ARK INI Configuration Guide: GameUserSettings and Game.ini Explained

Configure your ARK server with the complete guide to GameUserSettings.ini and Game.ini — taming rates, XP multipliers, harvesting, and engram overrides.

1. 01

   Understand the Two Config Files

   ARK uses two INI files for server configuration. GameUserSettings.ini controls most gameplay settings — taming speed, XP rates, harvest amounts, day/night cycle, and player stats. Game.ini controls advanced overrides — engram points per level, specific dino spawn weights, crafting recipe overrides, and per-level stat multipliers. Both files are in the ShooterGame/Saved/Config/LinuxServer/ directory, editable through the MANAfuel File Manager.

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2. 02

   Adjust Core Multipliers

   The most impactful settings in GameUserSettings.ini are the rate multipliers. TamingSpeedMultiplier (default 1.0 — most community servers use 3.0 to 10.0), XPMultiplier (2.0 to 5.0 is common), HarvestAmountMultiplier (2.0 to 5.0), and MatingIntervalMultiplier (lower is faster — 0.1 makes breeding very fast). These go under the [ServerSettings] section. Start conservative and adjust based on community feedback.

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3. 03

   Configure Day and Night Cycle

   Control time with DayTimeSpeedScale (higher = faster days) and NightTimeSpeedScale (higher = faster nights). Most servers speed up nights since visibility is limited: DayTimeSpeedScale=1.0 and NightTimeSpeedScale=3.0 is a popular combination. DayCycleSpeedScale controls the overall cycle speed — default 1.0, but some servers set it to 0.5 for longer days.

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4. 04

   Set Player and Dino Stats

   In GameUserSettings.ini, control max stats with PerLevelStatsMultiplier_Player and PerLevelStatsMultiplier_DinoTamed arrays. Each stat (Health, Stamina, Weight, Melee, etc.) has its own index. For boosted servers, increasing Weight and Melee by 2x to 3x reduces grind without breaking balance. Game.ini allows even finer control with per-level overrides and stat caps.

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5. 05

   Manage Engrams and Crafting

   Game.ini controls engram availability with OverrideNamedEngramEntries. You can auto-unlock specific engrams at certain levels, disable engrams you do not want on your server, or modify engram point costs. For PvE servers, auto-unlocking essential engrams (campfire, forge, mortar) at level 1 improves the new player experience. This is the most complex configuration area — change one entry at a time and test.

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6. 06

   Apply and Test Changes

   Save your INI changes in the File Manager and restart the server. ARK reads INI files on startup — there is no hot-reload. Verify changes by joining the server and checking the rates display in the pause menu (if you enabled ShowFloatingDamageText=True) or by taming a dino and confirming the speed matches your TamingSpeedMultiplier. Bob detects INI syntax errors on startup and flags them before they cause silent failures.