Rare Sightings Mod Guide

Rare Sightings is an ARK: Survival Evolved mod by Ertosi that turns a few wild creatures into server-wide events. Every few hours the mod picks a creature on the map and raises it to a higher level. That creature becomes a Rare Sighting: it sparkles, and players with a Radio get a message with its rough coordinates. Players can then race to tame it or kill it for a reward before it leaves the server. Some Rare Sightings also roll extra traits, from a simple stat boost to elemental "mythic" powers. The mod suits servers that want a reason to go out exploring together. The author built it around the core game rather than around other mods, so check your mod list before you combine it with other mods.

Before you start

• Carry a Radio: by default, Rare Sighting messages (new sightings, tames, deaths and departures) reach only players with a Radio in their hotbar. The author also lists spawn codes for both items: cheat GiveItemNum 141 1 1 0 (Radio) and cheat GiveItemNum 72 1 1 0 (GPS).
• Modded creatures: they can still become Rare Sightings and give the normal rewards, but they never get the cosmetic traits described below. Those are only for base-game creatures.
• The ini section: all options go in GameUserSettings.ini under [RareSightings]. If you set nothing, the defaults below apply.
• English only: the mod's messages are in English, and the author does not take feature requests.

How a sighting works

1. At a random time between the minimum and maximum frequency (2 to 4 hours by default), the mod looks for a suitable wild creature and turns it into a Rare Sighting.
2. A broadcast gives its position, rounded so you still have to search. While the event is active, a reminder repeats every 3 minutes by default.
3. The creature spawns between the minimum and maximum Rare Sighting level. By default that is from your normal maximum wild level up to 20% above it, so 150 to 180 at difficulty 5. Wyverns and Rock Drakes can go higher, because their levels are worked out differently.
4. Tame it, or kill it for the Slayer Rewards, which go straight into the killer's inventory. A wild sighting that nobody claims leaves the server after its remain time, 3 to 6 hours by default.

By default players cannot pick up a Rare Sighting. When one leaves, the leave timer of every other sighting resets, so they do not always leave in the order they arrived.

Cosmetic traits

Base-game Rare Sightings have a small chance to spawn with one or more cosmetic buffs, which change their look and add an ability. The author does not publish the odds. A wild creature's name shows its trait, but taming resets the name to normal. After that you can tell the traits by its look and by the buff icons shown while you ride it. Keep these rules in mind:

• A trait is lost for good if the mod is removed, or if the creature goes into an Obelisk, a Transmitter or a Cryopod. A Tek Cloning Chamber does not copy traits.
• Traits are never inherited. Breeding works, but the only way to get a trait is to catch one from the wild.
• A Taxidermy Tool records colour mutations but not the special look.

Common traits

Mythic traits

These are much rarer and give the creature an elemental nature:

• Druidic: raises the greenhouse bonus of crop plots within about 8 foundations, from the normal x4 to x6. It is built for vanilla-style crop plots.
• Galvanic: Q releases a very short-range electric burst that stuns nearby players and creatures, but not its own team. It has a 30-second cooldown.
• Glacial: Q releases an ice burst that slows nearby targets like a web and drops their temperature. It has a 30-second cooldown.
• Phoenixkin: a tamed adult that dies is reborn as an unclaimed baby with no experience, once every 24 hours. It also insulates its rider, and its droppings are pearls. It does not breathe fire.
• Shadow: +20% speed, does not breathe, takes no fall damage, moves almost silently, needs no saddle, and other creatures can walk through it. It ignores targeted whistles but answers group whistles.
• Starlight: +20% speed and stamina. While it still has its newly-tamed sparkle, its owner finds better loot in drops, and the sparkle can come back once or twice a day.
• Stone and Obsidian: 50% damage reduction, but half the speed and five times the weight. They cannot fly or swim, and their droppings are stone or obsidian.

Rare diseases

A Rabid sighting can pass on Mega Rabies through its bites, and a Fevered one spreads Swamp Fever to people standing close. A Lesser Antidote cures either for good. Diseased Rare Sightings are much more likely to carry other rare traits too.

Alphas and Betas

Some Rare Sightings spawn as an Alpha, 1 in 20 by default. You can spot an Alpha by the red glowing aura and the alpha colours. It is three times as fast on land, twice as fast in water, deals three times the damage and can damage stone. Instead of extra health it has heavy damage reduction. Alphas cannot be knocked out, tamed or picked up, and force-taming one makes it leave the ARK. It drops its own, richer Slayer Reward. Species that already have a base-game alpha are never chosen.

A Beta is the tameable middle ground. It has alpha colouring and red embers but normal size, and gets 10% more damage, damage reduction and speed.

Server settings

Standard settings

Defaults at the time of the author's guide. Times are in seconds:

Optional switches

All of these are off by default:

• NoRadiosRequired=True sends the basic messages to everyone, with or without a Radio.
• NontamableSightings=True makes every sighting a fight-only event. AllowSightingPickup=True lets players pick sightings up. Neither setting affects Alphas.
• OnlyMountableSightings=True limits sightings to creatures you can ride.
• NoRareAlphas=True removes Alphas, and RareAlphaChance sets their share (default 0.05).
• NoReallyRares, NoMythicRares and NoRareDiseases remove those trait groups. NoRareAquatics and NoRareFlyers keep sightings off sea creatures and flyers.
• NoNinjaLoot=True gives no reward for killing a sighting that is unconscious, which protects players who are taming it.
• FragileEars and FragileEyes turn off the mod's sounds and particle effects. NoRareNames hides the rare names on wild sightings.
• AllowVariantSwapping=True lets base-game species with an Aberrant form switch form when chosen (50% by default, set with VariantSwapChance).
• AllowCoreExoticRares, AllowSEExoticRares, AllowAbExoticRares and AllowExExoticRares allow a few sightings to be creatures from other maps. None of them are flyers.

Rewards and admin commands

Slayer Rewards come from two supply crate classes: SupplyCrate_RareSighting_C and, for Alphas, SupplyCrate_RareSighting_Alpha_C. You can change them with ConfigOverrideSupplyCrateItems in Game.ini under [/script/shootergame.shootergamemode]. Change each class only once. Summoning a crate with cheat summon SupplyCrate_RareSighting_C is a quick way to test your changes.

• cheat ScriptCommand RS countsightings counts the sightings on the map.
• cheat ScriptCommand RS attemptraresightingnow tries to start one. It can fail if no suitable creature is found or the cap is reached.
• cheat ScriptCommand RS destroywildsightings removes all wild sightings, and cheat ScriptCommand RS LeaveForeverNow sends one away with the usual message.
• cheat ScriptCommand RS SightingMinMaxLevels shows your difficulty value and sighting level range.

Tips

• Keep the Radio in your hotbar at all times. A sighting can appear while you are busy with something else.
• Look for odd names on wild sightings: the name gives away a trait before you tame the creature.
• Never put a creature with a trait in a Cryopod or upload it. Moving it that way deletes the trait.
• Bring a strong team before attacking an Alpha. It cannot be knocked out, so the reward is the only prize.

For the latest version, change notes and download, see the Rare Sightings page on the Steam Workshop.

Further reading: the mod author's own Rare Sightings Mod Guide on Steam includes example loot overrides and quick-test settings.