How to add mods to your ARK Survival Ascended server

ARK: Survival Ascended mods come from CurseForge, and they work on PC, PlayStation and Xbox alike. Install them from Mods in one tap, or add their project IDs by hand. Your friends don’t install anything: the game downloads the server’s mods when they join.

How ARK mods work

• CurseForge only. ARK: Survival Ascended doesn’t use the Steam Workshop. Every mod is a CurseForge project with a number, its project ID.
• The server downloads them. It reads the list of project IDs when it starts, then downloads and updates the mods from CurseForge. You never upload mod files.
• Players get them on join. On PC, PlayStation and Xbox, the game downloads the server’s mods when a player joins. The first join with a big mod list takes a while.
• Some mods cost money. See premium mods.

Install a mod from Mods

1. Open Mods in the panel.
2. Search for the mod, or browse.
3. Tap Install. We make a backup of your world first and add any mods it needs.
4. Restart the server. It downloads the mod as it starts, so this start takes longer.
5. Join and check that the mod works.

Add a mod by hand

You can also add a mod with its project ID.

1. Find the mod on CurseForge.
2. Copy its project ID, a number shown on the mod’s CurseForge page.
3. In the panel, add the ID to the mod list in Settings.
4. Restart the server.

The panel puts your list on the server’s start line as -mods= with the IDs separated by commas, like -mods=111111,222222. The server downloads the files into ShooterGame/Binaries/Win64/ShooterGame/Mods. Leave that folder to the server.

If a mod needs another mod, its CurseForge page says so. Add that one’s ID as well. Some mods also ask to be in a certain place in the list. Follow what the mod page says.

Mod maps

Some mods add a whole new map. Add the mod as usual, then pick its map in Settings. The mod page gives the map’s name. Each map keeps its own save, so your old world is still there if you switch back.

Premium mods

Some CurseForge mods for ARK are paid. These are called premium mods.

• Each player buys their own. A player who joins a server with a premium mod can buy it in the game, or on the mod’s CurseForge page.
• Purchases stay on one platform. A mod bought on PC doesn’t work on PlayStation or Xbox, and the other way round.
• Ask your group first. If one friend doesn’t want to pay, they can’t play on a server that uses the mod.

Mod updates

ARK checks CurseForge for newer versions every time the server starts, and installs them. That’s different from most games on Wilderack, where mods only change when you say so.

When a mod author publishes an update while your server is running, players may get the new version before the server does. If friends suddenly can’t join, restart the server. The Daily restart with warnings preset in Schedules keeps mods fresh.

After a big game update, some mods break until their authors update them. If the server won’t start after an update, look in Console for the mod it stopped on.

Turn a mod off or remove it

1. Open Mods and remove the mod. We make a backup first.
2. Restart the server.

ARK also has a start option called -passivemods=. It switches off what a mod does, but still loads its data. You can add it under Settings > Startup, with the IDs separated by commas.

If things go wrong, restore the backup from Backups. See backups.