How to Configure Your ARK: Survival Evolved Server

ARK: Survival Evolved is famous for how deeply you can tune it, from taming speed to how long a night lasts. Almost every setting lives in one of two files: GameUserSettings.ini for the multipliers most people touch first, and Game.ini for a handful of deeper settings that only work if they're placed there. Mixing the two up is the single most common config mistake, since a setting in the wrong file is silently ignored with no error at all.

⚠️ Important Warning: Always stop your server on the MintServers panel before editing either file, and take a quick backup first. If the server is running while you save, your changes can be overwritten when it next writes to disk.

Step 1: Locate Your Configuration Files

Log into your MintServers panel and Stop your server.
Open the Files tab in the left-hand sidebar.
Navigate to ShooterGame/Saved/Config/, then into the folder for your server's operating system.

    📁 ShooterGame
            📁 Saved
                    📁 Config
                            📁 LinuxServer (or WindowsServer)
                                    📄 GameUserSettings.ini (the file you'll use most)

                                    📄 Game.ini (advanced settings, see Step 3)

Step 2: Edit The Common Rate Settings

Open GameUserSettings.ini and find the [ServerSettings] block, usually near the bottom of the file. This is where the multipliers almost every server owner changes on day one live:

📄 GameUserSettings.ini

[ServerSettings]
TamingSpeedMultiplier=3.0
HarvestAmountMultiplier=2.0
XPMultiplier=2.0
DifficultyOffset=1.0
DayTimeSpeedScale=1.0
NightTimeSpeedScale=3.0
PlayerCharacterFoodDrainMultiplier=0.7
PlayerCharacterWaterDrainMultiplier=0.7

What these actually do

TamingSpeedMultiplier / HarvestAmountMultiplier / XPMultiplier: 1.0 matches official rates. Higher numbers make taming, gathering, and leveling faster.
DifficultyOffset: raises the level cap of wild dino spawns. Values above 1.0 allow higher-level creatures to appear.
NightTimeSpeedScale: higher values shorten how long night lasts relative to day. Many servers bump this to 3.0 so nights pass faster without removing the day/night cycle entirely.
PlayerCharacterFoodDrainMultiplier / PlayerCharacterWaterDrainMultiplier: lower numbers slow down hunger and thirst drain.

📝 PvE, PvP, and Offline Raid Protection: These also belong in [ServerSettings]. Set ServerPVE=True to disable PvP entirely. On PvP servers, PreventOfflinePvP=True combined with PreventOfflinePvPInterval=900 is a common setup, it makes a tribe's base un-raidable 15 minutes (900 seconds) after every member logs off.

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Step 3: Advanced Settings In Game.ini

A handful of the most-requested settings, anything to do with breeding, imprinting, and XP caps, do not belong in GameUserSettings.ini. They have to go in Game.ini under the section [/script/shootergame.shootergamemode], or they'll be silently ignored.

📄 Game.ini

[/script/shootergame.shootergamemode]
OverrideOfficialDifficulty=5.0
MatingIntervalMultiplier=0.2
EggHatchSpeedMultiplier=10.0
BabyMatureSpeedMultiplier=10.0
BabyCuddleIntervalMultiplier=0.2
BabyImprintAmountMultiplier=2.0

Quick translation

OverrideOfficialDifficulty: this, not DifficultyOffset alone, is what actually lets wild dinos spawn at higher levels on most maps.
MatingIntervalMultiplier: lower values shorten the cooldown between mating attempts.
EggHatchSpeedMultiplier / BabyMatureSpeedMultiplier: higher values speed up hatching and growth.
BabyCuddleIntervalMultiplier / BabyImprintAmountMultiplier: lower cuddle intervals and higher imprint amounts make it easier to hit 100% imprint on fast-maturing babies.

💡 Pro Tip: After changing difficulty or spawn-related settings, existing wild dinos won't update on their own. Once you're back in-game as admin, run the DestroyWildDinos command to force a respawn under the new settings, covered in our Admin Console Commands guide.

Step 4: Save And Restart

Save the file in the panel's editor.
Repeat for the second file if you edited both.
Go back to the Console tab and Start your server.

🛠️ Troubleshooting Common Configuration Issues

A setting isn't taking effect: Double-check it's in the correct file. Breeding, imprinting, and XP cap settings belong in Game.ini, not GameUserSettings.ini.
Server won't start after editing: A typo in the file is the most likely cause. Restore from a backup if you have one, or carefully re-check every line you added.
Wild dinos aren't spawning at the new difficulty: Run DestroyWildDinos from the in-game admin console to force a respawn.
Changes disappeared after a restart: Confirm you saved before restarting, and that the server was fully stopped while you were editing.

ARK has hundreds of additional options beyond what's covered here, everything from custom supply crate loot to per-species spawn rates. If you're after something more specific and can't find it, no worries! Just open a support ticket and our team will be happy to help you track it down.