How to Configure Your ARK: Survival Ascended Server

Learn how to configure your ARK: Survival Ascended server by editing GameUserSettings.ini and Game.ini, including key settings and rates.

ARK: Survival Ascended server settings are controlled through two main configuration files: GameUserSettings.ini and Game.ini. These files are located in the ShooterGame/Saved/Config/WindowsServer/ directory on your server. You can edit them directly through the XGamingServer panel's file manager.

Accessing Configuration Files

Open the XGamingServer panel

Log in to the XGamingServer panel and select your ARK: Survival Ascended server. Stop the server before editing config files.

Navigate to the config folder

Click Files in the sidebar and navigate to:

ShooterGame/Saved/Config/WindowsServer/

Open the config file

You'll find two main configuration files:

File	Purpose
`GameUserSettings.ini`	Server name, passwords, player limits, rates (XP, taming, harvesting), and most gameplay settings
`Game.ini`	Advanced gameplay overrides — engram points, loot tables, per-level stat multipliers, dino spawns

Click on the file you want to edit to open it in the built-in editor.

📝 Note: If these files don't exist yet, start your server once and then stop it. ARK:SA generates default config files on first launch.

Key Settings in GameUserSettings.ini

The [ServerSettings] section of GameUserSettings.ini contains the most commonly changed settings:

XP and Progression Rates

[ServerSettings]
XPMultiplier=1.0
OverrideOfficialDifficulty=5.0
DifficultyOffset=1.0

Taming and Breeding

[ServerSettings]
TamingSpeedMultiplier=1.0
MatingIntervalMultiplier=1.0
EggHatchSpeedMultiplier=1.0
BabyMatureSpeedMultiplier=1.0
BabyCuddleIntervalMultiplier=1.0

Harvesting and Resources

[ServerSettings]
HarvestAmountMultiplier=1.0
ResourcesRespawnPeriodMultiplier=1.0
HarvestHealthMultiplier=1.0

Day/Night Cycle

[ServerSettings]
DayTimeSpeedScale=1.0
NightTimeSpeedScale=1.0
DayCycleSpeedScale=1.0

Player and Dino Stats

[ServerSettings]
PerPlatformMaxStructuresMultiplier=1.0
PlayerDamageMultiplier=1.0
DinoCharacterFoodDrainMultiplier=1.0
PlayerCharacterFoodDrainMultiplier=1.0
PlayerCharacterWaterDrainMultiplier=1.0

Common Rate Presets

Here are some popular rate configurations to get you started:

Setting	Official (1x)	Boosted (3x)	Fast (10x)
XPMultiplier	1.0	3.0	10.0
TamingSpeedMultiplier	1.0	3.0	10.0
HarvestAmountMultiplier	1.0	3.0	10.0
EggHatchSpeedMultiplier	1.0	3.0	10.0
BabyMatureSpeedMultiplier	1.0	3.0	10.0
MatingIntervalMultiplier	1.0	0.33	0.1

📝 Note: For MatingIntervalMultiplier, lower values mean faster mating cooldowns (it's an interval, not a speed). Setting it to 0.33 means mating cooldown is 3x faster than official.

Key Settings in Game.ini

Game.ini handles advanced overrides that aren't available in GameUserSettings.ini:

Custom Engram Points Per Level

[/Script/ShooterGame.ShooterGameMode]
OverridePlayerLevelEngramPoints=15
OverridePlayerLevelEngramPoints=20
OverridePlayerLevelEngramPoints=25

Each line corresponds to a level (1, 2, 3, etc.). Add one line per level you want to override.

Stack Size Overrides

[/Script/ShooterGame.ShooterGameMode]
ConfigOverrideItemMaxQuantity=(ItemClassString="PrimalItemResource_Metal_C",Quantity=(MaxItemQuantity=500, bIgnoreMultiplier=true))

Max Player Level

[/Script/ShooterGame.ShooterGameMode]
LevelExperienceRampOverrides=(ExperiencePointsForLevel[0]=5,ExperiencePointsForLevel[1]=20, ...)

Using Startup Parameters

Many settings can also be configured through startup parameters in the Startup tab on the XGamingServer panel. Startup parameters override config file settings when both are present.

Common startup parameters for configuration:

Parameter	Purpose
`?SessionName=My Server`	Server name
`?MaxPlayers=40`	Max players
`?ServerPassword=secret`	Server password
`?ServerAdminPassword=admin123`	Admin password
`-crossplay`	Enable crossplay between Steam and Epic

⚠️ Warning: ARK:SA may overwrite your config files if you edit them while the server is running. Always stop the server before making changes, and double-check your edits are saved after restarting.

💡 Tip: Make one change at a time and test it before making more. This makes it much easier to identify which setting caused an issue if something goes wrong. Back up your config files before making major changes.

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