How to Host an ARK: Survival Ascended Server for Free

By FreeGameHost Team • Updated May 2026 • 8 min read

Setting up your own game server provides total creative freedom, direct folder access, and a custom multiplayer experience. Learn how to set up an ARK: Survival Ascended dedicated server. Covers hardware requirements, crossplay settings, and free hosting options. Whether you are planning to host a small coop world for your close friends or build a public gaming community, configuring the server correctly is essential for maintaining 20 TPS (Ticks Per Second) and low connection latency.

In this comprehensive tutorial, we cover the exact system specifications, command blocks, configuration file lines, and plugin files required to get How to Host an ARK: Survival Ascended Server for Free running. Follow each step carefully to prevent server crash loops, OutOfMemory exceptions, and common connection issues.

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Step-by-Step Configuration Guide

Download ARK Files

Setup your ARK server slot. The software is very large (30GB+) and requires substantial SSD storage allocations. This step is critical for proper server operation. Ensure that you have taken a manual file backup before committing these changes to disk.

Configure GameUserSettings

Open 'ShooterGame/Saved/Config/WindowsServer/GameUserSettings.ini' and locate [ServerSettings] to set multipliers. This step is critical for proper server operation. Ensure that you have taken a manual file backup before committing these changes to disk.

Enable Console Crossplay

Add the '-crossplay' and '-public' arguments inside the startup panel tab to allow console and PC crossplay. Check the server console panel logs as the startup sequence runs to verify that no error exceptions or missing dependency logs are thrown.

Join Server

Launch ARK, filter server search list by 'Unofficial', search for your server name, and enter your password. This step is critical for proper server operation. Ensure that you have taken a manual file backup before committing these changes to disk.

Recommended Configurations and Setup Files

To configure your server files correctly, navigate to the File Manager in your control panel and open the corresponding configuration files. Paste or modify the settings as shown in the configuration block below. These lines help prevent database thread blockages, optimize tick timing performance, and reduce entity rendering overhead on the game host:

# GameUserSettings.ini parameters: [ServerSettings] ServerPassword=MySecretDinoPassword ServerAdminPassword=SuperAdminKey TamingSpeedMultiplier=5.0 HarvestAmountMultiplier=3.0 XPMultiplier=2.0

Pro Tip: Ensure structure decay is turned on in the config files to prevent abandoned player bases from eating server RAM and CPU performance. Pre-generating world chunks using plugin utilities (like Chunky) is highly recommended for reducing startup lag during exploration.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the hardware requirement?

ARK dedicated servers require a minimum of 12GB of RAM to load the map database. High CPU performance is essential to prevent creature stutter.

Can I use mods on console?

Yes, ARK: Survival Ascended supports CurseForge mods directly on consoles. Configure the mod list inside your GameUserSettings.ini file.

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