The last time we investigated the next-gen survival beta known as Ark: Survival Evolved, we found ourselves in an idyllic world of Jurassic Minecraft, consisting mostly of beachfront bungalow communities. Players lived a simple life of hunting and gathering thatch and stone, that they might put a Gilligan-esque coconut roof over their heads before the moon rose to unleashed ancient nocturnal predators, the stuff of cave-nightmares.

That was nearly two months ago. In that relatively short period, elite Ark survivalists have turned this archaic tribal world into a massive campaign of 007: Goldeneye. How did this evolution occur? Fortunately, hard core gaming televangelist FrankieONPCin1080P is here to guide us smoothly through the transition.

While Frankie’s 1st person shooter skills are the stuff of legend. It takes more than a little eye-hand coordination to raise through the ranks of a community of survivalist gamers. And yet, we’ve seen this play out several times already. In (still in alpha) DayZ, Frankie and Sada manage to commandeer a flying base (ostensibly a condo-sized drone gun ship) and use it to wreck havoc on unsuspecting clans. In Reign of Kings, we see Frankie and Sada utilize a shrub-tower building exploit to jump down on the heads of unsuspecting high level keep dwellers. And again, in their Ark series, we see Frankie and Sada go from beach-roaming underwear noobs to armored marine snipers in a mere few LP episodes.

Here is my impression of how they accomplish this feat:

1) Editing: Frankie and Sada assumedly do this for a living (as many of the top LPers). This gives them the luxury of time. They can spend inordinate amounts of time leveling up their characters, foraging for the rarest of resources, building and rebuilding bases of various kinds, and unlike many LPers, they don’t have to subject their YouTube audience to the driest parts of this, because they take the time to edit their LPs down to the most action-packed interactions – namely, raids, achievements, and griefing of others.

2) Finding muscle: Though no one doubts their dedication to the games they cover, Frankie and Sada know full well that there are always gamers crazier than they. Were Frankie and Sada to write the LP version of “How to Win Friends and Influence People,.” they would include a major chapter on alliance building. In the Ark LP series, the major ally guild they cultivate is known as the Vodka Villains. Here’s an LP by TheBeardedNoob, in what ostensibly amounts to a pre-production meeting between Frankie, Sada, and the Vodka Villains about a raid planned later. It’s a rare peak into the hours of schmoozing, pre-planning, and scheduling that goes into the finished product at FrankieonPC.

If you’ve seen the full JUNGLE SNIPER! – Ark: Survival Evolved – Ep.2 you’ve seen the Vodka Villains’ impenetrable base (around 22 minutes in). It’s a deep underwater fortified hideaway with an auto-turret of death guarding the surface of the water — the first moment where you emerge from the impossibly long swim to reach the entrance. The black steel reinforced walls appear to conceal a 60s supervillain conference behind them:

This base is the envy of SPECTRE’s Emilio Largo, and the Frankie team, as well. Anyone with the time, know-how and OCD pool to construct this shelter is a worthy ally.

3) British charm: This is something that they don’t teach you in FPS school. The ability to sweet talk your way in and out of sticky situations is something that the Frankie/Sada team excels in. Watching Frankie trying to convince an NPC Megolodon that he isn’t a tasty, knocked-unconscious morsel of food is one of the more entertaining bits I’ve seen from this channel. Similarly, unassuming, simple Sada is consummate bait for many a draw-them-out-and-gank-all-their-shit tactic pulled by the duo. It’s hard to not want to beat on Sada after he half-heartedly breeches your base perimeter, while Frankie stalks in the weeds nearby.

With an eye to the Frankie playbook, let’s watch and enjoy the latest installment of their Ark adventure, and Frankie and Sada attempt a revenge raid on the Vader clan, with the aid of the Vodka Villains, and their menagerie of trained T-Rexes.