This guide covers how to configure the GameUserSettings.ini and Game.ini files for your ARK: Survival Ascended server hosted with Legion Hosting.
Stop your server before editing configuration files. Always stop your server from the GPanel Console tab before editing any
.ini files. ARK can overwrite files on shutdown, so changes made while the server is running may be lost.
Overview of Configuration Files
ARK: Survival Ascended uses two primary configuration files to control server behaviour. Both are found inside the ShooterGame/Saved/Config/WindowsServer/ directory on your server.
| File | Purpose |
|---|---|
GameUserSettings.ini |
Core server settings — session name, passwords, player count, rates, crossplay, BattleEye, and more. This file is created on first server start. |
Game.ini |
Advanced gameplay overrides — engram points, stat scaling, item stack sizes, custom NPC spawns. Must be exactly Game.ini (case-sensitive). Create manually if it does not exist. |
Game.ini may not exist by default. If the file is not present, create it manually in the GPanel file editor. The filename must be exactly
Game.ini with capital G and I — game.ini or GAME.INI will not work.
Step 1 — Access the File Manager in GPanel
- Log in to GPanel.
- Select your ARK: Survival Ascended server from the server list.
- If the server is running, click Stop on the Console tab and wait for the status to change to Offline.
- Click the Files tab to open the file manager.
- Navigate to
ShooterGame/Saved/Config/WindowsServer/. You will findGameUserSettings.inihere once the server has started at least once. IfGame.iniis not present, you will create it manually in Step 3.
Step 2 — Configure GameUserSettings.ini
Click GameUserSettings.ini in the file manager to open it in the inline editor. The file is divided into sections — the most important ones for server configuration are [SessionSettings] and [ServerSettings].
Key Settings in [SessionSettings]
| Setting | Example Value | Description |
|---|---|---|
SessionName |
My Legion Server |
The name that appears in the in-game server browser. Keep it unique so players can find it easily. |
QueryPort |
7778 |
The query port used by the server browser. Must match the port assigned in GPanel. Defaults to game port + 1. |
Key Settings in [ServerSettings]
| Setting | Example Value | Description |
|---|---|---|
ServerPassword |
mypassword |
Password required for players to join. Leave empty for a public server. |
ServerAdminPassword |
adminpass123 |
Admin password used to authenticate in-game admin commands. Keep this private. |
MaxPlayers |
20 |
Maximum number of simultaneous players. Should match your plan's player slot limit. |
XPMultiplier |
2.0 |
Multiplier for XP gained. 1.0 is default, 2.0 doubles XP gain. |
TamingSpeedMultiplier |
3.0 |
Multiplier for taming speed. Higher values speed up taming. |
HarvestAmountMultiplier |
2.0 |
Multiplier for resources gathered per harvest action. |
DifficultyOffset |
1.0 |
Controls creature level distribution. Set to 1.0 for max wild levels on official-style settings. |
OverrideOfficialDifficulty |
5.0 |
Sets the maximum wild dino level when DifficultyOffset=1.0. A value of 5.0 allows levels up to 150. |
AllowCrateSpawnsOnTopOfStructures |
True |
Allows supply drops to land on player structures. Recommended for PvE servers. |
EnablePvPGamma |
True |
Allows players to adjust gamma in PvP. Disable for a more competitive experience. |
A minimal example of a configured GameUserSettings.ini section:
[SessionSettings]
SessionName=My Legion Server
QueryPort=7778
[ServerSettings]
ServerPassword=
ServerAdminPassword=adminpass123
MaxPlayers=20
XPMultiplier=2.0
TamingSpeedMultiplier=3.0
HarvestAmountMultiplier=2.0
DifficultyOffset=1.0
OverrideOfficialDifficulty=5.0Step 3 — Create and Configure Game.ini
Creating Game.ini
Game.ini must be created manually by the user if it does not already exist. Navigate to ShooterGame/Saved/Config/WindowsServer/ in the GPanel file manager. If Game.ini is not listed, create a new file with the exact name Game.ini (capital G and capital I — game.ini or GAME.INI will not work).
Start the file with the following header — all Game.ini settings go under this single section:
[/script/shootergame.shootergamemode]Editing Game.ini
Game.ini uses a section-based format. The most common section for server customisation is [/script/shootergame.shootergamemode]. Settings are added one per line within the appropriate section.
Common Game.ini customisations:
[/script/shootergame.shootergamemode]
; Engram points per level (one entry per level, starting at level 1)
OverridePlayerLevelEngramPoints=8
OverridePlayerLevelEngramPoints=8
OverridePlayerLevelEngramPoints=8
; Increase max XP required per level (one entry per level)
LevelExperienceRampOverrides=(...)
; Custom harvest amounts per resource
ResourceItemReplacementClasses=(...)
; Disable specific engrams
EngramEntryAutoUnlocks=(EngramClassName="EngramEntry_TurretGun_Rocket_C",LevelToAutoUnlock=0)| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
OverridePlayerLevelEngramPoints=N |
Sets engram points awarded at each level. Add one line per player level. Use this to grant more engrams per level-up. |
MaxCustomNodes=N |
Controls maximum custom spawn nodes. Relevant for advanced modded spawn configurations. |
EngramEntryAutoUnlocks=(...) |
Forces specific engrams to auto-unlock at a defined level, useful for giving all players access to certain items without spending points. |
ConfigOverrideItemMaxQuantity=(...) |
Overrides maximum stack sizes for specific items. |
Tip: The
[/script/shootergame.shootergamemode] section heading must be present exactly once in Game.ini. If you add it a second time, only the last occurrence will be used. Add all your settings under the single heading.
Query Port Configuration
The query port is separate from the game port and is used exclusively by the server browser (Steam/Epic) to list your server. If the query port is wrong or unreachable, your server will not appear in the browser even if it is running correctly.
| Port | Default | Configured in | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| Game Port | 7777 |
GPanel Startup / Network tab | Players connect through this port to join the server |
| Query Port | 7778 |
GameUserSettings.ini — QueryPort under [SessionSettings] |
Server browser polling — must match the port allocated in GPanel |
The query port must match GPanel. The
QueryPort value in GameUserSettings.ini must exactly match the query port shown in your GPanel Network tab. Legion Hosting pre-assigns both ports when your server is created — check the Network tab for your specific values before editing the .ini file. Do not assume the defaults of 7777/7778 apply to your server.
Applying Changes
- Save your edited
.inifile using the Save button in the GPanel file editor. - Return to the Console tab.
- Click Start to start the server. GPanel will load your updated configuration on startup.
- Monitor the console output for any errors. Configuration mistakes such as invalid values or duplicate section headers will often produce warnings in the startup log.
Always edit config files while the server is stopped. Editing
GameUserSettings.ini or Game.ini while the server is stopped and then starting the server is sufficient. Do not try to hot-reload config files while the server is running — ARK does not support live config reloading for most settings.
Troubleshooting
Game.ini does not exist or settings are not being read
Game.iniis not created automatically. If the file does not exist, create it manually in the GPanel file editor insideShooterGame/Saved/Config/WindowsServer/.- The filename is case-sensitive. It must be exactly
Game.ini— notgame.ini,GAME.INI, or any other variation. - Ensure the file contains the
[/script/shootergame.shootergamemode]header as the first line, and that this header appears only once.
Settings in Game.ini or GameUserSettings.ini are not being applied
- Confirm the server was fully stopped before you edited the file. If the server was running, it may have overwritten your changes on its next shutdown.
- Check that the section header (e.g.
[ServerSettings]or[/script/shootergame.shootergamemode]) appears exactly once in the file. Duplicate section headers will cause the later settings to override the earlier ones, or be ignored entirely depending on the parser. - After saving the file, restart the server completely from GPanel before testing.
- Verify the file is in the correct directory:
ShooterGame/Saved/Config/WindowsServer/. Files placed in the wrong location are silently ignored.
Server not appearing in the server browser after configuring settings
- Confirm the
QueryPortinGameUserSettings.inimatches the port listed in GPanel's Network tab exactly. - The server browser can take 5–10 minutes to index a newly started or reconfigured server. Try a direct connect with
open IP:GAMEPORTin the ASA in-game console to verify the server is reachable while the browser catches up. - If crossplay is enabled, players must uncheck platform-lock filters in the server browser. See the connection guide for details.
