‘ARK: Survival Evolved’ Guide: Understanding Status Indicators And Effects
ARK: Survival Evolved comes with several different status indicators that can make life easier or difficult for Xbox One and PC players. This guide was put together to help owners of the dinosaur survival game pick up and understand what kind of condition their character is in and what to do if it’s a negative one.
Understanding the Status Bar
One of the first things to do in ARK: Survival Evolved is to understand your character’s current status. A vertical status bar is located in the bottom right hand corner of the screen to provide visual indicators of each of the following character status attributes.
Experience: Shows your progress towards leveling up.
Weight: Shows how close you are to your character’s weight limit based on the items you are carrying. The character moves slower the more weight is being carried and can eventually not move at all.
Thirst: How thirsty your character is, obviously. Your character will begin to take damage once this empties. You can replenish thirst by dunking your character in the water or walking up to any source of water and pressing the “Y” button on the Xbox One controller. Items such as Water Skins and Bottles can also be used to carry water to drink later.
Hunger: Like thirst, this shows how hungry your character is and can result in a character taking damage and/or passing out if not dealt with. Berries can be gathered and eaten from small bushes, meat can be gotten from killing animals, and players can grow crop and cook at later levels.
Stamina: This shows your character’s energy level. Activities such as sprinting, jumping, swimming, fighting, and chopping trees can reduce stamina. A character will move slowly when it reaches zero. Simply stand still to refill the bar quickly or walk to refill the bar slowly.
Health: The most easily understood indicators. Let this get to zero and your character dies. Lost health will regenerate slowly over time, but can be boosted by eating cooked meat or using blood bags. Note that your character does lose health when hitting things bare handed.
Conditional Status Bar Indicators
The following indicator appear above the Experience indicator on the status bar depending on a condition such as if you are underwater or inside shelter.
Oxygen: You are underwater. This tells you how much air you have in your lungs. You’ll begin to suffocate when it reaches zero. Increasing your Oxygen stat when leveling up can increase the time spent under water.
Torpor: Measures how weary you starting at zero. When it reaches 50, you’ll fall unconscious and will be unable to do anything. Torpor be increased by Narcoberries, Narcotics, clubs, slingshots, Tran Arrows, and Tranq Darts. Attacks by poisonous creatures such as Scorpions and Titanboas can increase Torpor along with the Pachy’s head-butt attack. Your Fortitude stat will increase resistance to Torpor.
Understanding Status Effects
In addition to the status bar, ARK: Survival Evolved displays different status effects at the bottom left of the screen. These are you used to show if your character is too hot, too cold, encumbered, drowning, etc. Paying attention to these is important as they can explain things like Thirst decreasing quickly or a character moving slowly.
Freezing: Your body temperature has gotten dangerously low. The Hunger status decreases even more quickly and health will slowly be lost. Again, avoid water. Clothing, shelter, and/or fire to bring your character’s body temperature back up. Increasing your Fortitude stat will allow you to resist being cold and freezing better as well.
Hot: Your body temperature is too high. This will result in the character’s Thirst status decreasing faster than normal. Avoid doing activities that eat up Stamina as well as heat sources like fires. Clothing with good hyperthermal insulation, going swimming, or taking shelter can bring the body temperature back down.
Burning: Your body temperature is dangerously high. Thirst will decrease even more quickly. Wearing clothing with high hyperthermal insulation, swimming, and shelter can bring temperatures out of the danger zone. Increasing your Fortitude stat will allow you to resist being hot and burning better as well
Starving: It’s time to eat some food. Your character will slowly lose health until you do. Torpidity also increases quickly.
Dehydrated: Drink some water or lose health. Torpidity also increases quickly.
Exhausted: You’ve depleted your Stamina bar completely. You can’t run or jump and your overall movement speed is slower. Torpidity also increases quickly.
Injured: You’ve gotten beaten up pretty bad. You can’t jump or run, your stamina will not recover, and you’ll move slower. Eat some cooked meat or use a blood bag to help with recovery. Torpidity also increases faster.
Encumbered: You are carrying too much weight. Your player cannot run or jump at 85 percent of their weight stat. Carrying more will prevent your character from moving at all.
Crafting/Repairing: Your character is currently crafting or repairing an item. You cannot run or jump during this time and movement speed is slower.
Slow: You’ve been webbed by an Araneo (Giant Spider). Your character moves slower.
Suffocating: You are out of oxygen. Time to find some fresh air or you will die.
Knocked Out: Your Torpidity has increased high enough to knock your character out. You are unconscious and will remain so until your Torpidity gets back under 50. You are extremely vulnerable to animals and other players during this time.
Tranquilized: Oh no! You’ve been stung or bitten by an animal or perhaps shot by a Tranq Arrow from another player. This can cause a player to grow tired and passed out. Note that the Meganeura (Dragonfly) and Titanomyrma (Giant Ant) use the same status effect except player’s stamina is decreased.
Food Poisoning: You fed your character raw or spoiled meat. This decreases health while filling the Hunger status bar slowly. Eating more will increase the duration of the food poisoning.
Dilo Venom: A Dilophosaur spat venom in your face. This severely impairs your vision for 10 seconds.
Digesting: That food you’ve just eaten is raising your Hunger status bar.
Healing: Good news! The consumable item you’ve just used is generating your health faster than normal.
ARK General Guides:
- How to Choose a Server
- How to Fish
- How to Deal with Disease
- Understanding Status Indicators and Effects
- Xbox One Tips and Tricks
ARK Map Guide:
ARK Taming Guides:
- Arthropluera
- Dimetrodon
- Direbear
- Dung Beetle
- Dunkleosteus
- Gallimimus
- Giant Beaver
- Lystrosaurus
- Manta
- Terror Bird
- Titanosaur
- Woolly Rhino
[Image via ARK: Survival Evolved]
