Ark Creature Physiology (Ark: Survival Evolved)/KieranH10

## Summary

The Creatures of Ark: Survival Evolved are notably different from their real world counterparts, or any real world creature for that matter. Gaining new canonical abilities and attributes, many of which explained by the Arks themselves. Due to this, many creatures in the game share many potential standard abilities between one another.

The Creatures of the Arks typically are granted additional abilities thanks to the reasoning behind the Arks creation in the Ark universe. The Arks function as life preservations, and also as a form of training ground for Survivors. The Arks themselves force an Artificial Ecosystem to exist, and creatures are a necessary function of such a phenomenon, meaning Creatures are built, and rebuilt, to survive.

It should be noted that the Genesis Simulation also grants the same abilities as those found on the Arks, likely due to both having the same purpose in the story.

## Utilities

Creatures on the Arks all share the following abilities:

* **Dimensional Storage**: Every creature in Ark: Survival Evolved has an inventory which can be accessed by Survivors using Specimen Implants. This inventory can carry large and heavy objects, sometimes at a reduced weight.
* **Accelerated Development**: Creatures on the Arks grow at an incredibly heightened rate, and can quickly grow more powerful thanks to the levelling system of the Arks.
	+ **Statistics Amplification**: The levelling system of the Arks allows inhabitants to manually level up attributes upon reaching a new level, this allows creatures to be individual and unique in power and agility. Statistics that can be levelled include:
		- **Health**: The Health stat determines the amount of damage that creatures are able to take.
		- **Stamina**: The Stamina stat describes how long a creature can exert itself before tiring.
		- **Oxygen**: This stat determines the creature's ability to hold its breath underwater.
		- **Food**: A higher food stat allows creatures to stay fed for a longer period of time.
		- **Weight**: The Weight stat determines how many items a creature can hold in its inventory, or how much weight it can hold.
		- **Melee Damage**: This stat increases the damage output of creatures attacks, it also increases the amount of resources that creatures gather from their surroundings.
		- **Movement Speed**: Determines the speed at which creatures are able to move.
		- **Crafting Speed**: Determines how quickly Survivors are able to craft.
		- **Fortitude**: Increases creatures ability to survive their surroundings, such as increasing their resistance to high and low temperatures, their ability to stay awake under the effect of narcotics, and their ability to survive Diseases.
		- **Torpidity**: Determines how much tranquilizing (sleep inducing) force that a creature can withstand before succumbing and falling asleep.
		- **Charge Regeneration**: Exclusive to Charge Light Creatures (Bulbdog, Featherlight, Glowbug, Glowtail, Shinehorn), this statistic replaces their Oxygen stat, and determines the rate at which their Charge Light regenerates.
		- **Charge Emission Range**: Exclusive to Charge Light Creatures (Bulbdog, Featherlight, Glowbug, Glowtail, Shinehorn), the statistic determines how far their Charge Light ability will extend. This stat replaces Melee Damage for Charge Light Creatures.
		- **Energy**: Exclusive to Robotic / Mechanical creatures, this ability is simply the energy they use to function, replacing the Food statistic, the higher this stat is, the longer creatures will work for.
* **Immortality**
	+ **Type 2** (Limited): Creatures on the Arks is able to survive Gunshots to the head, as well as Arrows and Spears impaling them through their skull, further evidenced by Survivors being able to survive these same feats, as well as broken bones and more, this is further proven by the Dossiers of multiple creatures. Most creatures can survive being impaled by Kentrosaurs, which is backed up in the Kentro's Dossier.
	+ **Type 5** (Likely): The likes of Survivors are able to reincarnate upon death in another body, leaving their dead body behind to later be harvested should they choose to. Given evidence of Overseers manually summoning creatures and constantly replenishing artificial ecosystems of creatures on the Arks, both on land and in the oceans, plus evidence that Creatures show signs of having years of domestication according to Helena (Indicating they have likely been on the Ark's much longer than is evident), it is possible that other creatures, similarly to Survivors, share the trait of reincarnation upon death.
	+ **Type 10** (Likely): Due to the nature of their **Type 5** Immortality, the creatures of the Arks obviously require the Ark itself to be functioning to inherit these abilities, as without an Ark to recreate them, they can not be recreated.
* Limited **Regeneration** (Mid, Up to several hours): Creatures are able to slowly regenerate from all of the wounds mentioned above provided they are well fed and healthy. For creatures with higher health this process typically takes longer, as they have more health to recover.
* **Consumption** & **Healing** (Mid): Ark Creatures are able to consume massive amounts of food, even when not hungry, to quickly heal themselves.
* **Spawning**: Much like their increased growth rate, the gestation period of creatures is also greatly increased, meaning they are able to give birth to young often in a matter of days.
* **Supernatural Willpower** (Type 1): Despite their innate ability to survive heavy damage, even when creatures take massive amounts of near fatal damage, they will continue to sprint towards, pursue, and battle against their opponent or target furiously and viciously unhindered by large gashes, impalements, and more.
	+ This Supernatural Willpower also grants creatures "At least **Supernatural**" Endurance.

### Ranging Tier

Due to their massively varying levels and statistics, species on the Arks are granted a **Ranging Tier**, the extent of this tier varies from creature to creature (Many creatures are obviously still much generally stronger than others).

* This ranging tier is present in almost all of the statistics on the creature's respective pages, due to the fact that any in-game statistic is variable in all Creatures.

### Overseer control

It should be noted that Overseers are able to summon and even control essentially any amount of creatures they desire that step foot on the Arks they inhabit. As was shown when Rockwell was able to summon a horde of angry creatures in the Explorer Notes.

### Exaggerated Size

It should also be noted that many creatures that inhabit the Arks are much larger than their real world equivalents, this may be due to their increased growth rate, manufactured biology, or other. Some examples of this enhanced scale include Rexes (Shown Here), Giganotosaurus (Shown Here), Mosasaurus (Shown Here), and more.

### Enhanced Intelligence

Every creature on the Arks inherits an intellectual capacity similar to many modern day domesticated animals, much higher than what their prehistoric incarnations would have possessed. All creatures are able to follow basic commands (Such as directions, attack calls, and more) without fail. Creatures are also able to perform basic tasks for survivors, such as gathering resources. Some creatures are even able to wield basic weaponry or utilize tools. Many creatures show signs of being domesticated in the past according to Helena.

### Resistances

* **Herbivores**: Fire & Explosions (Herbivorous creatures, due to their thick hides, receive a 62.5% damage reduction from fire, and an approximate 40% damage reduction from explosives)
* **Carnivores**: It should be noted that Carnivores take approximately 40% less damage from Herbivorous opponents.

## Variations

* **Creature Physiology**: Regular creatures which inherit all of the standard abilities as mentioned above.
	+ **Alpha Creatures**: Alpha Creatures are variants of regular creatures with enhanced size, strength, and durability. Most Alpha Creatures are completely immune to Torpor Damage, and cannot be tamed by Survivors.
		- Another notable ability of many Alpha Creatures is their ability to increase the power and resilience of other nearby creatures. Alpha Creatures capable of this include the Raptor, Rex, and Carno.
	+ **Aberrant Creatures**: Aberrant Creatures originate from the Aberration Ark, while also inheriting the abilities above (Granted with slightly less health, and slightly more damage), typically are also Bioluminescent, and many Aberrant Creatures have some resistance, or full immunity to Radiation.
	+ **Brute Creatures**: Brute Creatures are much larger and stronger variants than their regular counterparts, increasing in size even more-so than Alpha Creatures. Brute Creatures may only take 15% of damage inflicted on to them.
	+ **Corrupted Creatures**: Corrupted Creatures are much more vicious and aggressive creatures, corrupted by Element, these creatures work as a mindless Hivemind controlled by a host, such as the King Titan or Rockwell, this means that if one Corrupted Creature is attacked, many nearby will be able to sense it and come to help it. These creatures are even more relentless than that of regular creatures, possessing further Supernatural Willpower (Being capable of "pushing beyond their physical limits"), and are able to Sense element from huge distances. Corrupted Creatures cannot be tamed by Survivors, and gain a large variety of resistances, such as Mind Manipulation & Madness Manipulation (Due to already being mad, and mindless), Animal Manipulation (Through being untameable by Survivors)
		- **Titans**: The Titans are the highest pillars of the Element Hivemind, acting as commanders or "Lieutenants" under the King Titan's command, and therefor should retain the abilities of Corrupted Creatures. They are beings composed entirely from Element, and born from the Corruption itself. Described as Avatars to the Corruption, and "Manifestations of it's ravenous hunger and endless hatred". Titans are showcased manifesting their bodies from a Purple Substance (Seemingly Element Corruption), upon being summoned, which is also described by The One Who Waits. The Titans were supposedly never alive to begin with, granting Immortality (Type 6).
	+ **Tek Creatures**: Tek Creatures are entirely Robotic Variants of regular creatures that are found anywhere that the regular version is found, but are much rarer. Tek Creatures are naturally found at higher levels than their regular counterparts, and possess Inorganic Physiology.
	+ **X-Creatures**: X-Creatures are biome-oriented variants of creatures found within the Genesis Simulation (In the Bog, Snow, Ocean, Volcanic and Lunar Biomes), these variants are simply stronger, dealing up to 250% more damage, and Resisting up to 60% of The Survivors (and their tames) damage when Wild. They also gain a 5% damage increase, but have 3% less health than regular creatures when Tamed.
	+ **R-Creatures**: R-Creatures, similarly to X-Creatures, are biome specific creatures found on the Genesis Ship (Within either the Rockwell or Eden Biomes), unlike X-Creatures, these variants gain no damage increase or resistance. They do, however retain their 3% health reduction and 5% damage increase when tamed by Survivors.
		- **VR-Creatures**: VR-Creatures are simply Digitized versions of R-Creatures, being composed of Data.
* **Survivor Physiology**: While specific abilities are explained in more detail on the Survivor's profile, some notable additions to the Physiology should be noted for Survivors.
	+ Limited **Technology Interaction**: The inventories of Survivors allow them to interact with and utilize technology and structures, such as Fabricators, Tek Replicators, and even use Obelisks to access Guardian Arenas.
	+ **Crafting**: Survivors are able to use their Inventory to learn and retain Engrams, and use these Engrams to craft basic materials into weaponry, structures, and more.
	+ **Automatic Translation** (The Survivor's specimen implant automatically translates spoken language between Survivors, as shown when Mei Yin noted she was able to understand a village tribe, despite their speech not matching their mouth movements)
* **Guardian Physiology**: The Guardians of the Arks (The first Bosses of the game) share their own physiology, somewhat similar to that of regular creatures, however they also have their own variants (Gamma, Beta, and Alpha, separated by statistics), and possess their own special abilities, including:
	+ **Immortality** (Types 4, 5 & 10): The Guardians of the Arks are important functions of the Arks purpose, created for Arks as a test to ensure Survivors are able to face the threats present on Earth. For this reason, when killed, the Guardians are recreated by the Ark the next time they are needed, meaning the Guardians of the Arks will remain alive until the Ark no longer requires them to be.
	+ **BFR** & **Teleportation**: If a Survivor is unable to kill a Guardian they are killed and removed from the Battlefield, the only way to return is to gather the required items to activate the Obelisk again.
	+ Limited **Sealing**: The Guardians of the Arks have their own designated arenas, to fight a Guardian, one must enter these arenas by utilizing the Obelisks, once in the Guardian Arena, an opponent cannot exit it until either they die, or the Guardian dies. However this is more so an ability of the Arks themselves, and not an action or ability that the Guardians consciously utilize or perform.

## Limitations

It is implied that Specimen Implants are the reasoning for many abilities (At the very least for Survivors), as Implants deactivate upon a survivors death, and are visually what grants a Survivor their inventory. Due to this, the Removal of a living Survivor's implant may hinder their abilities, if not remove them entirely.

* It should be noted that Implants are seemingly wired into a Survivor's body down to the bone, so removing them may prove difficult.

## References

1. ↑ Helena Note #17 (The Island)
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Helena Note #19 (The Island)
3. ↑ Helena Note #21 (Aberration)
4. ↑ Helena Note #4 (The Island)
5. ↑ Helena Note #6 (The Island)
6. ↑ Helena Note #6 (Scorched Earth)
7. ↑ Helena Note #9 (The Island)
8. ↑ Helena Note #26 (Aberration)
9. ↑ Helena Note #18 (The Island)
10. ↑ Dossier - Corrupted Creatures (Ark: Survival Evolved)
11. ↑ The One Who Waits - Extinction Notes #19 / #20 / #21 / #22 / #23
12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 The One Who Waits - Extinction Note #16
13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 The One Who Waits - Extinction Note #13
14. ↑ Ark: Survival Evolved - Extinction DLC
15. ↑ The One Who Waits - Extinction Note #19
16. ↑ The One Who Waits - Extinction Note #23
17. ↑ Mei Yin Note #5 (The Island)