How To Upload Ark: Survival Evolved Saves to Your Server

How to Import ARK: Survival Evolved Saves – Introduction

In ARK, your adventures across the dino-covered maps will often feature epic battles, grand building of shelters & homes, and the ultimate in exploration. After years of having been released, you’ll likely have ended up putting in at least 10 to 100+ hours into your save files as you’ve adventured, getting the best gear, defeating the hardest bosses, and more. Therefore, when the time comes to upload ARK saves to share the world with friends and other players on an ARK server, it’s very important to know how to upload ARK saves to your server.

Thankfully, the ARK save import process is straightforward with there being multiple methods whether you’re importing a single-player save or official ARK: Survival Evolved server data. With an expertly designed server webinterface, you’ll be able to easily navigate server settings, files, mod installations, and more. In this guide, we will walk you through the processes to quickly import save data to your own server to continue your adventure where you left off!

Processes to Upload ARK Save Files

Manually Importing ARK Official Server Save Files

On the SurvivetheARK website, you can download legacy ARK Official Server save files. Upon downloading them, you can import them into your ARK game server using these steps:

1. Firstly, download the ARK Official Server saved file you wish to use and, using a program such as 7Zip, unzip that into an empty folder on your PC.
   
   • After unpacking those files, you should see a series of .arktribe and .arkprofile files, along with a .ark world save file.
     
2. Next, head to your ARK server webinterface and stop your server.
3. After, login to your Nitrado ARK server’s FTP using this FTP guide.
4. Once you’re logged in, head to this location on your ARK server: /arkse/ShooterGame/Saved/SavedArks/
5. Then, upload all of the “.ark”, “.arktribe”, and “.arkprofile” files from your local ARK files to your ARK:SE server in your FTP program.
   • It’s important to keep in mind that if that map already has existing ARK saves on your game server, you’ll need to backup and delete those map files before uploading the ARK official save files.
6. Once those have been uploaded, go back to your ARK:SE server.
7. To the left under “Settings”, press “General” to edit your server settings.
   
8. Then, locate the “Mapname” option and set this to the name of the map you imported.
   
9. Lastly, press “Save changes” and start your ARK server.

You will now be on the legacy official ARK server, where you can join as your previous character or start a new one and explore old player builds!

Single Player and Other ARK Servers – Save Files Import Process

Alongside ARK official server & dedicated server save files, you can also import your individual local, single-player, and other server save files to your Nitrado ARK server. To do this, you can follow these steps:

1. Access ARK on your computer and go to your game’s local files.
   1. On Steam, go to your game library, right-click ARK, go to “Properties…”, “Installed Files”, and then “Browse…”.
   2. On EpicGames, you can go to this location to find your ARK save files:/Program Files/Epic Games\ARKSurvivalEvolved/ShooterGame/Saved/SavedArksLocal
   3. If you happen to own a server with another hosting provider, you can find and download the files from the /ShooterGame/Saved/SavedARKs/ location in that server’s file browser.
2. Inside your ARK files, go to the location: /ARK/ShooterGame/Saved/
3. At this location, you can enter the folder for the map files you wish to import. For example, we’ll be opening and importin ARK Fjordur save files:
   
4. Next, stop your server and then login to your Nitrado ARK server’s FTP using this FTP guide.
5. After logging in, head to this location on your ARK server: /arkse/ShooterGame/Saved/SavedArks/
6. Here, upload the ARK saves including the “.ark”, “.arktribe”, and “.arkprofile” files from your local ARK files to your ARK:SE server in your FTP program.
   • It’s important to keep in mind that if that map already has existing save files on your game server, you’ll need to backup and delete those map files before uploading.
7. Once those have been uploaded, go back to your ARK server.
8. To the left under “Settings”, press “General”.
   
9. Then, locate the “Mapname” option and set this to the name of the map you imported.
   
10. Lastly, press “Save changes” and start your ARK server.

You’ll have successfully imported your local ARK:SE save files to your game server!

Common Issues while Uploading ARK Save Files

My ARK save data isn’t there when loading the server

When importing, every file needs to be transferred over properly to ensure you can continue where you left off. If this isn’t the case, you can spawn in a newly created world or into your existing world without your survivor’s data and dinosaurs. This can be frustrating to experience but thankfully, this simply means the import didn’t completely finish. To ensure you can enjoy the adventure you had previously on an official server, non-official server, or in single-player, we recommend re-following the steps above. During the import processes, allow the importing to entirely finish whether it’s the webinterface performing the import or a manual upload you’re doing in an FTP program. After everything has finished transferring to your server, you’ll then need to verify that the correct map is set to load that save. Finally, you can start your server and you’ll then be able to access and continue playing on your old ARK saves!

The ARK map isn’t changing after importing the save files

When it comes to uploading an ARK save, those save files are often based on a particular map. That could be the default The Island map, Aberration, Extinction, Genesis Part 1, or any other map for that matter. After performing a save file import, it’s necessary to ensure the correct map is set on your server to load that save data. If that isn’t set, your server will simply load the previously set world and will not load your world saves. To correct this, after importing your ARK:SE save files, verify that the Mapname setting on your server is changed. For example, if you uploaded an ARK Fjordur save, you’ll need to set the server to ARK Fjordur. Afterward, press “Save changes” and start your ARK server to load that map!

Experience ARK for Years to Come with Nitrado

Are you ready to dive into your ARK save and continue your adventure? Now that you know how to upload ARK saves, including those from official servers, existing dedicated servers, and single-player worlds, you’ll never have to worry about losing save progress. With that, you can bring along your friends on your own ARK server! Get ready to jump into the worlds you’ve been enjoying and keep playing across the wondrous dinosaur-covered landscapes of ARK: Survival Evolved server hosting for years to come!

Get ARK Server Hosting now!