⚔️ ARK Damage Calculator
Calculate weapon damage, dino attack output, and armor mitigation for ARK: Survival Evolved
| Weapon | Base Damage | Headshot Mult | Armor Pen | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Longneck Rifle | 280 | x3.0 | Full | Single shot, reload |
| Fabricated Sniper | 165 | x3.0 | Full | Semi-auto, 10 round mag |
| Pump Shotgun | 46 x14 pellets | x1.5 | No | 644 max per shot (all pellets) |
| Auto Turret (bullet) | 55 | x3.0 | Partial | Per projectile |
| Compound Bow | 105 (metal arrow) | x2.5 | Yes | With metal arrows |
| Crossbow | 95 | x2.5 | No | Stone arrow default |
| Assault Rifle | 45 | x2.0 | No | Full auto |
| Rocket Launcher | 1050 | N/A | Full | Explosion radius dmg |
| C4 Charge | 1500 | N/A | Full | Remote detonation |
| Metal Pike | 55 | x1.5 | No | Charge attack: x4 |
| Sword | 55 | x1.5 | No | Fast swing speed |
| Tek Rifle | 100 | x3.0 | Full | Energy-based |
| Dinosaur | Base Melee Dmg | Attack Type | 100% Melee Stat | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rex (wild) | 62 | Bite | 62 | Scales with tame bonus |
| Giganotosaurus | 150 | Bite | 150 | Rage mode: x1.5 buff |
| Carnotaurus | 42 | Headbutt | 42 | Knockback |
| Allosaurus | 55 | Pack Bite | 55 | Pack: +25% each |
| Therizinosaur | 52 | Claw swipe | 52 | Harvests efficiently |
| Spino | 55 | Bite/Swipe | 55 | Hydration: x1.5 |
| Megalodon | 42 | Bite | 42 | Aquatic only |
| Wyvern (fire) | 55 | Bite/Breath | 55 | Breath: 100 base |
| Velonasaur | 46 | Quill Ranged | 46 | Spin attack: AoE |
| Armor Type | Armor Rating | Dmg Reduction % | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cloth Armor (full) | ~100 | ~16.7% | Very low protection |
| Hide Armor (full) | ~200 | ~28.6% | Early-game standard |
| Chitin Armor (full) | ~250 | ~33.3% | Mid-game |
| Flak Armor (full set) | ~500 | ~50% | Endgame PvP standard |
| Riot Armor (full) | ~600 | ~54.5% | Premium protection |
| Tek Armor (full) | ~800 | ~61.5% | Max set bonus |
| Saddle (primitive) | ~20 | ~16.7% | Basic dino protection |
| Saddle (mastercraft) | ~80 | ~44.4% | High-end BP saddle |
| Saddle (ascendant) | ~124 | ~55.4% | Near max possible |
| Item Quality | Quality Bonus Range | Example (Longneck) | Availability |
|---|---|---|---|
| Primitive | 0% | 280 dmg | Crafted / Looted |
| Ramshackle | 1–49% | 281–417 dmg | Low-tier drops |
| Apprentice | 50–99% | 420–557 dmg | Mid-tier drops |
| Journeyman | 100–199% | 560–837 dmg | High-tier drops |
| Mastercraft | 200–299% | 840–1117 dmg | Boss loot / Beacons |
| Ascendant | 300–755% | 1120–2394 dmg | Deep cave drops |
Note: This article is based on real conversations and community thinking about the mechanics of Damage in ARK: Survival Evolved and ARK: Survival Climbed.
In ARK, the base Damage forms a unique trait. It ranges based on the creature or the player, as well as based on the state of the used weapon. Quality of weapon or ammo does not change the base of Damage.
How Damage Works in ARK and ARK: Survival Climbed
An ascendant 100% quality and primitive 100% quality hit gives the same Damage one to the other. Only the ascendant has better stats for durability which causes it to last more in the long term. On the other hand it requires more materials to build and fix.
Percentage of Damage in weapon actions works as a multiplier for the base Damage. So 200% causes the weapon attacks to double compared to the basic level. There is an option called “floating Damage text for results”, that allows the real numbers of Damage to appear on the screen.
To turn it on, add the line ShowFloatingDamageText=truth to the file GameUserSettings.ini. One finds this file in the directory of Steam under ARK, then ShooterGame, Saved, Config and WindowsNoEditor. Every setting in the advanced menu can be changed by something typed in here, so do recal that.
Specifically the melee fights Damage based on four elements: base Damage of weapon, multiplier of item quality for weapon, multiplier of melee Damage for survivor and item setting of the player on the server. For player, the standard melee Damage matches 100%.
Changing the setting of player Damage on server does more than simply boost the attack Damage. It also expands the Damage from fall and from hitting by means of bare fists. In ARK Climbed, the fall Damage works differently than one hopes.
In the old Evolved version, the maximum fall Damage was only under 500 points of health. In Climbed, this system seems less precise. Even player with 650 points of health can die because of fall.
Wearing tech boots does not always save against death from fall. Also ridden creatures can seriously suffer because of falls. A high level Rex died just after a jump off a tiny slope only around five to ten metres high, losing about six thousand points of health.
Armour plays a big role for reducing the incoming Damage. Without armour one receives 100% of the Damage. With 100 points of armour, the received Damage drops too around 66.7%.
At 200 points of armour, the received Damage falls to almost 50%.
Some creatures are able to Damage certain kinds of structures. There are lists that show that creatures can destroy stone, metal or other levels. Structures under the stone level sometimes receive random small amounts of Damage without clear attack origin.
Some creatures in the game also have changes for headhits and other multipliers of Damage. Interestingly, some dinosaurs attack the rider instead of the ridden creature itself. There is also a setting for multiplier ofplayer Damage, that acts on the amount of weapon Damage that players do to ridden dinosaurs.
