Mods are most of the reason to run your own ARK: Survival Ascended server, and they are also the first thing that breaks one. ASA moved modding off the Steam Workshop and onto CurseForge, which changed how a server loads mods, how it updates them, and how it fails. This guide covers the whole loop — finding IDs, installing, load order, what mods actually cost in memory, and the errors you will hit — for both a rented server and a self-hosted one.
In Survival Evolved, mods came from the Steam Workshop and the server pulled them through Steam. ASA uses CurseForge instead, and the mechanism is simpler than people expect: you give the server a list of numeric project IDs, and on startup the server downloads those mods itself before the world loads. Clients then pull the matching files when they connect.
Three consequences worth internalising before you start:
Open the mod on CurseForge and look for the Project ID in the sidebar. It is a plain number, and it is the only thing the server needs — not the mod name, not the URL, not the file name. Collect the IDs for every mod you want before touching the server, because you are going to enter them as one comma-separated list.
While you are there, check the mod's ARK version compatibility and when it was last updated. A mod that has not been touched since several ASA patches ago is a liability on a server other people rely on.
There are two places the list can go, and on most hosts you only need the first.
Managed servers expose a Mods or Active Mods field. Paste your comma-separated IDs — 123456,234567,345678, no spaces — save, and restart. The server downloads everything on the way up. On GGameHost this is a panel field and a restart button; there is no command line involved.
Self-hosted, or on a host that exposes the raw command line, the same list goes on the launch command as -mods=123456,234567. Some setups also mirror it as ActiveMods= in GameUserSettings.ini. If your host offers both, set the command-line one — it is what the server actually reads at launch, and a stale ActiveMods line left behind in the config is a classic source of "why is that mod still loading".
Mods load in the order you list them, and later entries override earlier ones where they touch the same thing. That makes the order a real setting rather than a formality.
The convention that causes the fewest arguments: put total-conversion and map mods first, then structure and building mods, then creature and item mods, and finally small quality-of-life tweaks that you want to win any conflict. If two mods fight over the same feature and you cannot work out which is which, move one to the end of the list and restart — that is faster than reading both descriptions.
This is the part that decides whether your server is fun in three weeks' time. Every mod adds content the server has to keep in memory, and creature and structure mods add things it has to simulate.
| Setup | Players | RAM | Plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vanilla, one map | 2–8 | 8 GB | Starter |
| A handful of QoL and structure mods | 6–15 | 12 GB | Plus |
| Long mod list, creature packs, big builds | 15+ | 16 GB | Pro |
| Plan | RAM · vCPU | Price/mo |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | 8 GB · 3 vCPU | $24.99 |
| Plus (popular) | 12 GB · 4 vCPU | $36.99 |
| Pro | 16 GB · 4 vCPU | $48.99 |
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Clock speed deserves a mention too. ARK's simulation leans on a small number of fast threads, so a modded server with a lot of tamed creatures and structures is limited by how quick those cores are rather than by how many exist. Adding memory to a CPU-bound server changes nothing.
Rather than a list that will be stale in a month, judge by category — and check the download count and last-updated date on CurseForge before committing:
A practical rule for a public server: add mods one at a time, restart, and play for an evening before adding the next. A server with twenty mods added in one sitting is one you cannot debug.
Mods update on their own schedule, and your server picks up new versions when it restarts. That is convenient right up until an update changes something your tribe depends on.
The safe routine: take a backup before any restart that will pull mod updates, and especially before an ARK patch, since mods usually need their own update afterwards and there is often a gap of hours or days. If a mod update does break something, having yesterday's world means the worst case is losing a session rather than a base. Scheduled backups are included on every GGameHost plan and you can download a copy to your own machine.
Removing a mod removes everything it added. Structures it provided vanish, creatures it added disappear, and items from it are gone from inventories — permanently, once the world saves in that state.
Before you take one out: back up, warn your players, and give them time to move anything valuable out of modded storage into vanilla containers. Then remove the ID from the list and restart. If the result is worse than expected, the backup is the only route back, which is why the order matters.
CurseForge. ASA does not use the Steam Workshop, which is the single biggest difference from Survival Evolved and the reason most old guides do not apply.
No. Clients download what the server is running when they connect. They only need to let the download finish before joining.
It is about weight, not count. Ten light quality-of-life mods cost less than two large creature packs. Watch memory use and tick performance rather than the number in the list.
12 GB is the realistic figure for a modded server with a normal group; 16 GB once the mod list is long or the community is public. 8 GB is a vanilla plan.
Adding is generally safe. Removing is not — anything the mod added disappears with it. Back up first, every time.
Starting from scratch? Our ARK dedicated server setup guide walks through a clean build before you add a single mod.