How to Set Up an ARK: Survival Evolved Server

Overview

ARK: Survival Evolved is a dinosaur survival game that supports large dedicated servers. Running your own server gives you control over maps, mods, rates, and taming speeds.

Requirements

• A Breeze with at least 8 GB RAM (16 GB recommended for large maps)
• 60 GB free disk space
• 4 CPU cores recommended

Step 1: Install SteamCMD and Dependencies

sudo dpkg --add-architecture i386
sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y steamcmd

Step 2: Create Server User and Install

sudo useradd -r -m -d /opt/ark arkserver
sudo -u arkserver steamcmd +force_install_dir /opt/ark/server \
  +login anonymous \
  +app_update 376030 validate \
  +quit

Step 3: Configure the Server

Edit /opt/ark/server/ShooterGame/Saved/Config/LinuxServer/GameUserSettings.ini:

[ServerSettings]
ServerPassword=changeme
ServerAdminPassword=adminpass
MaxPlayers=20
DifficultyOffset=0.5
TamingSpeedMultiplier=3.0
XPMultiplier=2.0
HarvestAmountMultiplier=3.0
AllowThirdPersonPlayer=True

Step 4: Create a Start Script

sudo -u arkserver tee /opt/ark/start.sh <<'EOF'
#!/bin/bash
/opt/ark/server/ShooterGame/Binaries/Linux/ShooterGameServer \
  TheIsland?listen?SessionName="My ARK Server"?Port=7777?QueryPort=27015?MaxPlayers=20 \
  -server -log -NoBattlEye
EOF
chmod +x /opt/ark/start.sh

Step 5: Create a Systemd Service

sudo tee /etc/systemd/system/ark.service <<EOF
[Unit]
Description=ARK Survival Evolved Server
After=network.target

[Service]
User=arkserver
LimitNOFILE=100000
WorkingDirectory=/opt/ark
ExecStart=/opt/ark/start.sh
Restart=on-failure
RestartSec=20

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target
EOF

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable --now ark

Step 6: Open Firewall Ports

sudo ufw allow 7777:7778/udp
sudo ufw allow 27015/udp

Available Maps

• TheIsland (default)
• TheCenter
• Ragnarok
• Valguero
• CrystalIsles
• LostIsland
• Fjordur