How to Add Mods to an ARK: Survival Ascended Server

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ARK: Survival Ascended mods come from CurseForge, not the Steam Workshop. A dedicated server loads them from a list of CurseForge project IDs, downloads them itself when it starts, and sends them to every player who joins, on PC, PS5 and Xbox. Players never install server mods by hand.

How mods work on an ARK: Survival Ascended server

  • The server reads its mods from the -mods= launch option: CurseForge project IDs separated by commas, for example -mods=927090,877752 for Wildcard's Winter Wonderland and Fear Ascended event mods.
  • Every mod's CurseForge page lists its project ID. Steam Workshop IDs from ARK: Survival Evolved do not work.
  • Load order is list order. A map or total conversion mod has to be first.
  • The server downloads new mods and mod updates when it starts, so a restart is what brings in an update.

Adding mods from the Command Center

On a Survival Servers server you never type the launch option yourself:

  1. Open your server in the Command Center, find Mod ID(s) and open the CurseForge mod browser.
  2. Search for a mod by name, or paste its project ID. The categories on the left narrow the list to maps, creatures, structures and so on.
  3. Select the mods you want, then open Manage Order and use the arrows to put them in order. A map mod goes first.
  4. Close the mod browser and click Save Settings & Restart in the bar at the bottom. It downloads the mods on start.
CurseForge mod browser for an ARK: Survival Ascended server in the Survival Servers Command Center
The CurseForge mod browser in the Command Center, searching for structure mods.

The panel takes up to 40 mod IDs.

Mods and PS5 or Xbox players

Console players can only load mods that are approved for crossplay. Before you add a mod to a server with PS5 or Xbox players, check the platforms on its CurseForge page. One PC-only mod on a crossplay server stops the server from starting at all.

Paid mods are bought per platform. A player who bought a paid mod on PC still has to buy it on PS5 or Xbox to use it there.

More on console players and crossplay settings: ARK: Survival Ascended crossplay servers.

The server will not start after adding mods

Remove the mod you added last, save and restart. If the server starts, that mod is the problem: it may not be updated for the current game version yet, or it may need another mod loaded before it.

If a mod will not download or update, tick Clean Mods Folder under ONE TIME TOGGLES on your server's page and restart. The server downloads every mod again from CurseForge.

After a big game update, a mod its author has not updated yet can stop the server from starting. Take it off the list until the author releases an update.

Removing a mod

Take the mod's ID out of the list, save and restart. Anything the mod added to the world, creatures, structures and items, is gone from the save once the server starts without it, so take a backup first.

Questions

Can I use Steam Workshop mods on ARK
Survival Ascended?
No. ARK: Survival Ascended only loads mods from CurseForge.
Do my players have to install the mods?
No. The game downloads the server's mods when a player joins, on every platform.
Why can't my PS5 friends join my modded server?
One of the mods is PC only, and a PC-only mod stops a crossplay server from starting. Remove mods one at a time until it starts, and check each mod's platforms on CurseForge before adding it back.
Do mods update by themselves?
The server fetches the newest version of each mod when it starts. Restart the server to bring in an update.

See also

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