Rent and Set Up an ARK Server

Requirements

ARK is very resource-hungry. Plan for at least 6 GB RAM for a small server.

Order a Server

  1. Go to game-serverhosting.de and choose your plan
  2. Choose the desired map (The Island, Ragnarok, Fjordur etc.)
  3. Place your order and wait for the automatic setup

Important Settings

# GameUserSettings.ini
[ServerSettings]
ServerPassword=yourpassword
ServerAdminPassword=adminpw
MaxPlayers=20
DifficultyOffset=1.0
TamingSpeedMultiplier=3.0
XPMultiplier=2.0
HarvestAmountMultiplier=3.0

Popular Maps

Map Size Special Feature
The Island Medium Classic, for beginners
Ragnarok Large Best free map
Fjordur Large 3 Realms, many dinos
Aberration Medium Underground, unique
Crystal Isles Large Crystal Wyverns

Adjust Taming Rates

The standard taming rates are very slow. Recommended multipliers:

Setting Official Recommended (PvE) Recommended (PvP)
TamingSpeed 1x 5-10x 3-5x
XPMultiplier 1x 2-3x 1.5-2x
HarvestAmount 1x 3-5x 2-3x
BabyMatureSpeed 1x 10-20x 5-10x
EggHatchSpeed 1x 10-20x 5-10x

Admin Commands

enablecheats <adminpassword>
fly                              # Fly
ghost                            # Noclip
giveitem <blueprint> <amount>    # Give items
summon <dino_class>              # Spawn dino
settimeofday 12:00               # Set time of day
destroywilddinos                 # Delete all wild dinos (respawn)

Set Up a Cluster Server

If you want to connect multiple maps:

  1. Order multiple servers
  2. Set the same ClusterID on all servers
  3. Players can travel between maps and take dinos with them