So I've been playing Ark with 3 IRL friends for the past week 3/4 weeks. But recently the "Alpha" tribes of that server are starting to get a little ambitious. (Despite having huge advantages in terms of location and tamed dinos.)

They've started throwing their weight around and announced that the rest of us have to ask their permission to tame certain creatures, cannot build in certain locations, etc.
(They've even gated off all off the caves so we can't explore them and bring home useful creatures like Dung Beetles.)

So I thought I'd ask around... if I went to setup a 70 or 100 player server, who'd join and, most importantly, stay?

Couple of things to note:
1: I'd like the server to be as "vanilla" as possible. I don't see the point of these 10x gather, 10x faster taming etc mods. But if they're vital to you guys then I could be persuaded.
2: There can be no "we're the biggest tribe/alpha tribe, you can't build in certain places/tame certain lvl dinos" etc.
3: Donations would be relied upon to keep the server up and I can't think of a fair way to reward people who donate... so there probably won't be any. Maybe access to a private Discord channel for priority Admin support or something?
4: I don't really see the point of Primitive+... but again, can probably be persuaded.

So here are the prices from various sites:

Thoughts and opinions are very welcome.

i have played ark from day1 on and off..Its a very good game ark is on sale 50% off and free for weekend on steam give it ago

yes i will play on your server to boots the numbers

input on your notes
1: taming needs be min 10x (i not have 9h to tame a 150 )
2: pvp is pvp (if need i can come and kidnap your alpha tribe and make a poop farm for your Dung Beetles with them )
3:Donations i got np with (tracking beacons not much of a game changer but my god they epic for lost Dino's)
4: OK there are 3 kinds of game mode's SoF /ark /primitive/.... SOF is 24h pvp fun / ark is just a longer kind of Sof /primitive is the way to go pvp and pve

Awesome Rover.

Input on your input:
1: Isn't taming supposed to be a challenge though? Players are encouraged to work their way through the taming "tree"/flow-chart via taming, breeding, eggs and cooking the right kibble.
Would you say 10x taming is an absolute requirement? Doesn't it make it too easy for players to get T-Rex, Quetzals etc extremely fast?

2: We're currently on Nitrado 238. (I think.) I have more than enough Dodo kibble to get you a decent Pteranadon and bring it out to you

3: I'll read up on tracking beacons later but that sounds like a good idea.

4: Doesn't Primitive+ mode remove a lot of stuff? Mostly end game stuff like better rifles etc? Again, this is something I'll have to read up on.

Do you think me gifting a copy to Hyper will tempt him in?

1: taming is a challenge even at high rates / with the hunt for a 140+ and the KO keeping it asleep/safe when starving it and then the feed to get a 99% tame
2: i will try pop on but kids off school
3:

4: ARK without the use of modern weapons, gear, and structures. Primitive ARK servers essentially stop engram unlocks at the stone tier adding 100 new custom primitive items,Among the new items are three new building tiers (adobe, lumber, brick & cement) as well as new resources, food items, weapons, traps, crafting stations and decorative structures.

5: lol you can try

Nope dont want it.

You wouldn't give it a try if it free?
I genuinely think there's some good stuff in it that you'd enjoy.

Completely happy with gifting it to you and Joe.

like the game but need a good server as have had to change server to many times now its starting to put me off the game

Joe is up for it i not so much.

@Hyper - If the game is still on offer when I get home, I'll send you and Joe a copy.

@pip & Rover - my friends and I have taken over Herbivore island on a Chicago server, the name of which escapes me at the moment. I'll message you the IP on Steam tonight. Come join our little tribe of 3. Spawn down south and I'll come fetch you. Will try and have a few extra flyers spare as well.

The mods to subscribe to on the Steam workshop are: Resource Stacks AB (items stacks are higher), RAWR beacons (allows the Admin put better stuff in the drops/beacons) and Egg N Poop Collector N Incubator (new engram for a few new items to do with auto-collecting poop for fertilizer and an egg incubator).

The server is x5 gather and x10 taming. The XP is x3 I think but am not 100% sure.

We'll see how we get on for a couple weeks then revisit the idea of our own server?

Server IP: 173.234.25.146:27039

You can use:in your Steam launch parameters to launch the game and join the server faster.

its not a terrible game, just need a decent server to play on

The one I'm on is okay. (IP: 173.234.25.146:27039.) The latency is a bit iffy at times but it's perfectly playable.

Okay, the current plan is this:
I'm taking a short break from Ark. I'll re-try it after the September 1st patch is released.
The patch notes for Sept 1st read:
So I'll give the modders a few days to update their stuff and then probably rent a 70 slot server.
The server will only stay up past one month if donations are received. I personally can't afford £34 a month.
I'll post in the shoutbox a day or two before renting it and make sure there's still some interest in people joining and boosting the server population a little.