ARK Ascended mods on a server via CurseForge

To add mods to an ARK: Survival Ascended dedicated server, find each mod's numeric CurseForge project ID, add them to the launch line as -mods=id1,id2,id3, and restart. The server downloads the mods from CurseForge itself during startup, and players who join are given the same mods automatically - nobody has to subscribe to anything or copy files by hand. That is the whole mechanism, and it is a real improvement over Survival Evolved and its Steam Workshop. What still goes wrong is everything around it: the wrong ID, a mod that has not been updated after a patch, two mods fighting over the same structure, and a mod removed from a live save that takes half a base with it.

The base server setup - install, ports, launch line - is in the ARK: Survival Ascended setup guide. This post is only about mods.

How mods work on Ascended#

Mods for Ascended are published on CurseForge, and every mod is a CurseForge project with a numeric project ID. The server is given a list of those IDs. At startup it asks CurseForge for each one, downloads anything missing or out of date, and loads them. A connecting client compares its own mod list with the server's and downloads whatever it lacks before it loads in.

Three consequences of that design are worth knowing before you add the first mod:

• The server needs outbound internet access to CurseForge at startup. If CurseForge is unreachable or slow, the start stalls or mods fail to download. The log says so, eventually.
• The first start after a mod change is slow, and so is everyone's first join. The server downloads the mod, then every client does. Change mods before an evening, not during one.
• Mods are cross-platform by design. Ascended's mod support was built so that console players can use mods too, which means a modded server is not automatically a PC-only server. Whether a particular mod is available on every platform is up to the mod and its approval, so check the mod page if console players are in your group.

There is also no allow list on the server side. Any mod in the -mods list is loaded; any mod not in it is not. A player cannot bring a mod the server does not run.

Finding a mod's project ID#

The project ID is a number, not the mod's name and not its URL slug. On the mod's CurseForge page it is shown in the About Project panel at the side, labelled Project ID. Copy that number.

Keep a small text file that maps each ID to the mod's name and the reason you installed it. Six months from now, -mods=928793,929420,931874 will mean nothing to you, and the person who inherits the server will thank you.

Adding mods to the launch line#

The mod list is a launch argument. It comes after the query string, separated by a space, with IDs separated by commas and no spaces between them:

TheIsland_WP?listen?SessionName=Longship?Port=7777?QueryPort=27015 -mods=928793,929420,931874 -log

On a panel-based host the launch line is built from fields on the Startup tab, and there is usually a dedicated field for the mod list. Paste the comma-separated IDs there.

The steps, in order:

1. Take a backup of the save. A mod is a change to the world as soon as anybody uses it.
2. Stop the server cleanly.
3. Add the new ID to the end of the list.
4. Start the server and watch the log until the mod has downloaded and the server is accepting players.
5. Join, check the mod is present, and play with it for an evening before adding another.

Some builds also read an ActiveMods= line in GameUserSettings.ini. Use one method, not both. The launch argument is the one that is documented and the one that panels expose, so that is the one to rely on.

Load order

The order of IDs in the list is the load order. It only matters when two mods change the same thing - the same structure, the same creature, the same loot table - and in that case one of them wins. Which way round it works is not something you should guess at; the authors of large mods usually say on their page whether their mod should be loaded first or last, and that instruction is worth more than any general rule. If two mods conflict and neither says, try them in both orders on a test save and keep the one that behaves. Mod load order explained covers the idea across games.

Map mods#

Custom maps are mods too. Running one takes two changes rather than one:

1. Add the map mod's project ID to -mods=.
2. Replace the map name at the start of the launch line with the map's own level name.

The level name is not the mod name. The mod page normally gives the exact string to use - Ascended map names follow the _WP convention of the official maps, but a custom map may not. Get it wrong and the server either fails to start or falls back to a default map, which is easy to miss if you are only watching the console for errors.

A map mod is the biggest kind of mod. It is a whole world, and the first download is large for the server and for every player. A custom map also comes with its own performance profile; some are lighter than The Island and some are far heavier. Before you commit a community to one, run it for a few evenings and watch memory across the session.

Configuring mods#

Most mods that have settings read them from the server's own ini files, in a section named after the mod. Typically that is a section in GameUserSettings.ini, sometimes in Game.ini. The mod page or its documentation gives the section name and the keys.

[ServerSettings]XPMultiplier=2.0[SomeModName]SomeSetting=TrueAnotherSetting=50

The same rules apply as for the game's own settings, covered in the ARK GameUserSettings.ini and Game.ini guide: stop the server before editing, because a clean shutdown rewrites GameUserSettings.ini; spell keys exactly, because a typo is silently ignored; and put the section in the file the mod expects. Some mods also accept configuration in game through an admin menu, which writes back to the ini.

A mod that changes a value the game also controls - stack sizes, structure limits, taming - usually wins over the server setting. If a vanilla setting stops working after you add a mod, that is the first thing to check.

Which mods cost memory and CPU#

Not all mods are equal. A handful of categories account for almost every modded server that runs out of memory.

The pattern is that a mod's cost is mostly what players do with it, not the mod itself. A structure pack costs nothing on the day you install it. Three months later, when everyone has a castle, it costs several gigabytes. Budget for that at the start; how much RAM an ARK server needs has the baseline to add it to.

Popular quality-of-life mods on Ascended include spyglass mods such as Awesome Spyglass!, structure and storage overhauls such as Cybers Structures QoL+ and Utilities Plus, and death-recovery mods. Names and availability change; check that a mod is maintained and recently updated before you build a server around it.

Updating mods without breaking the server#

Mods update independently of the game, and the game updates break mods. Those two facts define a modded server's maintenance.

When the server starts, it fetches the current version of each mod. A restart is therefore also a mod update, whether you meant it to be or not. Clients get the new version when they next join.

The dangerous day is a game patch. Wildcard ships an update, the server updates, and every mod that touches what changed may fail to load or crash the server until its author ships a fix. Some mods are fixed in hours; some take days; some are abandoned. The defensive routine:

1. Do not let a modded server update the game automatically on patch day. Update it deliberately, after checking that your important mods have been updated for the new version.
2. Take a backup before every game update and before every mod change.
3. If a mod is broken and the author has not fixed it, decide whether you can run without it for a few days. For an interface mod, usually yes. For a structure pack that half the bases are built from, no - keep the server on the old build if you can, or close it until the fix lands.

What to do when a mod update breaks is the general procedure for that morning, and keeping a modded server clean covers the habits that make it rarer.

Removing a mod from a live save#

Removing a mod is the most destructive thing you can do to an ARK server short of deleting it. Everything the mod defined - structures, items, creatures - is stored in the save as a reference to the mod. Take the mod away and the references point at nothing:

• Structures from the mod vanish, and anything resting on them may collapse.
• Items from the mod disappear from inventories and storage.
• Creatures from the mod are removed.
• In bad cases, the save fails to load at all.

If you must remove a mod:

1. Announce it, with a date, so people can move their things out of modded storage and off modded foundations.
2. Take a backup immediately before, and confirm the backup restores. Testing a restore before you need it explains how.
3. Remove the ID from -mods=, start the server, and check the log and the world.
4. If the save does not load, restore and plan the removal for a wipe instead.

Some mods ship a removal or cleanup command that deletes their content properly before uninstalling. If a mod has one, use it. Most do not.

Mods in a cluster#

Every map in a cluster should run the same mod list in the same order. An item or creature from a mod that the destination map does not load does not survive the transfer. Where one map needs a mod that the others do not - a map mod, for example - Ascended can load a mod's data without its content on the other servers through a passive mod list (-passivemods=), which keeps that mod's items intact across transfers. Behaviour has shifted with updates, so test a transfer after every change. ARK clusters and cross-server transfers has the rest.

Running modded ARK on a panel#

On RE:NODE, the mod list goes into the launch arguments on the Startup tab, and the server downloads mods from CurseForge itself, so there is nothing to upload. Mod ini settings are edited in the in-browser file manager or over SFTP. The console shows the download progress live, which is the quickest way to tell a slow first start from a stuck one. Backup slots come with every plan, which covers the before-every-change backup this post keeps asking for. RE:NODE does not run a mod allow list or a one-click mod installer - you choose the mods. ARK does not have its own catalogue line, so see the game server list for current options.

Troubleshooting modded servers#

The server starts but a mod is missing. Wrong ID (a file ID instead of the project ID), a typo in the list, or a space after a comma. Check the log for the download line for that ID.

Startup sits for minutes with no output. Mod downloads. Give it ten minutes on the first start after a change. If it never moves, remove the newest ID and start again.

The server crashes on start after a game update. A mod that has not been updated for the new build. Remove mods one at a time, starting with the most recently updated, until it starts.

Players are stuck downloading when they join. A large mod, often a map. It is a one-time cost per version. If it fails repeatedly, the player can try clearing their local mod cache.

A vanilla setting stopped working. A mod is overriding it. Check the mod's own settings.

Half a base disappeared overnight. A mod was removed or failed to load, so its structures were dropped. Stop the server and restore the last backup taken before the change, before anybody plays on the damaged world.

FAQ#

Do players need to install ARK mods manually to join a server?

No. Ascended downloads the server's mod list to the client automatically when they connect. It takes a while the first time, and again after each mod update.

Where do I find an ARK mod's ID?

On the mod's CurseForge page, in the About Project panel, labelled Project ID. It is a number. The file IDs on the Files tab are versions, not projects, and will not work.

Can I add a mod to an existing world?

Yes, adding is almost always safe. It is removing a mod that damages saves. Take a backup first anyway, because a broken mod can still crash the server.

How many mods can an ARK server run?

There is no fixed number. The practical limit is memory, startup time and how many things can break on patch day. Twenty well-maintained mods is a lot; forty is asking for a bad week after every update.

Do console players get the mods too?

Ascended's mod system is cross-platform, so in principle yes. Individual mods may not be available on every platform; check the mod page before you add one to a server with console players.