The Leveling Mechanism in Ark - It was embodied in the game Ark Survival

Chapter 8: The Leveling Mechanism in Ark

"Well, never mind."

King muttered faintly as he tossed the metal piece aside, but his eyes remained fixed on the Dodo that was moving slowly among the tall grasses. He observed every detail of its movement, every stupid step, every oblivious turn away from the dangers surrounding it.

In truth, King didn't really care about this stupid creature, nor did he find any pleasure or challenge in hunting it. But the mission weighed on him like a heavy debt, its red reminders flashing relentlessly in the corner of his vision. He had no choice but to carry it out reluctantly, like someone performing a boring, unavoidable routine task.

King lowered his hand from his face and focused his gaze on the Dodo, which was picking grains from the ground with its hooked beak, occasionally wagging its short tail as if playing its own silent tune.

He had known ever since he tamed "Little Wan" that he was able to view the status screen of any creature he had tamed. This was one of the few privileges the system had granted him, as if acknowledging his effort in subduing wild creatures.

King opened this Dodo's status screen and scrutinized its details carefully, his eyes moving between the numbers and attributes like a seasoned expert examining a suspicious deal.

As is the case in the world of Ark, any tamed creature receives a random boost to one attribute or even a set of attributes. As if the system rewards the player for their effort by adding a magical touch to the tamed creature.

This Dodo was originally at level 30 before King tamed it. A respectable level, much higher than King's own level. But after the taming process, it received a boost that jumped it to level 45. A qualitative leap, a level increase of fifteen degrees, which could be described as impressive on paper.

But King, examining the numbers closely, realized the bitter truth. This increase was not truly beneficial in his eyes, because this Dodo's attributes had not been significantly enhanced compared to the level it gained. The level jump was like an inflated body without real muscles. It had risen by about half its original level, but its attributes were incredibly weak, as they hadn't undergone that significant change.

Upon closer inspection of the attributes, King found that each attribute had been raised by only about half the value it should have increased by given this newly acquired level. Fifteen levels meant adding thirty attribute points distributed perfectly under normal circumstances, but here the increase did not exceed fifteen points, randomly distributed across attributes that were irrelevant in combat. It was a false increase, an inflation of the number without real substance.

---

(Educational Section)

— Simplified Explanation of the Mechanism

In the world of Ark, there is a unique feature that grants tamed creatures a type of boost resembling a random reward given by the system for the taming process. This reward can come with a random number that cannot be predicted in advance, and its value varies from one creature to another according to several factors that players don't fully understand.

Returning to the Dodo that King just tamed, we find the following details:

· It was at level 30 initially before the taming process.

· After taming, it became level 45, meaning it jumped fifteen levels at once.

Logically, this creature should have received, due to this qualitative leap, an increase in its attributes of at least 50% of their original values. In fact, its combat abilities were expected to rise noticeably in proportion to this new level. But this was merely a purely logical expectation, nothing more, because in reality...

What actually happened was nothing but a weak random boost, not exceeding 15% of the expected percentage.

This means the Dodo became stronger only in terms of its apparent number, while in reality, not much changed in its essence and actual capabilities. It is like an inflated body containing nothing but air.

— Why is this a bad thing?

In the world of Ark, level is nothing but a cosmetic number if the base attributes (strength, speed, endurance, intelligence, attack power...) are not compatible with it and proportionate to the size of that level.

The Dodo is now level 45, but its actual performance remains as weak as a level 32 or 33 Dodo. The gap between the number and the substance is vast. This means the taming system had tricked King with a cunning deception: it gave him a creature that appears strong on paper, but in battle, it would be almost useless, not much different from any ordinary untamed Dodo.

— Suggested Analogies to Clarify the Idea:

First Analogy:

Imagine buying a new sports car that looks fast from the outside, with sporty badges on the sides, a sporty exhaust that roars loudly, and a speedometer reading 300 km/h. But when you open the hood, you discover a shocking surprise: an ordinary car engine with no more than 100 horsepower. The car looks like it could race the wind, but in reality, its top speed doesn't exceed that of a regular motorcycle.

This is exactly what happened with the Dodo: a falsely high level without real attributes to back it up. The appearance is deceiving, and the core is weak.

Second Analogy:

It's like a student who received an honorary doctorate in a subject they know nothing about. The certificate looks beautiful on the wall, bearing seals and signatures, and appears impressive. But they cannot answer a simple question in that field, nor do they even understand its basics.

The number is high, but the substance is empty. The certificate does not reflect knowledge, and the level does not reflect true power.

— Why did this defect occur?

The system in Ark relies on randomness in distributing taming rewards. This mechanism is designed to create diversity and uniqueness among tamed creatures, but it carries a negative side as well.

· Sometimes, the tamed creature receives a balanced boost that genuinely makes it stronger, and its attributes increase by a good percentage proportional to its new level.

· But at other times (which is what happened here with the Dodo), the reward goes towards raising the level only, while the attributes remain relatively weak, as if the system gives the player a "nice number" without "real substance."

This makes the tamed creature useless in combat despite its high level, something experienced players are well aware of. For this reason, professionals are not fooled by high numbers; they look at the actual attributes before deciding whether the creature is worth the effort or not.

And now, let's return to our story...

---

King returned to contemplating the Dodo before him and smiled a sarcastic smile.

"So... you are nothing but numerical inflation. Just a certificate without knowledge, and a sports car without an engine."

He rubbed his hands together with sarcastic enthusiasm:

"But that doesn't matter much to me right now. The mission is the mission, and you, my friend, are just a means to achieve my goal."

He slowly raised his stone axe and crept toward the Dodo, which was still oblivious to the inevitable fate awaiting it.

He approached it slowly while the Dodo itself wandered stupidly around the area, occasionally tripping over rocks and tree branches scattered on the ground.

King was steadfast in his decision, so he didn't harbor an ounce of regret towards this simple, stupid creature.

He approached until he was directly in front of it.

The Dodo sensed him, turned towards him, and a joyful smile spread across its stupid face. It knew King was its master; it trusted him blindly, like a son trusting his mother. But this child did not know that the one before him was not his mother, but the bringer of death.

King looked at the Dodo, and without an ounce of sympathy, he raised his axe high and, with astonishing speed, un-tamed this Dodo through the system and pounced on it with all his might.

*Crack!*

With a single blow, he split the Dodo cleanly in two. It was a literally clean cut.

---

[Ding! Mission Progress: Kill 10 Dodos: 1000 experience points => Progress (7/10)]

---

King saw this notification and immediately felt a surge of intense satisfaction and excitement.

He said in a low voice:

"Alright, let's continue searching around us. There might be other Dodos in this area."

And so he set off on his search, filled with enthusiasm.

...

After a short while of searching, King finally managed to find a group of five Dodos grazing near a small pond. He immediately attacked them, killed them, collected their meat, and then withdrew from the area, as he had spotted one of the dangerous predators in that pond that he couldn't handle at the moment.

After retreating to a safe place, King examined his mission list:

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[Missions]: {

1- Kill 10 Dodos: 1000 experience points => Progress (10/10)✓;

2- Tame one Dodo: 150 experience points => Progress (Completed)✓;

3- Kill 4 Compies: 420 experience points;

4- Craft a Bed: 200 experience points;

5- Craft Wooden Foundations: 100 experience points;

6- Craft Wooden Walls: 100 experience points;

7- Craft one Arrow: 50 experience points;

8- Craft one Bow: 300 experience points;

9- Craft 1 Narcotic: 30 experience points;

10- Craft a Spear and kill 3 Dilophosaurs: 1750 experience points...

}

---

His face lit up with an unparalleled smile, and he felt an unmatched enthusiasm, as his level had risen again, bringing him closer and closer to level ten.

[

[Name]: King

[Level]: 8

[Skill Points]: 7

[Experience]: 540/800

[Health]: 150.0/150.0

[Stamina]: 110.0/110.0

[Oxygen]: 100.0/100.0

[Food]: 110.0/110.0

[Water]: 100.0/100.0

[Weight]: 30.0/100.0

[Melee Damage]: 240.0%

[Movement Speed]: 294.0%

[Crafting Skill]: 100.0%

[Fortitude]: 0.0

[Torpor]: 0.0/200.0

]

"Hahaha, now I have seven skill points. Let's invest six of them into strength and one into speed. I want to reach triple the normal strength and speed."

And so, he distributed his points across his attributes.

...

After completing his distribution, he reopened his status window and saw a sight that made him feel a sense of accomplishment:

[