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To change an ARK server’s wild-creature difficulty, stop the server, edit GameUserSettings.ini, add the settings under [ServerSettings], restart, and run DestroyWildDinos from the server console or RCON. For a level-150 wild-creature cap, use OverrideOfficialDifficulty=5.0. Existing wild creatures retain their old levels until they are removed and respawned.
What the two difficulty settings control
ARK exposes two related settings in GameUserSettings.ini. They are often confused because both contain the word “difficulty,” but they serve different purposes.
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| Setting | What it does | Typical value | Important qualification |
|---|---|---|---|
DifficultyOffset |
Sets the server’s difficulty offset, which is combined with the map’s official difficulty calculation. | 1.0 |
The commonly cited default is 0.2. Community guides disagree about the lowest accepted value, citing ranges from 0.01–1.0 to 0.2–1.0. |
OverrideOfficialDifficulty |
Uses the supplied number directly as the final difficulty value. | 5.0 for a level-150 cap |
When this override is active, community reports indicate that DifficultyOffset no longer changes the result. |
The Fandom community wiki describes the offset calculation as DifficultyOffset × (Official Difficulty − 0.5) + 0.5. The resulting Difficulty Value is then multiplied by 30 to estimate the maximum wild-creature level. Forum calculations do not always agree when dedicated-server overrides are involved, so use the override as the authoritative value and verify the actual levels after the restart.
With an override, the practical rule used by community guides is:
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maximum wild level = OverrideOfficialDifficulty × 30
Therefore, 5.0 produces a nominal maximum of level 150, while 10.0 produces level 300 where that value is accepted by the server version and host.
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Decide the target level first. The override is not a percentage and it is not the level itself; it is the level divided by 30.
| Desired maximum wild level | Override value | Use case |
|---|---|---|
| 30 | 1.0 |
Low-level progression |
| 60 | 2.0 |
Moderate increase over the lowest setting |
| 90 | 3.0 |
Higher-level wild spawns |
| 120 | 4.0 |
Historically common upper setting before higher overrides were permitted |
| 150 | 5.0 |
Common standard target across maps |
| 300 | 10.0 |
Community example; may be rejected by a current cap or host panel |
The table expresses the community-wiki formula, not a guarantee that every map, edition, patch, or hosting panel will accept every value. If a value above 5 is rejected or silently rewritten, use the highest value your current server version allows and confirm it in-game.
Prepare the server safely
- Schedule downtime. Stop the server cleanly before editing. Do not change the file while the process is writing configuration data.
- Back up the configuration. Copy
GameUserSettings.inito a separate location. A backup lets you restore the previous difficulty if the server fails to start or the host panel overwrites the file. - Confirm administrative access. You need filesystem access, a hosting panel with configuration controls, or permission to use the server console/RCON.
- Warn players about the wild-dino wipe. Applying the new level to existing spawns requires
DestroyWildDinos, which removes current wild spawns and causes them to repopulate over time. - Identify the correct installation. A single-player save and a dedicated server use different configuration folders. Editing a similarly named file in the wrong installation has no effect.
Method 1: Edit GameUserSettings.ini directly
1. Stop the server
Use the host panel’s Stop or Shut Down control, or stop the dedicated-server process through your operating system. Wait until the panel reports that the process is offline before opening the file.
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2. Open the correct configuration file
Open GameUserSettings.ini in the server configuration directory. A Linux dedicated-server layout used by hosting guides is:
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3. Find or create the ServerSettings section
Search for the section header exactly as shown:
[ServerSettings]If the two keys are already present below that header, edit their values. If they are missing, add them beneath [ServerSettings]. Do not place them in Game.ini, and do not put them above the section header.
4. Enter the values
For a level-150 maximum, a minimal configuration is:
[ServerSettings]
DifficultyOffset=1.0
OverrideOfficialDifficulty=5.0You can substitute another override from the table. Keeping DifficultyOffset=1.0 is common because it makes the relationship between the override and the 30-level increments easy to understand. Once OverrideOfficialDifficulty is active, community reports say the offset is ignored; it is still acceptable to leave the offset at 1.0 for clarity and compatibility with panels that expect the key.
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5. Save without changing the filename
Save the file as plain text with the exact name GameUserSettings.ini. Check that your editor did not append .txt and that the section header and key names retain their spelling. On Linux, preserve the file’s permissions so the server process can read it.
6. Start the server again
Start the instance from the panel or launch command. Wait for it to finish loading before testing. If it fails to start, stop it, restore the backup, and check for malformed section headers, duplicate keys, or a panel-generated configuration file that replaced your edit.
Method 2: Use a hosting control panel or command-line setting
Some hosts do not expect customers to edit the file directly. Instead, they provide a text box named something like Override Official Difficulty, a launch-parameter field, or an advanced command-line editor. Panel labels and precedence rules vary.
- Stop the server in the panel.
- Open the server’s Advanced, Startup, Configuration, or Command Line area.
- Enter the override in the format required by that panel. A command-line form commonly shown in guides is
?OverrideOfficialDifficulty=5.0. - If the panel also exposes
DifficultyOffset, set it to1.0unless you deliberately want offset-only behavior. - Save the panel configuration, then start the server.
- After startup, reopen the generated configuration or startup command and confirm that the value was retained.
A panel may write its own copy of GameUserSettings.ini at startup. If a direct edit disappears, use the panel’s setting instead of repeatedly editing the generated file. Conversely, if the panel field is blank but the file contains the key, the file may be the active source. The reliable test is the maximum level of newly spawned wild creatures after a wipe.
Apply the new difficulty to wild creatures
Changing the configuration does not retroactively recalculate creatures that already exist in the world. After the server has restarted with the new value, connect as an administrator and run:
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DestroyWildDinosDepending on the interface, enter it in the dedicated-server console, or send it through RCON. In an in-game administrator console, the command may be entered with the console’s administrative prefix, commonly:
cheat DestroyWildDinosUse the syntax accepted by your edition and console. The command removes current wild spawns; it does not instantly repopulate the map. Travel through spawn regions or wait for the normal spawn cycle, then inspect newly generated creatures. A wipe can temporarily make an area look empty, so do not conclude that the setting failed immediately after issuing the command.
Verify that the setting worked
- Confirm the server restarted. A running process that was never stopped may still be using the old configuration.
- Check the active file or launch parameter. Verify that
OverrideOfficialDifficultyis under[ServerSettings]and has the intended numeric value. - Run the wild-dino wipe after the restart. Running it before changing the setting only repopulates the map with the old difficulty.
- Inspect several newly spawned wild creatures. One low-level creature does not disprove a higher cap; level distributions are random and map-dependent. Look for the highest levels appearing over multiple spawns.
- Compare the observed ceiling with the formula. An override of
5.0should correspond to a nominal maximum of 150 under the commonly documented 30-level multiplier.
If new creatures still use the old ceiling, the most likely causes are an incorrect file, an unaccepted panel value, a missing section header, or a missing post-change wipe.
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Offset-only configuration versus an override
| Approach | Configuration | Behavior | When it makes sense |
|---|---|---|---|
| Offset only | Set DifficultyOffset; omit the override |
The game applies the offset through its official-difficulty calculation, which can vary by map. | When you want the map’s normal difficulty model rather than one fixed final value. |
| Fixed override | Set OverrideOfficialDifficulty, commonly with DifficultyOffset=1.0 |
The supplied number is used directly as the final Difficulty Value, with no further offset calculation according to community documentation. | When you want a predictable target such as level 150 across supported maps. |
Do not try to reach a level-150 cap by setting DifficultyOffset=150. The offset is not the maximum creature level. Use OverrideOfficialDifficulty=5.0 for the commonly cited level-150 target.
Version and cap considerations
Higher overrides have changed over ARK’s history. A community wiki records patch 247.95 as enabling values above 4.0 through a parameter such as ?OverrideOfficialDifficulty=5.0. A wiki.gg changelog lists patch 312.27 as setting the maximum Override Difficulty to 5. That is the latest cap identified in the available version notes, not a guarantee for every current ARK edition or future patch.
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- If the server accepts
5.0, level 150 is the usual target described by current community guides. - If the server caps the value at 5, an entry such as
10.0may be clamped, ignored, or rewritten. - If a host panel offers only a drop-down, its choices may be narrower than the game’s underlying configuration.
- When moving a save between maps or server versions, recheck the active value and perform a new wild-spawn wipe.
Because the documented formula and cap have changed across patches, record the ARK edition, server build, map, and actual observed maximum when troubleshooting. A setting that worked on one installation is not proof that another installation accepts the same number.
Troubleshooting common failures
The server starts, but wild levels are unchanged
- Check that you edited the active instance rather than a backup, local client, or different map’s folder.
- Ensure both keys are below
[ServerSettings], not below another section. - Restart after saving; most servers read the file only during startup.
- Run
DestroyWildDinosafter the restart. Existing wild creatures keep their previous levels. - Wait for fresh spawns and inspect more than one creature before judging the result.
The panel keeps reverting the value
The panel may regenerate the file from its own startup settings. Set the value in the panel’s Override Official Difficulty or command-line field, save it, restart, and then inspect the generated configuration. If both a panel parameter and an INI key exist, follow the panel’s documented precedence and use the observed spawn levels as the final check.
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- Restore the backup and start once to confirm that the failure came from the edit.
- Remove duplicate copies of the same key and leave one value under
[ServerSettings]. - Check for accidental quotation marks, commas, nonnumeric text, or a filename such as
GameUserSettings.ini.txt. - Try a conservative value such as
OverrideOfficialDifficulty=5.0before testing higher values.
The maximum is lower than expected
Confirm that the value was not capped by the server version or host. An override of 5 is calculated as 150 by the common formula, but the level distribution is random and some maps do not immediately produce creatures at the ceiling. Wipe wild spawns once more only after confirming that the active configuration contains the intended override.
Offset changes appear to do nothing
This is expected when OverrideOfficialDifficulty is active: community reports say the override takes precedence. Remove the override only if you intentionally want offset-based, map-dependent behavior, then restart and wipe wild spawns again.
Reverting to the previous difficulty
Stop the server before reverting. Restore your backed-up GameUserSettings.ini, or remove the override through the host panel and set the desired DifficultyOffset. Start the server, then run DestroyWildDinos so new wild creatures are generated under the restored calculation. Keep a copy of the working configuration and note the server version so a later panel update does not erase the setting.
Quick Recap
Quick reference
| Goal | Action |
|---|---|
| Set a fixed level-150 wild cap | Under [ServerSettings], use DifficultyOffset=1.0 and OverrideOfficialDifficulty=5.0. |
| Use a different fixed cap | Divide the desired maximum wild level by 30 and enter the result as the override. |
| Make existing wild spawns use the new setting | Restart, then run DestroyWildDinos from the server console or RCON. |
| Use map-scaled difficulty | Set the offset and omit the override. |
| Recover from a bad edit | Stop the server, restore the backup, and start with a conservative value. |
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