ARK: Survival Evolved is a base-building survival game set on an island filled with dinosaurs and has become much larger since it launched in early access in 2015. Another feature of the game is that ARK is a multiplayer game and players have the option of creating their dedicated servers for themselves and other players.
However, running your own ARK server hosting is not for the faint of heart as it does take some tech-savviness. They include selecting the right hosting provider, determining the correct settings for your server for gaming and performance, and organizing your server files and mods.
Why ARK Server?
The fans require ARK game servers more than ever as the game progresses with new content, maps, and features, and offer the ability to create private servers for personal use. However, quality server hosting can become incredibly costly, and thus, private ARK servers become financially unattainable for numerous players or gaming parties.
From this guide, you shall learn how to set up your own seamless ARK server hosting and make it run as smoothly as possible.
Selecting the Right Server Host
When choosing an ARK server hosting, you have to make the decisions based on aspects like the server’s location, the performance of the hardware used, the reliability of the host, and the customer support they can offer – and the price.
Server Location
It is generally recommended that you host your server at a location that is as close as possible to most of the players when playing multiplayer games. Top hosting companies have servers stationed in North America, Europe, Australia, Canada, and Asia.
Hardware Specifications
ARK servers are very demanding on resources, thus you should look for a provider that provides high RAM, fast CPUs, and SSD hard drives. For a small 10-20 player server, look for at least 4GB RAM, 4 CPU cores and an SSD. Double those specs for 20-40 player servers since those are bigger servers.
Reliability
Maintaining the server up and running and ensuring its stability is crucial to hosting multiplayer games. Check the reviews and talk to the provider about their uptime promises. Choose those that offer a 99% or higher uptime and strong DDoS protection.
Customer Support
Sometimes you are going to require some assistance in technical support, therefore, the need for quality customer support is desirable. Ensure you go for providers who have an active live chat, phone support, and ticket support throughout the day and night.
Cost
Generally, hosting an ARK server ranges from $15 to $30 per month. Better support and more capable hardware will always be costly. But never select a provider based on price alone – that can ruin the entire experience.
Recommended Provider
The best ARK server hosting company based on customer reviews includes Scalacube Server Hosting. It includes modpack installation, automated mod updating, customizable control panels, and one-click server restart features.
Setting Up Your ARK Server
Now that you have a hosting provider, it is time to set up your ARK server options. The settings have to be optimized correctly to see a big difference in the actual gameplay. Some key settings to configure include:
Difficulty Level
Some of the changes that it makes include altering the level and stat scaling of the wild dinosaurs. Higher when it needs to be difficult, and lower when adjusting for new players.
XP Multipliers
Constantly raises the speed at which players level up and unlock engrams. Reset to a higher level (2-3 times) to advance more quickly.
Harvesting Amount
Promotes the resources often acquired through the process of gathering. Set higher so that they will spend less time farming.
Taming Speed
Decreases taming duration. Raised that players can build structures faster and can also tame dinosaurs faster.
Hatching and Maturation
Speeds up breeding times. Raise it so that players do not have to wait for such a long time before they get their babies hatched and grown up.
Optimizing Server Performance
To help your ARK server run smoothly even with lots of players and activity, use these optimization tips:
- It is advisable to start with the default settings first, then increase them gradually to achieve a balance between effect and efficiency.
- You should also avoid restarting or updating your server during peak traffic hours since this may affect many clients.
- Sky effects, ground clutter, and high-intensity weather should be disabled to reduce the impact on RadarVue.
- Avoid forming a single large tribe alliance but rather form smaller alliances of tribes that are more spread out.
- Instead of having hundreds of tamed dinosaurs, limit them to a reasonable number and do not stuff them together.
- Employ structure decay settings to gradually destroy player bases that are no longer in use/ are built in excess.
Installing Mods
Playing on servers created with mods is one of the greatest assets of ARK. Thanks to mod developers, most host providers provide a one-click installation of these mods. Some popular mods include:
- StackMeMore (Scale up the heights of resource and material stacks).
- Structures Plus: Introduces more structures and options of a purely structural nature.
- Eco’s Decor: Additional decorative objects for bases.
- Dino Colors Plus: These codes enable the player to breed dinos of particular color zones.
However, one should be careful about the number of mods as they might reduce the performance of the game. And cleanse your server first before making modifications to mods to prevent problems.
Scalacube is one of the best Ark server hosting providers. If you’re willing to have an idea of the performance of Scalacube servers you can try their free Minecraft server hosting to get a taste of Premium gameplay for free.
Conclusion
The ARK: Survival Evolved server allows you to tweak it to be just how you and your friends would like it. The first and most important step is to select the right hosting company and the second and most important step is to fine-tune the server parameters. If you follow these guidelines you will be able to have your dinosaur island paradise as a king. As long as you don’t encounter any T-Rexes you should be fine.
