Improve ARK Server Performance

This guide shows you how to optimize your ARK: Survival Evolved server performance – for fewer lags, more stable connections and a better gaming experience even on large servers with many players.

Optimize hardware

• CPU: ARK benefits greatly from high single-core performance. A modern processor with high clock speed is more important than many cores
• RAM: 8 GB minimum per map, 16 GB for modded servers. Clusters need correspondingly more
• Storage: Use NVMe SSD instead of HDD – autosaves and chunk loading are much faster

Optimize startup parameters

Add these parameters to your startup file to improve performance:

start ShooterGameServer.exe TheIsland?SessionName=MyServer?MaxPlayers=20?Port=7777?QueryPort=27015 -log -NoBattlEye -useallavailablecores -high

• -useallavailablecores: Uses all available CPU cores
• -high: Sets server process to high priority in Windows
• -NoBattlEye: Disables BattlEye if not needed – saves CPU

Optimize GameUserSettings.ini

You'll find the file at ShooterGame/Saved/Config/WindowsServer/GameUserSettings.ini:

[ServerSettings]
MaxPlayers=20
TamingSpeedMultiplier=3.0
HarvestAmountMultiplier=2.0
XPMultiplier=2.0
ResourcesRespawnPeriodMultiplier=0.5
StructurePreventionResourceRadius=1.0
MaxStructuresInRange=5000
MaxTamableDinos=5000
bAllowPlatformSaddleMultiFloors=false
bDisableStructurePlacementCollision=true
DinoCountMultiplier=0.8
bUseDinoLevelUpAnimations=false

• MaxStructuresInRange: Limits structures in an area – prevents massive base lags
• MaxTamableDinos: Reduces the maximum number of tamable dinos per server
• DinoCountMultiplier: Fewer wild dinos = less server load
• bDisableStructurePlacementCollision: Disables structure collision check – saves CPU
• ResourcesRespawnPeriodMultiplier: Slower resource respawn saves CPU

Optimize Game.ini

You'll find the file at ShooterGame/Saved/Config/WindowsServer/Game.ini:

[/Script/ShooterGame.ShooterGameMode]
bAllowFlyerCarryPvE=false
bDisableFriendlyFire=true
MaxNumberOfPlayersInTribe=10
OverrideOfficialDifficulty=5.0
bUseSingleplayerSettings=false

[/Script/Engine.GameNetworkManager]
TotalNetBandwidth=2000000
MaxDynamicBandwidth=1000000
MinDynamicBandwidth=50000

• TotalNetBandwidth: Increases available network bandwidth per player
• MaxNumberOfPlayersInTribe: Limits tribe size – fewer structures per tribe

Reduce dino spawns

• Wild dinos are one of the biggest CPU loads. Reduce DinoCountMultiplier to 0.6–0.8
• Disable unnecessary dino types in Game.ini, e.g. Ichthyornis and Pegomastax
• Reduce fish and other water creatures separately

Optimize autosave and backup

• Increase autosave interval to 20-30 minutes – every save briefly freezes the server
• Create backups only during low-traffic times
• Regularly archive and delete old save files

Manage mods

• Only install mods that are actually needed
• Large mods like Structures Plus (S+) and dino overhauls put heavy load on the server
• Regularly check mods for updates – outdated versions cause errors and lags
• Optimize mod load order: Load large mods first

Restart server regularly

• Daily restart prevents memory leaks – ARK is known for this
• Use Windows Task Scheduler for automatic restarts
• Always stop the server with cheat saveworld then exit

Quick checklist

1. Choose CPU with strong single-core performance, use NVMe SSD
2. Use startup parameters -useallavailablecores and -high
3. Reduce DinoCountMultiplier to 0.6-0.8
4. Limit MaxStructuresInRange
5. Increase autosave interval to 20-30 minutes
6. Deactivate unnecessary mods
7. Restart server daily