Every rule on an ARK: Survival Ascended private server lives in two files: GameUserSettings.ini for rates, PvE rules and passwords, and Game.ini for breeding and deeper tuning. A few more, like the player cap, mods and crossplay, are launch options. Set ServerPassword and the server is private. Below: where each file is, the settings worth changing with their defaults, ready-to-paste presets, boosted rates, and the mistakes that make settings quietly not apply.
Where ARK: Survival Ascended server settings live
Both config files sit in ShooterGame/Saved/Config/WindowsServer in the server’s folder. That stays true even when the server runs on Linux through Proton, because ASA only has a Windows build. Settings must sit under the right section header in the right file, or the server ignores them. The player cap, mods, crossplay and clusters go in the launch line instead.
| Where | Section header | What goes there |
|---|---|---|
GameUserSettings.ini |
[ServerSettings] |
Rates, difficulty, PvE/PvP, passwords, day and night, limits, RCON |
GameUserSettings.ini |
[SessionSettings] |
SessionName, the server name in the list |
Game.ini |
[/script/shootergame.shootergamemode] |
Breeding, XP by source, stats per level, tribe size, engrams |
| Launch line | (no header) | -WinLiveMaxPlayers, -mods, -ServerPlatform, -clusterid, -exclusivejoin |
Game.ini isn’t created by default. If it’s missing, create it and put the header on the first line.
How to change server settings in ASA
- Stop the server.
- Open the file, find the section header, and put each setting on its own line as
Name=Value. Don’t add a second copy of a line that already exists. - Save and start the server. Settings load at start, so every change needs a restart.
- Check in game that the change took. If you raised difficulty, run
cheat DestroyWildDinosas admin. Creatures that already spawned keep their old levels until the map respawns them.
How to make your ARK: Survival Ascended server private
A password is all it takes. Put ServerPassword under [ServerSettings] and only people who know it can join. For a stricter, invite-only server, start it with -exclusivejoin and add each player with the AllowPlayerToJoinNoCheck command. Keep ServerAdminPassword different from the join password. Anyone with the admin one can run every command.
[ServerSettings]
ServerPassword=only-our-tribe
ServerAdminPassword=a-different-long-password
[SessionSettings]
SessionName=OurTribeOnlyA private server for PS5 or Xbox players has to run on a PC or with a host, because the ASA server tool is Windows-only. Crossplay is a launch option. -ServerPlatform=PC+PS5 makes a crossplay PS5 and PC private server, and with no value at all, every platform may join. The password works the same for everyone.
On ARK: Survival Ascended server hosting from GameTeam you pay per GB of RAM, not per slot, so a private server for five friends costs the same per GB as a public one.
The ASA server settings that matter, with defaults
Most of what people mean by “server settings” is a short list: rates, difficulty, breeding speed, PvE rules and a few limits. Each one is a multiplier or a True/False value, and 1.0 or the listed default is what you get when the line is missing. The tables below give each setting’s file and default value, and say what a change does in play.
Rates (GameUserSettings.ini, [ServerSettings])
| Setting | Default | What it does |
|---|---|---|
XPMultiplier |
1.0 | Experience for players, tribes and tames |
TamingSpeedMultiplier |
1.0 | How fast creatures tame |
HarvestAmountMultiplier |
1.0 | Resources per hit |
ResourcesRespawnPeriodMultiplier |
1.0 | Resource regrowth; lower is faster |
ItemStackSizeMultiplier |
1.0 | Bigger stacks; useful with high harvest rates |
PlayerCharacterFoodDrainMultiplier / PlayerCharacterWaterDrainMultiplier |
1.0 | How fast survivors get hungry and thirsty |
Difficulty
OverrideOfficialDifficulty sets wild creature levels directly and beats DifficultyOffset when both are set. OverrideOfficialDifficulty=5.0 gives the familiar level-150 cap for most wild creatures. 0.0, the default, turns the override off, and DifficultyOffset (default 1.0) then works from the map’s own difficulty. Both go in GameUserSettings.ini.
Breeding (Game.ini)
| Setting | Default | Faster breeding means |
|---|---|---|
MatingIntervalMultiplier |
1.0 | Lower: shorter wait between matings |
EggHatchSpeedMultiplier |
1.0 | Higher: eggs hatch sooner |
BabyMatureSpeedMultiplier |
1.0 | Higher: babies grow up sooner |
BabyCuddleIntervalMultiplier |
1.0 | Lower: imprint care comes round more often |
BabyImprintAmountMultiplier |
1.0 | Higher: more imprint per care session |
LayEggIntervalMultiplier |
1.0 | Lower: eggs laid more often |
Speed up maturing without lowering the cuddle interval and babies grow up before anyone can finish imprinting them. Change the two together.
PvE, PvP and survival rules
| Setting | Default | What it does |
|---|---|---|
ServerPVE |
False | True turns PvP off |
AllowCaveBuildingPvE |
False | Lets PvE players build in caves |
DisableStructureDecayPvE |
False | True stops abandoned PvE bases decaying |
PvEStructureDecayPeriodMultiplier |
1.0 | Scales how long PvE structures take to decay |
PreventOfflinePvP |
False | True turns on offline raid protection |
ServerHardcore |
False | True sends characters back to level 1 on death |
bDisableFriendlyFire (Game.ini) |
False | True stops damage between tribemates, their tames and structures |
Quality of life
| Setting | Default | What it does |
|---|---|---|
ShowMapPlayerLocation |
True | Shows your own position on the map |
AllowThirdPersonPlayer |
True | Allows third-person view |
ServerCrosshair |
True | Shows the crosshair |
ShowFloatingDamageText |
False | True shows damage numbers |
DayCycleSpeedScale / DayTimeSpeedScale / NightTimeSpeedScale |
1.0 | Speed of the whole day, of daytime, and of night |
bAllowUnlimitedRespecs (Game.ini) |
False | True removes the 24-hour Mindwipe Tonic cooldown |
SupplyCrateLootQualityMultiplier (Game.ini) |
1.0 | Better loot in supply crates, from 1.0 to 5.0 |
Limits that keep the server healthy
| Setting | Default | What it does |
|---|---|---|
MaxTamedDinos |
5000 | Tame cap for the whole server |
MaxPersonalTamedDinos |
0 (off) | Tame cap per tribe |
TheMaxStructuresInRange |
10500 | Structures allowed within one area |
MaxPlatformSaddleStructureLimit |
75 | Platform saddles and rafts per map |
MaxNumberOfPlayersInTribe (Game.ini) |
0 (no limit) | Tribe size cap |
AutoSavePeriodMinutes |
15 | Minutes between world saves |
PreventDownloadSurvivors / Dinos / Items |
False | Blocks characters, tames or items arriving from elsewhere |
RCONEnabled / RCONPort |
False / 27020 | Remote admin over RCON |
Best server settings for ARK: Survival Ascended
The best settings are the ones that fit how often your group plays. Default 1x rates are slow going for a group with a few hours a week. A tribe that meets two evenings a week usually wants taming, harvesting and breeding sped up, so progress doesn’t stall between sessions. Treat these presets as starting points, then tune one setting at a time.
Small tribe, PvE, a few evenings a week
; GameUserSettings.ini
[ServerSettings]
ServerPVE=True
XPMultiplier=2.0
TamingSpeedMultiplier=3.0
HarvestAmountMultiplier=2.0
AllowCaveBuildingPvE=True
DisableStructureDecayPvE=True
ShowFloatingDamageText=True; Game.ini
[/script/shootergame.shootergamemode]
MatingIntervalMultiplier=0.25
EggHatchSpeedMultiplier=4.0
BabyMatureSpeedMultiplier=4.0
BabyCuddleIntervalMultiplier=0.25PvP with offline raid protection
; GameUserSettings.ini
[ServerSettings]
ServerPVE=False
PreventOfflinePvP=True
XPMultiplier=2.0
TamingSpeedMultiplier=2.0
HarvestAmountMultiplier=2.0
OverrideOfficialDifficulty=5.0One or two players
For a duo, try bUseSingleplayerSettings=True in Game.ini. The game then balances its settings for an individual player, much like its own single player mode does.
ARK: Survival Ascended boosted server settings: 3x, 5x and 10x
A boosted server is one with raised rates. “5x” usually means taming, harvesting and XP at 5.0, with breeding sped up to match. Raise rates together so nothing lags behind, and lift stack sizes once harvesting is high, or inventories fill and players hit weight limits within minutes.
| Setting | 3x | 5x | 10x |
|---|---|---|---|
XPMultiplier |
3.0 | 5.0 | 10.0 |
TamingSpeedMultiplier |
3.0 | 5.0 | 10.0 |
HarvestAmountMultiplier |
3.0 | 5.0 | 10.0 |
ItemStackSizeMultiplier |
1.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 |
MatingIntervalMultiplier (Game.ini) |
0.33 | 0.2 | 0.1 |
EggHatchSpeedMultiplier (Game.ini) |
3.0 | 5.0 | 10.0 |
BabyMatureSpeedMultiplier (Game.ini) |
3.0 | 5.0 | 10.0 |
BabyCuddleIntervalMultiplier (Game.ini) |
0.33 | 0.2 | 0.1 |
The pattern is simple: multipliers go up by the boost, and intervals go down by the same factor. Stack sizes are a judgment call, so raise them until the inventory stops being the bottleneck.
Official server settings, and how to match them
Official servers take their multipliers from a dynamic config file that Studio Wildcard updates for evolution events, so official rates rise during an event and drop back afterwards. Outside an event they are plain 1x: when we read the file in late October 2026, every multiplier in it was 1.0. The file uses the same setting names as your own server, so to copy an event’s rates, put each value it lists on the matching line.
; GameUserSettings.ini [ServerSettings]
TamingSpeedMultiplier=
HarvestAmountMultiplier=
XPMultiplier=
; Game.ini [/script/shootergame.shootergamemode]
MatingIntervalMultiplier=
EggHatchSpeedMultiplier=
BabyMatureSpeedMultiplier=
BabyCuddleIntervalMultiplier=
BabyImprintAmountMultiplier=Using an ARK: Survival Ascended server config generator
A server config generator is a web form that writes these same lines for you. It saves typing, but it can’t see your server, so check its output before you paste it in. It’s easy to get an ASE-era setting or a line under the wrong header. Five checks catch nearly every problem.
- Each line goes in the right file: breeding lines in
Game.ini, rates inGameUserSettings.ini. - Each block sits under its header. The
Game.iniheader is[/script/shootergame.shootergamemode]. - No setting appears twice.
MaxPlayersdoesn’t set the player cap in ASA. Use the-WinLiveMaxPlayerslaunch option (default 70).ActiveModsisn’t needed. ASA mods are CurseForge IDs in the-modslaunch option.
Why are ARK Ascended servers so laggy?
Usually memory and the size of the world, not the player count. An empty ASA map already uses 7.5–12 GB of RAM, and every tame, structure and mod adds to it. Long-running servers slow down as bases grow. Lag on a private server is mostly fixed with RAM and limits, not with more bandwidth.
- Give it enough RAM: 12–16 GB for one map, more with a big mod list.
- Cap tames: set
MaxPersonalTamedDinosso one tribe can’t fill the server. - Cap building: lower
TheMaxStructuresInRange, or clear out abandoned bases with the-AutoDestroyStructureslaunch option andAutoDestroyOldStructuresMultiplier. - Trim mods you no longer use. Each one loads every time the server starts.
- CPU: the ARK wiki suggests 4 logical cores per server, with single-thread speed mattering most.
Setting the server up from scratch? The ARK: Survival Ascended dedicated server guide covers requirements, ports and installation.
FAQ
What settings should I use for ARK: Survival Ascended?
Start from how often your group plays. Daily players do fine near 1x to 2x. Weekend tribes usually want 3x taming and harvesting with breeding sped up to match. Change one thing at a time and restart after each change.
What are good settings for an ARK server?
Good settings keep progress fun without breaking the server. Raise rates together, raise breeding speed and lower the cuddle interval together, and add tame and structure limits on busy servers.
Can you make a private server on ARK: Survival Ascended?
Yes. Run a dedicated server and set ServerPassword, or use -exclusivejoin with an allow list for invite-only access.
Can I have an ARK: Survival Ascended private server on PS5?
Your PS5 can’t run the server, but PS5 players can join a private server running on a PC or with a host, as long as its -ServerPlatform allows PS5 (no value at all allows every platform).
How do I change server settings in ARK: Survival Ascended?
Stop the server, edit GameUserSettings.ini or Game.ini under the right header, then start it again. Settings load at start.
How do I make taming faster on my server?
Raise TamingSpeedMultiplier under [ServerSettings] in GameUserSettings.ini, for example to 3.0 for 3x taming, then restart.
Skip the INI editing
On ARK: Survival Ascended server hosting from GameTeam you can still edit both files in the file manager. Or tell the built-in AI copilot what you want: “make it 5x taming, 3x harvest, PvE, and babies grow up five times faster”. It writes the right lines into GameUserSettings.ini and Game.ini, restarts the server and reads the values back, so you know they applied. Pricing is per GB of RAM, from $0.49/GB a week, and slots are unlimited.