Loyalty Buff
In the unforgiving world of ARK: Survival Ascended, your tamed dinosaurs are your most valuable allies. They carry your burdens, fight your battles, and traverse the map with you. But what if your dedication to a single creature could be rewarded with tangible, powerful stat increases? That is the core concept behind the Loyalty Buff mod. This innovative add-on introduces a progression system that grows stronger the more time you spend riding your dinos, transforming your regular mounts into personalized war machines.
What is the Loyalty Buff Mod?
The Loyalty Buff mod gives all of your tamed dinosaurs a unique buff that functions similarly to the "Ossidon's Favorite" rider buff. However, instead of a quick boost, it's a long-term investment in your bond. By default, your dino gains a stack of the buff every five minutes while you are riding it. Each stack provides a 0.5% increase to key stats. With a maximum of 35 stacks, reaching the full potential of your mount takes just about three hours of dedicated riding time. This system encourages you to stick with your favorite creatures, turning them into formidable companions that reflect the time you've spent together.
Stat Boosts and How They Work
The buff is comprehensive, modifying a wide range of essential stats to ensure your dino becomes a true powerhouse. The affected stats are:
- Health
- Stamina
- Oxygen
- Food
- Weight
- Melee Damage
- Torpor
This means a loyal mount isn't just tougher; it can carry more, fight harder, and stay in the fray longer. The mod also features a smart system for tracking your time. The riding time is saved infinitely, meaning your progress is never lost if you dismount. If you dismount right before gaining a new stack, you won't lose the progress toward the next one. However, the system is also fair to other players. If someone else rides your dino, they must ride it for the full duration (e.g., 3 hours to reach max stacks) before they start removing your buffs. This prevents griefing and ensures that your hard-earned loyalty buff remains yours.
Cross-Map Transfers and Updates
It is important to note that the Loyalty Buff does not get saved clusterwide. If you transfer your dino to another map, you will need to re-earn the buff on that specific server. If you transfer back to the original map, your dino will still have the buff you earned there. When you mount a dino, the mod forces an instant update to apply the correct buffs. This ensures that the stats are always accurate, whether you are just hopping on for a quick trip or starting a long expedition.
Admin Settings and Customization
For server administrators, the Loyalty Buff mod offers a robust suite of customization options to tailor the experience to your community's needs. To access these settings, you must enter creative mode and craft or spawn the Loyalty Admin Menu using the command Cheat GFI Loyalty_PrimalItem_AdminMenuTrigger 1 0 0. You need the creative mode buff active for the UI to appear. From this menu, you can adjust:
- Max Stacks: The maximum number of buff stacks a dino can achieve.
- Updates Needed Per Stack: How many updates are required to gain a stack.
- Time Between Updates: The interval between each update check.
- Stat Multiplier Per Stack: Change the multiplier for each stat. The default is 0.005 (0.5%). You can set individual values, like 0.001 for Health to give 0.1% per stack.
- Enable/Disable Certain Stats: Type -1 as a multiplier to completely disable a stat from being boosted.
- Ban Dino Classes: You can ban certain creatures from receiving stat multipliers. They will still get the buff icon, but the description will update to show it's banned by admins, and they won't get any stat increases.
This level of control makes the mod perfect for both casual servers and hardcore PvP environments where balance is critical.
Compatibility and Installation
The Loyalty Buff mod is designed to be compatible with the current versions of ARK: Survival Ascended. It works well alongside other mods, though you should always check for updates to ensure smooth performance. The mod idea originated from TTV/SpaceGirl_Spiff, and any issues can be reported on the official Discord server.
Getting started is straightforward. To download Loyalty Buff, simply find it on the mod database for ARK: Survival Ascended. For players looking for a streamlined experience, the foxygame.net launcher provides a fantastic way to manage your mods. Its one-click install feature lets you get Loyalty Buff for ARK: Survival Ascended up and running without the hassle of manual file placement, and the launcher's add-on catalog makes browsing for new content a breeze.
If you are manually installing, how to install is simple: subscribe to the mod on the Steam Workshop or your platform's mod repository, ensure it is enabled in your server's mod list, and restart the game. The mod will then be active in your world, and you can start building loyalty with your dinos immediately.
Conclusion
Loyalty Buff is a fantastic addition to ARK: Survival Ascended for players who value their tames. It adds a meaningful progression system that rewards time spent with your creatures, making them feel more like partners than tools. With its deep admin customization, it's a versatile mod for any server type. Whether you are a solo player looking to make your favorite Rex unstoppable or an admin seeking to reward dedicated players, the Loyalty Buff mod offers a compelling and unique gameplay loop that enriches the bond between survivor and dinosaur.