All Ark Survival Ascended difficulty settings, explained

Ark Survival Ascended, like any other MMORPG, can be played on various difficulty settings. Most hardcore gamers opt for Hard difficulty, while others settle between Medium and Easy. The setting affects the game drastically. While putting the game on Hard is suggested for gaining great loot, each player has a distinct way of surviving amongst the prehistoric creatures.

Playing Ark Survival Ascended in these modes has its pros and cons. This article will explain the process and impact of changing difficulty settings.

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How to change difficulty settings in Ark Survival Ascended

Players can change the difficulty by going to settings from the main menu (Image via Studio Wildcard)

Players can face obstacles while engaging in a particular mode. The game can get a little dull in easy mode, while hard mode can be too challenging. Players must note that they can only change the difficulty setting from the home screen and not while playing the game. Here is a step-wise process of changing difficulty in Ark Survival Ascended.

• Step 1: Open the Main Menu
• Step 2: Press "Press ␣ to start."
• Step 3: Select "Create or Resume Game."
• Step 4: Select "Game Rules" on the top of the screen
• Step 5: Select "Difficulty" at the bottom of the screen
• Step 6: Select the difficulty from easy to hard

Players must note two things while changing settings in Ark Survival Ascended:

• They must save the game before making any alterations.
• The change in difficulty setting can affect the health of tames and players.

Hence, they must not change the difficulty setting while their tames are low in health. They can regain health before switching modes.

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How does changing difficulty affect gameplay in Ark Survival Ascended

Changing difficulty settings can alter a player's stats and the strength of monsters spawning on the island (Image via Studia Wildcard)

Changing difficulty from easy to hard will obviously make Ark Survival Ascended more challenging and vice versa. Players can toggle through the changes by going through the difficulty menu. They can select different options such as Players, Creature, Structure, World, and Rules. Here are some major alterations that occur after switching modes.

Easy: This is the base level difficulty in Ark Survival Ascended. It's for beginners looking to enjoy the game and not indulge in the grind. This setting allows players to level up and increase their stat easily. They can also take down dinosaurs easily in this difficulty. The downside is how little loot players get and the low level of creatures.

Medium: This difficulty is for Ark Survival Ascended players who get tired of playing in easy mode and want to add a little spice to their gameplay. They can see a decrease in their stats when switching from easy to medium. Not only that, increasing stats and leveling up can also be challenging in this mode. Furthermore, the spawning dinosaurs will be difficult to kill or tame because of their increased level.

Hard: This is the most challenging mode, often played by hardcore gamers. Both players and their tames will see a massive decrease in stats, prompting them to seek help against high-level dinosaurs. Survival on the island will also get extremely cumbersome as players quickly run out of water, food, and stamina. They can use this setting during endgames to face the toughest encounters.

While there are challenges, players will get increased loot from killing a dinosaur. They can also acquire high-level dinos in this mode by knocking them down and taming them.