ARK Survival is a Studio Wildcard action-adventure survival video game with over 60,000 daily players and more than 10,000 servers. It was released on June 2, 2015, and since then, it has held a spot in the list of the most popular action-adventure survival games to date.
Playing with friends makes this game much better. Yes, it’s quite enjoyable spending endless hours in solo-player mode while testing your character’s ability to survive on ARK’s amazing islands. But playing with friends introduces a whole new level of fun. You can team up with each other against other hostile players, build unique bases, fight dinosaurs and explore prehistoric wildlife together. Of course, to really experience the beauty of this one-of-a-kind game to its fullest potential, having a high-performance ARK server hosting provider is a must.
Below is a list of things to consider in choosing a server hosting provider:
What platform will you be playing on?
First, you’ll need to look for a server hosting provider that supports hosting for your chosen gaming platform. You should take note that some hosts don’t support crossplay. This means that if you’re on Xbox, you can only join Xbox servers and play with other Xbox players. Some server hosting providers support crossplay, but they’re hard to find and may cost a little bit more.
Find the best server location
You must make a wise decision when choosing a location for your server, depending on your needs. For example, if you’re only looking to play with local friends, you can select a server location closest to you to get the lowest ping. Now, if you’re looking to build a sizable Ark gaming community, it’s best to look for a server location that will provide the lowest average ping for your player base.
There are dedicated server hosting providers out there that allow easy and quick server location changing whenever you need it. This is perfect for those who are planning to expand their server’s reach in the long run.
Slots
Most of the time, server hosting providers will provide you a lower price if you avail more slots for your rental, while some stick to a fixed price-per-slot. If you’re planning to market your server and anticipate a lot of growth in the near future, more player slots may do you more good in terms of budget. But if you’re only going to play with a handful of friends, going for the minimum number of slots won’t hurt. You can always add a few more when needed.
DLCS and Mods
DLCs, Mods, and Addons make gaming a lot more fun. Unfortunately, playing on just one map on Ark can become boring, especially when playing the game for hours. Luckily, there are server hosting providers out there that support quick DLC setups with easy-to-use DLC and mod managers. So with just a few clicks, you can jump out off The Island and explore The Center, Scorched Earth, and even Ragnarok.
Latency
Besides the server’s location, another factor contributing to your in-game latency or ping is your server’s network quality. To enjoy the game, you’ll want to choose a server host with the lowest ping. However, you can’t really determine how smooth the gameplay will be without being able to hop on the actual server.
Fortunately, there are server hosting providers that give their customers a chance to test out their servers risk-free. Ensure you rent a server from a provider known for high network speeds.
Control Panel
One of the most important things that a server host should have is a functional and easy-to-use control panel that even beginners can navigate through. The control panel will be your main tool in managing your server. It is where you’ll first configure your server and manage updates, admin powers, files, backups, mods, and whatnot. Therefore, it is advisable to look for a server hosting provider with a control panel that will make server management easier for you. There are providers with highly customizable control panels for more complex tasks, and some even offer mobile-friendly control panels perfect for server owners who are always on the go.
Conclusion
Hosting and managing a server isn’t as easy and fun as playing the game itself. To get it right, you’ll need to research and learn how a proper gaming server works and what it needs to run smoothly. All the things mentioned above are detrimental to the quality gaming experience of your friends, community, and yourself.