ARK Survival Ascended Server Crashing? Causes and Fixes

Most ARK: Survival Ascended server crashes come from four things: the server running out of memory, a mod that is broken or not updated for the current patch, a server version that does not match the game, or a corrupted save. Open ShooterGame/Saved/Logs/ShooterGame.log, scroll to the last lines before the crash, and they usually tell you which one it is.

Quick fix

Restart the server once. Some crashes are one offs.
Make sure the server is up to date with the game.
If you just added or updated a mod, remove it and start again.
Think about memory. If crashes come after hours of uptime or when the server gets busy, it needs more RAM.
Still crashing? Restore the last backup from before the problem started.

Where are the ARK server crash logs?

File	What it holds
`ShooterGame/Saved/Logs/ShooterGame.log`	The current log. Read the last 50 lines after a crash
`ShooterGame/Saved/Logs/` (older files)	Logs from previous runs, with a date in the name
`ShooterGame/Saved/Crashes/`	Crash reports, when the engine manages to write one

Search the log for these words, from the bottom up: Fatal, Error, Out of memory, Failed to load, Mod. The last error before the log stops is the one that matters. Errors near the top of a log that ends normally are usually harmless.

On a GamezServers server, the Console tab shows the same output live, and the log files are in the Files tab under ShooterGame/Saved/Logs/.

Crash cause 1: not enough RAM

Survival Ascended is one of the heaviest game servers there is. The Island idles at around 8 to 10 GB of memory with nobody online, and every base, tame and mod adds to it. When the server reaches its memory limit it does not slow down gracefully, it gets killed.

Signs it is memory:

The crash happens after the server has been up for hours, or when several players log in.
The log simply stops, with no error at the end.
Memory use climbs steadily before each crash.
It started after your tribe went on a breeding spree.

Fixes:

Restart on a schedule. Memory creeps up over a long uptime. A daily restart at a quiet hour resets it.
Clean up dinos. Hundreds of babies and old breeding stock cost real memory. Cull what nobody uses.
Wipe wild dinos if the map has been running a long time: DestroyWildDinos respawns them fresh.
Give it more RAM. Our plans start at 12 GB for exactly this reason, with 16 GB as the comfortable size for most tribes and 24 GB for heavy mod lists. See how much RAM a game server needs.

Crash cause 2: a broken or outdated mod

If the server crashes on startup, mods are the first suspect, especially right after a game patch. A mod built for the previous version can crash the server the moment it loads.

How to find the bad one:

Back up the server.
Remove every mod ID and start. If it starts cleanly, a mod is the cause.
Add the mods back a few at a time, newest first, restarting each time.
When it crashes again, the last batch holds the culprit.

Then check the mod's CurseForge page for an update, or leave it out until one arrives. Also double check every ID is a CurseForge Project ID and the list has no spaces. Our ARK mods guide covers the format.

Keep in mind that removing a mod deletes anything it added to the world. Back up before the test, and restore afterwards if you end up keeping the mod.

Crash cause 3: outdated server or version mismatch

Studio Wildcard patches Survival Ascended often. When the game updates and the server does not, players cannot join, and in some cases the server crashes loading data it does not understand, especially with mods updated for the new version.

Self hosters update with SteamCMD:

steamcmd +login anonymous +app_update 2430930 validate +quit

The validate part also repairs damaged server files, which on its own fixes a surprising number of crashes. On GamezServers, the server updates itself on every restart while Update on restart is on, so a restart is the update.

Crash cause 4: a corrupted save

If the server crashes while loading the world, with errors about the save or the map in the last log lines, the save file may be damaged. This can happen when the server is killed mid save, for example during a power cut or an out of memory crash.

World saves live in:

ShooterGame/Saved/SavedArks/<MapName>/

for example SavedArks/TheIsland_WP/. The folder holds the main .ark file plus older copies with a date and time in the name.

To recover:

Stop the server and copy the whole map folder somewhere safe.
Move the current .ark file out of the folder.
Rename the most recent dated copy to the main file name, for example TheIsland_WP.ark.
Start the server and check the world.

You lose whatever happened since that copy, but you keep the server. On GamezServers, restoring one of your 3 one click backups does the same thing faster.

Other crash causes

What you see	Likely cause	Fix
Crash on start after changing the map	Map name typo, or a mod map without its mod ID	Use the exact name, like `TheIsland_WP`, and add the mod ID for mod maps
Crash on start after editing an ini	Broken line or header in GameUserSettings.ini or Game.ini	Restore the file from a backup, then redo the change carefully
Crash when a certain area loads	A huge base or a pile of dropped items there	Clean the area up as admin, or reduce structures
Crash when one player joins	Corrupt player or tribe data	Check the log for their ID, restore from backup if needed
Crash every few hours at the same time	A scheduled task or save under memory pressure	Check memory and the timing of your restarts

How to stop crashes coming back

Back up before every change. Mods, ini edits and game patches cause most crashes, and a backup taken right before turns a crash into a two minute fix.
Change one thing at a time. Adding five mods and editing two ini files at once makes the culprit impossible to find.
Watch memory as your world grows. Crashes from RAM come gradually. Upgrade before players notice.
Save before planned restarts. Run SaveWorld first so nothing is lost.

On a GamezServers ARK server, Save world and Backup are panel buttons, and you can move to a bigger plan any time, prorated, if your world outgrows its memory. Support is 24/7 at support@gamezservers.com if the logs do not make sense.

FAQ

Why does my ARK server crash on startup?

Usually a mod not updated for the latest patch, a typo in the map name, or a broken ini file. Read the last lines of ShooterGame.log to see which.

Why does my ARK server crash after a few hours?

That pattern points to memory. The server grows as players play, hits its limit and gets killed. Restart daily and make sure the plan has enough RAM.

Will a crash delete my ARK world?

Rarely. ARK keeps dated copies of the save and autosaves every 15 minutes by default, so at worst you roll back to a recent copy.

Should I turn off BattlEye if the server crashes?

Only as a test. BattlEye is rarely the cause. If turning it off fixes the crash, turn it back on after the next game update and check again.

How do I know if it is the server or my game crashing?

If everyone drops at the same moment and the server goes offline, it is the server. If only you crash and others keep playing, it is your game client.

Run ARK without the firefighting

A hosted server updates itself on restart, keeps 3 backups a click away and gives you room to grow. See ARK: Survival Ascended hosting, or our best server settings once things are stable.