The Best Way To Get Spoiled Meat In Ark: Survival Evolved

Players can collect a ton of resources in "Arc: Survival Evolved." They can use items like wood, ore, charcoal, and oils to craft structures, weapons, and tools, but they also need a variety of other resources for recovery purposes – with food chief among these. The game includes several different kinds of food ranging from Berries and Crops to Meat and Eggs. Characters in the game get hungry over time and actions that consume stamina or health also drain the player's food meter. Allowing this to reach zero means that the character will starve which drains their HP by one point every five seconds. The only way to prevent this from happening is by eating. 

Survival game logic dictates that players generally want to get the freshest food sources possible, but there are times later in "Arc: Survival Evolved" when it's beneficial to get food that's less than fresh. That's when players typically want to get their hands on some Spoiled Meat. Consuming it only adds +2.5 to the food meter and it actually subtracts -12.0 health, so eating it is generally inadvisable except as an absolute last resort. It's an essential component in crafting Narcotic, however, which players will require for taming beasts. It's also the best food for feeding Scorpions, Spiders, Arthropluera, Vultures, and Karkinos. So, how can you get your hands on Spoiled Meat?

Getting Spoiled Meat is actually quite easy. Like it or not, all of the food in "Arc: Survival Evolved" has an expiration date and meat that reaches that expiration date turns into Spoiled Meat. It can be made simply by waiting until it hits that point and then allowing it to turn. Meat, Fish, Mutton, and Lamb all spoil. It doesn't matter if it's raw or cooked; regular or Prime. Even Jerky turns green and gets covered in maggots and flies eventually. The amount of time it takes depends on the type of meat. Raw Meat only lasts 10 minutes in-game while Cooked Meat lasts 20 minutes and different Jerkies last between 2-4 days.

Even the Spoiled Meat itself will eventually turn rancid. It has a shelf life of one hour in the player's inventory, at which point it becomes completely unusable. That's why it's best for the player to wait until they need it to start collecting it and then immediately feed it to their animals or craft it into Narcotic. The other option is to store it in something like a Preserving Bin or a Refrigerator to prolong its lifespan, though neither of these is a long-term solution and it will still go rancid eventually.

Perhaps there will be a more permanent strategy for food storage in "Ark 2."