ARK Server Settings and Rates: GameUserSettings.ini and Game.ini (Taming, XP, Breeding)

ARK: Survival Evolved has a reputation for being endlessly tweakable, and it is earned. Between taming rates, breeding intervals, stat curves, and hundreds of toggles, the same base game can be a brutal vanilla grind or a weekend-friendly boosted server. This guide covers the settings owners change most, including server rates for taming, XP, harvesting and breeding, and, critically, which file each one belongs in.

For first boot and connecting, see Getting started with your ARK: Survival Evolved server.

This guide covers ARK: Survival Evolved

ARK: Survival Ascended is a separate game whose dedicated server does not run on Linux natively, so the LinuxServer config paths below are specific to ARK: Survival Evolved.

The Two-File Split (Read This First)

ARK splits its configuration across two files, and putting a setting in the wrong one is the single most common mistake:

• GameUserSettings.ini holds most server settings under a [ServerSettings] section: rates, server name, password, PvP/PvE, and so on.
• Game.ini holds the advanced multipliers under [/script/shootergame.shootergamemode]: anything to do with breeding, imprinting, per-level stats, and XP caps.

Multipliers in the wrong file are silently ignored

If you paste breeding or stat multipliers into GameUserSettings.ini, they are silently ignored and your rates stay on official values no matter how many zeros you add.

Both files live in ShooterGame/Saved/Config/LinuxServer/. Edit them in the File Manager on your hosted ARK: Survival Evolved server, and always stop the server first, or it overwrites your changes on shutdown.

Key Settings in GameUserSettings.ini

These go under the [ServerSettings] header:

A common boosted-but-balanced starting point is 2x to 5x on XP, taming, and harvesting. Pure vanilla is 1x across the board.

Key Settings in Game.ini

These go under [/script/shootergame.shootergamemode] and are the ones that do not work in GameUserSettings.ini:

[/script/shootergame.shootergamemode]
MatingIntervalMultiplier=0.1
EggHatchSpeedMultiplier=25.0
BabyMatureSpeedMultiplier=25.0
BabyCuddleIntervalMultiplier=0.1
BabyImprintAmountMultiplier=3.0
OverrideMaxExperiencePointsPlayer=545000
OverrideMaxExperiencePointsDino=545000

Lower MatingIntervalMultiplier means dinos can breed again sooner. Higher EggHatchSpeedMultiplier and BabyMatureSpeedMultiplier shorten the long raising process, which is the single biggest quality-of-life change for breeding servers. Lowering BabyCuddleIntervalMultiplier makes imprinting achievable without sitting on the server all day.

Server Rates: Taming, XP, Harvest and Breeding

"Rates" are multipliers, and 1.0 is the base game value for every one of them. The most common mistake is putting a key in the wrong file, where the server ignores it without any warning. Here's where each rate goes:

The GameUserSettings.ini keys go under [ServerSettings], and the Game.ini keys under [/script/shootergame.shootergamemode]. Both files are in ShooterGame/Saved/Config/LinuxServer/.

What are official ARK rates right now?

ASE official servers read their rates from a public file, http://arkdedicated.com/dynamicconfig.ini, which Wildcard changes for events. On 28 September 2026 it read:

TamingSpeedMultiplier=2.0
HarvestAmountMultiplier=2.0
XPMultiplier=2.0
MatingIntervalMultiplier=0.5
BabyMatureSpeedMultiplier=2.0
EggHatchSpeedMultiplier=2.0
BabyCuddleIntervalMultiplier=0.6
BabyImprintAmountMultiplier=2.0
HexagonRewardMultiplier=2.0
DisableWorldBuffs=MATINGINTERVAL_DOWN_HARD,MATINGINTERVAL_DOWN_MEDIUM,MATINGINTERVAL_DOWN_EASY,BABYMATURE_BOON_EASY,BABYMATURE_BOON_MEDIUM,BABYMATURE_BOON_HARD

To copy those rates by hand, split them across the two files:

[ServerSettings]
TamingSpeedMultiplier=2.0
HarvestAmountMultiplier=2.0
XPMultiplier=2.0

[/script/shootergame.shootergamemode]
MatingIntervalMultiplier=0.5
BabyMatureSpeedMultiplier=2.0
EggHatchSpeedMultiplier=2.0
BabyCuddleIntervalMultiplier=0.6
BabyImprintAmountMultiplier=2.0

The official file also sets HexagonRewardMultiplier (Genesis hexagon rewards) and a DisableWorldBuffs line, which isn't a rate. The wiki doesn't document either as a Game.ini key, so they're left out of the manual copy above. -UseDynamicConfig, covered next, applies HexagonRewardMultiplier anyway.

Stop the server before you edit either file. ARK writes its config when it shuts down, so a running server overwrites your changes.

Follow official rates automatically on your server

If you'd rather track official rates as they change, let the server read the same file official servers use. In the panel, open Startup and add this to Additional Arguments (dash-prefixed flags, separated by spaces):

-UseDynamicConfig

With no CustomDynamicConfigUrl set, the server falls back to the official dynamic config. It checks the file every time the world saves. It only changes the keys the file contains, so anything you've set that isn't in the file stays as it is. To use your own schedule instead, host your own dynamicconfig.ini and set CustomDynamicConfigUrl="http://..." under [ServerSettings]. It has to be plain HTTP, because HTTPS isn't supported.

That's how the official wiki describes -UseDynamicConfig. We haven't tested it on one of our ARK servers yet, so after the next world save, check that the rates have changed, and contact support if they haven't.

After Changing Creature Settings

Any time you change difficulty, spawn rates, or creature mods, run cheat DestroyWildDinos from the admin console. It wipes all wild creatures so they respawn under the new settings. It only affects wild dinos, never tames. Without it, your existing wild population keeps the old levels until they naturally despawn.

Recommended Approach

ARK's two ini files are large, and editing by hand is error-prone. Many owners build their config with an online ARK ini generator, then paste the output into the matching file.

Work in small increments

Change a few settings at a time and test, rather than rewriting everything at once.

What to Read Next

• How to Add Admins and Commands
• How to Install Mods
• Getting started with your ARK: Survival Evolved server

Made with 💜 by GameServerKings