BOB’S BETTER DINO LEVELS — BETA

New version has been cooked and relased. Double check to make sure you ini has updated to the typo free one

Bob’s Better Dino Levels changes how often different wild-dino levels appear without replacing the original creatures. This mod is based on the mod named Custom DIno Levels by kitzykatty.

The mod preserves each dino’s original actor, class, components, inventory, and mod-provided data. It works with eligible vanilla and modded wild dinos.

This beta is for testing only. Back up your test save and do not use this build on a production server.

WHAT THE MOD DOES

• Changes the level distribution of newly spawned eligible wild dinos
• Provides Equal, Ragnarok, High, and Custom modes
• Provides separate controls for different creature groups
• Preserves original vanilla and modded creature classes
• Does not affect tamed dinos
• Does not replace or remap creatures
• Does not change the server difficulty

Existing wild dinos are not changed. After installing the mod or changing its settings, a manual wild-dino wipe is recommended if you want to see the new distribution immediately.

Creatures created through unusual scripted spawning systems may retain levels controlled by the game or the mod that spawned them.

CONFIGURATION

With the server stopped, add this section to the server’s GameUserSettings.ini, then start the server:

[BobsBetterDinoLevels]
WantsRagLevels=False
WantsEqualLevels=True
WantsHighLevels=False
WantsCustom=False

ModifyBeeLevels=False
ModifyTitanLevels=False
ModifyOrdinaryLevels=True
ModifyCaveLevels=False
ModifyBossLevels=False
ModifyAlphaLevels=False
ModifyMiscLevelOnes=False
ModifyNestLevels=True
ModifyTekLevels=False
ModifyOceanLevels=False
ModifyZoneLevels=False
ModifyEventLevels=False
ModifyMissionLevels=False
ModifyCorruptedLevels=False

VeryLowRangePercent=54
LowRangePercent=27
MediumRangePercent=14
HighRangePercent=5

Any setting not present in your INI uses the mod’s default value shown above.

CHOOSE ONE MODE

Only one distribution mode can be set to True.

Equal

WantsEqualLevels=True

Gives every available level approximately the same opportunity to appear.

Ragnarok

WantsRagLevels=True

Uses ARK’s Ragnarok-style level distribution. This improves the chances of higher levels but still allows many low-level dinos.

High

WantsHighLevels=True

Strongly favors higher-level wild dinos.

Custom

WantsCustom=True

Lets you choose how often each of four fixed level groups appears. Works with "RangePercent" settings explained below.

If no mode is enabled, or more than one mode is enabled, the mod will not change dino levels.

CREATURE GROUP CONTROLS

Each Modify...Levels option determines whether the selected distribution mode applies to that creature group.

• True applies the selected distribution.
• False preserves the creature’s original ARK or mod-provided level behavior.

Ordinary wild dinos

ModifyOrdinaryLevels=True

Controls eligible ordinary wild creatures. This is enabled by default.

Giant Queen Bees

ModifyBeeLevels=False

Giant Queen Bees keep their original level behavior by default.

Titanosaurs

ModifyTitanLevels=False

Titanosaurs keep their original level behavior by default.

Bosses

ModifyBossLevels=False

Boss creatures keep their original levels by default. Use at your own risk.

Alpha creatures

ModifyAlphaLevels=False

Alpha creatures keep their original level distribution by default.

Miscellaneous fixed-level creatures

ModifyMiscLevelOnes=False

Controls eligible miscellaneous creatures that normally use a fixed or unusual level, including certain level-one creatures.

Nest creatures

ModifyNestLevels=True

Controls eligible creatures that use nest or egg-based level ranges, including:

• Wyverns
• Rock Drakes
• Deinonychus
• Magmasaurs

This option is enabled by default. Their special extended level ranges are preserved. For example, Wyverns and Rock Drakes can still reach level 190 at difficulty 5.

Tek creatures

ModifyTekLevels=False

Tek creatures retain their original higher level behavior by default.

Ocean creatures

ModifyOceanLevels=False

Ocean-classified creatures keep their original distribution by default.

Zone creatures

ModifyZoneLevels=False

Creatures controlled by special zone spawning behavior keep their original distribution by default.

Event creatures

ModifyEventLevels=False

Event creatures keep their original distribution by default.

Mission creatures

ModifyMissionLevels=False

Mission-spawned creatures keep their original behavior by default. Creatures created by a mission’s own scripted spawning system may remain entirely controlled by that mission.

Corrupted creatures

ModifyCorruptedLevels=False

Corrupted creatures keep their original distribution by default.

CAVE DINOS — NOT YET SUPPORTED

Cave dinos are not modified by this beta.

Keep this option set to False:

ModifyCaveLevels=False

The option is reserved for future cave support, but enabling it currently will not apply the selected distribution to cave dinos.

Cave creatures will continue using ARK’s original cave-spawner levels. They may therefore appear far above the normal wild-dino maximum.

CUSTOM MODE

The four Custom percentages must:

• Be whole numbers
• Be zero or greater
• Total exactly 100

The mod uses four fixed level groups. Displayed dino levels scale with your server difficulty. At difficulty 5, the groups are:

Setting	Wild-dino levels
VeryLowRangePercent	5–25
LowRangePercent	30–60
MediumRangePercent	65–100
HighRangePercent	105–150

The default percentages are:

VeryLowRangePercent=54
LowRangePercent=27
MediumRangePercent=14
HighRangePercent=5

These defaults produce mostly lower-level dinos.

To favor higher levels, try:

VeryLowRangePercent=5
LowRangePercent=15
MediumRangePercent=30
HighRangePercent=50

This gives the highest level group a 50% selection chance.

If the four percentages do not total exactly 100, Custom mode remains inactive and does not change dino levels.

APPLYING CHANGES

The mod affects only newly spawned eligible wild dinos. Existing wild dinos and tamed dinos are unchanged.

On a disposable test server, administrators may manually refresh wild spawns with:

cheat DestroyWildDinos

The mod never performs a wild-dino wipe automatically or changes the server difficulty.

BETA SUPPORT

Please report beta test results and problems through the official Discord:

https://discord.gg/GvHsSvM7Ws