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For most small PvE groups, start at 2× XP, 2.5× harvesting, and 3× taming. Busy players can use 2.5× XP, 3× harvesting, and 4× taming; lightly boosted PvP is better served by 1.5–2× XP, 2× harvesting, and 2–3× taming. Breeding needs separate tuning because maturation, mating, hatching, and imprinting do not automatically follow another multiplier. Put ordinary controls in GameUserSettings.ini, advanced progression changes in Game.ini, restart after every edit, and verify the result in-game.
What boosted rates change in ARK: Survival Ascended
ARK: Survival Ascended (ASA) exposes independent multipliers for progression, resource collection, taming, and breeding. A multiplier changes only the system it controls. Increasing harvesting does not make creatures tame faster; increasing taming speed does not shorten egg incubation; and increasing maturation does not guarantee that an imprint will be available before the baby grows up.
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The unmodified XP baseline is XPMultiplier=1.0. A higher value increases XP awarded to players, tribes, and tamed creatures. Harvesting uses its own amount multiplier, while taming uses a separate speed multiplier. Breeding is a group of controls rather than one universal “breeding rate,” so it should be tested as a package.
There is no published setting combination that is universally best. The right balance depends on how many hours your group plays, whether resource scarcity is part of the challenge, how much supervision breeders can provide, and whether the server is PvE or PvP. The presets below are practical starting recommendations, not official defaults or measured optimums.
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Recommended starting presets
| Audience | XP | Harvest | Taming | Breeding and maturation approach | Best fit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Casual small-group PvE | 2× | 2.5× | 3× | Increase maturation until a normal play session can complete meaningful care, then test imprint timing with the species your group raises most. | Reduces repetitive waiting while retaining gathering and tame decisions. |
| Busy-adult PvE | 2.5× | 3× | 4× | Use faster maturation to reduce offline waiting, but check every imprint interval after changing it. | Useful when players have irregular schedules and cannot remain online for long sessions. |
| Lightly boosted PvP | 1.5–2× | 2× | 2–3× | Keep breeding and maturation conservative so preparation, scarcity, and counterplay remain meaningful. | Shortens chores without removing the strategic cost of replacing losses. |
When choosing among these, compare six practical effects: active play time saved each week, resource scarcity and the value of gathering creatures, supervision required for taming and breeding, PvE or PvP balance, interaction with mods and temporary events, and how easily you can roll back after a patch. A rate that feels comfortable during a weekend can become excessive when an event or mod adds another multiplier.
How the main ASA multipliers work
XPMultiplier: player, tribe, and tame experience
XPMultiplier scales experience earned by players, tribes, and tames. Its documented default is 1.0. Setting it to 2.0 doubles the configured XP award for affected actions; it does not double harvesting or taming speed. XP boosts can move a new survivor through early levels quickly, but they also shorten the time available to learn engrams, prepare bases, and experience the progression curve. On PvP servers, very high XP can make replacement characters and combat tames reach useful levels sooner than intended.
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HarvestAmountMultiplier controls the amount obtained when a resource node is harvested. It does not by itself change how much damage a tool or creature deals to the node, how quickly the node respawns, or how much weight a survivor can carry. Those systems can affect the practical benefit of a harvest boost. If you also alter harvesting-health or optimization options, test the combination: a larger yield and a different node health can change the role of gathering creatures and the rate at which areas are cleared.
TamingSpeedMultiplier: time invested in a tame
TamingSpeedMultiplier changes taming speed and therefore the time a player must protect and monitor an unconscious or otherwise taming creature. It does not automatically change the creature’s eventual stats, breeding cooldowns, or maturation. A faster tame can make mistakes less costly, but it can also remove the need to prepare food, narcotics, and a safe taming area. That trade-off matters more on PvP servers, where taming time is part of the risk of obtaining a replacement creature.
Breeding controls: separate levers that must be coordinated
Breeding involves at least mating intervals, egg hatch or incubation time, baby maturation, and imprint opportunities. Each is separate. If maturation is accelerated without checking imprint intervals, a baby may grow past an imprint window before the carer can respond. If mating and hatching are shortened while maturation remains slow, the result may be more eggs and babies waiting for the same amount of care. Tune the controls as a group and test with a species your server actually breeds.
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Which INI file controls ASA server rates?
GameUserSettings.ini for ordinary server and gameplay settings
Most server rates and basic or intermediate gameplay options belong in GameUserSettings.ini. This is the file to use for the XP, harvesting, and taming multipliers described above. Keep each option in the section expected by ASA and write one option=value entry per line.
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Use Game.ini for advanced rebalancing, custom XP-per-level curves, and other progression changes. Do not move a routine server-rate key into Game.ini simply because the setting is important; the game reads each option from its expected file and section.
Windows and Linux dedicated-server locations
On a Windows dedicated server, the configuration directory is:
ShooterGameSavedConfigWindowsServerOn a Linux dedicated server, use:
ShooterGame/Saved/Config/LinuxServer/Managed hosting panels may present these files through an editor rather than a normal filesystem. The panel still writes the same ASA configuration, so the section and spelling rules apply. If a panel has both a rate form and a raw INI editor, make one source authoritative; editing both can cause one interface to overwrite the other at restart.
Copyable starting values
The following block contains only the three documented core rate keys. Place the entries in the appropriate server-settings section of GameUserSettings.ini; do not paste the same key multiple times.
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[ServerSettings]
XPMultiplier=2.0
HarvestAmountMultiplier=2.5
TamingSpeedMultiplier=3.0This is the casual small-group PvE starting point. For the busy-adult PvE option, change the three values to 2.5, 3.0, and 4.0. For lightly boosted PvP, use an XP value between 1.5 and 2.0, HarvestAmountMultiplier=2.0, and a taming value between 2.0 and 3.0. Choose one value in each range for your community rather than entering a range into the file.
Breeding values are intentionally not included in this three-line block. ASA exposes separate controls for mating, incubation or hatching, maturation, and imprinting, and a useful number depends on species, base incubation conditions, and how often your players can return. Use the exact key names shown by your current ASA configuration interface or a generator, export only the settings you intend to change, and inspect the resulting file before deploying it.
Safe configuration workflow
- Stop the server or exit the game. Editing while the game is running can cause your changes to be removed when ASA saves its current configuration.
- Back up both files. Copy
GameUserSettings.iniand, if you use progression edits,Game.inito a dated backup location before changing anything. A backup gives you a clean rollback after a typo, mod update, or patch. - Open the correct file. Use
GameUserSettings.inifor ordinary rates. OpenGame.inionly when you are changing advanced progression or rebalancing rules. - Find the expected section. Keep each key in the section used by your server configuration. If the key already exists, edit its value instead of adding a duplicate line.
- Enter one assignment per line. Use the exact spelling and capitalization, an equals sign, and a numeric value, such as
XPMultiplier=2.0. Do not add comments to the same line unless your hosting panel explicitly supports them. - Save and restart. A full server restart is the dependable way to load rate changes. A player reconnect alone is not a substitute for restarting a dedicated server.
- Test one category at a time. Check XP, then harvesting, then taming, and finally breeding. Isolating changes makes a misplaced key or mod conflict easier to identify.
- Verify the observed result in-game. Confirm the amount of XP awarded, the quantity from a controlled harvest, and the elapsed time for a test tame. Do not assume a successful file save means ASA accepted every entry.
Configuration generators can reduce typing, but they do not remove the need for review. Export only ASA-compatible settings that you deliberately selected, compare the generated files with your backup, and remove unrelated changes before restarting the server.
Tuning breeding without breaking imprinting
Start with the care schedule, not a target percentage
Decide how often a typical carer can be online during the growth period. The objective is not the largest possible maturation multiplier; it is a schedule in which your group can complete meaningful care without turning every baby into an unattended timer. A normal evening session may support a different setting from a community whose players log in for only a few minutes before work.
Change one breeding lever, then observe
Change maturation or another breeding control, restart, and watch a real baby through at least one complete care cycle. Record the time until the next imprint opportunity and the time until the baby reaches the next growth stage. Then adjust the related lever rather than changing every breeding value at once.
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Recheck imprint windows after every change
Faster maturation compresses the time available for imprint requests. A setting that works for one species may be impractical for another because growth rates and care requirements differ. Test the species your tribe actually intends to raise, and keep a slower fallback preset if no one can reliably meet the new intervals.
Account for events and mods
Temporary events and mods can add their own multipliers or alter breeding behavior. A schedule that is manageable at normal rates may become too fast during an event. Record your normal values, test event values separately, and restore the normal preset when the event ends instead of allowing a temporary boost to become the new permanent baseline by accident.
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PvE and PvP trade-offs
Why PvE groups can start higher
PvE players generally do not need to preserve raid preparation or enemy counterplay. Moderate boosts can remove repetitive travel, gathering, and taming downtime while leaving decisions about where to build, which creatures to tame, and how to prepare for caves. The casual and busy-adult presets are aimed at this use case, but the higher busy-adult values assume that players accept more compressed progression.
Why PvP benefits from restraint
PvP rates shape the cost of scouting, replacing a lost tame, rebuilding after a raid, and preparing defenses. High XP and harvesting can make a wiped tribe recover rapidly; high taming and maturation can make powerful replacements common. The lightly boosted PvP preset keeps those costs visible while reducing the longest periods of inactivity. Communities that want a harsher economy can lower harvesting before lowering XP, because resource scarcity and progression speed affect different strategic choices.
Do not use PvE assumptions on a PvP server
A rate can feel fair when everyone cooperates against the environment but become oppressive when one organized tribe can exploit faster replacement cycles. Test with the server’s actual population, not only in a solo world, and review the preset after a wipe or major mod change.
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How to compare presets before making one permanent
| Question | What to observe | Warning sign |
|---|---|---|
| How much active time is saved? | Hours removed from routine gathering, leveling, and tame watching during a normal week. | Players reach endgame before they have learned the systems they wanted to experience. |
| What happens to resource scarcity? | Whether basic materials still require routes, storage planning, and useful gathering creatures. | Common nodes become irrelevant and weight or transport is the only remaining constraint. |
| How much supervision is required? | Whether players can be online for tame protection and imprint requests. | Babies mature between logins or imprints are routinely missed. |
| Does the PvE/PvP economy remain fair? | Replacement time, preparation cost, and the value of a successful raid or defense. | A defeat has little consequence because another high-level force can be produced immediately. |
| Do mods and events behave predictably? | Observed rates with the exact mod list and current event state. | Stacked multipliers produce unexpectedly rapid XP, harvests, or maturation. |
| Can you roll back cleanly? | Whether a dated backup restores the previous behavior after a restart. | A hosting panel or update rewrites the file and the original values are no longer known. |
Troubleshooting incorrect or unchanged rates
The value resets after restart
Stop the server before editing, confirm that you changed the active server’s configuration directory, and check whether a hosting panel regenerates the file from a separate settings form. Restore your backup, make one change, and restart again. Edits made while the game is running can be discarded.
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Nothing changes in-game
Check the key spelling, the section, and the file. A routine rate placed in Game.ini may be ignored when ASA expects it in GameUserSettings.ini. Remove duplicate entries, restart fully, and perform a controlled test rather than judging by a single random harvest or XP award.
Harvesting feels inconsistent
Confirm that you are comparing the same resource, tool or creature, and node condition. Harvest amount is distinct from harvesting health and related optimization options. Mods and events can also alter the result, so test with them enabled exactly as they are on the live server.
Breeding becomes impossible to manage
Lower maturation or lengthen the relevant breeding interval, then verify imprint timing with a real baby. Do not compensate for a missed imprint by changing XP, harvesting, or taming; those multipliers do not control baby care.
A patch or mod changes behavior
Compare the current files with the dated backup, review the mod’s documented settings, and re-test each category. Keep a short change log with the date, value, and reason for every edit so you can identify which change altered the schedule.
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- Choose the audience first. Select PvE or PvP and estimate the group’s actual weekly play time.
- Apply only the core three rates. Start with one of the presets above for XP, harvesting, and taming.
- Run a controlled session. Test a level-up, a repeatable harvest, and a tame with known starting conditions.
- Add breeding adjustments separately. Set maturation only after deciding the care schedule, then test imprint windows.
- Invite player feedback after normal play. Ask whether chores were shortened without removing meaningful decisions, rather than polling only after a single boosted event.
- Freeze a versioned baseline. Save the final files and record the patch, mod list, and event state under which they were tested.
This staged approach makes the server’s economy understandable. If players later request more speed, you can identify whether the problem is XP progression, resource collection, tame downtime, or baby supervision instead of raising every multiplier indiscriminately.
Frequently overlooked details
- Rates are not interchangeable. A 2× harvest setting is not a 2× taming or breeding setting; each system reads its own control.
- Higher is not automatically more convenient. Faster maturation can increase the attention required per hour because care windows arrive sooner.
- Backups matter after updates. Keep the last known-good files so a patch, mod, or panel rewrite can be reversed without guessing.
- Numeric values need context. The preset values above are recommendations for the stated audiences, not official ASA standards or laboratory measurements.
- Verify live behavior. A syntactically valid line can still be ignored if it is in the wrong file or section.
Final recommendation
Use the casual PvE preset as the safest general starting point: 2× XP, 2.5× harvesting, and 3× taming. Move to the busy-adult values only when offline waiting is the dominant complaint, and keep PvP near the lightly boosted range so preparation and recovery retain meaning. Treat breeding as its own scheduling project, test imprint windows after every change, and keep a verified backup of both INI files.
Quick Recap
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