How To Save In ARK: Survival Evolved

Saving in ARK isn’t just about protecting your progress in the world. There are many different things that players might want to keep, including characters and server backups.

In addition, there are multiple ways to save you might want to consider, especially if you’ve reached a point in ARK where losing your progress would be an inconvenience. 

About Saving in ARK

There isn’t a traditional save button in ARK. You have to use admin commands to save the game in most cases, including on the console. This won’t be available to all players – only those who have admin access to use console commands. 

You can save your character or move it to another server. You can change how often a server you admin saves the world. You can save single-player worlds very easily. However, if you’re playing on multiplayer and aren’t the admin, you don’t have many options. 

How to Save in ARK

ARK saves the game as you go, and you don’t generally need to save. However, knowing how to back up the world can give you peace of mind once you’ve built a new structure or tamed a problematic creature. 

How Do I Manually Save in ARK?

Saving manually in ARK means using console commands to save the world. As soon as you enter the command, the save file will be updated regardless of whether or not it was time to save again according to the server configuration. 

How to Save ARK on PC

1. Log into ARK. You must be in the world where you want to save your game.
2. Press TAB to open the console.
3. Type “admincheat saveworld” without quotes.
4. Press Enter.

Now your save file on the computer or server will be updated. Remember that unless you back up the actual file on your computer, it will be overwritten the next time the server saves automatically. 

How to Save ARK on Mobile

Saving ARK on mobile is a little different than saving on other devices. You have multiple save files, including your current save, a cloud data save, and backups.

1. Choose Options.
2. Select Manage Save Data.
3. Choose a slot where you want to save your information.
4. Tape Save on the slot where you want to back up your world.

You can see each of the available slots in this menu. To save in a space that is already taken will overwrite the file you have there. That means that you won’t be able to re-access it unless that data is backed up elsewhere. 

How to Save ARK on Xbox

1. Log into ARK on your Xbox.
2. Press the right bumper, left bumper, X and Y together to open the console. 
3. Type “admincheat saveworld” without quotes.
4. Choose Finish.

Your Xbox game file will be updated. As you continue to play on Xbox, that save will be overwritten depending on how often your server saves the file. 

How to Save ARK on Playstation

The ARK console on PlayStation can be accessed through the main menu.

1. Log onto ARK on the PlayStation. 
2. Switch to the main menu. 
3. Type “admincheat saveworld” without quotes.
4. Press Finish. 

Your PlayStation game file will be updated. If you don’t have admin permissions on your PlayStation server, you won’t be able to save manually. 

How to Save Your World in ARK

Saving your world in ARK Survival is what you’re doing when you use the admincheat saveworld command. However, if you want to save the world file, you have to do a little more work.

You should save the world in-game and close the game before beginning.

1. Open the ARK files on your hard drive.
   If you’re using Steam, you can find them by right-clicking on ARK, choosing Properties, and then clicking the Local Files tab. Choose Browse Local Files to have the folder open.
2. Open the ShooterGame folder.
3. Open the Saved folder.
4. Right-click on the save folder with the name of the map you want to save.
5. Choose Copy.
6. Open a folder where you want to store your backups.
7. Right-click in the empty space.
8. Click Paste.
9. Repeat this for any other maps you want to save.

You should be able to use these files to restore the world when you last saved. Remember to update your save when needed. Every time you want to create a new backup, you’d have to repeat these steps.

Don’t move the files without copying them first unless you want to remove ARK’s ability to access your game. 

How to Save Settings in ARK

After you’ve updated your settings in ARK, the best way to save them is to change them, exit the game, go back into the game, and check to see whether the settings have been saved. There isn’t a manual save option, and many players – especially on console – have faced difficulties changing their settings.

Some users say that opening and then exiting the world after changing the settings helped fix it. You might have to fiddle with it a little to find a method that works for you until the issue is addressed. 

Can You Save Your Character in ARK?

Saving your character in ARK is a process called Character Data Transmission. You do this at an Obelisk or Beacon where supply crates drop. 

Once you’ve completed this process, your character data will be backed up. 

1. Load in on the character you want to save.
2. Travel to a place where you can upload your character data. Look for a Beacon or Obelisk.
3. Walk to the console under the Beacon or Obelisk and click on it.
4. Look for the Transmit ARK Data button.
5. Press the button.
6. Click Upload Survivor Data.
7. Exit the server even if it requests that you make another character. If you prefer, you can also make a new character, but your old one is now uploaded.
8. Move to the new server you want to use the character on. 
9. Click Download ARK Survivor. 
10. Click the character you want to load in.
11. Click Download ARK Character. You’ll be loaded into the server.

Remember, you can only have one character on each server. If you try to load into a map with another character, the first one will be deleted.

Also, you can’t transfer your PVE character to a PVP server and vice versa. 

How to Save Your Password in ARK

Unfortunately, there isn’t a way yet to save a server connect password on an ARK account. You still have to type in your password each time you access a server.

How to Quicksave ARK

You can’t quicksave ARK. You can only save with the saveworld command. 

How to Revert a Save in ARK

To revert a save in ARK, move the files you saved to back up your ARK world back into the active game folder. Then just log into the game like normal. 

How to Force Save in ARK

You use the save command for an ARK server to force save. There isn’t another way to do it. 

The ARK server you play on will back up according to the server settings. 

If you’re the admin on the server, open your configuration files and change the AutoSavePeriodMinutes option. 

1. Open the Configuration.ini file on your server.
2. Search for AutoSavePeriodMinutes= in the file.
3. Type a number after the equals sign. That number is how often in minutes the server will save the world.
4. Save the file and then open the game, and it should update at the interval you set. 

What Is the Save Command for an ARK Server

The save command for an ARK server is simply admincheat saveworld. You have to type it into the console menu. Make sure you have cheats enabled if you’re playing on a server.

If you don’t have access to cheat commands, you can’t save the server. Ask an admin to back it up as needed. 

How to Load a Save in ARK

Since the game backs up your map automatically as you play, loading a save is as simple as logging into the game – as long as you have the correct files in your ShooterGame and Saved folders. 

If you don’t have those files in the folders and want to load a different save, remove the current save, replace the files with the ones you backed up, and follow the steps below to load it.

1. Launch ARK.
2. Click Host/Local.
3. Choose the map you want to play on. Each map will have a file next to it showing that you have saved data from that particular world.

It should launch the game and put you back where you were last. 

What Is Tidy Save in ARK Mobile?

Tidy save is a way for mobile players to save a little storage space when they back up ARK. It essentially wipes all the dinosaurs that aren’t in render distance or tamed. Some spawns are also removed. It shouldn’t affect anything owned by your or your tribe, and it will make your save file smaller and easier to store. 

You can also use it to force the game to spawn new dinosaurs on your map.