ARK Server Settings: Rates, Breeding and Difficulty Explained

ARK server settings live in two text files: GameUserSettings.ini holds the core rates and rules, and Game.ini holds breeding, maturation and other deeper options. Stop the server, change the multipliers you want, save and start it again. This guide covers ARK: Survival Evolved (ASE): where the files are, the default value of every setting below, how the difficulty offset sets the max dino level, and example presets for a boosted or fast-breeding server.

Values come from the official ARK wiki.

Where ARK server settings are stored

Both files sit in the same folder of the dedicated server:

ShooterGame/Saved/Config/LinuxServer/GameUserSettings.ini
ShooterGame/Saved/Config/LinuxServer/Game.ini

ARK: Survival Evolved has a native Linux dedicated server, which is what most hosts run, so the folder is LinuxServer. On a Windows server the same files sit in WindowsServer.

A setting placed under the wrong header is ignored without any error, which is the number one reason a change "does nothing". Game.ini is often empty on a new server; if so, type the header on the first line and add your settings below it.

How to edit ARK server settings safely

The wiki gives two reasons to stop the server first. It reads the .ini files only while it starts up, and when it shuts down normally it writes some of its current settings back into them. If you edit while it runs, your change can be overwritten on the next stop.

1. Make a backup. On TheGameHosting, open Backups in the panel and create one before you touch anything.
2. Stop the server from the Console and wait until it is fully off.
3. Open Files and go to ShooterGame/Saved/Config/LinuxServer/.
4. Edit GameUserSettings.ini or Game.ini in the browser. One setting per line, as Name=Value, under the right header.
5. Save the file and start the server.
6. Join and check the change in game. If it did not apply, recheck the header and the spelling of the setting name.

Multipliers are decimals. Write 2.0, not 2x, and do not add quotes around numbers or around the server password.

ARK server rates: XP, taming and harvest

These go under [ServerSettings] in GameUserSettings.ini. All of them default to 1.0, which is the base game balance.

A "x3" server simply sets the three core rates to 3:

[ServerSettings]
XPMultiplier=3.0
TamingSpeedMultiplier=3.0
HarvestAmountMultiplier=3.0

ARK server difficulty offset and max dino level

Difficulty decides the highest level wild creatures can spawn at, and it also feeds the quality of loot. The wiki explains that most creatures have 30 level steps, so the max wild level is 30 times the difficulty value. Two settings in [ServerSettings] control it:

The override wins when both are set. For example, the wiki lists The Island with a map difficulty of 4.0, so DifficultyOffset=1.0 alone gives a max of level 120. Set OverrideOfficialDifficulty=5.0 to get the level 150 creatures most players expect. Some species have more steps (the wiki gives Wyverns 38) and spawn higher than the table.

Difficulty also scales loot. The wiki calls it a direct multiplier in item quality, so low values make good blueprints and gear rare.

ARK server breeding settings

Breeding lives in Game.ini, under [/script/shootergame.shootergamemode]. All defaults are 1.0, but watch the direction: for some settings a lower number is faster.

Two related switches go in GameUserSettings.ini: AllowAnyoneBabyImprintCuddle=True lets any tribe member care for a baby, not only the imprinter, and DisableImprintDinoBuff=True removes the imprinter's riding bonus.

Keep imprinting possible when babies grow fast

A fully imprinted creature gets +20% to most stats, and the player who imprinted it gets 30% more damage and resistance while riding it (Imprinting page). The wiki warns that a very high maturation speed can make 100% imprint impossible for some creatures.

The reason is simple: the number of cuddles a baby can get is roughly its maturation time divided by the cuddle interval. If you multiply BabyMatureSpeedMultiplier by 5, babies grow five times faster and get a fifth of the cuddles. Lower BabyCuddleIntervalMultiplier by the same factor, to 0.2, and the number of cuddles stays the same. A good rule: keep the two values multiplied together close to 1, then raise BabyImprintAmountMultiplier if you still fall short.

Day length, PvE and server rules

These are also in [ServerSettings] of GameUserSettings.ini:

The admin password unlocks the in-game console. What you can do with it is in our guide to ARK server admin commands.

The player limit is MaxPlayers under [/Script/Engine.GameSession] (default 70). It can also be passed as ?MaxPlayers= on the launch line; if editing the .ini changes nothing, check whether the launch line sets it.

ARK server best settings: example presets

The best setup depends on how much time your tribe has. These are example values, not official numbers; adjust them after a week of play.

In every column, BabyMatureSpeedMultiplier × BabyCuddleIntervalMultiplier stays close to 1, so imprinting still works. The first four rows go in GameUserSettings.ini, the last four in Game.ini.

Do you need an ARK server game ini generator?

A game ini generator is a web form: you move sliders, and it writes out a Game.ini or GameUserSettings.ini for you to paste in. It saves typing when you change dozens of per-level stats or engram costs at once.

For the settings in this guide, editing by hand is safer. A generator usually outputs a full file, with every option it knows set to some value, and it may lag behind the current game version. Paste that over your file and you can overwrite the session name or passwords, or add lines your server version ignores. If you do use one, copy only the lines you actually changed, check that they sit under the right header, and keep a backup of the original.

Linux, player limit and mods on ARK: Survival Evolved

Three details that trip people up when they configure an ASE server:

• On Linux the folder is ShooterGame/Saved/Config/LinuxServer/; guides written for Windows say WindowsServer.
• In ASE, MaxPlayers under [/Script/Engine.GameSession] sets the player limit.
• Mods come from the Steam Workshop and are listed by ID, separated by commas, in ActiveMods under [ServerSettings].

Plans and features are on ARK: Survival Evolved server hosting, from $6.96 USD per month on 8 GB.

When ARK server settings do not apply

1. The server was running when you saved. Stop it, edit again and start it.
2. Wrong file or wrong header. Breeding settings in GameUserSettings.ini are ignored; they belong in Game.ini.
3. A typo in the name. TammingSpeedMultiplier is ignored silently. Copy names from a reliable list.
4. The same setting twice. Search the file and keep a single line per setting.

For other .ini-based games, compare with our guides to PalWorldSettings.ini and Project Zomboid servertest.ini.

Run your ARK server 24/7 with TheGameHosting

Breeding settings only pay off while the server is running. Eggs incubate, babies grow and cuddle timers tick in real time, so a server on your own PC stops the moment you turn it off, and you have to open router ports for your tribe to join. On TheGameHosting your ARK server runs around the clock on our hardware in Dallas or Amsterdam, and your babies keep maturing while you sleep.

ARK is one of the heaviest survival games to host, so on our list it starts at 8 GB of RAM ($6.96 USD per month), and every plan runs on AMD 9950X or 7950X3D CPUs up to 5.7 GHz, with DDR5 RAM and NVMe storage. Everything in this guide happens in the panel: Files to edit both .ini files in the browser, Backups before every change, Console to stop and start, and Schedules for restarts. DDoS protection is included, and we do not charge per player slot.

Compare RAM sizes on our game server plans or read more on the ARK: Survival Evolved server hosting page. Your server is ready in about 60 seconds after payment: pick a plan on Pricing, paste your rates and start breeding.

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