Troubleshooting and common solutions (Windows) – ARK: Survival Ascended

We want to get you back into the game as fast as possible, and while Customer Support agents are here to help, there is a lot you can try on your own first. Follow the steps below to troubleshoot technical problems.

Are you experiencing fatal errors / crashes?

Game crashes can happen for a lot of reasons related to both hardware and software. Take a look at the list of possible fixes below.

Check your system requirements

	Minimum	Recommended
OS	Windows 10/11 with updates	Windows 10/11 with updates
Processor	AMD Ryzen 5 2600X, Intel Core i7-6800K	AMD Ryzen 5 3600X, Intel i5-10600K
Memory	16 GB RAM	32 GB RAM
Graphics	AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT, NVIDIA GeForce 1080	AMD Radeon RX 6800, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080
DirectX	Version 12	Version 12
Network	Broadband Internet connection	Broadband Internet connection
Storage	70 GB available space	70 GB available space
Additional Notes	SSD Required	SSD Required

Update your drivers

Outdated drivers are also a common reason ARK might crash. Unfortunately, it’s outside the scope of this guide to personally connect you with each of the many unique drivers used by your hardware. You will have to visit the support websites of each manufacturer for the latest driver updates.

How to disable all non-essential processes:

1. Press key + R
2. Type “msconfig” into the text bar (without quotation marks)
3. Click on the Services tab
4. Check “Hide all Microsoft services” so you don't accidentally disable a key process
5. Click the Disable All button
6. Click on the Apply button
7. Click on the OK button
8. Restart your computer

Perform a “clean boot” of your system

Sometimes, other applications can cause ARK to crash. You can exit or disable those applications and see if this resolves the issue with crashing. Alternatively, you should try performing a clean boot.

How to perform a clean boot

Verify Integrity of Game Files

If you are missing textures or other content in game or experiencing crashing while playing a game, you can have Steam verify that the game's files are installed correctly on the computer.

Restart your computer and launch Steam
Next, you can either right click the game in your Library, or click the gear icon from the game's Library page on the far right
From the drop down menu, select Properties...
Select the Installed Files tab and click the Verify integrity of game files button
Steam will verify the game's files - this process may take several minutes

Important: One or more files may fail to verify.

This is normal for most Steam games. The files that fail to verify are local configuration files that should not be replaced as part of this process. You can safely ignore this message.

Warning:

Do not run the verification process while performing other system-intensive processes, such as defragmenting your hard drive or scanning for viruses.

Do not run this process for multiple games at the same time.

Reinstall ARK Survival Ascended:

A clean removal and reinstallation can solve a lot of problems.

FOR WINDOWS:

Press the Windows Start button in the corner of your screen
Click the Settings gear button
Click into the Apps > Apps & Features pane
Uninstall ARK Survival Ascended
Go to your Steam games folder and delete the ARK Survival Ascended folder (The default location is "E:\Steam\steamapps\common")
Restart your computer.
Redownload the game

Are you experiencing connection issues?

Here are a few common troubleshooting steps you can try.

Switch to a wired connection

Wireless connections tend to be difficult to troubleshoot due to potential interference from the environment and other signals. We recommend switching to a wired connection.

Do not use proxies or vpn connections

Please make sure that you are not using a VPN or a Proxy to connect to an ARK server, as they can cause a number of connection issues.

Update your network drivers

Outdated network drivers can lead to a connectivity issues.