How to host an ARK: Survival Ascended server

Memory is the binding constraint and it is substantial — enough that hosting Ascended on a small machine is not realistic. Disk is large as well, and it grows: the save file expands with every structure and tamed creature on the map. A busy server months into a season is a very different proposition from a fresh one.

How to install it

1. Check your machine first. Ascended will not run in a small amount of memory, and finding that out after a long download is a wasted afternoon.
2. Install Steam’s command-line tool and then the Ascended dedicated server, using an anonymous login.
3. Expect a long download. This is one of the largest game servers in common use.
4. Start it once and leave it alone. First boot takes a long time before the server appears anywhere. Do not restart it because nothing seems to be happening.
5. Only then add mods, one at a time, restarting between each so you can tell which one broke things.

# The server is its own free app (2430930),
# separate from the game client (2399830).

steamcmd \
  +force_install_dir /home/asa/server \
  +login anonymous \
  +app_update 2430930 validate \
  +quit

How to configure it

[ServerSettings]
; The name players see in the server browser.
SessionName=Your server name

; Password to join. Leave empty for an open server.
ServerPassword=

; Needed for every in-game admin command. Set it before you go public.
ServerAdminPassword=change-me

MaxPlayers=70

; The rates that define what kind of server you are running.
; 1.0 is official. Higher is faster progression.
HarvestAmountMultiplier=2.0
TamingSpeedMultiplier=3.0
XPMultiplier=2.0

; The message of the day lives in its own section.
[MessageOfTheDay]
Message=Welcome. Restarts nightly at 4am.
Duration=20

• Two files, and people constantly edit the wrong one. If a setting is not taking effect, it is very often in the other file.
• Set the admin password before you go public, not after. It is the only way to fix things in-game.
• Rates are your identity as a server. Harvest, taming and experience multipliers decide what kind of community you attract, more than any other choice.
• Edit with the server stopped. ARK rewrites these files on shutdown and will happily overwrite your changes.
• Clusters need a shared identifier and a transfer directory, set consistently on every server in the group.

Worth knowing

• Save frequency is a trade. Saving often protects your players from losing progress; saving is also a noticeable pause on a large map.
• Back up before every update. ARK saves are large, and this is the game where people most regret skipping it.

Written from experience running these servers. If something here no longer matches what you are seeing, tell us and we will recheck it.