Last Updated:
November 18th, 2023
Punishment System
▫️ By entering the server, you are expected to have read and agreed to the terms and conditions of the server. Continuous failure to adhere to these rules may subject you to a temporary or permanent ban from the server(s) depending on the severity of the offense.
▫️ Occurrences of potential or legitimate rule-breaking must be submitted to #ark-reports. We encourage all parties to maintain and submit as much evidence supporting their sides as possible to achieve clear resolution. Submitting evidence is mandatory, as we do not go off of word-of-mouth. If it is something that requires server-side investigation into logs, be sure to mention that in your report.
▫️ Our record of punishments will operate on a five-strike system.
▸ A singular person may accumulate up to three strikes on their record before they are issued a 24 hour temporary ban on their fourth strike.
▸ Upon obtaining a fifth active strike on their account, they are banned indefinitely.
▸ In the majority of cases, an indefinite ban can attempt to be appealed by messaging a member of upper staff (head admin or higher for any game) no less than 30 days of the ban being implemented. An appeal does not guarantee that the ban will be lifted.
▸ Strikes may be issued upon the completion of a valid report or by being witnessed in-game by an Isla Nycta staff member. Notifications of strikes will be made by in-game warning/kick, through Discord by staff member, or our website's messaging system.
▸ In cases of tribe-wide strikes or warnings, the leader of the tribe will be contacted.
▫️ In extreme cases, a complete wipe of a tribe's structures or tames may be required as a punishment, up to the discretion of Founds and Management of Isla Nycta's Ark servers.
▫️ If you feel that you have received a strike unfairly, please file a counter report here: #ark-reports.
▫️ Isla Nycta Staff reserve the right skip all "warning" punishments and permanently ban someone that has proven to have no regard for our rules or community. If you feel you were unfairly banned, contact a Head Admin. Attempting to abuse loopholes in these rules may still result in punishment. We expect you to use common sense when playing here, as the rules would have to be 5 pages long if we clarified every grey area. If you have questions on if something is allowed or not, contact a staff member or don't do it.
Player/Tribe Rules
▫️ Names of tribes, players, and tames must be rated for "general audiences." This means no extreme profanity, discriminatory words or phrases, radical/political expressions, or obscenities, no matter how obscure in slang or alternative in spelling. This includes Steam names and paintings. Ark Admins will have the final say.
▸ Attempting to disguise your tribe by renaming it as an existing tribe's name, for the purpose of raiding/griefing/etc. is forbidden. Pick a distinguishing name with dignity, but don't try and be clever with alternative spelling or symbols in order to avoid backlash.
▸ People cannot be in multiple different tribe groups across the cluster. They need to remain under the same tribe name. But, for example, if tribe "BeachBobs" is only established on Ragnarok, Valguero, and Crystal Isles, and someone not from that original tribe establishes a tribe called "BeachBobs" on Extinction, then that's considered impersonation as well - and in cases of impersonation, Ark Admins will defer to the tribe name that has more seniority. We understand not everyone has all paid DLCs, and that it's sometimes difficult for tribes to establish themselves across all servers.
▫️ Tribes must have the same tribe name across all servers. Players must also remain in the same tribe, with the same tribe mates, with the same name across the cluster they are playing on. Do not leave and join tribes for temporary purposes such as raiding, fighting bosses, completing missions, etc.; utilize alliances for that.
▸ In cases of tribes merging or members joining, tribes must follow through on every server both tribes are established.
▸ In cases of merging where one of the merging tribes is not established on a server, the tribe that is can change their name to the agreed-upon tribe name.
▸ If a tribe member(s) leaves or is removed from the tribe on one server, they must be removed from all other servers that the tribe is established in.
▫️ If you, the tribe owner, decide to leave the server, you are required to pass ownership of your tribe to another tribe member.
▫️ In-game trading for resources is allowed, as long as real life currency, goods, services, and compensations are not included.
Gameplay Rules
▫️ Cheating / bug-using / glitching / duping / meshing is forbidden and subject to banning if documented evidence is provided.
▫️ Do not abuse the web/in-game shop, voting rewards websites, or various ARK services and functions with cheats, dupes, glitches, etc. Evidence of such will result in bans from these systems, and possibly the servers.
▫️ "Insiding" is punishable. Insiding is defined as: a tribemember performs an action that is considered "treasonous" to the integrity of the tribe, such as unclaiming dinosaurs for others/rival tribes or stealing for themselves, dropping the inventories of storages, stealing/hoarding resources, lying, making secret deals with other tribes, and so on.
▸ In the eyes of Ark Admins, all property under the tribe's name belongs to the tribe owner, regardless of tribe politics and agreements, which includes and is not limited to: tames, resources, equipment, structures, and territory. Misdemeanors and grievances between tribe members must first be attempted to be resolved with the tribe owner and/or next in the chain of command. In cases of escalation, Ark Admins may be brought in to mediate.
▫️ We encourage tribe owners/tribe admins to be smart and cautious with letting strangers into their tribes and to utilize structured tribe rankings and permissions/limitations.
Auto-Decay
▫️ Auto-decay/destruction of structures and tames is enabled. To prevent "camping" of valuable real estate, tribes are expected to maintain activity and growth.
▸ For our ARK: Survival Evolved Servers, the default amount of days before tribes decay is 14 days.
▸ Decay timers can be extended by being Patreon members, or making one-time purchases to extend the timer in our shop.
PVE Balance and Claiming
▫️ Shiny creatures, wild tames, special eggs, beacons, loot crates, etc. are given a "finder's keeper's" priority. Unless surrendered, the first person to spot and claim the above secures it, and cannot be griefed for it. This includes stealing items or killing/harming a creature being tamed. Wild creatures cannot be bartered, traded, or sold. This includes selling "access" to the creatures if they are corralled, selling the coordinates, and so on. Only tamed creatures can be bartered, traded, or sold. If the claimant leaves the territory (such as needing to get resources for a tame), the object of importance is considered abandoned/forfeited.
▸ While not prohibited, we do not encourage public advertisements for captured reaper queens (especially Shiny ones) for players outside of your tribe. We do not allow for tribes to 'escort' other non-tribemate players to the location of the captured reaper queen if they otherwise do not have the means of arriving on their own. Do not temporarily accept new tribe members to circumvent this.
▫️ Do not create trades that threaten to depreciate the economy of the web shop. This includes selling rare items/tames/resources for exceedingly low values.
▫️ Hogging special resources (that are not incorporated as part of main bases) such as redwood trees for sap taps, oil wells, gas veins, etc. is only allowed if their structures remain unlocked for community access.
▫️ For balancing purposes, do not give "end game" items, tokens, or tames (specified as non-sterilized and unbreedables, including reapers) to newer players and tribes.
▸ For newer/underdeveloped players and tribes, established players can give resources, food, saddles, structures, tools, weapons, ammo of any quality and quantity, with the exception of tek, fabricated weapons/tools, and blueprints. Tames must be spayed/neutered if being given out to non-tribe members.
▸ If they join your tribe, the senior tribe members can choose to share resources. Do not "jump" tribes as a way to loophole this.
PVE Building Restrictions
▫️ Please restrict yourself to building in one location as your tribe's "main base," with the allowance of one "outpost," per server in the cluster.
▸ A "Main Base" is defined as an established structure or cluster of structures that have numerous utilitarian uses, such as living quarters, tame pens, displays, farms, crafting areas, storage, and more. It is the primary location for a tribe's residence.
▸ An "Outpost" is defined as a small structure that may be more limited in its function and less developed in its form, such as a station meant for harvesting and processing resources, or an ocean pen for aquatic tames. It is generally a location that a tribe travels to, rather than remains at.
▫️ If you or other players suffer performance loss (low frame rates, lag/rubberbanding, crashing/disconnecting, etc.) due to the size of your main base, consider downgrading structures and storing away unused tames. If multiple reports are made against your base's size, you may be asked by an Ark Admin to downsize.
▫️ A tribe may set up a public trap that other players can access without it counting towards the limit of an outpost or base. To avoid server clutter, tribes are limited to establishing two public traps per server. Every trap not for public use must be removed by the tribe when not in use. Public trap designs are restricted to the following guidelines:
▸ Must follow conventional trap functions/appearances; gates, walls, pillars, etc.
▸ Must have signs in English that name the trap as a "Public Trap." If there is a number pad, there must be a sign displaying the pincode.
▸ Must have unrestricted access to the trap - no locked door without an available code.
▸ Must not resemble anything close to a base, with the exception of having a spot for beds.
▸ Must not obstruct spawns or pathways, or be too close of any base that does not own the trap.
▫️ Tribes can set up "respawn" points no bigger than a 1x1x1 structure, provided that the same guidelines against obstructing spawns, pathways, or being too close to bases are followed, that they do not clutter the maps, or are placed in areas of viable real estate.
▫️ Pillar/foundation/structure spam of any sort over a territory is not allowed on the PvE cluster. Tribes attempting to "hold" land must follow through with developing a conventional base and remove the spamming structures within 24 hours of the spam's existence. Ark Admins will have the final say.
▸ Understand that there is a distinct difference between utilizing structure spam (foundations, pillars, etc.) to prevent wild animals or resources from respawning within the boundaries of an established base.
▸ While bases and outposts can be built in proximity to or encompass fixed POIs (points-of-interest that include but are not limited to: survivor notes, terminals, artifact spawns, ground beacons, tunnels leading to biomes, etc.), intentionally building to obstruct or otherwise prevent player access to fixed POIs is not allowed. Ark Admins will have final say.
▫️ In order to to prevent building blockage for tribes, do not build your bases, outposts, or respawn points within a 25 foundation radius of another person's base, unless the tribe leader has given documented permission. Border structures like spiked walls and gates will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis.
▫️ Build reasonably and within your means. A solo player tribe claiming an enormous space of land (such as the Maple Roost plateau in Ragnarok, Carnivore/Herbivore Islands in Island) will be asked to share the space or downsize if they claim an excessive amount of territory.
PVE Actions
▫️ Do not park your tames in locations that prevent people accessing resources, their own tames, bases, caves, artifacts, etc. Parked tames may be deleted without warning.
▫️ Griefing players not in your tribe is forbidden, such as using fliers to pick up players, kiting/dropping aggressive wild creatures on bases, and so on. On the same note, understand that you have a responsibility for your own safety and that of your base/tames, such as preventing thievery or wild creatures from accessing your tames.
▸ During server events, stealing from players participating or committing actions that otherwise disrupt the event may warrant your character being temporarily banned for the duration of the event.
▫️ Tames left on wander must be in a physical corral, under the influence of a Dino Leash, or tethered to a modded Hitching Post.
▫️ RP players/tribes are valid. Even if you don't agree with it, allow them to have their fun. However, RP does have its limits; in-character actions, words, and deeds can have out-of-character consequences when they border on the breaking of rules and harassment of players.
General Raiding
▫️ There are no official "safe spaces."
▫️ Verbal harassment of players is forbidden, no matter if they are raiders, the raided, or bystanders. Behavior that threatens the community and atmosphere of the server will not be tolerated. Trash-talks are acceptable to an extent before they become considered targeting and harassment; staff will make the final judgement.
▸ For the sake of containment, PVP-centric trash talking should be kept to the #ark-pvp-salt-mine.
▫️ Passive tames are acceptable targets, no matter if they are dodos or gigas.
▫️ Raids have no strict duration, and may continue as long as all involved parties have the stamina for it.
▫️ Players may be imprisoned/handcuffed for up to 120 minutes/2 hours; the only exception is capturing players for the duration of a raid, but they must be released when it is finished.
▸ If the raiders/guards have to go offline, they must decide to either kill the prisoner or release them.
Offline Raid Protection
▫️ Exploiting/avoiding the customized ORP is forbidden. Raids of bases may start after the logout timer. Defenders combat logging as repeated occasions count as exploitation (for attempting to implicate the raiders for offline raiders or continue the fight while protected under the ORP) and are not entitled to protection. It is your responsibility to build protections for your base.
New Player Protection and Safe Mode
▫️ ARK: Survival Evolved PVP - New players and destroyed tribes are eligible for building and rebuilding under Safe Mode protections. Safe Mode protections can be manually stopped, but not re-entered. An in-game warning is displayed when attempting to exit Safe Mode early; Ark Admins are not responsible for players that "accidentally" quit Safe Mode early.
ARK Staff
▫️ [NR] is the Founder of Isla Nycta's ARK servers and is responsible for server upkeep, management, maintenance, and its staff.
▫️ Ark Admins are designated by their Discord tag @ARK Admin and chat icon. Anyone caught falsely claiming to be an Ark Admin will be banned from the servers, with no appeal.
▸ With the exception of upper management, ARK Admins are not granted admin powers in-game on PVP servers. However, for the purposes of moderation, they are able to still carry out admin-relevant duties through backend tools and panels.
▸ Only in urgent, necessary circumstances can ARK Admins enable "admin mode" on the PVP servers.
▫️ Because of the requirement to manually enable admin powers, ARK Admins can engage in PVP of their own volition.
▫️ Ark Admins may respawn tames, items, equipment, etc. lost to glitches that might happen due to mods, the map, outages, etc. However, in many circumstances, the exact quantity and quality of lost property cannot be returned, and all cases are treated uniquely. Returns are not a guarantee, as we require evidence of the incident prior. Bad luck happens to everyone. The aforementioned may be returned to some extent on account of rulebreaks.
▫️ Understand that Ark Admins divide their time between helping others and playing the game, and are not obligated to give out items or tames to players, or to paint creatures. Do not ask for favors or attempt to bribe Ark Admins for special privileges.
▫️ @ARK Moderators are Ark staff that are not quite yet admins and have little to no in-game powers, but still have access to moderating tools in the server backends.
▸ Like Non-Admin Staff, they can freely engage in PVP on respective PVP servers.
▸ ARK: Survival Evolved -- They are distinguished with their own unique tag and icon.
Non-Ark Staff
▫️ Non-admin staff are people who are not Ark Admins, but still have duties as staff members to Isla Nycta's discord and community, from Admins to Trial Staff. Anyone caught falsely claiming to be a non-admin staff member will be banned from the servers, with no appeal.
Patreon
▫️ While some Isla Nycta staff members are either current or previous donators, Patreon members are not, by default, staff.
▫️ Patreon members are donors to the Isla Nycta Patreon for the purpose of helping to support the server. As a thank you, they receive a few perks in-game and in the Discord.
▫️ Patreon members in no way receive exclusive, special dinosaurs, tools/weapons, protections, or favors from staff just because they donate money. This will never be used as a pay-to-win system. For a full list of benefits by Tier, see: #supporter-info.
▫️ ARK: Survival Evolved -- Patreon members will be distinguished by a unique chat icon beside their name, depending on the Patreon tier they donate at.