There's nothing better than hopping into an ARK: Survival Evolved session with a friend in the same room, no laggy public servers or random trolls ruining your base building plans. If you've been searching for how play ark lan on 2 pc, you're in the right place. I've tested this setup dozens of times over the years, from rainy weekend sessions with my roommate to cross-country trips where we only had access to a local Wi-Fi network, and these steps work every single time. You don't need any fancy technical skills or paid software to get it running, either.
What You Need Before You Learn How to Play ARK LAN on 2 PCs
Before you dive into the setup process, there are a few key things you need to have sorted to avoid running into issues halfway through. Same game version is non-negotiable for both PCs, even a small hotfix mismatch will prevent you from connecting. If you plan to use mods, both players need to have the exact same mods installed in the exact same load order too. Gather the items on this list first, and you'll cut your setup time in half:
- Two fully updated copies of ARK: Survival Evolved (matching version numbers, no mod mismatches if using custom content)
- Both PCs connected to the same local network, either via ethernet to the same router or the same Wi-Fi network (ethernet is recommended for lower lag)
- Administrator access on both PCs to adjust firewall settings if connection blocks pop up
- No active VPN running on either device, as VPNs often interfere with local network detection
It's also a good idea to close any unnecessary background apps on both PCs before you start. Apps that use a lot of RAM or network bandwidth can cause performance issues even if your setup is otherwise perfect. I've had sessions lag horribly because the host was running a cloud backup in the background, so double-checking your taskbar only takes a few seconds and saves a lot of frustration later.
Step-by-Step Setup for Your ARK LAN Server
Once you have all your prerequisites sorted, the actual setup takes less than 5 minutes for most people. Start with the PC you want to use as the host, which will run the local server for both of you. Open ARK, select the "Host/Local" option from the main menu, adjust your server settings to your preferred playstyle (taming speed, harvest rates, dino spawn rates, etc.), then toggle "LAN Mode" on and turn "Show in Server List" off before clicking "Host". Give the server 1 to 2 minutes to fully load in, especially if you're running a lot of mods.
Once the host is loaded into the game, grab the second PC and open ARK. Select "Join ARK" from the main menu, then change the server filter from the default "Official Servers" to "LAN" using the dropdown in the top left corner. Wait 10 to 15 seconds for the network to detect the local server, and it should pop up in the list. Click join, and you'll be loaded into the same world as the host. Avoid running other bandwidth-heavy apps on the host PC while playing, like 4K streaming or large file downloads, as this will cause lag for both players.
If you want to switch who hosts later, just make sure you transfer the save file from the original host to the new host's ARK save folder first. That way you don't have to start all over from scratch if you want to switch devices for your next session. The save file is usually located in your Steam folder under Steam\steamapps\common\ARK\ShooterGame\Saved\SavedArksLocal.
Fixing Common ARK LAN Connection Issues Between 2 PCs
Even if you follow all the steps perfectly, you might run into small connection issues now and then, most of which take 2 minutes or less to fix. The most common issue is the host's firewall blocking ARK from communicating over the local network. To fix this, open Windows Defender Firewall on the host PC, select "Allow an app through firewall", find ARK in the list, and make sure both private and public network boxes are checked. Restart the server after making this change, and it should show up in the LAN list.
If the server still doesn't show up, you can use direct IP connect to skip the server list detection. On the host PC, open Command Prompt, type "ipconfig", and find the IPv4 address listed under your active network connection. It will usually look something like 192.168.1.xx. On the second PC, go to the "Join ARK" menu, click the "Direct Connect" button, and paste that IPv4 address followed by ":27015" (the default ARK server port) to connect directly. If you get a mod mismatch error when joining, unsubscribing and resubscribing to conflicting mods on both PCs will almost always fix the problem.
Random disconnections mid-session are almost always caused by a weak Wi-Fi signal. If this happens a lot, try moving both PCs closer to the router, or switch to wired ethernet connections if possible. I've also found that restarting your router before you start playing cuts down on random connection drops significantly, especially if you haven't restarted it in a few weeks.
Tips for a Smooth 2-Player ARK LAN Session
Once you're connected, there are a few small tweaks you can make to ensure your session runs as smoothly as possible. First, assign loose roles early on to avoid wasting time doubling up on tasks: one player can focus on gathering resources and building a base, while the other explores and tames dinos, for example. Adjust your server settings to fit your available playtime too: if you only have 2 or 3 hours to play, cranking taming speed up to 10x means you won't spend the whole session waiting for a single T-Rex to tame.
LAN server saves are stored exclusively on the host PC, so it's important to back up your progress regularly to avoid losing hours of work if the host crashes or freezes. Save your game every 30 minutes or enable auto-save in the server settings before you start playing, and copy the save file to a separate folder after your session ends if you want to pick up where you left off later. You also don't need an active internet connection once the server is set up, which makes this setup perfect for camping trips, dorms with bad internet, or areas with frequent outages.
If you want to expand your server later to add more than 2 players, you can use the same basic setup, just adjust the player cap in the host settings before you launch the server. Keep in mind that the more players you add, the more powerful the host PC needs to be to run the server smoothly without lag. For 2 players, even a mid-range PC will work perfectly with no issues.
At the end of the day, figuring out how play ark lan on 2 pc is way simpler than most people make it out to be. You don't need expensive third-party software or any advanced technical skills, just a bit of patience to work through any small connection kinks that pop up. I've used this exact setup for weekend co-op sessions with my brother for years, and we've rarely run into issues that take more than 2 minutes to fix. Next time you and a friend want to dive into ARK without the hassle of laggy public servers or random grievers, give this LAN setup a try. You'll get all the fun of co-op survival without the annoying drawbacks of online play.