ARK: Survival Evolved server setup - map, mods, multipliers and admin

Our ARK: Survival Evolved servers run the native Linux dedicated server. The key settings are in the panel, and the multipliers and gameplay details are in two files: GameUserSettings.ini and Game.ini.

Settings in the panel (Startup)

• Server Name - the name in the server list,
• Server Password - the join password; empty means an open server. Only letters, digits, - and _,
• Admin Password - the admin password generated at install (also used for RCON),
• Server Map - the map (see the list below),
• Mods - Steam Workshop mod IDs separated by commas,
• Battle Eye - 1 enables BattlEye protection, 0 disables it,
• Auto-update server - 1 downloads game updates on every start. Worth enabling, because after an ARK update players with a newer version cannot join an older server,
• Max Players - the player limit from your plan.

The panel passes the name, passwords and player limit to the server on every start, so change them here, not in the files. Do not change Query Port and Rcon Port - they are assigned to your server.

Restart the server after a change.

Maps

Enter the map name in the Server Map field exactly like this:

Each map has its own world save, so after switching maps you start fresh on the new one, and the previous map stays in the files.

Steam Workshop mods

1. Open the mod in the Steam Workshop. Its ID is in the page address, after ?id=.
2. Enter the IDs in the Mods field separated by commas, for example 731604991,1404697612.
3. Restart the server. It downloads the mods by itself - the first start with new mods takes longer.

The order matters: mods load from left to right. Players download missing mods when they join. Big mods and a large number of them increase RAM usage, so check the memory graph in the panel after adding a few.

GameUserSettings.ini - multipliers

File: ShooterGame/Saved/Config/LinuxServer/GameUserSettings.ini, section [ServerSettings].

Stop the server before editing. ARK writes this file on shutdown and would overwrite your changes.

[ServerSettings]
XPMultiplier=2.0
TamingSpeedMultiplier=3.0
HarvestAmountMultiplier=2.0
DifficultyOffset=1.0
OverrideOfficialDifficulty=5.0
ServerPVE=True
AllowThirdPersonPlayer=True
ShowMapPlayerLocation=True

• XPMultiplier, TamingSpeedMultiplier, HarvestAmountMultiplier - faster experience, taming and gathering,
• DifficultyOffset=1.0 together with OverrideOfficialDifficulty=5.0 - wild dinos up to level 150,
• ServerPVE=True - a PvE server (players cannot destroy each other's bases).

Game.ini - breeding and details

File: ShooterGame/Saved/Config/LinuxServer/Game.ini. Create it if it does not exist. Breeding settings:

[/script/shootergame.shootergamemode]
MatingIntervalMultiplier=0.5
EggHatchSpeedMultiplier=5.0
BabyMatureSpeedMultiplier=5.0

A lower MatingIntervalMultiplier means a shorter break between matings, and higher values of the other two mean faster hatching and maturing.

Admin commands

Open the console in the game (Tab) and log in with the admin password:

enablecheats ADMIN_PASSWORD

Useful commands (with the admincheat prefix):

You can send the same commands without joining the game over RCON: the server address, the Rcon Port and the admin password in any ARK RCON client.

Moving a world save

The save is in ShooterGame/Saved/SavedArks: the map file (for example TheIsland.ark) plus player profiles (.arkprofile) and tribes (.arktribe).

1. Stop the server and make a backup in the Backups tab.
2. Upload the save files to ShooterGame/Saved/SavedArks over SFTP - ideally the whole folder from the previous server.
3. Set the same map and the same mods in the panel as on the old server.
4. Start the server.

Stopping the server in the panel saves the world first, so a normal restart loses nothing. You can schedule a daily backup in the Schedules tab.

Connecting

The most reliable way is through Steam: View → Game Servers → Favorites → Add a server, then the server address and the Query Port from the panel. The server then shows up in the favorites list in the game. A public server can also be found by name among the unofficial servers.

Updated: 2026-09-28