ARK server settings live in two files on the server: GameUserSettings.ini for the server itself and most gameplay rules, and Game.ini for advanced tweaks such as breeding, tribes and engrams. Stop the server, edit the files, start it again: that is the whole workflow on ARK: Survival Evolved. Below are where the files sit, the settings worth changing, three ready-made presets, how official servers were configured, and how to lock a private server down to your tribe.
Where to find the ARK server configuration files
Both files are in the same folder under ShooterGame/Saved/Config, in a subfolder named after the platform: WindowsServer on a Windows server, LinuxServer on Linux. They only appear after the server has started once. On a hosted server, such as ARK: Survival Evolved server hosting on GameTeam, you open them in the panel’s file manager; on your own PC they sit inside the server’s install folder. Always stop the server before you edit.
| File | Windows server | Linux server | What goes in it |
|---|---|---|---|
GameUserSettings.ini |
ShooterGame\Saved\Config\WindowsServer\ |
ShooterGame/Saved/Config/LinuxServer/ |
Server name, passwords, player cap, PvE, rates, difficulty, mods |
Game.ini |
ShooterGame\Saved\Config\WindowsServer\ |
ShooterGame/Saved/Config/LinuxServer/ |
Breeding, tribes, engrams, levels, loot, spawns |
- One option per line, written
Option=Value, under the right section header. Anything you leave out uses its default. - Stop first. ARK writes its current settings back into the INI when it shuts down normally, so edits made while it runs are lost.
- Restart to apply. The server only reads the INI files while it starts up.
- The launch line works too. Most
GameUserSettings.inioptions can be added as?Option=Valueafter the map name.Game.inioptions only work in the file. - Prefer a form? An ARK server configurator such as ARK Server Manager (Windows) writes both files and the launch line for you.
- Single player and non-dedicated sessions use the same folder names inside the game’s own install folder (Steam: right-click ARK → Properties → Installed Files → Browse).
Can you change server settings in the game?
On a dedicated server, not for the rules that matter. Rates, PvE, difficulty and the player cap come from the INI files and the launch line, which the server reads once at start-up. The Host / Local menu’s settings only apply to single player and non-dedicated sessions you start from that menu. Admin commands can change a few things live, such as the time of day or a wild-creature wipe, but they don’t change a single rate.
The basic ARK server settings
These are the settings every server owner touches first: the name in the server list, who can join, who can use admin commands, how many players fit, and whether players can fight each other. They all go in GameUserSettings.ini, under three different section headers, so check the second column before you paste a line in.
| Setting | Section | Default | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|
SessionName |
[SessionSettings] |
ARK #123456 (random) | The name in the in-game and Steam server lists. No quotes. |
ServerPassword |
[ServerSettings] |
none | Password to join. No quotes. |
ServerAdminPassword |
[ServerSettings] |
none | Password for admin commands, used with enablecheats |
SpectatorPassword |
[ServerSettings] |
none | Lets non-admins spectate with requestspectator |
MaxPlayers |
[/Script/Engine.GameSession] |
70 | Players online at once |
serverPVE |
[ServerSettings] |
False | True makes it PvE: no damage to other players, their tames or their buildings |
ServerHardcore |
[ServerSettings] |
False | Characters go back to level 1 when they die |
AllowThirdPersonPlayer |
[ServerSettings] |
True | False forces first person |
ServerCrosshair |
[ServerSettings] |
True | False hides the crosshair |
ShowMapPlayerLocation |
[ServerSettings] |
True | False hides your own position on the map |
RCONEnabled / RCONPort |
[ServerSettings] |
False / 27020 | Remote console over TCP; needs ServerAdminPassword |
Message / Duration |
[MessageOfTheDay] |
none / 20 | Message shown to players when they log in, and for how many seconds |
ARK server rates: XP, taming and harvesting
“Rates” are multipliers, and 1.0 is the normal speed, the same as single player and the old official servers. A “3x server” simply sets the main ones to 3.0. Higher numbers mean faster, with two exceptions that catch people out: for resource respawn and for day or night length, a lower number means more of it. All of these go under [ServerSettings].
| Setting | Default | Higher value means |
|---|---|---|
XPMultiplier |
1.0 | More XP for players, tribes and tames |
TamingSpeedMultiplier |
1.0 | Faster taming |
HarvestAmountMultiplier |
1.0 | More resources per hit |
HarvestHealthMultiplier |
1.0 | Trees and rocks take more hits, so they yield more overall |
ResourcesRespawnPeriodMultiplier |
1.0 | Slower respawn (lower = nodes come back sooner) |
DayCycleSpeedScale |
1.0 | Faster days and nights; at 1.0, one real minute is about 28 in-game minutes |
DayTimeSpeedScale / NightTimeSpeedScale |
1.0 | Shorter days / shorter nights (lower = longer) |
PlayerCharacterFoodDrainMultiplier / PlayerCharacterWaterDrainMultiplier |
1.0 | Players get hungry or thirsty faster |
DinoCountMultiplier |
1.0 | More wild creatures across the map |
Difficulty and wild creature levels
Difficulty decides how high wild creatures spawn. With DifficultyOffset=1.0, The Island, Scorched Earth, Aberration and Genesis: Part 2 top out at level 120, and most other maps at 150. Set OverrideOfficialDifficulty=5.0 to get level 150 creatures on every map, as on official servers. After changing it, run cheat DestroyWildDinos once so the wild population respawns at the new levels; tames are left alone.
Breeding, tribe and other Game.ini settings
Game.ini holds the slower, deeper systems: breeding, crops, tribe size and engrams. Every option goes under one header, [/script/shootergame.shootergamemode], and none of them work on the launch line. If the file is empty, that’s normal; add the header and your lines yourself.
| Setting | Default | What it does |
|---|---|---|
BabyMatureSpeedMultiplier |
1.0 | Higher = babies grow up faster |
EggHatchSpeedMultiplier |
1.0 | Higher = eggs hatch faster |
MatingIntervalMultiplier |
1.0 | Lower = tames can mate again sooner (0.5 is 50% sooner) |
BabyCuddleIntervalMultiplier |
1.0 | How often babies ask for imprinting; at 1.0 it’s every 8 hours |
BabyImprintAmountMultiplier |
1.0 | Higher = more imprint per cuddle |
CropGrowthSpeedMultiplier |
1.0 | Higher = crops grow faster |
MaxNumberOfPlayersInTribe |
0 | Tribe size cap; 0 means no limit |
bDisableFriendlyFire |
False | True stops damage between tribemates, their tames and structures |
bAllowUnlimitedRespecs |
False | True removes the 24-hour cooldown on Mindwipe Tonic |
bAutoUnlockAllEngrams |
False | True unlocks every engram |
bUseSingleplayerSettings |
False | True rebalances the game for one player or a very small group |
One trap: the cuddle interval is measured against default maturation. If you raise BabyMatureSpeedMultiplier a lot, lower BabyCuddleIntervalMultiplier as well, or babies grow up before they’ve had enough cuddles to imprint.
Best ARK server settings: three recommended presets
There is no single best set of ARK server settings; the right ones depend on how often your group plays. A tribe of friends with jobs wants fast taming and breeding so a weekend actually gets somewhere. A long-running public server wants slower, official-style progress so it doesn’t run out of goals. Start from the closest preset below, play a week, then adjust.
Small group with day jobs (2–6 players, PvE)
[ServerSettings]
serverPVE=True
XPMultiplier=2.0
TamingSpeedMultiplier=5.0
HarvestAmountMultiplier=3.0
AllowFlyerCarryPvE=True
AlwaysAllowStructurePickup=True
[/script/shootergame.shootergamemode]
BabyMatureSpeedMultiplier=10.0
EggHatchSpeedMultiplier=10.0
MatingIntervalMultiplier=0.2
BabyCuddleIntervalMultiplier=0.1AllowFlyerCarryPvE lets flyers pick up wild creatures on a PvE server, and AlwaysAllowStructurePickup removes the timer on picking structures back up, which saves a lot of rebuilding. For one or two players, add bUseSingleplayerSettings=True to the Game.ini block.
Boosted PvP community server (3x)
[ServerSettings]
XPMultiplier=3.0
TamingSpeedMultiplier=3.0
HarvestAmountMultiplier=3.0
PreventOfflinePvP=True
OverrideOfficialDifficulty=5.0
[/script/shootergame.shootergamemode]
BabyMatureSpeedMultiplier=3.0
EggHatchSpeedMultiplier=3.0
MaxNumberOfPlayersInTribe=6These are typical ARK boosted server settings. PreventOfflinePvP is offline raid protection: while every member of a tribe is logged off, their characters, tames and buildings can’t be damaged, though creatures can still starve. Capping tribes at six keeps one huge tribe from owning the map.
Official-style (1x)
[ServerSettings]
OverrideOfficialDifficulty=5.0Every rate defaults to 1.0, so leaving them out is the official setup. Only the difficulty line is needed, to get level 150 wild creatures on every map.
ARK official server settings
ARK: Survival Evolved’s official servers ran 1x rates on everything, which is what the defaults give you, with wild creatures up to level 150. Some official clusters had extra rules worth borrowing for your own server. Wildcard closed the official ASE servers in 2023, but these settings still describe “official-like” when a server lists itself that way.
| Official server type | What was different | Settings to copy it |
|---|---|---|
| Standard official | 1x rates, creatures to level 150 | Defaults + OverrideOfficialDifficulty=5.0 |
| ORP | Offline raid protection | PreventOfflinePvP=True |
| Small Tribes | Tribes of 6, no alliances | MaxNumberOfPlayersInTribe=6, PreventTribeAlliances=True |
| Conquest / Classic | Up to 100 players a server, tribes of 25, no alliances | MaxPlayers=100, MaxNumberOfPlayersInTribe=25, PreventTribeAlliances=True |
How to make a private ARK server and play with friends
An ARK private server is a normal dedicated server with a join password, and optionally a whitelist so only Steam IDs you’ve listed can get in. Set the password, restart, and send your friends the server name and password. For a tribe-only server on PC, add the whitelist too; it stops anyone who finds the password from walking in.
- Password: put
ServerPassword=yourpasswordunder[ServerSettings]. - Whitelist (optional): add
-exclusivejointo the launch line and list one Steam ID per line inShooterGame/Binaries/Win64/PlayersExclusiveJoinList.txt(Binaries/Linux/on Linux). Restart after every change to the list. - Admins without a password: list their 17-digit Steam IDs in
ShooterGame/Saved/AllowedCheaterSteamIDs.txt. - Friends who must always get in: IDs in
PlayersJoinNoCheckList.txt(same folder as the whitelist) can join even when the server is full.
To find a player’s Steam ID, run cheat ListPlayers while they’re online. To play ARK with friends on an ARK: Survival Evolved private server, each of them picks Join ARK, sets the filter to Unofficial, searches the server name and enters the password. The full joining and port setup is in the ARK: Survival Evolved dedicated server guide.
Good ARK server names
Your SessionName is the only thing people see in the server list, and they search it by text, so a good ARK server name says what the server is before it says anything clever. Put the mode, map and rates up front, then one hook, and keep it short enough to read in the list. Leave the default “ARK #” plus six digits and nobody can tell what your server is.
- A pattern that works:
[Mode] Map Rates | Hook, filled in with your own details, such as the mode in brackets, the map, “3x” and one feature like fast breeding. - Mention mods if you run big ones, so players know the first join will download them.
- Put the rest in the message of the day (
[MessageOfTheDay]→Message=) rather than the name.
How to go into admin mode on your ARK server
Admin mode on an ARK server comes from the ServerAdminPassword you set. Join the server, press Tab to open the console and type enablecheats yourpassword. You stay admin for that session, and admin commands start with cheat. Set AdminLogging=True if you want every admin command shown in chat so the tribe can see what was done.
The common commands, from kicking players to forcing a save, are listed in the dedicated server guide.
ARK server settings not working? Common causes
When ARK server settings don’t apply, it is nearly always one of a handful of things: the file was edited while the server ran, a line sits under the wrong header, a key is misspelled, or a value has quotes around it. In each case the setting simply doesn’t take. Check this table in order.
| Symptom | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Changes vanish after a restart | Edited while the server was running | Stop, edit, start |
| A setting has no effect | Under the wrong section, in the wrong file, or misspelled | Check the header and spelling against the tables above |
| Password or name doesn’t work | Quotes around the value | Remove the quotes |
| Mods don’t load | Spaces in ActiveMods |
Comma-separated IDs, no spaces, one line |
| Wild creatures still low level after a difficulty change | The old population hasn’t respawned | Run cheat DestroyWildDinos |
Skip the INI editing
If you’d rather describe the server you want than hunt for section headers, ARK: Survival Evolved server hosting on GameTeam comes with an AI copilot that edits both files for you. You pay per GB of RAM, from $0.49/GB a week, with unlimited slots.
Tell it “set taming to 5x, babies 10x faster, and make it PvE” and it stops the server, writes the lines into GameUserSettings.ini and Game.ini, restarts, and reads the values back so you can see they stuck. Ask “why didn’t my settings change?” and it reads the file and tells you which line is under the wrong header.
Running ARK: Survival Ascended instead? Its settings differ in places; see ARK: Survival Ascended server settings.
FAQ
What should my ARK server settings be?
It depends on how much your group plays. A small group that plays a few evenings a week is usually happiest around 2–3x XP and harvesting with 5x taming and much faster breeding. A server meant to run for months does better close to 1x. Use the presets above as a starting point.
How do I find my ARK server config?
Open ShooterGame/Saved/Config/ and then WindowsServer or LinuxServer, depending on the server’s operating system. Both GameUserSettings.ini and Game.ini are there once the server has started once.
What are the best ARK settings for playing solo or with one friend?
Turn on bUseSingleplayerSettings=True in Game.ini, which rebalances taming, breeding and XP for very small groups, and raise taming and harvesting to taste. On a PC you can do the same in single player through the Use Singleplayer Settings option in the Host / Local menu.