Ark Raising Calculator
Plan the time and food needed to raise your baby creatures in Ark: Survival Evolved.
Each creature has a unique base maturation time and food consumption rate.
The maturation speed multiplier set by your server (e.g., 1 for Official, 10 for boosted).
Food restored by a single piece of food (e.g., Raw Meat = 50, Mejoberry = 30).
How many pieces of food fit in one stack (e.g., Raw Meat = 40, Berries = 100).
Maturation Timeline
What is an Ark Raising Calculator?
An Ark Raising Calculator is an essential tool for players of the video game Ark: Survival Evolved. It helps you calculate the total time and amount of food required to raise a baby creature from birth to full adulthood. Raising creatures in Ark is a time-intensive process that requires careful planning. Without a calculator, it’s easy to run out of food or misjudge the time needed, resulting in the death of your valuable baby dino. This tool takes into account critical server settings, like the Baby Mature Speed Multiplier, and creature-specific data to provide accurate predictions, making the entire breeding process more manageable and successful.
Ark Raising Formula and Explanation
The core of this ark raising calculator relies on base data from the game, adjusted by your server’s custom multipliers. The fundamental formulas are:
Total Maturation Time (Seconds) = BaseMaturationTime / BabyMatureSpeedMultiplier
Total Food Required = BaseFoodConsumptionRate * TotalMaturationTime
These values provide the foundation for all other calculations, such as the number of food stacks needed and the time until the creature reaches key growth stages.
| Variable | Meaning | Unit / Type | Typical Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| BaseMaturationTime | The default time in seconds it takes for a creature to mature on a 1x server. | Seconds | ~15,000 (Dodo) to ~1,000,000 (Giga) |
| BaseFoodConsumptionRate | The default rate of food points a baby creature consumes per second. | Food Units / Second | 0.04 to 2.5 |
| BabyMatureSpeedMultiplier | The server setting that accelerates growth. A higher number means faster raising. | Multiplier (Unitless) | 1 (Official) to 100+ (Boosted) |
| Food Value | The number of food points one piece of a specific food item restores. | Food Units | 20 (Cooked Meat) to 80 (Kibble) |
Practical Examples
Example 1: Raising a T-Rex on a Boosted Server
Imagine you’re on a server with a 10x maturation multiplier and you want to raise a T-Rex.
- Inputs: Creature: T-Rex, Maturation Multiplier: 10, Food Value (Raw Meat): 50
- Calculation: The calculator divides the Rex’s base maturation time by 10. It then calculates the total food consumed over this accelerated period.
- Results: The ark raising calculator would show a total maturation time of around 9 hours, requiring approximately 21,000 food points, which translates to about 420 pieces of raw meat. This helps you prepare the exact amount of resources for a single raising session.
Example 2: Raising a Raptor on an Official Server
Now consider raising a Raptor on a standard 1x official server.
- Inputs: Creature: Raptor, Maturation Multiplier: 1, Food Value (Raw Meat): 50
- Calculation: With a 1x multiplier, the calculator uses the Raptor’s default maturation time.
- Results: The tool would predict a much longer process, taking over 1 day and 17 hours. This long duration highlights the importance of tools like the taming calculator and raising calculator for planning on official servers, as it requires multiple feeding sessions and long-term commitment.
How to Use This Ark Raising Calculator
- Select Your Creature: Choose the creature you intend to raise from the dropdown list. The calculator automatically loads its base stats.
- Enter Server Multiplier: Input your server’s specific ‘Baby Mature Speed Multiplier’. This is the most critical factor for an accurate time calculation.
- Set Food Details: Enter the food value for the item you’ll be using (e.g., 50 for raw meat) and the stack size for that item.
- Review the Results: The calculator will instantly display the total maturation time, time until juvenile (when it can eat from a trough), total food items needed, and the number of stacks required.
- Plan Accordingly: Use the generated data to ensure you have enough food and are available at critical times to care for your new creature. A good understanding of game mechanics from a guide on imprinting can further enhance your results.
Key Factors That Affect Ark Creature Raising
- Maturation Speed Multiplier: The single most important setting. Higher values dramatically reduce raising time and total food consumed.
- Creature Type: Different species have vastly different base maturation times and food consumption rates. A Giga takes far longer than a Dodo.
- Food Spoilage: Food spoils over time. You must account for spoilage, especially during long raises on low-multiplier servers. Using a Preserving Bin or Refrigerator is crucial.
- Imprinting: While not affecting time, imprinting at regular intervals is vital for raising a powerful creature. The ‘Cuddle Interval’ server setting determines how often this is needed.
- Stasis: When no players are in a certain radius of a creature, it enters ‘stasis,’ and its food consumption is paused. This can significantly alter real-world time needed if you are often away from your base.
- Maewing: This creature from the Genesis 2 expansion acts as a mobile feeding trough and can automate much of the baby-raising process, making it a highly valuable tool.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
How does the ark raising calculator handle different food types?
The calculator uses the ‘Food Value per Item’ input. You must manually enter the value for the food you are using. For example, Raw Meat gives 50 food, while Cooked Meat gives 25. Check the official Ark wiki for exact values.
When can a baby creature start eating from a feeding trough?
A creature can eat from a feeding trough once it reaches the Juvenile stage, which is at 10% of its total maturation. Our calculator provides the exact time until this milestone.
Does the creature’s level affect raising time?
No, a creature’s level does not impact its maturation time or food consumption rate during raising. These are determined by the creature’s species and server settings. Level only affects its stats like health and damage.
What is imprinting?
Imprinting is a process where you ‘care’ for a baby at random intervals. Successful imprinting grants the creature bonus stats and a powerful damage/resistance buff when ridden by the player who imprinted it. You can learn more from a breeding guide.
Why is my food consumption different from the calculator?
The calculator provides a baseline. Real-world consumption can be affected by server performance, stasis mechanics, and whether the creature is healing from damage (which increases food consumption).
Can I use this for mammals?
Yes, the maturation process is the same for both egg-layers and mammals after birth. The only difference is the initial gestation period for mammals instead of egg incubation.
How do I find my server’s maturation multiplier?
If you are the server admin, you can find it in your game settings (GameUserSettings.ini). If you are a player, you may need to ask the server admin or check the server’s description or Discord community.
What happens if I miss an imprint?
Missing an imprint means you lose the potential bonus for that care interval. You cannot go back and reclaim it. This will result in a lower final imprint percentage and weaker stats. Using a timer tool can help avoid this.