ARK server settings: rates, taming and PvE

1. The two files and their sections#

On a Linux server both files are in ShooterGame/Saved/Config/LinuxServer/ (WindowsServer on Windows). The format is one Option=value per line, under a section header. The ARK wiki says "All options in the configuration file require a value", and an option you leave out keeps its default, so you only add the lines you want to change.

Write the Game.ini header exactly as the wiki shows it, as above. Game.ini settings work only in that file: the wiki says "Specifying them on the command line will have no effect." Most [ServerSettings] options, by contrast, can also go on the launch line as ?Option=value, which the wiki calls "not suggested".

2. Rates: XP, taming, harvesting#

All of these go under [ServerSettings] in GameUserSettings.ini, and all default to 1.0 unless noted.

For very high harvest rates the wiki points to UseOptimizedHarvestingHealth=True, "a server harvesting optimization with high HarvestAmountMultiplier (but less rare items)". To change one resource instead of all, Game.ini takes a line per resource, written "entirely on a single line and without spaces":

HarvestResourceItemAmountClassMultipliers=(ClassName="PrimalItemResource_Thatch_C",Multiplier=2.0)

Harvesting by tamed creatures has its own setting: DinoHarvestingDamageMultiplier in Game.ini, which defaults to 3.2, not 1.0.

3. Difficulty and wild creature levels#

The cleanest way to set the highest wild level is OverrideOfficialDifficulty in [ServerSettings]. The wiki: "A value of 5.0 will allow common creatures to spawn up to level 150." Its Difficulty page explains the arithmetic: the value is the size of one level step, and most creatures have 30 steps, so the top level is 30 times the difficulty. Tek creatures get a 20% bonus on the step, and a few, like the Wyvern and Rock Drake, have 38 steps, so 5.0 takes them to 190.

Without the override, the game uses DifficultyOffset (default 1.0) in the formula DifficultyOffset * ((map difficulty) - 0.5) + 0.5. The Island's map difficulty is 4.0, giving level 120 at the default; most later maps are 5.0, giving 150. The wiki recommends the override "whenever possible", because it gives the same answer on every map.

4. PvE and protection#

A PvP server can switch to PvE at set times with four Game.ini lines together: bAutoPvETimer, bAutoPvEUseSystemTime, AutoPvEStartTimeSeconds and AutoPvEStopTimeSeconds, the last two in seconds from 0 to 86400.

5. Settings that work backwards#

• DinoDamageMultiplier is the damage wild creatures deal. Tamed creatures use TamedDinoDamageMultiplier.
• StructureDamageMultiplier is the damage structures deal, "(i.e., spiked walls)", not the damage they take.
• DayTimeSpeedScale and NightTimeSpeedScale: lowering a value makes that part of the day longer. DayCycleSpeedScale=0.035 gives roughly a real 24-hour day, by the wiki's estimate.
• MatingIntervalMultiplier and ResourcesRespawnPeriodMultiplier scale a waiting time, so lower is sooner.
• In per-level stat settings, 0 does not mean zero: "setting the value to 0 makes it default to 1.0". Use 0.01 to nearly turn a stat off.

6. Breeding and imprinting (Game.ini)#

Under [/script/shootergame.shootergamemode], all default 1.0:

The trap is speeding up maturing alone. The wiki's imprint formula ties the three baby settings together: when babies grow faster, each cuddle is worth more, but fewer of them fit before adulthood, and the wiki warns that a high maturing speed "can make it impossible to reach 100% on imprinting some kinds of dinosaurs". A baby that grows up before its first care request, every 8 hours at 1.0, never gets one. So lower BabyCuddleIntervalMultiplier when you raise BabyMatureSpeedMultiplier, and test one species first; the wiki itself advises to "test for any creature that may not have enough time to get an extra imprint cycle".

Avoid bUseSingleplayerSettings unless you mean it: it stacks its own multipliers on yours, for example maturing times 35, so "If BabyMatureSpeedMultiplier has been set at 2.0 instead, with single player settings the final value would be 70.0."

Per-level stats

Stat gains per level take an index in brackets. The wiki's own example doubles the weight players gain per level: PerLevelStatsMultiplier_Player[7]=2.0. The indexes: 0 health, 1 stamina, 2 torpidity, 3 oxygen, 4 food, 5 water, 6 temperature, 7 weight, 8 melee damage, 9 movement speed, 10 fortitude, 11 crafting speed. The same form works for PerLevelStatsMultiplier_DinoTamed and PerLevelStatsMultiplier_DinoWild. In ARK: Survival Evolved, bAllowSpeedLeveling is not available; flyers have bAllowFlyerSpeedLeveling.

7. Editing without losing changes#

• Stop the server first. The wiki warns, for the game's own sessions, that "The changes will be removed if edited while the game is running", and settings are read at start-up in any case. On our dedicated test server an edit made while it ran survived the stop and was in effect after the next start.
• The launch line won in our test. A server's launch line usually sets SessionName, the passwords, the ports and MaxPlayers. On our test server, MaxPlayers=20 in the ini against ?MaxPlayers=10 on the launch line gave a 10-slot server, and the server wrote 10 back into the file when it stopped.
• One section header each. Add your lines under the existing [ServerSettings] header rather than creating a second one.
• Check that it worked. Some settings show in the server's query reply; on ours, serverPVE=True changed its SESSIONISPVE value from 0 to 1. For the rest, a quick test in the game is the only check.

The ARK server setup guide covers the ports, the launch line and the save folder. Official ARK: Survival Evolved servers closed on 30 September 2023, and the official Aquatica servers on 30 January 2026, so every server you can join today is run by someone with these two files. Last checked 2026-10-21.

Where ForgeWorld Gaming fits#

On a ForgeWorld Gaming ARK server both files are on the Files tab under ShooterGame/Saved/Config/LinuxServer after the first start, and they open in the panel's file editor. Game.ini is there but empty on a new server, so start it with the [/script/shootergame.shootergamemode] header line. On a v361.7 test server on 2026-10-21 we checked where the files are, that edits survive a stop, that the launch line overrides MaxPlayers, and that serverPVE switches the server's PvE flag; with no game client, we did not check each setting's effect in play.

The Startup tab sets the server name, server password, admin password, map, mods and BattlEye, and those go on the launch line, so change them there rather than in the files; the player limit comes from your plan. Its Additional Arguments field adds options after -server -automanagedmods, separated by spaces, so only dash options work there; put ?-style settings in GameUserSettings.ini instead. The Stop button on the Console tab saves the world before the server closes. Auto-update server, on the Startup tab, is off by default: turn it on, then restart, when an ARK update comes out.

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