How It Works
Players donate real money, get Credits, and spend them in an in-game shop on gameplay advantages. After paying, a player opens a ticket with proof of payment and waits for staff to add the credits. Credits roll over between seasons, and donations are non-refundable.
That works out to roughly $0.08 to $0.10 per credit, depending on the pack. Bigger packs mean bigger discounts.
What Credits Buy
Dinos & Blueprints
Breeding pairs: 75. Armor BP sets: 100 each. Saddle and weapon BPs: 25 each.
Progress Skips
All Explorer Notes: 350. All Boss Fights: 550. 200k EXP: 75.
Resources
2,500 Element: 200. Materials: 150.
Estimated real-money cost
| Item | Credits | Approx. cost |
|---|---|---|
| Saddle or weapon BP | 25 | $2 to $2.50 |
| 200k EXP | 75 | $6 to $7.50 |
| Breeding pair | 75+ | $6 to $7.50+ |
| Armor BP set | 100 | $8 to $10 |
| 2,500 Element | 200 | $16 to $20 |
| All Explorer Notes | 350 | $28 to $35 |
| All Boss Fights | 550 | $44 to $55 |
Estimates from the listed credit packs; actual cost depends on which pack was bought.
Donation-Only Perks
Separate from the shop, players can pay directly for custom caves that stay forever, even through wipes:
- Small modification to an existing spot: $20
- Small to medium custom cave: $50
- Large detailed custom cave: $75
Why It's a Problem
On a PvP server where raiding is the whole point, boss progression, element, blueprints and EXP are the things players normally earn through time and skill. When they can be bought instead, a newcomer who pays gets in minutes what a free player grinds weeks for. And because the shop lists "everything for the right price", the clock isn't equal for anyone.
A Letter to the Owner
Dearest Nizzadien, light of my Discord, keeper of the dodos,
I write this letter with a heart as heavy as a Rex saddle and eyes as watery as a freshly hatched Ichthyosaurus. I love your cluster. I love the cliffs, the caves, the sweet little dodo with the dynamite backpack. But my dear sweet friend, when the shiny credit shop whispers "skip the journey, just pay," something inside my tiny tamer's soul cries out into the void. The best moment in ARK is not owning the Element, it is the three hundred hours of suffering that led to the Element, and the friends who laughed and wept beside you. When a wallet can leap over the whole adventure, the adventure sits alone in the corner, hugging its knees, wondering where everyone went. Please, I beg you with all the tears of a thousand Parasaurs: let skill be the currency, let sweat be the credits, and let every survivor start the race at the same warm, glowing, beautiful starting line. I will be here, waiting, holding my little cryopod of hope close to my chest.
Forever your most sentimental survivor,
William Ashby
P.S. Please contact me. And Tampon John too.
Have Thoughts?
Talk it over with the community in the Discord.
Join the Discord