How to Set Up an ARK Dedicated Server: The Complete Guide

ASA or ASE: which ARK is your server for?

ARK: Survival Evolved is the original game, fully released in August 2017. ARK: Survival Ascended is Studio Wildcard's remake of it in Unreal Engine 5, released on Steam on 25 October 2023 and also on Xbox and PlayStation 5. Both are published by Studio Wildcard and Snail Games USA. A server runs one or the other, so settle this first: almost every step after it is different. The differences that matter for a server, from the official ARK wiki and the Steam store:

In short: pick ASA if your group includes console players or wants the newest maps and creatures. Pick ASE for its long list of Steam Workshop mods and maps, or when the server has to run on less memory: an empty ASE map needs about half the memory of the same map on ASA, or less.

What changed in ARK in 2025 and 2026

Both games are still updated, and every update you install on the server changes what your players need. The points that matter if you run or plan a server, from Studio Wildcard's and Studio Sirens' Steam announcements:

• ASA keeps growing. Ragnarok Ascended arrived in June 2025, Valguero Ascended in October 2025, the paid ARK: Lost Colony expansion in December 2025 and Genesis Part 1 in July 2026, and the Astraeos map reached version 1.0 with its Heaven and Abyss update in August 2026.
• ASA moved to Unreal Engine 5.5 in June 2025. After big engine and map updates, check that your mods have been updated before you restart the server.
• ASE got a new DLC. Studio Sirens released ARK: Aquatica for ASE on 15 July 2025, with new ASE builds after it. Its official servers went offline on 30 January 2026, and Studio Sirens says updates continue.
• ASE keeps an older branch for mods. Studio Sirens keeps the preaquatica branch available permanently. The official wiki says it installs build 358.24, works with most Steam Workshop mods but not with Aquatica, and players must switch their game to the same branch to join (mods).
• Players and server must match. After a game patch, players cannot join a server still on the old version, so update the server as soon as a patch lands (updates).

Host it yourself or rent a server: an honest comparison

The dedicated server is a free download from Valve's SteamCMD tool with an anonymous login, so you do not need a second copy of the game. The official wiki's steps, for either edition:

1. Install SteamCMD and make a folder for the server, for example C:\arkserver.
2. Download the server: steamcmd +force_install_dir C:\arkserver +login anonymous +app_update 2430930 validate +quit for ASA, or the same with 376030 for ASE.
3. Write a start file with the map, session name and passwords. An ASE example: ShooterGameServer.exe TheIsland?SessionName=MyTribe?ServerPassword=joinpass?Port=7777?QueryPort=27015?MaxPlayers=20?ServerAdminPassword=adminpass. ASA needs a few changes, covered in the next chapter.
4. Open the ports in the firewall and forward them on your router: UDP 7777 and 7778, UDP 27015 for the Steam server browser, and TCP 27020 if you use RCON. A second server on the same machine takes the next ports (7779, 7780, 27016, 27021).
5. Start it and look for your session name in the unofficial server list.
6. Run the SteamCMD command again after every game patch, and copy the ShooterGame/Saved folder before you do.

Our view after hosting game servers since 2008: if a few friends play while you are online, and your PC has memory to spare, start at home. ASA is the harder one to self-host, because an empty map already takes 8 GiB or more on top of the game you are playing. Rent when the world must stay up while you are offline, when the tribe grows, or when you want backups and restarts handled. We run ASE as a ready-made server on our ARK Server Hosting plans, ready within about 15 minutes of ordering. For ASA we offer Ryzen 9 VPS and dedicated machines that you set up yourself: see ARK: Survival Ascended Server Hosting.

Running your own ARK: Survival Ascended dedicated server

ASA's server is set up the same way as ASE's, with a few rules of its own that catch out almost everyone the first time. From the official wiki's dedicated server setup and server configuration pages:

• Windows only. There is no native Linux server for ASA. Install the Microsoft Visual C++ 2013 Redistributable (x64) and the DirectX End-User Runtimes (June 2010) first.
• The port is a dash option. Use -port=7777, not ?Port=, or the server always uses 7777.
• The admin password goes last. ?ServerAdminPassword= must be the last option joined with a question mark: anything after it is read as part of the password.
• Player limit on the command line. -WinLiveMaxPlayers= replaces MaxPlayers in GameUserSettings.ini, which would otherwise be forced back to 70.
• Map names end in _WP. For example TheIsland_WP, TheCenter_WP or ScorchedEarth_WP (maps).
• Mods by CurseForge ID. -mods= takes CurseForge Project IDs, and the server updates them every time it starts (mods).
• Choose the platforms. -ServerPlatform= sets who can join: PC, XSX, PS5, WINGDK (Microsoft Store) or ALL. With no option every platform is allowed (crossplay).

Put together, a start line for one map looks like this: ArkAscendedServer.exe TheIsland_WP?SessionName=MyTribe?ServerPassword=joinpass?ServerAdminPassword=adminpass -port=7777 -WinLiveMaxPlayers=20 -ServerPlatform=ALL. The wiki recommends 4 logical cores for each ASA server, with fast single-core speed mattering more than the number of cores, and notes that Windows Server editions need an extra certificate step before an ASA server shows up in the list (troubleshooting).

On GTX, ASA runs on a Ryzen 9 Bare Metal VPS (8 assigned cores, 32 GB of DDR5 memory and 200 GB of NVMe storage, with Windows Server) or a Ryzen dedicated server. You connect with Remote Desktop and install the server with exactly the steps above, so the start line, ports and mods are entirely yours.

Setting up an ARK: Survival Evolved server in the GTX game panel

ARK: Survival Evolved servers on GTX run in our game panel and are ready within about 15 minutes of ordering. This is the order we tell new customers to work in:

1. Log in to the game panel at gamepanel.gtxgaming.co.uk and open your ARK server.
2. Stop the server with STOP before you change anything. Changes saved while it runs are not applied.
3. Open Configuration Files. Config.bat holds the map, total conversions, events and the crossplay switch. GameUserSettings.ini holds the server name (SessionName), passwords, PvP and active mods. Game.ini holds the advanced rules. Edit them with the Config Editor and press Save.
4. Press START. The Steam and Epic connection addresses are on the panel's home page, with a JOIN button next to the Steam one.
5. Join it: start ARK on Steam and press JOIN in the panel, or add the address to your Steam favourites. Epic players join with the open console command (how).

Joining and crossplay: Steam, Epic, Xbox and PlayStation

The in-game list is the least reliable way to find an ARK server. In our support team's experience it only shows part of the unofficial servers at any one time, and a brand-new server can take hours or even days to appear, so it is normal not to see yours at first. The ways in that always work:

ARK: Survival Evolved

• Steam: press JOIN next to the Steam connection in the panel, or in Steam open View, Servers, add the address to your favourites and connect from there.
• Epic: crossplay between Steam and Epic is a server switch. On a self-hosted server the wiki's -crossplay option also needs -PublicIPForEpic=; on GTX, enable CROSSPLAY at the bottom of Config.bat. Epic players then start a single-player session, open the console and type open followed by the Epic address and port.

ARK: Survival Ascended

• The unofficial list: on every platform, open Join Game, choose the Unofficial tab, tick Show Player Servers (and Show Password Protected Servers if you set a join password) and search for the session name. A unique name makes this much easier.
• By IP on PC: from the main menu, open the console and type open followed by the IP and game port. It is unreliable on password-protected servers, and Xbox and PlayStation players cannot join by IP at all.
• Crossplay: PC, Xbox and PlayStation 5 players can share a server. -ServerPlatform decides who is let in, and console players can only use mods that support crossplay, so keep the mod list crossplay-friendly when they join.

Settings, maps and PvP or PvE

Most of what makes your ARK yours lives in two files in ShooterGame\Saved\Config\WindowsServer (LinuxServer on a Linux ASE server): GameUserSettings.ini for the everyday settings, mostly under [ServerSettings], and Game.ini for the advanced rules. The official wiki lists every option and its default. Stop the server before you edit either file.

PvP or PvE

ServerPVE in GameUserSettings.ini is the main switch: True means players cannot damage each other, their tames or their structures. Two settings in Game.ini fine-tune it: bDisableFriendlyFire stops damage inside a tribe, and bAutoPvETimer switches the server to PvE during set hours. PreventOfflinePvP protects a tribe's base once all its members have been offline for a while.

Difficulty and wild dino levels

OverrideOfficialDifficulty sets how high wild dino levels go. Official servers run at 5.0, which gives most wild dinos a maximum of level 150; as a rule of thumb the maximum is 30 times your value. Dinos already on the map keep their levels, so run cheat destroywilddinos afterwards to respawn them. Your tames are not touched.

Maps and their start-line names

Valguero and Genesis Part 1 came to ASA later (October 2025 and July 2026); check their start-line names on the wiki when you set them up. On a GTX ARK: Survival Evolved server you pick the map from the list in Config.bat instead of typing it. A Steam Workshop map is installed like a mod and then picked from the same list, and its mod ID must load first in your active mods. Events work much the same way: the -ActiveEvent= launch option turns on a seasonal event.

Admin, RCON and whitelists

Admin rights in ARK come from the admin password. Set ServerAdminPassword in GameUserSettings.ini (or on the start line), start the server, join it, open the console and type enablecheats followed by the password. Admin commands then work for you in game; the official wiki keeps the full console command list.

1. Keep the password private. Anyone who knows it can use every admin command on your server.
2. Give co-admins their own access. On ASE, a Steam64ID on its own line in AllowedCheaterSteamIDs.txt gets admin rights without typing the password. On GTX, a panel sub-user lets a co-admin manage the server without your login.
3. Lock the doors if you need to. A join password keeps strangers out. For a strict whitelist, the -exclusivejoin launch option only lets in players on its allow list.
4. Use RCON for admin from outside the game. RCONEnabled=True with an RCONPort (TCP 27020 by default) and an admin password lets an RCON tool connect. On GTX, the panel's Web RCON sends commands without any tool: SaveWorld saves the world, ListPlayers shows who is on with their IDs, and Broadcast messages everyone.

Scheduled RCON tasks in the panel do the routine work for you: a broadcast every two hours, a saveworld every few minutes, or any command on a timer.

Mods: Steam Workshop for ASE, CurseForge for ASA

The two games take mods from different places, so a guide for one rarely works for the other.

ARK: Survival Evolved: Steam Workshop

• On GTX: stop the server, open Steam Workshop in the panel, search for the mod and press Install. The panel adds its ID to ActiveMods in GameUserSettings.ini for you. Steam Workshop Installed has an Update All button, and a scheduled Workshop Update task keeps mods current every 12 hours.
• Self-hosted: the wiki's -automanagedmods option downloads and updates Workshop mods for you (Steam only), with the mod IDs listed in Game.ini.
• Mods and the Aquatica update: the official wiki says the preaquatica branch (build 358.24) works with most Workshop mods, while it does not support Aquatica. Studio Sirens keeps that branch available for good, and players have to switch their game to it as well. Back up before you change branch.
• Server plugins: ARK Server API plugins run on the server only, so players download nothing. On GTX, install ARK API from the Mod Manager, then upload each plugin to its Plugins folder.

ARK: Survival Ascended: CurseForge

• The start line: list CurseForge Project IDs in -mods=, separated by commas. The server downloads them and updates them every time it starts, so a restart picks up mod updates. -passivemods= loads a mod's data without its features, handy in a cluster.
• Crossplay: console players can only use mods that support crossplay, and cosmetic mods are client-side, so they do not belong on the server at all.

Whichever ARK you run, add one or two mods at a time and test before the next. When a server stops starting after a mod change, remove the newest mods first and read the log.

Clusters and Cross-ARK transfers

A cluster links two or more ARK servers so survivors can take their character, items and tames from one map to another. The wiki describes the same two launch options for both games: -clusterid= names the cluster and -ClusterDirOverride= points every server at one shared folder for the transfer data. Every map in the cluster needs the same two values and its own ports.

• Limit what travels: PreventDownloadSurvivors, PreventDownloadItems, PreventDownloadDinos and the matching PreventUpload settings under [ServerSettings] decide what can cross. -NoTransferFromFiltering keeps single-player and unclustered characters out.
• On GTX (ASE): save each server with SaveWorld, stop them, and open a support ticket naming the servers. Our team links them and tells you when to start them again.
• ASA on your own machine: run one server per map, each with its own start file and port (for example 7777 and 7779) and the same cluster values. As our own sizing advice, two maps fit on a 32 GB VPS; three or more need a bigger machine (RAM).

Saves, backups, restarts and updates

ARK saves the world every 15 minutes by default (AutoSavePeriodMinutes). Everything that matters, from the world and tribes to player profiles, settings, logs and cluster data, lives in the ShooterGame/Saved folder, so a copy of that folder is a complete backup. The wiki recommends one before every server update.

• Restarts: in Scheduled Tasks, a Graceful Restart and Messages task warns players at 10, 5, 2 and 1 minutes, saves the world a minute before and restarts the server, for example every 12 hours. A plain Scheduled Restart works too.
• Updates: a Steam Update task every 12 hours keeps the server on the current version, so players are not locked out after a patch. Self-hosted, run the SteamCMD command again.
• Extra saves: an RCONCommand task running saveworld every 5 to 10 minutes means less is lost after a crash.
• Backups: Backup Server before every big change, a Scheduled Backup task for automatic ones, and the Backup Manager to download a copy. Restore Server loads a dated backup, and Rollback Server goes back to an earlier snapshot after a raid or a bad mod update. Tell players first: everything after that point is lost.
• Fresh starts: Wipe Server clears progress for a new season; a reinstall deletes all server files but keeps your backups. GTX keeps offsite backups for up to six months.

Performance, RAM and player count

Memory is what an ARK server runs out of first. The official wiki measured each map on a new world with no players; a live world uses more with every player, base, tame and mod, and on ASE each connected player adds roughly 50 to 150 MiB.

Our sizing advice for the plans we sell, not an official figure:

Both games default to 70 players, and on GTX the slots you order set your ASE server's limit. The wiki recommends 4 logical cores per ASA server and notes that most of the game logic runs on one thread, so a fast core beats many slow ones. When a world gets slow, the order we try is: update the server and mods, check the memory graph in Activity and Stats, schedule a restart every 6 to 12 hours, remove the newest mod, then add RAM. On GTX you change RAM, CPU and slots from the Client Area under Upgrade/Downgrade Options without losing the world.

Troubleshooting an ARK server

• The server is not in the list: normal at first. Join with the panel's JOIN button, Steam favourites or open plus the address. On ASA, also check the filters: Unofficial, Show Player Servers and, with a join password, Show Password Protected Servers.
• ASA never appears: wait until the log says the server has completed startup and is advertising for join; if it never does, a mod is usually stopping it. Our support team also fixes a stuck list on the player's side with the console command Ark.UseServerList 0 and a game restart.
• Self-hosted ASA on Windows Server is invisible: the wiki says Windows Server editions need Epic's certificate revocation list installed by hand since November 2023.
• Cannot join after a patch: server and game versions must match. Update the server (Steam Update, then START) and the game.
• Settings will not stick: the server was running when you saved. Stop, edit, save, start.
• The server will not start after adding mods: empty the mod list, test, then add mods back a few at a time and read the log for the one that fails.
• Epic players cannot join an ASE server: crossplay is off. Switch it on, restart, and have them join with the Epic address.
• ASA ignores your port: use -port= with a dash, not ?Port=.
• Characters or the world vanish after a restart (self-hosted): the server cannot write to its own folder. Give the account that runs it read and write access to the install folder.
• Restarts at the wrong time: scheduled tasks follow the server machine's clock, not yours.

Playing on your server: game guides

Once the server is running, these guides help your tribe play it: getting your friends onto one server, and preparing for the boss fights. They are about ARK: Survival Evolved; ASA is a separate game, so numbers can differ there, and the in-game values always win. They are in one list: browse the play guides.