ARK: Survival Ascended Custom Maps – Server Guide

ARK: Survival Ascended Custom Maps – Introduction

ARK: Survival Ascended server hosting takes players across many breathtaking adventures. Through lush fields and sparkling rivers and up dangerous dinosaur-covered mountains. Throughout these adventures, The Island is a wonderful experience but often as with any game, you may want to explore other maps and even community-created maps. That’s where ARK: Survival Ascended custom maps and changing your map on your server come into play.

With the option to change maps, you can adjust your server between official maps, DLC maps, and even modded maps. These maps not only take you and your friends to new areas but it does so with brand-new dinosaurs and secrets to discover. To get started with installing a custom map to your ARK: Survival Ascended server, you can follow the steps below!

How to Install an ARK: Survival Ascended Custom Map

Before we begin with the steps, it’s important to know there are two types of custom maps you can set and explore on your server. Below, we will cover both types: DLC & custom maps!

ARK: SA DLC Maps

The first set are DLC maps. There are additional maps known as DLC that are canon and non-canon ARK maps released by Studio Wildcard. The non-canon DLC are more for epic adventures while the canon DLC maps will add exciting pieces of the story to ARK: SA. These DLC maps can be accessed via the “Mapname” dropdown at any time. As ARK: Survival Ascended releases DLCs in the future, each map will be added to this dropdown for selection. Afterward, simply save and restart your server to load that DLC map.

ARK: SA Custom Maps

The next set and arguably some of the most exciting maps to experience in ARK: Survival Ascended are custom maps or modded maps created by the community. These maps are the fruits and labors of the ARK community where they put in countless hours, days, weeks, and even months of hard work. To add these maps to your server, you can follow these steps:

1. To begin, head to your webinterface and stop your ARK: SA server.
2. Next, under “SETTINGS”, press the “CurseForge Mods” option.
   
3. In this area, find the ARK map mod you’d like to install. Search is a great tool here.
4. Once that map has been found, click it to install it and press “Save changes”.
   
   • When installing mods, only one map mod can be installed/supported on your server.
5. Afterward, back on your server webinterface under “SETTINGS”, press “General”.
6. There, under “Base Settings”, use the “Mapname” dropdown to select “Custom”.
   
7. Once selected, press “Save changes” and start your ARK server.
8. The map mod will then be installed. Once the server is online, restart once more.
9. Upon starting your server, the custom map name will populate your server settings.
   
   • If this doesn’t happen, you can also manually add the “Custom Mapname” into this field. That name can often be found directly on the mod’s CurseForge page, such as with the “Svartalfheim” custom map. Afterward, press “Save changes” and restart your server to load the map.

Finally, upon your server starting up, that map will be loaded and you can begin your custom map adventures on your very own ARK: Survival Ascended dedicated server!

IMPORTANT: Before adding these maps, it’s important to understand that once a custom map is installed, normal map backup restores will no longer function. However, if you utilize full server backups these will still work properly. While our team is working toward a solution in the future, in the meantime, please use the steps below if/when you need to restore a custom map backup to your ASA game server.

Restoring ARK: SA Custom Map Mod Backups

To manually restore an ARK: Survival Ascended custom map mod backup, you must first download the backup, edit it, and then it’ll be ready to restore to your server. In the steps below we’ll outline how to download and prepare a backup, and then how you can easily restore that backup and set your server to load it.

Downloading ARK Custom Map Mod Backups

As mentioned above, if you use a custom map mod your server’s backup restore functionality will not work. Thankfully, there is a manual workaround you can follow to easily grab your custom map backups and restore them on your server.

1. To begin, head on your ARK: SA server’s webinterface and stop your server.
2. Scroll down to the bottom and find your server’s “FTP Credentials”.
   
3. Then, follow our How to Use FTP guide to login with those credentials.
4. In your FTP, go to the location /arksa/ShooterGame/Saved/SavedArks/MAPNAME.
5. You can find your world backups here as GZ/zip files.
6. Next, create an empty backup folder on your computer for this ARK save game.
7. Grab the backup you wish to restore and drag-and-drop that to your PC’s folder.
   
8. On your PC, you can now find and extract that file.
   
9. After extracting that file, you’ll see a “MAPNAME_DATE.ark” file.
10. To finish preparing the backup, rename & remove the date from the file’s name:
    

You’re now ready for the next steps to upload that backup to your server!

Uploading ARK Custom Map Mod Save Files

1. If you haven’t already, stop your ASA server and login to your FTP.
2. Then, in your FTP go to the location /arksa/ShooterGame/Saved/.
3. From there, check to see if you already have the map .ark file there. In our example, since we’re uploading a “TheIsland” backup, we’ll need to check to see if there is a “TheIsland_WP.ark” file already present on the server.
   • Once you see that existing .ark save file on the server, you’ll need to delete this.
     
4. Next, on the left side of your FTP program, find the .ark backup you prepared.
5. Proceed to drag and drop that file from your PC to your server to upload it:
   
6. Once that is fully uploaded, head back to your ARK: SA server webinterface.
7. Then, to the left under “Settings”, press “General” to edit your server options.
   
8. Use the map options to set the correct map name.
   • If this is an official map, use the Mapname dropdown to select this.
   • If this is a map mod, use the “Mapname” dropdown to set “Custom” and set “Custom Mapname” to the name of the map you uploaded. For example, “Svartalfheim_WP” is the name for the custom map “Svartalfheim”.
9. Lastly, press “Save changes” and start your server to load that backup!

That custom map backup will now successfully load on your server!

ARK Maps & Recommendations

Official ARK: Survival Ascended Maps

This is a list of the official ARK: Survival Ascended maps & DLCs (canon & non-canon):

The Island (Canon)

The Island is the very first map to ever grace ARK, even going back to ARK: SE. It has become a staple and an amazing world to explore for players in the graphically enhanced ARK: Survival Ascended. Discover the beginning of the story of ASA as you cross its multiple climatic and geological regions, five mountains, and three large Obelisks in search of the secrets of this map!

Recommended Custom Maps for ARK: Survival Ascended

In this list, you’ll find custom maps we’ve fallen in love with during adventures in ARK: SA!:

Svartalfheim

Explore a 33km² landscape filled to the brim with mysteries in the ARK: Survival Ascended custom map Svartalfheim! This dwarven-inspired map contains exciting new resources to discover like pure Gold, Mithril, and more. In addition, you’ll meet brand-new Alpha dinosaur variants that offer better loot at higher quantities. If that wasn’t enough for this no-fly map (flyers do not spawn at all), more updates are coming in the future to bring mighty enemies like Dwarven Warriors and new custom dino variants!

FAQ for ARK SA Custom Maps

I set a custom map, but it isn’t loading on my ARK: SA server.

When this happens, it generally means the custom map name hasn’t been set accordingly on your server. While most custom maps will automatically be able to apply the custom map name to your server, in some cases you’ll need to set this manually.

For example, when setting the map to “Custom” and installing the map “Svartalfheim”, upon startup it should add “Svartalfheim_WP” to the “Custom Mapname” field. If it doesn’t, you can often find that name directly on the map’s CurseForge page and then add it manually like in the image below. Afterward, press “Save changes” and restart your server to properly load that custom map! *If there is no map name listed on the CurseForge page and a map mod refuses to load, we recommend contacting the mod developer to investigate and fix this.

What happens if I set my ASA server to a custom map that isn’t installed?

If your ARK: SA server is unable to find the custom map that is set, or if the map isn’t installed, your server will default back to The Island to ensure it can start. This ensures you can have an uninterrupted adventure even when a modded map isn’t working as intended.

Is there a way to see if an ARK: Survival Ascended map is loaded?

When setting up your ARK: Survival Ascended server with a custom map, it is important to know when the map is properly loaded. While this is displayed on your webinterface, there is also a way to see if the map has loaded by checking your server’s restart.log file. Inside this file, you’ll find log messages indicating whether a map has loaded or not. You can then follow the advise in these messages to get your map loaded correctly to your ASA server!

If the map loads correctly:

We found the following modded maps: “Svartalfheim_WP”. Please note that this list may be incomplete as some map mods do not specify the map(s) they provide. You can still select these maps if you specify the correct map name.You’ve selected a custom map but didn’t specify its name. We’ve selected “Svartalfheim_WP” for you.
If the map fails to load:

We couldn’t find any modded maps. This can occur for two reasons:   1. You’ve just selected the mods for the first time. As mods are only downloaded during the server run, they aren’t available yet. Restart the server to list the maps.   2. The map mod(s) you selected don’t indicate which map(s) they provide. This is something only the mod author can fix.
If the map loads, but hasn’t specified a map name:

You’ve selected a custom map but didn’t specify its name. Unfortunately, we couldn’t find any already downloaded maps containing a map. If this is the first start after adding the map mod, restart the server and we should be able to find it.We couldn’t determine the map you want to play, so we’re falling back to TheIsland.

My ASA server is refusing to start after adding a custom map.

When adding a custom map, it is possible that your server may not allow players to join afterward. You can tell this has happened if your server has started, but the CPU displays 0GB RAM usage or is below 1GB of RAM. Additionally, no query information will show even if you wait minutes after startup. This issue happens when the map your server is set to is invalid. For example, if you set a “Custom Mapname” and that map isn’t installed or isn’t loading correctly, your server can have this occur. If you face this issue, we recommend attempting to re-setup the custom map or to set the server to an official map/DLC instead. Then save and restart your server to begin your adventures with friends!

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