3 Important Factors to Consider while Choosing ARK Server Hosting Provider

by Neeta · October 19, 2018

For beginners, playing ARK with friends usually starts with having a non-dedicated server for just opening a single-player world. If you fall in this category, a PC with good specs should be your basic need in order to maintain performance and you should tolerate the restrictions the need players to maintain a particular distance from each other. Another thing you should know that your friends can play only when you are playing.

Another alternative is to have a dedicated server on your own computer and play on the same machine or a spare computer. But this will often give you a poor performance and ruin your gaming experience. If playing PvP ARK is your passion, giving the other tribe a benefit will be the last thing you want to do. If you are looking for running an ARK server, make sure your CPU and RAM are compatible enough. You should be also confident about handling .bat files as well as port forwarding. If you wish that your friends should join the server even if you’re not playing, you’ll need to keep your PC on so that the server will continue running.

The most sought after alternative is shared game server hosting when you want easy multiplayer ARK gaming. This allows you a larger, shared server on rent. It’s comparatively cheap, extremely easy to set up and you can benefit from a high-performance, established network. Here are some tips to choose just the right ARK server hosting with which you can customize the server to your personal gameplay style with all the required features and eliminate the ones that you don’t need.

1. Choosing the Platform

Obviously the first step in selecting an ARK server host is to choose a company that provides game hosting on the platform you play ARK on. This is because unless Crossplay isn’t supported globally, you cannot just play ARK on one platform and join a server that’s meant for another. Thus, if you play ARK on PS4, you can’t play on a server for Xbox or PC (and vice versa). The catch here is that servers need to particularly allow the crossplay option and not many hosting services offer the ability to change it. All in all, the first thing you should do is to check which platforms are supported.

2. Choosing the Location

If you want your friends to join your game, choosing a server location will be easy because most, though not all, hosting services list the locations of their servers. Begin by checking the game server hosts with infrastructure in your area. Here your aim should be a great gaming experience with minimum lag and the cheapest server host may not provide the finest experience. E.g. if you live in Australia and find a cheap ARK server host in the US, the high ping may ruin your experience. Hence, for a private ARK server just for you and your friends, a host with a comparatively nearby location is a good choice.

If you want to play with people across the world, a centrally located ARK server hosting will help decrease lag and provide fun for everyone.

3. Finding Slots

The quantity of slots you select for your ARK server will decide the number of people that can join. Typically more number of slots will increase the price, but a lower price per slot. You should choose the number of slots as per the type of server you want. For those, who just want fun, casual servers for 10 or fewer people are sufficient. If you are fortunate, you may find a local game server host with no limitation or a minimum 10 to 15 slots. But with most providers, the minimum ARK server packages have at least 30 slots. In any case, take a closer look. Several companies provide great deals with their basic ARK package providing more slots but for about the same cost.