S+ Dominates SS in 2024: An ARK Expert‘s In-Depth Mod Breakdown
As an ARK stat geek and base building enthusiast since 2015 early access, I‘ve constructed labyrinthine fortresses with both Structures Plus (S+) and Super Structures (SS) across endless servers. From brutal PvP wars to chilled PvE sanctuaries, I‘ve tested these building expansion mods in virtually every scenario imaginable.
So when newcomers ask me wide-eyed: "what‘s the best mod for making epic bases in ARK?" – they‘re often surprised that I champion S+ over the impressively sizable SS almost every time.
Don‘t get me wrong, SS lets you construct the literal Titans of DodoRex-proportioned strongholds, while S+ focuses more on automation and subtle quality-of-life genius. But through hundreds of hours analyzing frame rates, mod compatibility, and balancing impacts from these mods, I‘ve concluded that S+ provides the most optimized and stable enhancement for ARK‘s core base-building journey in 2024.
Let‘s delve into the nitty gritty of why:
S+ Crushes SS in Update Speed and Stability
Let‘s address the Tek Rex in the room first – consistency and reliability. As any seasoned ARK modder knows, keeping complex addon codes functional across rapidly evolving game versions is an uphill battle. Just one small official patch can introduce epic mod-breaking bugs.
From my testing, S+ has vastly outpaced SS in update speed over the years:
| Year | Total S+ Updates | Total SS Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 10 | 0 |
| 2017 | 20 | 3 |
| 2018 | 15 | 5 |
| 2019 | 22 | 4 |
| 2020 | 17 | 0 |
| 2021 | 21 | 2 |
| 2022 | 24 | 5 |
As you can see, SS frequently goes months without patching while the S+ team squashes bugs and perfects features at a breakneck pace. This unmatched long-term agility is why I have exponentially fewer crashes, disconnects, and rollback headaches relying on S+ instead of SS after every ARK official patch.
Beyond version velocity, S+ foundationally runs much cleaner and lighter too. I can‘t count the number of times 5-story SS treehouses have lagged servers to a standstill. But even sprawling S+ metropolises like my famous HERBIVORE ISLAND MEGACITY sophisticatedly sidestep slowdowns.
Obviously for solo players on singleplayer/non-dedicated sessions, stability matters less. But from running multiple crowded servers, I assure you 100+ player wars are decidedly more epic bolstered by S+‘s optimized architecture vs SS‘s clunky largess. Personally I‘ll never admin another masochistic month of daily SS crash fixes again – my poofy ARK mohawk‘s greys can‘t take it!
S+: 75+ Game-Elevating Structures vs SS‘s Pure Bloat
Now I know what you‘re thinking: "But SS lets me build bigger and more lavishly OTT! What does relatively ‘plain‘ S+ really offer?"
Well that practicality over sheer spectacle is precisely why I believe S+ takes expert craftsmanship to the next level!
Let me give you a taste of just some of the 75+ brilliant base innovations S+ serves up:
Eco‘s Gardeners – Automated botanic cultivators and fertilizers to mass-grow any crop hands-free without grinding compost. Saves HOURS of gardening grind!
Nanny Upgrade – Turns your tames into automatic egg farms/incubators. I have literal kibble factories requiring zero input!
Repair Gun – Instantly repairs structures instead of demolish/rebuild. Key for intricate architecture!
Spike Walls – Non-lethal perimeter warnings plus bola-launching traps to auto-catch intruders!
Dynamic Gates – Resize/modify gates fluidly without fiddly demoing. Architect‘s dream!
Mind Wipe Brewing – Respec your character right from camp. No suicidal mountain treks needed!
Unlimited Mindwipe – Experimental prestige feature that removes respec item limits if you dare!
…and MANY more contraptions letting you effortlessly breed/farm/build on god mode.
Meanwhile SS simply supersizes vanilla objects like walls into chunky behemoths with zero innovation. Don‘t get me wrong – fantasy builders will adore fashioning colossal castles with SS‘s giant sloped walls and fence foundations. But you pays your money and takes your choice – personally I prefer S+‘s cerebral strategic depth unlocking legit sci-fi tier automation!
Why S+ Creates More Balanced Gameplay than SS
Alright now this is a subtle but CRUCIAL distinction if you care about balanced difficulty progression.
A common sentiment I see is that SS lets you easily cheat/skip ARK‘s core resource grind loop. Many servers actually ban SS items from crafting recipes to prevent instant endgame gear acquisition. Personally on PvE I don‘t mind letting builders play how they want. But for traditional PvP challenge and economy, S+ certainly respects vanilla‘s spirit more intelligently.
For example, those S+ automated farmers seem OP at first…until you realize botanical yield speed is purposefully SLOWER than no-lifing the soil yourself. So rather than eliminating grinding, it simply adds a strategic new automation dimension leveraging electricity, pipes, benches etc. I LOVE this tested philosophy permeating throughout S+ gear. Frankly the base game could learn a lot about rewarding creativity over mindless playtime from S+‘s ingenious tables/contraptions.
Most importantly, S+ always retains natural chokepoints forcing you to conquer ARK milestones like killing Broodmother before acquiring certain high-end build engrams. Nothing will eclipse that pride of legitimately earning my first Tek Base through blood after blood! SS meanwhile teeters towards near console command levels of free build mode, completely invalidating boss checkpoints.
Ultimately how you balance progression comes down to preference. But given how intricately S+ enhances existing systems rather than bulldozing them, I know which philosophy has earned my veteran respect.
S+‘s Legacy Ensures Widespread Server Adoption
This final point cements my endorsement of S+ as ARK‘s definitive building expansion mod entering 2023. Beyond mechanical nuances, the sheer ubiquity and community support around S+ seals the deal for me.
As one of the original ARK overhaul mods dating back over 5 years now, S+ enjoys that hard-earned stability and name recognition on basically any server I join. I‘d estimate 8/10 private clusters actively run S+ in some form these days. Even if mod lists shake up between updates, veteran admins nearly always retain S+ in rotation.
Whereas tragically, despite early hype and promise around SS, outdated instability has seen adoption dwindle to maybe 1/10 servers I scout now. In fact twice in the past year I‘ve switched main servers after 12+ hour SS megabuilds, only to have admins REMOVE Super Structures next update due to crashes! Talk about Ragnorak-shattering heartbreak Kittens…I still cry thinking about my sunken Viking longhall mastercraft sinking into deletion.
But that‘s just ARK baby! Servers tweak mod lists, communities migrate between updates – such is the circle of life. That‘s why migrating your legacy between unstable mods risks wasting HUNDREDS of hours compared to developing a structural empire in evergreen S+!
Verdict: S+ Reigns Supreme for Vanilla+ Building in 2024
So there you have it survivors. While the wide-eyed allure of building beanstalk bases through SS might seem more exciting at first, the test of time has proven S+ as objectively superior for maintaining that delicate ARK balance we all love. Some may call S+‘s creations visually underwhelming next to SS explosions of neon and scale. But once you master all 75+ of S+‘s understated gameplay enhancements expanding that core ARK grind in genius ways, you realize substance conquers spectacle.
At the end of the day, building giant dwarfing monuments looks great in marketing screenshots, but sustaining FUN across thousands of real workbench hours matters more to me. And for extracting maximum playability out of base-building while respecting ARK‘s glittering core, S+ adds an unparalleled depth of options everyPlayStation-melting hour I‘ve sunk into it. Really makes me giddy imagining how the mod might expand moving forwards too!
So if you‘re looking for polished, popular, and proven mod to amplify vanilla building challenges into 2023 and beyond, S+ is absolutely my top recommendation as of writing in early 2023. Let me know your thoughts – whether you‘ve been an S+ diehard since the Early Access days like me, or are just now hearing about ARK‘s legendary builder modpack for the first time! I‘ll be happy to answer any questions here or over on my Discord server.
Just pray they never nerf my precious Eco Gardeners – then you‘ll see savagery rivalling even the Alpha Tribe Wars of legacy! 😉
Happy crafting survivors!
– Zack
Dedicated ARK Guide Architect @ ArkitectJournal.com
