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For an ARK: Survival Ascended server, choose PvE when players should cooperate without damaging one another, or PvP when tribes may fight, raid and defend territory. Then choose where the server runs: official servers are easy to browse but tightly controlled, non-dedicated sessions support up to eight players, and a self-hosted or rented dedicated server gives you control over rates, difficulty, mods and rules.
Hardcore and Creative are additional rule layers rather than replacements for PvE or PvP. The practical settings split is important: GameUserSettings.ini controls common server options, while Game.ini controls deeper progression and game-mode rules.
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Start with the PvE or PvP decision
The mode determines whether one player can directly damage another. In PvE, player-versus-player damage is disabled, so the central challenges are taming, building, resource gathering and surviving creatures or environmental hazards. In PvP, players can attack one another, which adds raids, base defense, territorial conflict and the risk of losing stored resources while you are offline.
| Question | PvE | PvP |
|---|---|---|
| Can players damage other players? | No player-vs-player damage. | Yes, subject to the server’s other rules. |
| Base security | Focuses on creature threats, accidents and building limits. | Requires defenses, access control and an answer to raids. |
| Offline risk | No player raid damage from combat. | Players may attack bases or characters while owners are away unless the server has an offline-protection system. |
| Best fit | Cooperative groups, builders and progression-focused communities. | Competitive tribes and communities that want conflict to be part of progression. |
Do not select PvP merely because you want difficult creatures; difficulty, wild-level limits and resource rates are separate settings. Likewise, PvE does not make every structure or creature safe from every rule: decay, building restrictions and event settings can still be configured independently.
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Pick the server type that matches your control needs
| Server type | What you get | Player and administration implications |
|---|---|---|
| Official server | A server operated within the official network. | The browser exposes the map, PvP/PvE mode, current player count and whether mods are in use. You do not control the underlying configuration. |
| Non-dedicated session | A host’s game shares the world with invited players. | Maximum eight players. The host’s availability and connection affect the session, making it suited to a small group rather than a persistent public community. |
| Self-hosted or rented dedicated server | A persistent process running on hardware or a hosting service you administer. | You choose configuration files, passwords, rates, difficulty and usually mods. The achievable player count depends on the host’s resources and the server’s launch configuration; there is no single universal number established here. |
Use the official browser when you want the lowest administrative burden and can accept fixed rules. Use a non-dedicated session for up to eight friends who play at roughly the same times. Choose a dedicated installation when persistence, independent access and custom rules matter more than setup effort.
Understand the extra rule layers
Hardcore
Hardcore is a toggle that changes the consequence of death and character progression. Enable it only after deciding whether your community accepts permanent loss or a more punishing restart loop. Because it is a rule toggle, treat it as an additional setting on top of PvE or PvP, not as a third combat mode.
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Creative mode
Creative mode is enabled from the ESC menu in single-player, or on a server where you have administrator rights. It is intended for building, testing and demonstrations rather than a normal survival progression. On a shared server, restrict administrator access and announce when Creative is being used so players understand why normal resource and crafting limits may not apply.
Know which configuration file controls each decision
Dedicated ASA settings are divided between two INI files. Keeping the files separate makes troubleshooting easier and prevents a setting from appearing to have no effect simply because it was placed in the wrong section.
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GameUserSettings.ini: common server controls
This file contains the [ServerSettings] section. It is where administrators normally place passwords, experience, taming and harvesting rates, difficulty-related options and PvE display options. A minimal workflow is to stop the server, edit the existing section, save a backup, and restart before testing.
Game.ini: deeper progression rules
This file contains the [/Script/ShooterGame.ShooterGameMode] section. Breeding rules, per-level stat gains, engram changes and loot behavior belong here. These options can interact with one another, so change one group at a time and record the previous value.
Wild creature levels and official difficulty
OverrideOfficialDifficulty=5.0 sets the maximum wild creature level to 150 because the value is multiplied by the standard 30-level interval. That 150 maximum matches official-server difficulty. Put the setting in the server-settings area, restart the server and verify newly spawned creatures; existing wild creatures may need to be respawned before the new ceiling is visible.
A recently added setting
The September 30, 2026 update added AllowVariantDinoPacks under [ServerSettings]. Its default is false. Leave it at the default unless you deliberately want the variant dino packs enabled, and document the change for players because it can alter the creatures they encounter.
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Change server settings safely: a repeatable procedure
- Decide the rule set first. Write down PvE or PvP, whether Hardcore is enabled, the intended difficulty, rates and any Creative-admin policy. This prevents contradictory edits later.
- Stop the server cleanly. Editing while the game is running can be overwritten at shutdown. Wait until the process and save operation have completed.
- Back up both files and the world save. Keep a dated copy of
GameUserSettings.ini,Game.iniand the save directory so you can restore a known-good state. - Edit the correct section. Put passwords, rates and ordinary server options in
[ServerSettings]inGameUserSettings.ini. Put breeding, stat, engram and loot rules in[/Script/ShooterGame.ShooterGameMode]inGame.ini. - Use one syntax entry per line. Preserve the exact capitalization and equals-sign format used by the file. Remove duplicate entries so you know which value the server will read.
- Save as plain text with the original filename. Do not let an editor append a second extension such as
.txt. - Start the server and check the startup log. Look for configuration parse errors, then join as an ordinary player to test the actual behavior rather than relying only on the file contents.
- Test in a controlled area. Use a spare character or a temporary structure to check rates, damage rules, creature levels or breeding intervals. Record the result before changing another setting.
Control-panel interfaces differ, but the underlying sequence is the same: stop, back up, edit, restart and verify. If your host regenerates files, make the change in its configuration editor or startup template as well as in any downloadable copy.
What is known—and not established—about PvE/PvP INI keys
Community guides commonly name ServerPVE, DisableStructureDecayPvE, PreventOfflinePvP and PreventOfflinePvPInterval as controls related to combat, decay and offline protection. Their exact syntax and behavior have not been confirmed against an official source for this version. Treat them as community-reported, verify them against the current patch documentation or your server build, and test on a backup world before using them in a live community.
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Player-count expectations
The only fixed cap in this guide is the eight-player maximum for a non-dedicated session. Official-server listings show a current player count, but that display is not a promise of capacity for a server you create. Dedicated-server capacity depends on CPU, memory, network upload, map, mods, simulation load and the launch configuration.
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A community source names the launch parameter -WinLiveMaxPlayers as a way to set a maximum, but that parameter is not confirmed here as an official, supported control. Do not advertise a capacity based solely on that name. Start with a conservative limit, watch performance during peak activity and increase it only after your hardware and network remain stable.
Rates, difficulty and modes are different levers
- Rates change how quickly actions occur: experience gain, taming and harvesting are typical examples.
- Difficulty changes the level range and challenge of wild creatures;
OverrideOfficialDifficulty=5.0is the documented value for a level-150 maximum. - Combat mode determines whether players can damage one another.
- Hardcore changes the penalty structure around death and progression.
- Creative changes access to building and resources for an administrator or test session.
Changing a rate cannot turn PvE into PvP, and raising difficulty does not protect a PvP base. Publish these as separate server rules so players can understand exactly what they are joining.
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The server starts, but the value is unchanged
- Confirm the entry is in the correct file and section.
- Check for a duplicate line later in the file.
- Verify that the control panel did not overwrite the file during startup.
- Restart fully; many changes are not applied to an already running session.
- Test a newly spawned creature or newly created action when the setting affects only future entities.
The server ignores Game.ini
A 2023 Steam forum thread describes servers ignoring a missing or improperly generated Game.ini and reports copying settings from a single-player configuration as a workaround. That report is anecdotal, not an official guarantee. First create the file with the expected section header, confirm its filename and encoding, restart, and inspect the log. If you use the workaround, compare every copied value with your intended dedicated-server rules instead of importing the entire file blindly.
Players report unexpected PvP or offline raids
Check the server’s advertised mode, the actual combat behavior with two test characters and any community-reported protection keys. Do not promise offline protection until it has been verified on your exact build; a key from a guide may be obsolete or unsupported.
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Wild levels do not reach 150
Confirm OverrideOfficialDifficulty=5.0 is under [ServerSettings], restart the server and respawn wild creatures. Existing spawns can retain their old levels, so testing only creatures that were already present can produce a false result.
Version timing to account for
The current listing for an Unreal Engine 5.8 upgrade is October 28, 2026. That date was listed on October 14, 2026, so it should be treated as a scheduled target rather than a guarantee that the upgrade has already shipped. Before changing production settings, check the patch notes for your platform and server build; engine or server updates can change defaults, file generation and the behavior of community-reported keys.
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- Choose PvE for cooperation without player damage, or PvP for raids and player combat.
- Choose official for convenience, non-dedicated for a group of no more than eight, or dedicated hosting for persistent custom rules.
- Decide whether Hardcore belongs in the rules before characters are created.
- Reserve Creative for single-player testing or clearly administered server work.
- Keep ordinary settings in
GameUserSettings.iniand deeper progression rules inGame.ini. - Back up before every edit and verify behavior after a restart.
- Label community-reported keys as experimental until your exact build confirms them.
- Recheck configuration after major updates, including the scheduled UE 5.8 transition listed for October 28, 2026.
That separation gives players a predictable experience: the combat promise is clear, the server’s persistence and capacity are realistic, and every custom rule can be traced to the file and setting that controls it.
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