Join our new Ark Nova discord! (incl. many top players such as JDansp, sorryimlikethis, dwarvintime...)

[Propaganda Panda]

Hello, dear zoo lovers!

Me and other top players have joined forces to create a new Discord server for Ark Nova. Right now, we have already assembled 14 BGA masters (700+ peak elo) as well as 19 more BGA experts (500+ peak elo). There is even representation from Feuerland Spiele with zlorfik aka Bastian (who is an elite player himself!).

But don't be intimidated by this conjunction of strong players! We want to create an open community for players of all experience levels, ranging from an BGA Arena winner to a total newbie who only wants to understand the rules for their first playthrough.

We put particular emphasis on providing a welcoming and educational space for all those who love Ark Nova and want to learn more about the game. If you are seeking advice, you won't find more knowledge in one place than here, and we would love to share our insights with everyone with an open mind!

We're just getting started, so the server isn't massive yet, but we hope that this will change in the future - maybe with your help

**See you in the server!**

Invite link: https://discord.gg/uUSQE2BEte

[davidstrayer]

Sounds amazing basket random. I really want to join your discord.

[thulcandrian22]

Just a bit of feedback for the OP: as someone who enjoys Ark Nova a lot, I headed right over and joined the discord server. Forgive me if I missed it, but I didn't see any channels that cater to casual players. Everything seemed to be geared toward those who play competitively or those aspiring to do so. Don't get me wrong: I always play games to win. But when I play games I'm not usually concerned with trying to rank all the cards, squeeze out that last 1% of efficiency, or manage the tempo.

The more I'm in the hobby, the more I realize that there are those who want to "solve" a game and compete at a high level, and those who play for the social aspect and want to try out different strategies (even if objectively they're inferior) to see what happens. I also am more aware than ever that both groups truly have fun playing their respective ways. This discord server seems more geared to the one group, from what I could see. I don't mind that, but just thought it might be helpful for others to know the purpose.

If I mischaracterized the server or missed something, I apologize.

[Guillaumito]

As for "want to try out different strategies (even if objectively they're inferior) to see what happens", the OP has an account that never upgraded the build action

[talkative]

This discord server seems more geared to the one group, from what I could see. I don't mind that, but just thought it might be helpful for others to know the purpose.

As a fairly casual Ark Nova player (I've played 20 or so games, which might as well be 0 games when compared to the thousands of games a lot of the more active participants have played, I think the discord is pretty nice for casual players. Every time I've had a question about a card or some rule, someone's already asked the question and I can find my answer with discord search .

I don't disagree on the vibe — I'm not sure what to make of it when people gripe about how shameful it is that their Elo dropped to 700 (which is something like 30th in the world) but it seems like a friendly group even if you don't take the game very seriously.

[Propaganda Panda]

This discord server seems more geared to the one group, from what I could see. I don't mind that, but just thought it might be helpful for others to know the purpose.

As a fairly casual Ark Nova player (I've played 20 or so games, which might as well be 0 games when compared to the thousands of games a lot of the more active participants have played, I think the discord is pretty nice for casual players. Every time I've had a question about a card or some rule, someone's already asked the question and I can find my answer with discord search .

I don't disagree on the vibe — I'm not sure what to make of it when people gripe about how shameful it is that their Elo dropped to 700 (which is something like 30th in the world) but it seems like a friendly group even if you don't take the game very seriously.

As a person who has vented about this kind of stuff (and who has founded that server), I agree with both of you. In general, we do try to be a server for everyone, no matter if you've played 5000 or 0 games. And yes, there are top players who have played that many games lol.

In my opinion, one of the great things about the server is that you can come in as a newbie, ask some game-related questions and get a direct answer from the best players in the world. Even if you ask a strategy question which is very basic for Ark Nova "pros", nobody feels too smug to withhold an insightful answer. There is no place in the world where you will find more passion and more knowledge about the game than this server. Basically every Master level player who speaks English is in there, and many of us are very active and willing to share our expertise. We've also created a bunch of channels for exactly that purpose (they didn't exist in the beginning when we were still everything up, but we constantly try to learn and make the server a better place!).

At the same time, I would also agree that some of us top players - and I am definitely not innocent of that myself - tend to forget that our own experiences do not really resonate with the average player who does not treat Ark Nova as a competitive esport (or bsport, how we call it ), and as you said, it can be very alienating when you have someone like me who rants about how I have fallen down to rank 30. Not really something most people can emphasize with, right? In that regard, we can definitely improve, and it is duly noted.

Still: In the end, the server will always be geared towards competitive play. That doesn't mean that novices can't come in ask questions or engage with us - I think everybody who ever asked something has always gotten an answer, and we also have plenty of active members who are not top players. But there is definitely a focus on constant climbing and learning - squeezing out the last drop of knowledge that you can find, so to speak. So if you asked me who this server is for, then I'd say it is directed at players who want to become better at Ark Nova. This can apply to someone who wants to become the best instead of the second best player in the world, or to someone who played it a few times at home and finally wants to beat their spouse.

But I will also emphasize that we still try to nurture a welcoming atmosphere where everybody can feel at home, and nobody needs to have any reservations about coming in and for example just asking the rank 1 player something about the game. And we also have both the BGA devs and representatives from Feuerland Spiele in the server, so if you have any rule questions, you are guaranteed to get a good answer.

[thulcandrian22]

Thanks for this reply, Panda! I certainly didn’t mean to give the impression in my initial comment that people were gatekeeping, unresponsive, or unfriendly. I did not have that experience at all. The fact that you’ve added channels makes me want to check it out again—it’s great to see things grow!

I’m the sort of board gamer who likes to try a wide variety of games rather than specialize in any one game. I’m not likely to be looking for a way to be the most efficient in my turns or climb any rankings. It is good to know that even though the server generally geared that direction, you have an eye towards those of us who are casual players or just trying to figure out why we consistently score lower than our friends.