The Greenhouse Effect
Growing crops in the open is incredibly slow. To farm efficiently, you must construct a Greenhouse. A proper Greenhouse provides a 300% growth speed bonus and severely reduces fertilizer consumption.
How to Achieve 300% Effect
- Every piece of Greenhouse structure (Walls, Ceilings, Sloped Roofs) within a short radius of a Crop Plot adds +15% to the Greenhouse Effect.
- To reach the maximum 300%, you need exactly 20 Greenhouse structures placed around/above your plots.
- No Obstructions: Greenhouse ceilings MUST have a clear view of the sky. If you build a metal roof over your greenhouse, the effect drops to 0%.
- In ARK: Survival Ascended, the wireless water intake system automatically irrigates your plots as long as they are within range of a water tap.
Crop Plots & Fertilizer
There are three sizes of Crop Plots, but for endgame farming, you only ever need Large Crop Plots. They hold the most fertilizer and water.
The Advanced Crops
While you can plant basic berries (Narcoberries are highly recommended), the true purpose of a farm is to grow the four advanced vegetables required for Kibble and Cooking:
- Citronal: The yellow lemon. Used in Focal Chili and Superior Kibble.
- Savoroot: The potato. Used in Enduro Stew and Regular Kibble.
- Rockarrot: The carrot. Used in Calien Soup and Simple Kibble.
- Longrass: The corn. Used in Lazarus Chowder and Regular Kibble.
Fertilizer Production
Feces decay quickly, but Fertilizer lasts incredibly long in a crop plot. The two best ways to generate mass fertilizer:
- The Dung Beetle: Tame a Dung Beetle, place feces in its inventory, and set it to wander (or place it in a wooden cage so it doesn't get lost). It will convert the feces into high-grade Fertilizer and Oil.
- The Toilet / Phiomia Combo: Tame a Phiomia and force-feed it Stimberries. It will rapidly poop. Gather the poop, put it in a Compost Bin with Thatch, and wait.
Essential Recipes (Cooking Pot / Industrial Cooker)
Consumables provide massive buffs that are mandatory for Boss Fights, Cave runs, and PvP. Place the exact ingredients, plus a Waterskin (if using a Cooking Pot), and 1x Wood/Thatch/Sparkpowder.
| Recipe | Effect | Ingredients |
|---|---|---|
| Medical Brew | Heals 40 Health over 5 seconds. Essential for PvP and caves. | 20x Tintoberry, 2x Narcotic |
| Sweet Vegetable Cake | Heals Herbivores for 10% of max health. Mandatory for Therizinosaur boss armies. | 2x Giant Bee Honey, 4x Sap, 2x Rockarrot, 2x Longrass, 2x Savoroot, 4x Stimulant, 25x Fiber |
| Lazarus Chowder | Reduces oxygen consumption by 85%. Regenerates stamina underwater. | 9x Cooked Meat, 5x Savoroot, 5x Longrass, 10x Mejoberry, 2x Narcotic |
| Focal Chili | Increases movement speed by 25% and crafting speed by 100%. | 9x Cooked Meat, 5x Citronal, 20x Amarberry, 20x Azulberry, 20x Tintoberry, 10x Mejoberry |
| Mindwipe Tonic | Resets all your Engrams and Stat Points. | 24x Cooked Prime Meat, 200x Mejoberry, 72x Narcotic, 72x Stimulant, 20x Rare Mushroom, 20x Rare Flower |
Custom Recipes
ARK allows you to create your own food and drink recipes with scaling effectiveness based on your Crafting Skill.
How to Create a Custom Recipe:
- Consume a Mindwipe Tonic and put every single level-up point into Crafting Skill.
- Consume a Focal Chili to boost your crafting skill even further.
- Place a Blank Note inside a Cooking Pot.
- Add your ingredients (e.g., 10x Raw Meat for a food recipe, or 100x Element Dust for a high-tier food recipe).
- Click "Make Recipe". You can now name it, choose an icon, and customize the colors.
- The resulting recipe blueprint will scale its healing and food values based on your insanely high Crafting Skill. You can now respec your character back to normal stats, but the Recipe Blueprint retains its massive buffs permanently!
💬 Community Strategies & Discussion
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