatches, you must claim it. During its maturation, it will request care (cuddles, specific kibble, or walks). Fully imprinting a dinosaur (100%) grants monumental combat advantages:

• Stat Boost: Increases Health, Melee, Weight, and Speed by 20%. (This applies after mutations).
• Rider Buff: When the person who imprinted the dinosaur rides it, the dinosaur deals 30% MORE damage and takes 30% LESS damage. This buff is the sole reason bred armies can defeat Bosses.

5. New Ascended Mechanics

ARK: Survival Ascended completely revamped several breeding mechanics to remove the tedious elements of Survival Evolved.

• 🥚 Oviraptor Automation: Oviraptors now automatically collect fertilized eggs in their radius and store them without them losing health. No more standing AFK for hours waiting for eggs to drop.
• 💩 Dung Beetle Automation: Dung Beetles now automatically collect feces in their radius and turn it into fertilizer.
• 🧬 Mutation Separation (ASA Exclusive): In Ascended, mutations are now separated from base stats. This means if you tame a better wild creature later, you can breed your existing mutation line onto the new base stat without losing your mutations!