ARK Server Settings for PvP, PvE, and Cluster Play

Getting ARK server settings right is the difference between a community that sticks around for months and one that quietly empties out after a week. We've hosted enough ARK servers over the years to have strong opinions about what works, and more importantly, about the mistakes people make when they copy presets off random forums.

The single biggest mistake we see? Putting breeding multipliers in the wrong file. ARK quietly ignores BabyMatureSpeedMultiplier, EggHatchSpeedMultiplier, MatingIntervalMultiplier and friends if you paste them into GameUserSettings.ini. They belong in Game.ini, under [/script/shootergame.shootergamemode], and nowhere else. If your breeding feels "stuck on official rates" despite you cranking the numbers – this is almost certainly why.

So before we get to the presets, a rule we'll repeat with every single one: each preset comes as two code blocks. The first goes into GameUserSettings.ini under [ServerSettings]. The second goes into Game.ini under [/script/shootergame.shootergamemode]. Mix them up and half your settings silently do nothing.

Editing your configs on LOW.MS

Every preset below assumes you're editing the files via the control panel:

1. Log in to https://control.low.ms
2. Open your ARK server
3. Click Configuration Files on the left
4. Edit GameUserSettings.ini and Game.ini – paste the relevant block into each, then save
5. Restart the server

Don't use File Manager for ini edits – Configuration Files is the one that parses the files properly and warns you about syntax problems.

The settings that actually matter

A quick tour of the ones we touch most, before we get into the presets.

• TamingSpeedMultiplier – official is 1.0, which means a high-level Rex is a three-to-six hour tame. We usually sit somewhere between 3x and 10x.
• HarvestAmountMultiplier – resources per swing. 2-5x is the sweet spot for most private servers.
• XPMultiplier – levelling speed. 2-5x on anything that isn't hardcore.
• MatingIntervalMultiplier – lower is faster. 0.1 = ten times quicker mating cooldown.
• EggHatchSpeedMultiplier and BabyMatureSpeedMultiplier – the two that really decide whether breeding is a hobby or a second job. On official, a Rex is roughly four real days from egg to adult.
• PreventOfflinePvP and PreventOfflinePvPInterval – vanilla offline raid protection. It's built into ASE, not a mod, despite what half the internet tells you. The interval is the grace period in seconds after the last tribe member logs off before protection kicks in.

From what we've seen on the servers we host, taming at 3-5x and breeding at around 20-25x tends to be the comfort zone for PvE communities. Go much higher and people stop caring about tames because they cost nothing.

Preset 1: Casual PvE

For a handful of friends who want to see ARK's content without quitting their day job. Paste the first block into GameUserSettings.ini under [ServerSettings], and the second block into Game.ini under [/script/shootergame.shootergamemode] – breeding multipliers in particular are silently ignored if you put them in the wrong file.

[ServerSettings]
ServerPVE=True
DifficultyOffset=1.0
XPMultiplier=5.0
TamingSpeedMultiplier=10.0
HarvestAmountMultiplier=5.0
AllowFlyerCarryPvE=True
AllowThirdPersonPlayer=True
ShowFloatingDamageText=True
ShowMapPlayerLocation=True
DayTimeSpeedScale=1.0
NightTimeSpeedScale=3.0

[/script/shootergame.shootergamemode]
OverrideOfficialDifficulty=5.0
MatingIntervalMultiplier=0.05
EggHatchSpeedMultiplier=50.0
BabyMatureSpeedMultiplier=50.0
BabyCuddleIntervalMultiplier=0.05
BabyImprintAmountMultiplier=5.0
BabyFoodConsumptionSpeedMultiplier=3.0
HarvestHealthMultiplier=2.0

Breeding at 50x means you can hatch and raise a Rex across one evening session, which is about the tolerance most casual groups have. We run a friends-only test server with almost exactly these numbers and nobody's ever complained it feels too easy.

Preset 2: Community PvE

Our go-to for servers with ten to fifty regulars. Lower rates so progression still feels like something, higher enough that nobody quits over the grind. Paste the first block into GameUserSettings.ini under [ServerSettings], and the second block into Game.ini under [/script/shootergame.shootergamemode] – breeding multipliers in particular are silently ignored if you put them in the wrong file.

[ServerSettings]
ServerPVE=True
DifficultyOffset=1.0
XPMultiplier=3.0
TamingSpeedMultiplier=5.0
HarvestAmountMultiplier=3.0
AllowFlyerCarryPvE=True
AllowThirdPersonPlayer=True
ShowFloatingDamageText=True
ShowMapPlayerLocation=True
DayTimeSpeedScale=1.0
NightTimeSpeedScale=3.0

[/script/shootergame.shootergamemode]
OverrideOfficialDifficulty=5.0
MatingIntervalMultiplier=0.1
EggHatchSpeedMultiplier=25.0
BabyMatureSpeedMultiplier=25.0
BabyCuddleIntervalMultiplier=0.1
BabyImprintAmountMultiplier=3.0
HarvestHealthMultiplier=2.0

We run taming at 5x on our internal community test server – any higher and we've found people lose interest in the tames they've caught, because replacing one is trivial. 3x harvest is low enough that metal runs still mean something but high enough that a new player can get a base going in their first weekend.

Preset 3: Competitive PvP (with vanilla offline raid protection)

The most popular PvP config we host by a long way. You can raid when people are online, but bases are protected after a fifteen-minute grace period once the last tribe member logs off. Use vanilla offline raid protection – PreventOfflinePvP is built into ASE, you don't need a mod. Paste the first block into GameUserSettings.ini under [ServerSettings], and the second block into Game.ini under [/script/shootergame.shootergamemode] – breeding multipliers in particular are silently ignored if you put them in the wrong file.

[ServerSettings]
ServerPVE=False
DifficultyOffset=1.0
XPMultiplier=3.0
TamingSpeedMultiplier=5.0
HarvestAmountMultiplier=3.0
PreventOfflinePvP=True
PreventOfflinePvPInterval=900
PvPStructureDecay=True
ShowFloatingDamageText=True
DayTimeSpeedScale=1.0
NightTimeSpeedScale=2.0

[/script/shootergame.shootergamemode]
OverrideOfficialDifficulty=5.0
MatingIntervalMultiplier=0.1
EggHatchSpeedMultiplier=20.0
BabyMatureSpeedMultiplier=20.0
BabyCuddleIntervalMultiplier=0.1
BabyImprintAmountMultiplier=2.0
HarvestHealthMultiplier=2.0

The fifteen-minute ORP interval (PreventOfflinePvPInterval=900) is the number we've landed on after watching communities argue about it for years. Anything shorter and people abuse it mid-raid by logging out; anything longer and defenders get punished for taking a break. Structure decay is on because otherwise you end up with half-built wooden shacks cluttering every river in the map.

Preset 4: Hardcore PvP

For communities who want the authentic ARK experience, closer to official rates, no offline protection, full stakes. We only recommend this when you know your player base actually wants it – it's a fast way to lose casuals. Paste the first block into GameUserSettings.ini under [ServerSettings], and the second block into Game.ini under [/script/shootergame.shootergamemode] – breeding multipliers in particular are silently ignored if you put them in the wrong file.

[ServerSettings]
ServerPVE=False
ServerHardcore=False
DifficultyOffset=1.0
XPMultiplier=2.0
TamingSpeedMultiplier=2.0
HarvestAmountMultiplier=2.0
PreventOfflinePvP=False
PvPStructureDecay=True
ShowFloatingDamageText=True
DayTimeSpeedScale=1.0
NightTimeSpeedScale=1.5

[/script/shootergame.shootergamemode]
OverrideOfficialDifficulty=5.0
MatingIntervalMultiplier=0.2
EggHatchSpeedMultiplier=10.0
BabyMatureSpeedMultiplier=10.0
BabyCuddleIntervalMultiplier=0.2
BabyImprintAmountMultiplier=1.0
HarvestHealthMultiplier=1.5

The trick with hardcore PvP isn't the rates – it's that the community has to actually want it. We've watched hardcore servers empty out in a weekend because the owner assumed their audience was tougher than it was. If you're not sure, start with Preset 3 and move towards these numbers gradually.

Preset 5: Roleplay

Slower pace, softer rates, a longer day cycle so events have room to breathe. Paste the first block into GameUserSettings.ini under [ServerSettings], and the second block into Game.ini under [/script/shootergame.shootergamemode] – breeding multipliers in particular are silently ignored if you put them in the wrong file.

[ServerSettings]
ServerPVE=True
DifficultyOffset=1.0
XPMultiplier=2.0
TamingSpeedMultiplier=3.0
HarvestAmountMultiplier=2.0
AllowFlyerCarryPvE=True
AllowThirdPersonPlayer=True
ShowFloatingDamageText=False
ShowMapPlayerLocation=True
DayTimeSpeedScale=0.5
NightTimeSpeedScale=1.5
DayCycleSpeedScale=0.8

[/script/shootergame.shootergamemode]
OverrideOfficialDifficulty=5.0
MatingIntervalMultiplier=0.2
EggHatchSpeedMultiplier=15.0
BabyMatureSpeedMultiplier=15.0
BabyCuddleIntervalMultiplier=0.15
BabyImprintAmountMultiplier=2.0
HarvestHealthMultiplier=2.0
PerLevelStatsMultiplier_Player[0]=1.5
PerLevelStatsMultiplier_DinoTamed[0]=1.5

We keep DayTimeSpeedScale at 0.5 on the RP servers we host so daylight hours stretch a bit, which gives event runners more wiggle room. The floating damage text gets turned off because it clashes with the tone – people are trying to roleplay a story, not watch numbers pop out of dire wolves.

A few things worth knowing

Start conservative. It's much easier to tell your community "we're bumping taming from 3x to 5x" than it is to pull rates back down once people are used to them. Angry messages about rate nerfs are the single most common cause of drama we see on the servers we host.

If you change difficulty after launch, run DestroyWildDinos in the admin console once the server is back up – existing wild dinos keep their old level spread until they respawn. If you haven't set up admin access yet, we've got a short walkthrough on how to become admin on your ARK server.

For the full list of every setting ARK exposes, our server configuration guide has the reference. If something breaks, the troubleshooting guide is probably the fastest way out. Running more than one map? Worth reading everything you need to know about ARK clusters – clustering is trickier than it looks. And if you're just setting up for the first time, start with the getting started guide.

If anything in the presets above doesn't behave the way the comments say it should, the very first thing to check is whether the setting is in the right file. We promise that's the answer about half the time. If it isn't, support can take a look. And if you don't have a server yet, you can spin one up from our ARK hosting page.