ARK: Survival Evolved Server Hosting

Why Tribes Move to a Dedicated ARK Server

ARK's world only moves forward while a server is running it. In a hosted game from your own PC, crops stop growing, babies stop maturing and incubating eggs freeze the moment the host logs off. For a tribe that spreads a breeding line over several days, that is the whole game on pause.

A dedicated server runs the world on its own, around the clock, without anyone sitting at the host machine. Studio Wildcard's own store page sums up why players want one: on a server, your character, everything you built and your tames stay in the world when you leave. A rented server adds a fixed address, steady upload bandwidth, DDoS filtering and someone to call when an update goes wrong.

With the official networks gone (Wildcard's in 2023, Aquatica's in January 2026), every online ARK: Survival Evolved world is a player-run one. That makes the choice of host more important than it used to be: your server is the official server now.

Choosing a Map and Sizing Memory

Map choice drives everything else. Six expansion maps are free on Steam, five packs are paid, and their memory needs differ a lot. The figures below are the official community wiki's measurements for an empty server; each connected player adds roughly 50 to 150 MiB, and an old world with years of building uses more.

Paid maps are sold separately on Steam, so check that everyone in the group owns the pack before you build a server around it. The wiki table has no figure for Aquatica, the newest paid map, so start it on 12GB or more.

Rates, Difficulty and the Settings Files

ARK keeps most settings in two files. GameUserSettings.ini holds the everyday options in its [ServerSettings] block, and Game.ini holds the deeper rules such as breeding speeds and per-level stats. Our Easy Editor turns the common ones into form fields; the rest can be typed in the text editor. Stop the server before you edit, because ARK overwrites changes made while it runs.

Small private tribes often double or triple taming and harvest so a weekend session still feels productive. Public PvP servers usually stay close to 1.0 so progress means something. Whatever you choose, announce it before launch: changing rates mid-wipe causes more arguments than any bug.

Workshop Mods, Custom Maps and Plugins

ARK: Survival Evolved has full Steam Workshop support. A server lists its mods by Workshop ID in ActiveMods, comma separated with no spaces, and the left-most mod takes priority when two mods touch the same item or creature. Every player needs the same mods, which Steam players get from the Workshop.

1. Stop the server.
2. Open the Workshop browser in the panel, search for the mod and click install. The ID is added to ActiveMods for you.
3. For a custom map, install its Workshop item, then choose Custom Map in the Start.bat editor and type the map name.
4. Start the server and read the log for load errors before you invite anyone.

Mods are the usual reason an ARK server will not start after a game update. Our scheduled Update Workshop Mods task checks for new versions every few hours, warns players, saves, updates what changed and restarts. For server-side features without client downloads, ARK Server API plugins install through the Mod Manager and live in their own Plugins folder.

Crossplay With Epic Games Store Players

ARK: Survival Evolved arrived on the Epic Games Store in June 2020. A dedicated server can admit those players next to Steam players: the official server documentation lists the -crossplay launch option, together with -PublicIPForEpic set to the server's public address. There is also -epiconly for a server that admits Epic players alone.

• Mixed group: turn on -crossplay, keep the mod list empty or tested, and share the server name.
• Steam-only group: leave crossplay off and use the Workshop freely.
• Epic-only group: -epiconly keeps Steam players out.

Clusters and Cross-ARK Transfers

A cluster is a group of ARK servers that share a cluster ID and a storage folder. Survivors upload themselves, their items and their creatures at an obelisk on one map and download them on another. It is how communities run The Island for beginners next to Aberration or Extinction for veterans.

• -clusterid names the cluster; every server in it uses the same value.
• -ClusterDirOverride points all servers at one shared storage location.
• PreventDownloadSurvivors, PreventDownloadItems and PreventDownloadDinos let a map refuse arrivals, useful for a PvP map that should not receive farmed gear.
• -NoTransferFromFiltering blocks transfers from single player and unclustered servers.

Each map in a cluster is its own server and its own plan. Order the servers, ideally in one location, then open a ticket and our team sets up the shared cluster storage.

Admin Commands and RCON

In game, an admin opens the console and types EnableCheats with the ServerAdminPassword. From then on, admin commands take the cheat prefix: cheat SaveWorld writes the world to disk, cheat Broadcast sends a message to everyone, and KickPlayer, BanPlayer and UnbanPlayer take a player's ID from ListPlayers.

RCON does the same from outside the game on TCP port 27020 once RCONEnabled is true. Our panel already has an RCON console and a scheduler, so moderators can broadcast restart warnings or run saves without loading into ARK at all.

Saves, Backups and Wipes

Everything that matters lives in the ShooterGame/Saved folder: the map save, player and tribe files, cluster data, configs and logs. ARK writes it every 15 minutes by default. A scheduled SaveWorld every 5 to 10 minutes narrows the gap, and the panel's Backup Manager takes a snapshot whenever you ask, on top of the 7 days of offsite copies we keep.

Wipes are a backup in reverse. Take a snapshot, use the panel's wipe option, and keep the old save in case the community votes to bring it back. For a fresh map after a long season, a wipe is also the cheapest performance upgrade there is.

What to Compare Before Renting an ARK Server

ARK servers live or die on memory, mods and saves. Check these before you pay.

1. Memory for your mapA plan that is fine for The Island can stall on Genesis: Part 2. Compare the included RAM with the map you actually plan to run.
2. Workshop toolsLook for a Workshop browser and automatic mod updates. Manual mod updates after every patch get old quickly.
3. Cluster supportIf you may add a second map later, make sure the host can link servers into a cluster.
4. Save accessYou should be able to download and upload the Saved folder yourself, not only through a support ticket.
5. Locations near your tribeRun a ping test. Riding and combat feel worse at high latency long before the server is out of CPU.
6. Contract and feesCheck for setup fees and whether monthly billing can be cancelled at any time.

ARK Server Glossary

ASE

ARK: Survival Evolved, the original 2017 game, as opposed to ASA, the Unreal Engine 5 remake.

Tribe

A group of players who share structures, tames and permissions.

Tame

A creature a player has knocked out, fed and made their own.

Cluster

Several servers sharing a cluster ID so players can transfer between maps.

Obelisk

A map structure used to upload and download survivors, items and creatures in a cluster.

ActiveMods

The settings line that lists the Workshop IDs a server loads, in priority order.

GameUserSettings.ini

The main server settings file, including passwords, rates and mods.

RCON

Remote console access for admin commands without joining the game.

Wipe

Resetting a map to a fresh start while keeping the server and its settings.

Aquatica

The underwater paid DLC map released for ARK: Survival Evolved in July 2025.

ARK Server Help and Next Steps

Further reading for ARK: Survival Evolved server owners.

• Dedicated server setup, official ARK wikiPorts, launch line and memory per map.
• Server configuration, official ARK wikiEvery ini setting and launch option.
• Installing mods on your ARK serverOur step-by-step guide.
• Gaming Deluxe control panelWhat the panel can do.
• Our server locations
• Contact supportClusters, saves and mod problems, any time of day.