Connecting to your ARK: Survival Ascended server on Hostd

Connect to your ARK: Survival Ascended server via the in-game Unofficial list or by favouriting your hostd.it address. First boot, passwords, and ports covered.

Connecting to your ARK: Survival Ascended server is done from the in-game server browser. There's no client-side IP entry box on the title screen the way Minecraft has one; ARK: SA wants you to go through Join ARK and pick the server from a list. The list is huge, but you've got two reliable ways to find yours.

Option 1: search by name in the Unofficial list

Launch ARK: Survival Ascended.
From the main menu, click Join ARK.
In the session filter, switch from Official to Unofficial.
Type your server's name (or part of it) into the search box.
Click your server when it appears, then Join.

This is the right route when you just want to log in and play. The session filter remembers your last choice, so future logins are usually one click on Join ARK.

Option 2: favourite by direct address

This is the faster route once you've connected once, and the only reliable route when the Unofficial list is busy and your server is slow to surface. Favouriting also survives ARK: SA's occasional browser hiccups.

In Join ARK, switch to the Favourites tab.
Click Add Server by IP.
Enter your server address as shown on your dashboard, using the form yourname.hostd.it:PORT with your actual subdomain and the game port we've assigned.
Save. The server appears in Favourites whether it's online or not, ready for one-click rejoin.

The address is on the Overview tab of your dashboard, including a copy button that gives you the full hostname:port string.

Setting a password

If you'd rather not have your server show up to strangers in the Unofficial list, set a server password. On your dashboard:

Open the Settings tab on your server.
Find the Server Password field and enter what you want.
Save and restart so the new value takes effect.

The same field also lives in the in-panel GameUserSettings.ini editor under the Files tab if you'd prefer to edit it there. Players are prompted for the password the first time they connect; share it via Discord, not via the server name.

About the ports

ARK: SA uses three ports per server, all assigned automatically and shown on the Overview tab:

Game port: the one players actually connect to.
Query port (game port +1): used by the server browser and stat sites to read your server's metadata. You don't connect to this; it just needs to be reachable, which it always is on Hostd.
RCON port (game port +2): the remote console. We expose this only to the dashboard, never to the public internet. Players can't see it and shouldn't ever need to.

Each server gets its own set of ports; if you buy a second one later it'll have a different set. Always copy the address from the dashboard.

First boot takes about 15 minutes

The first time your server starts, ARK: SA pulls game files through SteamCMD, initialises the Proton compatibility layer, downloads any mods you've selected, and loads the world. Realistic budget: around 15 minutes. The dashboard will show Provisioning during this, then flip to Online when the server is genuinely accepting connections (not just when the process is running). If you try to join during Provisioning, you'll get a "session not found" or similar; that's fine, just wait.

Subsequent restarts are much quicker, typically two to four minutes depending on mod count and map.

Crossplay: PC only, currently

ARK: SA servers on Hostd are PC only. The console editions of ARK: SA are on a separate service tier through Studio Wildcard, and we don't yet host crossplay-enabled servers. If that's your tribe's setup, get in touch and we'll talk through what's possible.

Where to go next

Picking your ARK: Survival Ascended server plan if you haven't ordered yet.
Connecting (non-Minecraft games) for the generic walkthrough across our other games.
ARK: SA server troubleshooting if you can't connect or first boot is misbehaving.

Last updated 2026-05-20. Notice a mistake? Tell us.