ARK: Survival Ascended — Console Commands Full Guide
ASA carries forward the ARK console-command system with some renames and a stricter admin-auth flow. This guide covers opening the console, enabling cheats, the most-used commands, performance/FPS tweaks, and the dino-management commands you'll actually use as a server admin.
Step 1: Open the Console
| Platform | Hotkey |
|---|---|
| PC | ~ (tilde, top-left of keyboard) |
| Xbox | RB + LB + Y + X simultaneously |
| PS5 | R1 + L1 + Triangle + Square simultaneously |
If the console doesn't open, you haven't enabled it server-side — see Step 3.
Step 2: Authenticate as Admin (Multiplayer Servers)
Single-player saves give you cheat access by default. Multiplayer servers require:
- Open the console.
- Type
EnableCheats <your_admin_password>and press Enter. - You'll see a confirmation. Cheats are now active for your session.
Step 3: Enabling Console on a Dedicated Server
Self-hosted servers may have console access disabled by default. To allow it:
- Stop the dedicated server.
- In
GameUserSettings.ini, setEnableCheatProtection=trueand defineServerAdminPassword=<strong_password>. - Restart the server.
- Connect, open console, run
EnableCheats <password>.
Most-Used Admin Commands
| Command | Effect |
|---|---|
fly / walk | Toggle no-clip flight. Useful for scouting builds and rescuing dinos. |
ghost | Walk through walls and terrain. |
god | Invincibility (still drowns and drops to fall damage in some cases — InfiniteStats is more reliable). |
InfiniteStats | Infinite hunger, thirst, stamina, oxygen, weight, and health. |
GiveItemNum <id> <qty> <quality> <blueprint 0/1> | Spawn item by numeric ID. |
SetPlayerPos x y z | Teleport to coordinates. |
ShowMyAdminManager | Open the in-game admin panel UI. |
BanPlayer <playerName> / KickPlayer <id> | Moderation. |
Dino Management Commands
| Command | Effect |
|---|---|
ForceTame | Aim at a dino, run command — instantly tamed and rideable without saddle. |
GMSummon "<Blueprint>" <level> | Spawn a tamed dino at the specified level. |
Summon <Blueprint> | Spawn a wild dino at your reticle. |
DestroyWildDinos | Wipe ALL wild dinos on the map. They respawn over the next ~10 minutes — useful after a mod change. |
DestroyMyTarget | Delete whatever you're looking at. |
DoTame | Tame the dino at your reticle through normal taming progression. |
RefillStats | Fully heal/feed the dino you're riding. |
FPS & Performance Commands
ASA's UE5 build is heavy. Two console commands help on weaker hardware:
r.VolumetricCloud 0— disable volumetric clouds, the single biggest GPU saver.r.LumenScene.Radiance.HardwareRayTracing 0— disable hardware Lumen ray tracing.r.SkyAtmosphere 0— disable atmospheric scattering (simpler skybox).stat fps— show the FPS counter to verify the change actually helped.
For broader options see UE5 performance guide.
Common Mistakes
- "Cheats don't work after I authenticate" — re-authenticate every session; cheats reset on disconnect.
- "DestroyWildDinos didn't wipe my server" — it only affects the cell you're loaded into. Use it across rapid teleports if you need a full-map wipe, or run from the server console.
- "GMSummon spawns a wild dino" — quote the blueprint path. Without quotes, ASA's parser falls back to
Summon. - "ForceTame freezes the game" — known intermittent issue with very high-level dinos. Use
DoTameinstead.
Master your server. Host an ASA server with Supercraft and run admin commands from a clean web panel.