With MCArk, you must progress through an entirely new system to survive in an ancient world dominated by dinosaurs. You start with zero skills and no resources, save for a mysterious Implant embedded in your hand.
Character Progression & Skills
The Implant tracks all your vital information and allows you to develop your character. As you perform actions like gathering resources or defeating monsters, you will earn Experience. Each level-up grants you Skill Points and Research Points:
- Skill Points: Use these to increase your character’s health, strength, and stamina.
- Engrams: Spend research points to unlock new crafting recipes for armor, advanced weaponry, and specialized building blocks.
The core feature of MCArk is taming dinosaurs. In a world this hostile, dinosaurs are essential allies that provide much-needed assistance in combat. Without them, survival is difficult – during my first few minutes, I died several times just by drawing the attention of dangerous predators!
How to Tame Your Dinosaur
The taming process involves feeding a creature its preferred food. The method depends on the species:
- Passive Taming: For smaller, friendlier creatures, you simply provide them with berries or fish and wait for the progress bar to fill.
- Knockout Taming: For dangerous predators, you must first render them unconscious. Smaller dinos can be knocked out with a Club, while larger ones will require dozens of Sleeping Arrows.
Once a dinosaur is unconscious, tap on it to open its inventory. Place their preferred food inside, along with Narcotics to ensure they stay asleep. If done correctly, you will see the Taming Progress Bar fill up when you hover your crosshair over the creature.
Dinosaur Taming Guide
| Creature Name | Diet | Taming Method |
|---|---|---|
| Dodo | Herbivore | Knockout (tranq arrows or wooden club, then feed berries) |
| Pegomastax | Herbivore | Passive (throw items) |
| Ichthyornis | Fish | Passive (feed fish) |
| Meganeura | Unknown | Unknown |
| Coelacanth | N/A (Food source) | N/A |
| Dimorphodon | Carnivore | Passive (feed meat) |
| Dilophosaurus | Carnivore | Knockout (tranq arrows, then feed meat) |
| Moschops | Herbivore | Passive (special requested items) |
| Raptor | Carnivore | Knockout (tranq arrows, then feed meat) |
Tamed dinosaurs will fight by your side, and many can even be used as mounts. For example, the Raptor serves as an excellent ground mount and can be equipped with armor for added protection in battle. If you’re looking to take to the skies, the Dimorphodon can be tamed and used to fly short distances.
Beyond the creatures themselves, MCArk introduces a variety of high-tech tools and structures to help you survive. You can secure your base with traps and sentry towers, or use specialized equipment like the grappling hook to navigate the terrain and keep yourself safe from predators.