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ARK: Survival Ascended Server Guide

Host and configure your ARK: Survival Ascended server.

April 12, 202631 views

ARK: Survival Ascended Server Guide

Requirements

ARK: SA is resource-intensive. Premium tier or higher is recommended for smooth gameplay.

Setup

  1. Deploy a game server and select ARK: Survival Ascended
  2. Choose Premium or Ultimate tier
  3. Configure map, player count, and server name

Configuration

Built-in configuration - You set this up when you start the campaign and can edit it in the Settings tab of the game panel:

  • Max Players - Maximum concurrent players
  • Server Map - Which map to play on (The Island, Scorched Earth, etc)
  • Server Name - Name of your server
  • Auto-Update Server - Automatically update the server on start
  • BattlEye Anti-Cheat - Enable or disable anticheat
  • Server PvE - PvE or PvP
  • Passwords - Set Admin and Server Connect passwords
  • Mod IDs - Which mods to enable
  • Additional Arguments - Any other server arguments you want to add

Other settings can be changed by manually editing GameUserSettings.ini

Cluster Setup

To run multiple maps in a cluster:

  1. Deploy additional campaigns for each map
  2. Configure the same cluster ID across all servers
  3. Players can transfer between maps via obelisks

Running two active campaigns on a single server simultaneously is only recommended for Ultimate. You should be able to spin up two campaigns on a single server to cluster and transfer temporarily, then spin down the inactive campaign while playing on the active campaign. Then you can spin up the other campaign when you want to transfer back.

Mods

Install Steam Workshop mods by adding Workshop IDs to your startup configuration. The server downloads them automatically on restart.

arkark-sasurvivalcluster