Editing ARK: Survival Evolved Server Settings

Why Tweak the Defaults

ARK: Survival Evolved ships with a balanced set of defaults, but most server owners want to dial in their own experience sooner or later. Faster taming, longer days, slower decay, higher XP gain, all of these knobs sit in a single configuration file. Finding and editing that file is not always obvious for first-time admins. This walkthrough shows how to locate it on the HolyHosting panel, change existing values, and add new settings that ARK does not include out of the box.

Finding the Configuration File

The settings live in `GameUserSettings.ini`, accessible directly from your server panel. To open it:

1. Log into the HolyHosting control panel and stop your server. Editing while the server is live can lead to overwrites at the next shutdown.
2. From the panel sidebar, open the configuration files section.
3. Click on GameUserSettings.ini.
4. The file opens in the in-panel editor, listing every default setting available for tweaking.

Editing What is Already There

With the file open, you can rewrite any value you want. A full list of options and what each one does is available on the official ARK server wiki.

Before touching anything, a quick reminder on formatting. The file is strict about syntax: removing the `=` sign or writing `true` or `false` in lowercase will silently break the setting or the whole file. Keep the original capitalization and structure intact.

To change a value already present:

1. Use the editor search to find the setting, for example `DayCycleSpeedScale`.
2. Replace the number or boolean after the `=` with your preferred value.
3. Click Save at the top of the editor.
4. Restart the server so the change loads.

Adding Settings That Are Not There

Plenty of useful options are not included in the default file. `TamingSpeedMultiplier`, for instance, controls how fast dinos can be tamed and is undefined out of the box. To add it:

1. Inside `GameUserSettings.ini`, scroll to the `[ServerSettings]` section.
2. Press Enter at the end of any line under that header to create a new one.
3. Paste the new option, for example: `TamingSpeedMultiplier=2.0`.
4. Adjust the number on the right of the `=` to fit your preferred pace.
5. Save the file, then restart the server.

The same procedure works for any setting documented on the ARK wiki that is not already in your file. You can stack as many custom values as you like under `[ServerSettings]`, one per line.

Final Notes

Once you understand where the file lives and how the syntax works, ARK server tuning becomes a quick job instead of a fishing expedition. Maintain the format, test changes one at a time when you can, and keep a copy of the file before large edits in case a value misbehaves. From there, the difficulty curve of your server is entirely yours to shape.

Useful References

• Official ARK server configuration wiki
• Server settings generator tools
• How to set up server admins