Most ARK settings are in two files. You'll find both in the Files tab under ShooterGame/Saved/Config/LinuxServer/:
GameUserSettings.ini– experience, taming, gathering, day and night, difficultyGame.ini– breeding, hatching, maturing
How to proceed
ARK only reads the files at startup. The safest way is to change them while the server is stopped:
- Stop the server and wait until it is "offline".
- Open the file in the Files tab, change it and save.
- Start the server. Starting takes a few minutes with ARK.
Experience, taming, gathering
Enter the values in GameUserSettings.ini directly below the line [ServerSettings]. 1.0 is the default, 2.0 is twice as fast:
[ServerSettings]
XPMultiplier=2.0
TamingSpeedMultiplier=3.0
HarvestAmountMultiplier=2.0
Other popular values in the same section:
| Setting | Effect |
|---|---|
DayCycleSpeedScale | length of day and night (smaller = slower) |
DifficultyOffset and OverrideOfficialDifficulty | higher dino levels, e.g. OverrideOfficialDifficulty=5.0 for wild dinos up to level 150 |
PlayerCharacterFoodDrainMultiplier | how fast players get hungry |
AllowFlyerCarryPvE | flyers may carry creatures on PvE servers |
Breeding and maturing
These values belong in Game.ini. If the file is empty, first add the section line:
[/script/shootergame.shootergamemode]
BabyMatureSpeedMultiplier=5.0
EggHatchSpeedMultiplier=5.0
MatingIntervalMultiplier=0.5
MatingIntervalMultiplier works the other way round: a smaller value shortens the wait until the next mating.
Good to know
- Upper and lower case and the section line must be exactly right, otherwise ARK ignores the value without an error message.
- Enter each value only once – if it appears twice in the file, yours won't necessarily apply.
- Server name, passwords, map and mods are set in the Startup variables tab – see Connecting and setting up an ARK server.
- More players and mods need more memory – guide values.