ARK Survival Evolved is a game that belongs to the action adventure genre. It was released way back in August 2017. Few months after its launch, it made its way to all the most popular gaming platforms and devices such as PC, consoles and handheld devices.
ARK Dedicated Server Hosting
What really differentiates this game from other games in the action adventure genre is its ability to be played either as a first person shooter or third person shooter while other games only let you play in one of the two options. For an unparalleled gaming experience, it is highly recommended that you host this game on your server instead of depending on third party vendors to do the job for you.
In this article, you will learn everything you need to know about ARK cheap dedicated server hosting.
What is an ARK Server?
ARK server is a system where the game instance is saved. ARK Survival Evolved connects to that instance in order to launch and play the game. Depending on your preferences, gamers can password protect it or leave it open for the public. It runs a setup that executes a specific instance of the game ARK Survival Evolved.
The game even gives you the option to run multiple servers at once which allows players to either create their own maps or choose a map from a predefined map collection.
What are the Different Types of ARK Server?
Players can either host the game on their own server or host it on a rented server. This means that there are two types of ARK servers.
- Personal Server
- Rented Server
If you have access to the required hardware, you can make your own server and host ARK Survival Evolved. The second option would be to rent a server. When you rent a server, the service provider is responsible for everything from setting up the server to server management and server monitoring.
This will save you from a lot of hassle but will cost you more money. The cost of a rented server usually depends on the number of players playing the game simultaneously. The higher the number of players, the higher will be the cost.
What Things You Should Consider When Hosting ARK on a Rented Server?
Here are some things you should consider when hosting ARK on a rented server.
- Bandwidth
- Uptime
- Location
- Security
Hosting a massive multiplayer game on a server can be a resource intensive task. That is why you need all the bandwidth to deliver a smoother gaming experience to players on a consistent basis. You don’t want them to experience downtime or even lags due to outages or performance slowdowns.
Location is another important consideration as the closer a server is located to your players the better their gaming experience would be. This allows you to deliver low latency and minimize delays. As a result, the players will have a smoother and more responsive gameplay. Don’t forget to inquire about security features such as DDoS protection when renting a server as the number of incidents targeting gaming servers is growing rapidly.
What Are the ARK System Requirements?
Here are the system requirements for hosting ARKSurvival Evolved.
- CPU: Intel Core i5 2400 or AMD FX 8320 or faster
- RAM: 8 GB RAM
- Storage: 60 GB free space or more
- Graphics: NVIDIA GTX 670 (2GB) or AMD Radeon HD 7870 or faster and Direct X 10 compatibility
- Operating system: Windows 7 or Windows 10 64 bit or Linux OS (Cent OS) 64 bit version
How To Create Your Own ARK Dedicated Server?
What if you don’t want to rent a server? What if you want to create your own ARK server? Here is a step by step process to create an ARK dedicated server.
- Connect to the server
If you are using a rented server, you will have to first establish a remote connection with it. You can easily do that through a control panel provided by the server provider. The process might vary from server provider to server provider. Check in with your server provider for more details. If you are using Windows, it will open a file called remote desktop connection to establish this remote connection with your rented server.
- Install SteamCMD
Steam CMD stands for Steam command line prompt, which is basically a console client. It is used to create, update, and install ARK servers. Here is a step by step process you can follow to install SteamCMD.
- Create a new folder called “SteamCMD” in the drive you want to install SteamCMD.
- Download SteamCMD from here
- Unzip the downloaded file in the folder you have just created
- Click the steamcmd.exe file to run\
- Type Quit and press Enter key when the file finish execution
- Install ARK Survival Evolved
Once you have downloaded and installed SteamCMD, the next step would be to download and install ARK Survival Evolved server files. Choose the partition you want to download your server files to. Make sure that the disk partition has at least 20 GB or more free space. Create a new folder named “ARK server” Next, run the steamcmd.exe file from the SteamCMD folder.
Type commands “login anonymous” and press enter key. Next, type the command, “app_update 376030 validate” Next, open the steamapps folder inside your SteamCMD folder. Open “common” Here you will find “ARK Survival Evolved Dedicated Server” when the installation process is complete.
- Configuring Firewall and Port Forwarding
To prevent the firewall from blocking players taking part in the game, you will have to first configure the firewall. Here is how to do it.
- Open firewall settings
- Select inbound rules and then new rules
- Choose port and hit next
- Select the TCP specific local port option and enter 27020
- Click Next to establish the connection
- Enter all the details in the dialog box that opens after it
- Now repeat the same process but select UDP instead of TCP
- In specific local port type 27015, 27016 and 7777
- Name the new setting as ARK Server UDP
To accept external connections, you will have to perform port forwarding. For this, you will have to visit your router’s configuration page. The process might vary from router provider to router provider so do check in with your router provider for more details. Open ports 27015, 27016 and 7777 for both UDP and TCP to let external players join the game.
- Start your ARK server
To start the ARK server, create a batch file inside the sub folder with path “ShooterGame\Binaries\Win64” and the content of the batch file must include the following
start ShooterGameServer.exe “TheIsland?SessionName=My ARK Server?ServerPassword=MyPasswort?ServerAdminPassword=MyPasswort?QueryPort=27015?Port=7777?listen”
Replace shooter game with your desired ARK server name. Enter your server password and server admin password by replacing MyPassword in the above command. Once the batch file is created, it is time to execute the file by double clicking on it. Wait for a few minutes as your server starts.
- Join the server
Once the server has started, now you should join it. Here is how to do it.
- Launch ARK Survival Evolved via Steam
- Choose Join Ark and apply the unofficial server filter
- Select your desired ARK server from the list and hit Join
How Much Does It Cost To Host an ARK Dedicated Server?
If you can host your server on your own, you don’t have to worry about costs as it is free. If you rent an ARK dedicated server, it can cost you anywhere from $12 to $120. The cost depends on various factors such as server performance and slot count.
Can I Transfer My Lost ARK Character To Another Server?
The character transfer option is not available at the time of writing which means that you can not transfer any of your character to another server. Characters only stored on the server you create them on.
How To Fix Lost ARK Cannot Connect To Server Error?
There are many ways to fix the “ARK can not connect” issue. Some of them are as follows:
- Restart the server
- Restart the game
- Restart the game launcher like Steam
- Turn off your VPN or proxy
- Check your network connection
- Flush out your DNS cache
- Use Google DNS server
- Update your network and graphic drivers
What Server Is Asmongold Playing Lost ARK?
According to reddit, Asmongold is using galatur on steam for playing lost ARK.
How Long Is Lost ARK Server Maintenance?
Maintenance of the Lost ARK server can take anywhere from 4 hours to 16 hours depending on the nature of the fault. This means that players can expect a downtime of a few hours everytime server is down for maintenance.
Did this guide help you to fix all the issues related to ARK dedicated server hosting? Let us know in the comments section below.
