ARK: Survival Ascended Dedicated Server Requirements

ARK: Survival Ascended is an Unreal Engine 5 game, and its server loads the whole map into memory before the first player joins. That makes it one of the heaviest servers to host. Below are the figures the Flux plans are built on, and the ports the server needs.

Memory first

Measured on an empty The Island under Proton: about 11 GB of RAM in use before anyone joins. Tames, bases, more players and mods all add to it, which is why every plan starts at 16 GB and the bigger plans exist for big tribes and long mod lists.

Hardware by plan

PlanCPURAMStoragePrice
ARK 16GB (~10 players)4 vCores16 GB60 GB SSD$11.99/mo
ARK 20GB (~20 players)5 vCores20 GB70 GB SSD$13.99/mo
ARK 24GB (~40 players)6 vCores24 GB80 GB SSD$15.99/mo
Tip:The player figures are each plan's starting Max Players and a guide to what its memory carries comfortably, not a limit we enforce. You change Max Players in Deployment Settings.

Disk

The server install is about 12 GB, and mods are downloaded beside it. Saves are small by comparison but grow with every structure. The plans leave room for both, and for the backups the server keeps of its own save.

Ports

  • One UDP port for the game (7777 by default). ARK: Survival Ascended has no separate query port: the server registers with Epic Online Services, which is what the in-game list reads.
  • Optionally, one TCP port for RCON (27020 on the Flux marketplace app).

The port the server binds must be the port players reach. The server tells Epic Online Services the port it bound, so a router or host that maps a different outside port onto 7777 leaves the server listed on a port nobody can reach.

Running on Linux

There is no Linux build of the ARK: Survival Ascended server. Linux hosts, Flux included, run the Windows server under Proton inside a container. It works well, and it is why a first start takes a while: Proton prepares its prefix as well as the game installing.

Frequently asked questions

How much RAM does an ARK: Survival Ascended server need?

At least 16 GB. An empty The Island already uses around 11 GB under Proton, and tames, bases, players and mods add to that. Big tribes and long mod lists want 20 or 24 GB.

What ports does an ARK: Survival Ascended server use?

One UDP game port (7777 by default) and, if you use it, one TCP port for RCON. There is no Steam query port: the server is listed through Epic Online Services.

Is there a Linux ARK: Survival Ascended server?

No official one. Linux servers run the Windows server under Proton.

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