Expedition - Project Ark: Rebuild

⚠️ This Page is subject to changes and redesign as I have time to reformat. ⚠️

Project Ark: Rebuild

Ark Main Screen

1. Total Titanium & Packs

2. Time left until Ark Event ends.

3. Progress tracker to next Milestone & Full Milestone Rewards List

4. Full Milestone Rewards List

7. Stage Enemy Info Weakness & Resistance

Below is an example of Stage Info. Titanium gained from stage completion is also listed. Enemy description with Feature of weakness or mechanic based on Life% left and a brief detail of what the Enemy is.

8. Leader-board - Unlocks at Stage 31

Ark Leader-boards under went some changed with the 8.0 update. Previously it was a mess and was very difficult to get a solid rank above the Top 400. Changes were made and now people are slotted into a leader-board as they join Ark. We do not have to full details to this setup but it is understood that as you enter the event and launch the Ark your placement directly related to the time frame that you join. Waiting to later in hopes of getting on a leader-board that has a low count does not work. At some unknown time interval the leader-boards cycle. This could be an every 15 minutes type of cycle. We do not know the details fully and if this information was made public people would abuse the system in place. Guardian-Adam had this to say about the Leader-boards... "Each major group contains several leaderboards. Players who join the Project Ark around the same time will eventually be assigned to the same major group, and then randomly assigned to one of the leaderboards within it. If the time span is too wide, the competition is overly intense. If the time span is too short, there will be too few players on each leaderboard, which would make competition less enjoyable. We will continue to monitor the competitiveness of the leaderboards and adjust the time span of each major group accordingly." Each section of ranks requires a minimum stage cleared to be eligible to be ranked within. Details to be added soon Ranks 1, 2-10, 11-20, & 21-50 get special Avatar frames that can be used for 1 week. Note: Rank 1 is faded because I have yet to own it.

9. Ark Shop & Passes

The cost is $14.99 USD but might be different based on your local currency. Requirement for the Skip pack is minimum stage 180 completion at least once to unlock for lifetime purchase. It will become available the next Ark you play in and will always advance you to 50% of your Highest Completion in Ark. Example: You reach stage 181 and stop, if you buy the pack you will be sent to stage 90. If you push stage 200/250/300 then you will skip to stage 100/125/150. Each Pass gives rewards for every 5 stages completed up to stage 100 Free Rewards 1,350 Rewards 1,350 Voyage 980 Minute Draw Module - Draw 1 temporary card every 30s of battle time (MAX:3) Rewards 6,000 & 16 Minute Draw Module - Draw 1 temporary card every 30s of battle time (MAX:3) Rewards 6,000 & 16 Rebuild - $10USD Extra Options Module - Gain 1 extra option when choosing card draws Rewards 1500 & 6 Extra Options Module - Gain 1 extra option when choosing card draws Rewards 1500 & 6

10. Fortress Attack Level

11. Modules List - Alphabetize

12. Turret Interface

13. Turret Selection Screen

This View should pop up weather you Tap on the or one of the Turrets currently Active.

14. Auto-Patrol

Auto-Patrol in Ark works differently than normal play. Every Hour on the Top of the Hour you will gain AP rewards based on how many stages you completed. Auto-Patrol rewards will auto update the amount if not claimed. Recent changes have been made so that the Patrol Timer starts when the event starts. This will help those who live in a time zone that is not favorable to their location. -:Notes:- It is best to push as far as possible with current attack while continuing to upgrade Fortress with Titanium gained from stage completion BEFORE you claim any QP as it will give rewards based on highest stage completed. This assumes that you have all turret slots unlocked as well. Quick Patrol will give you x2 of the hourly & x2 Every 6 hours a Free QP will become available which requires an Ad watch if you do not have SVIP. There are also Special Packs in the Shop that become available on a 6hr Running Timer. Both QP & Special Pack (require AD watch if you do not have SVIP) have timers that can be seen by looking at the (?) first showing by the hours and then minutes left till available.

Advanced Ark Strategy for Free to Play Guardians

The proceeding Post will be an In-depth topic aimed specifically at getting you to Stage 160 as a F2P Guardian Defender. Are you struggling with Ark Stages? Have you come up against a DPS Wall that you can't seem to pass? Have you discovered the awesome duo that is the Healing Starfish and Octopus? Is there a Bio Tick that you just can't seem to pop? Been getting Crabs in all the wrong places on your Fortress? Are those Super Sonic Tide Knights a little too quick for your targeting AI? Singer Lord making too many lings for you to handle? Husk Spore got your penetration down? Silk Hunter clogging up your Fortress? ... ... ... ... ... ... ... Have you see the Majestic Stellar Crown Guards? Well, Goat Have I Got Something For YOU!! Come on down and read up on Mod Goat's Proven Method In the latest AI Project Ark Rebuild Stage Fighting Simulator. This formulated guide has been used at least 5 weekends in a row and most recently in testing with the Voyage Pass. First Ark I figured out the Idea behind it and in less that 2 days I was at and passed stage 130 with Fortress level 48. In the weeks that followed I passed Stage 160 Four More Times!! Week 2 I hit 164, Week 3 I hit 182, Week 4 I hit 169, Week 5 I hit 219 (Voyage Pass in use). All by following the Same Method Outlined below. Moew... I am not saying that you need to follow this 100% to the core but slight changes in the outlined plan might cause you not to pass 160 within the 3 days of the event. The main goal is to try and advance to at least 55 stages on day 1 and then reach Stage 110 by end of day 2. On day 3 you push for stage 160. I can't explain how to pick cards. That you really need to try and learn on your own. If you are ever unsure if something is worth taking just ask in one of the event chat ⁠🌌project-ark-rebuild.

Getting to 160 as F2P

As F2P its best to use Titanium from Quick Patrols and Stage victory for the Fortress upgrades only. Once you pass Stage 20 only get cards from the Standard Packs given by the hourly Auto-Patrol and the Free use Quick Patrol and Special Pack you gain over 6 hours time frame. You gain both types over 6 hours up to 4 total if not used. You get a Auto-Patrol every hour on the hour, Use only the packs for cards and save the Titanium for Fortress. Push the Fortress as much as possible with all Titanium, both & . However... As F2P its "Best in Slot" to just put all gained into Fortress Levels as this is where most of your stage pushing power comes from. Try not to spend any of it on cards packs. Even the Titanium you get from stages. Push that to fortress as well. Getting Stuck at a Stage Wall If you find yourself getting stuck review the [?] for Weaknesses. Run a few times find the lowest DPS turret and swap it out for a different one and keep testing. Swap cards you might have with each Turret to see what does the most DMG. You will find what does the most and most of the time you just need more DPS from Fortress Levels. Please drop in ⁠🌌project-ark-rebuild when you get hard stuck and someone might have an idea that hasn't been tried out yet.. This Process have proven itself time after time and has yet to fail!! Stage 160 is 100% possible even as F2P. I have competed 4 now that were 160 or higher, 2 so far have been stage 180+. One weekend was rough because of stage 155 was hard, had me stuck 36+hrs. Previous stages are 78 , 123 because Stellar Crown Guards. Ark 4 is rough for a lot again because of Stellar Crown Guards on Stage 155. Ark 5 was yet again difficult for some at various points for the same reasons as past Ark rounds. Some enemies continue to be an issue each weekend as they continue to provide a challenge based on what is banned.

Card Logic

At the time of formatting this, numbers will be based off Season 17. On average there are around 240 (+/- 5) in total cards during the event. Some cards are granted at the start of the event. Turrets for example are counted as 1 card. We can not see total Card count until after stage 30 when the Leaderboard view is unlocked. When event starts we have (guessing here) around 10 cards. Guardian counts as 1 and each of the 9 turrets count as 1. Background When I First started I, learned to push upgrades with all Titanium gained, & . I only took cards from the given & packs. At some point I got cards that let me advance stages. Super chill and easy way to push 160 as free to play. I knew back then that there would have to be some kind of balance between buying cards and keeping fortress upgraded. As I played, I refined the process and passed to stage 160 5 weekends in a row. When the Voyage Pass ( 980 ) was added into the mix it further increased the play room between taking more cards or having more fortress upgrades. After 13 weekends of further learning the event, I started ending up in the top 20+ Ranks. Then Enter Cybalanced Now turned Youtube influencer "Top Tap" who began talking about his grand fishing pyramid... (that's a joke) Hooked as he is now known as started doing things very few saw in Ark Rankings. Even reaching the top 5 ranks. I asked him previously to try and explain what he was doing to get such results. It took me a few weeks to fully understand. Once I did I had ran me best weekend ever in terms of Rank. So Here we are today and the Can of Worms is about to be opened... Card Logic Normal - 90 Breakthrough - 42 Chain - 57 Combo - 27 Total - 216 Some who play Ark tend to experience a moment when they refresh cards only to see the same type of cards. When this happens they think the system is broken, it is bad RNG, or the game is coded to be like this. I have tried to address these comments as I come across them. My response is always the same: "You lack understanding of how it works." No disrespect or malice is intended when I say this. There are on average 132 base type cards that need to be collected before you can really start to see any Chain or Combo cards that really make some higher stages (200+) easier to push. Some get lucky and see a few really nice Chain or Combo cards along the way that help them push stages sooner then expected. Scenario / Issue You play ark and are not familiar with how the Card Draw system works. You pull cards based on turrets you want to use and always refresh when you see cards you feel like you will never use. You will start seeing only cards for turrets you are not using because the Draw Pool is flooded with cards you don't think to collect. Solution Do not ignore the cards. While collecting cards, be on the lookout for cards you want but, also take cards you don't want so long as they are Normal. When you Use or Buy a Pack ( / )  starting out the most common cards  are Normal cards (up to x3 with most).  Some get super lucky within the first 20 stages of draw and will find a few Breakthrough, Chain, or Module. Some never see a specific breakthrough, even as high as stage 120. It is just the way the system works at times. So how do we deal with some of these inconsistencies? The first step is to set aside everything you've learned about Card Drawing up to this point. In order to make this process work you need a clear balance with Fortress Upgrades and buying card packs. There are specific Fortress Damage breakpoints that need to be focused on or you risk breaking the entire process and prolonging some points of when you can push stages. Stage 100 - 700 Stage 160 - 1000 Stage 200-220 - 1200-1400 These breakpoints are based on Thunderbolt being enabled so we have access it Life Erosion. It is the main way to deal with some hard to defeat elites in higher stages. In some stages it will convert the normal enemy into the real boss because Life Erosion removes the challenge of the elite. The average Attack needed to fully reach stage 300 is around 3000 attack. But, that is only if you have access to all the cards in the game. Very few will ever reach this point without spending something on the event to have the extra advantage. Now, I will lay this out as if I was trying to tell you in a Direct Message about the process. The general rule of thumb now is to collect all Normal and Breakthrough cards. It's around somewhere of 130 in total. Along the way you might see a chain or combo card or even a module that you like and collect them which makes the process a little longer to complete. The idea is that once you collect the Normal and Breakthrough, it makes it easier to see the cards that are more valuable in the pack when you draw. Like Chain, Combo, or Module. Once you remove the Normal and the Breakthrough cards the two packs ( / ) almost become the same so it doesn't matter which one you open. There are only ever 26 modules in total to collect. So if you have a Chain or Combo card with a Module and you still want the module but the other cards seem more valuable it's okay to take the Chain or Combo and then look for the Module later. If there is a Breakthrough card you're looking for just keep collecting the Normal cards and at some point it should be offered. There are a few break points in terms of Fortress attack that you need to try to keep in mind while collecting cards. By stage 100 you should have at least 700 attack. By stage 160 you need to have about a 1000. If you continue to push higher than say stage 200 or 210 you need around 1300-1400. A lot of this depends on the cards that you get mainly the life erosion chain with Thunderbolt. It's okay to buy until cost is 2500-3000 and up to around 450-500. The process is honestly a little tedious if you're just trying to learn it, but once you do it's not too bad just a little time consuming. It's kind of like you learn the base idea and try to put it in practice and then you build your own method for running the process along the way. It can take two or three weekends maybe. Each weekend you should consistently get a higher rank when it ends. If there's a card you don't have the, Voyage Pass Module helps find it during battle just keep resetting the stage, quit and start over. Like if you don't have the T1 Matrix for Thunderbolt keep resetting until you find it. T1 Matrix for Thunderbolt is really all you need until you hit 160 or even 200. I have pushed stages before without it and only using the Minute Draw Module to look for it. ⚠️ This Page Section Below is currently being worked on. ⚠️

Going Onward Against Tides

In this section I will layout some much sought after information. How to deal with some Enemies in Ark. How to setup your Turrets for the best effect possible with the cards you have available. How to Push your leaderboard rank higher than ever before. Ark Event Chat has weeks of chat history with people discussing and seeking different techniques and strategies on how to deal with and pass stages. Each weekend, the same methods generally get used regardless of some things that get banned. The different Modules that get banned each week normally do not play a large factor in the difficulty of the event. Mostly they just set the bar on what the maximum possible stage might be. Some weekends its nearly impossible to pass some stages to reach 300 UNLESS you can afford to spend the money to do so. Note: This Section will get refined as I have time to confirm and search out how to deal with some enemy types. If you have a Tactic to submit for posting, Find me on Discord...

Crowd Control = CC

A few enemies each weekend prove to be a force to be reckoned with and are some of the major contenders that can cause you troubles in your ever growing knowledge of Ark Leaderboard Pursuit. One major chain that will always been in play unless banned is Disruption Drone [Disruption] Chain - More on this in the section below Crowd Control. Sometimes you get an Elite stage that is paired with Bio Ticks. In these settings it can be extremely difficult to keep the Bio Ticks separated from the Elites. Using Guardian Impact breakthrough focus fire the elites on the sides of the screen can sometimes help with this. It is possible to clear the stage type even if you lack Healing Suppression. This is one of the first enemy types that you slowly learn how to "tweak" your over all setup to survive/kill enough to pass the stage. Tweak meaning disabling some Mods, changing out some turrets, changing some cards on each turret if need be...

Best Turret Card Setups

For now this section will use Card Names until I can upload images. Once you learn the setups, Image or Words shouldn't matter in all honesty. I did not make note Disruption Drone and Thunderbolt much in the above section due to their Key use in passing Ark Stages. Generally when these two turrets are banned, the difficulty to pass stages can be extreme. Note: On Kill Effects are mostly pointless in Ark. On stages where you want less grouping, swap out Converging Field for something else you have. On stages where you need longer CC, Swap the Shock T2 for Extension. Laser has a few combos that are useful. Graviton Laser (Gravity Vortex) , Paralysis Laser (Thunderbolt), and Most Goated, Energy Detonation (Sky Guard) Fire Transmission breakthrough can be a stand in until you get Ignition, T1 Burn card. I do not know the best DPS setup for Sky Guard but this is normally what I work towards. Path Strike combo with Guardian is weak. Thunderbolt combo is useless most times. Teslacoil has a few Combos that can be helpful or stand in until you get full Matrix Thunderbolt. Do Not Under Estimate Trap Matrix. Even just using Minute Draw from Voyage Pass to get Trap Matrix 30s into battle is enough to help you push into stage 200+. Electro [Paralysis] OR Charges Shock Breakthrough should be in the 3rd slot so that you can easily swap each one out when you are on a stage that you don't want Teslacoil to have [Paralysis] *The last 3 cards in Gravity Vortex when Disruption Drone is enabled are users choice. Could be Black Hole or +50% DMG. Just don't use +25% Gravity pull **The normal cards in play are personal preference. Either +50% DMG or +Field Range *The choice in Breakthrough is the best setup to keep Tier 3 wasps up as much as possible. **Fury Swarm (Beam) & Electro Wasp (Teslacoil) combos are dependent on either turret not being banned. Sometimes Laser is Banned and Beam is the ONLY source of [Vulnerable]. -:Fun Fact:- Refraction Chain will work on Gigaclaw Hunter... *+50% Damage is a stand in until you collect the Damage 200%-400% Chain. **3rd Breakthrough is a tossup. Beam never seems to kill enough to use +duration, most use Extra Beam I think. I have never really used Aeroblast in higher stages. Its potential is unknown in regards to other more often used turrets. *There are 3 useful Combos depending on what is Banned. **+50% Damage or +50% Knockback/+30% Damage is user preference. *Firewheel has 2 chains that could be used. +50% Damage should be used over the +30% Duration... **Most Goated Combo is Vortex Firewheel (Gravity Vortex). High Crowd Control Abilities. Firewheel Ignition inflicts [Burning], this is NOT the same as [Burn] and will NOT work with Laser Energy Detonation. I don't know much about Railgun use in Ark. I only know what I do from use in standard play. Railgun needs a few chips to really shine. We can't use Chips in Ark so its potential is unknown. *Explosion Chain is likely the best in slot for Railgun.

Known Tactics.

There are a few known combinations that work extremely well in Ark.... Damage Dealers Energy Detonation - (Laser + Sky Guard) The most Goated Combo Disruption Force - (Disruption Drone) Even alone it can be quite powerful Reflected Disruption Force - (Gravity Vortex + Firewheel + Disruption Drone) - Extremely powerful Combo... Life Erosion (Mainly for Elites) - (Thunderbolt) Thunderbolt Matrix - (Teslacoil) Energy Detonation - (Laser + Sky Guard) The most Goated Combo Disruption Force - (Disruption Drone) Even alone it can be quite powerful Reflected Disruption Force - (Gravity Vortex + Firewheel + Disruption Drone) - Extremely powerful Combo... Life Erosion (Mainly for Elites) - (Thunderbolt) Thunderbolt Matrix - (Teslacoil) Crowd Controllers Gravity Vortex - Portal & Black Hole T2 +50% Range Disruption Drone - [Slow] Breakthrough & Fortress Support combo with Guardian. Laser - Graviton Laser (Gravity Vortex) & Paralysis Laser (Thunderbolt) Sky Guard - Collapse Explosion (Gravity Vortex) is one of the best early CC you can find. Teslacoil - Trap Matrix [Slow] & [Paralysis] Breakthrough Firewheel - Vortex Firewheel (Gravity Vortex) Hive - [Slow] Pulse in some situations if collected/owned Aeroblast - Sometimes the Knockback is enough to keep you alive long enough to pass the stage. Gravity Vortex - Portal & Black Hole T2 +50% Range Disruption Drone - [Slow] Breakthrough & Fortress Support combo with Guardian. Laser - Graviton Laser (Gravity Vortex) & Paralysis Laser (Thunderbolt) Sky Guard - Collapse Explosion (Gravity Vortex) is one of the best early CC you can find. Teslacoil - Trap Matrix [Slow] & [Paralysis] Breakthrough Firewheel - Vortex Firewheel (Gravity Vortex) Hive - [Slow] Pulse in some situations if collected/owned Aeroblast - Sometimes the Knockback is enough to keep you alive long enough to pass the stage. There could be more setups that are yet to be discovered...

Final Thoughts...

There is a known issue within the game where smaller screens share a minor advantage over standard mobile device screen sizes. Some phones have the native programming to run the Game app within window mode. If a user makes the window as small as possible, then there is less time for enemies to populate the stage screen area. Thus enabling you to engage them faster than other users. This "Unfair Tactic" can save you up to 30 seconds of waiting on some stages as you watch enemies slowly enter the turret/guardian engagement range. I will be posting Example pictures soon and outline the clear difference that this type of tactic will give you. However I can personally vouch that it is 100% possible to reach stage 300 without using this tactic. Some people have been using this since Ark was launched. I wish there was a way for this to be corrected. While the Development Team has acknowledged that this "issue" is a real problem... We currently do not have an answer for it and wait to see how the developer will address it.