If you’ve ever wanted to explore the dinosaur-infested wilds of ARK without random players raiding your base or hogging all the best resource spots, you’re not alone. Many casual players prefer to stick to a small group, and learning how to host a game with 2 players ark is the perfect way to get that low-pressure, collaborative play experience. I’ve set up dozens of small ARK lobbies for me and my partner over the years, and I’ve picked up plenty of tricks to avoid common headaches like lag, lost save files, and mismatched mod loads. This guide walks you through every step, from initial setup to customizing settings that work for two people, no prior server hosting experience required.
How to Host a Game With 2 Players on ARK: 3 Simple Setup Options
You don’t need to pay for a fancy 100-person server to play with just one friend. There are three main setup options that work perfectly for 2-player sessions, each with their own pros and cons depending on your play schedule and technical comfort level. Pick the one that fits your needs best, and you can be playing in less than 10 minutes in most cases.
- Non-dedicated local session: The easiest, free option for two players on the same network or crossplay with a friend, no extra software needed. You just launch the game, host a local lobby, and send a direct invite to your friend.
- Self-hosted dedicated server: Runs in the background on your PC, better for longer play sessions but requires slightly more setup work. You won’t have to deal with the tether limit that plagues non-dedicated lobbies, and you can leave it running even if you step away from the game for a bit.
- Low-cost small third-party server: Costs roughly $5-$7 a month, works even when your PC is off, ideal if you play across different time zones. Most providers have one-click ARK setup, so you don’t have to mess with any technical configuration yourself.
For most new players, the non-dedicated local session is the best place to start. It’s totally free, and you don’t have to commit to a monthly subscription if you only play occasionally. The only real downside is the default tether limit, which we’ll cover how to fix in the next section. If you find yourselves playing 3+ times a week, you can always upgrade to a dedicated server later down the line.
Critical Settings to Adjust for Your 2 Player ARK Lobby
Default ARK settings are built for large public lobbies, and they’re usually way too grindy or restrictive for just two people. Spending 2 minutes tweaking these settings before you launch your lobby will make your play sessions way more fun, and save you from frustration later on.
Disable the tether limit first if you’re using a non-dedicated session. This limit forces the second player to stay within a certain distance of the host, which makes exploring separate parts of the map impossible. You can adjust this in the host settings menu by sliding the tether distance bar to maximum, or adding a simple launch command to your Steam ARK settings if you’re playing on PC.
Tweak harvest and XP multipliers to match your play pace. Default 1x settings mean you’ll spend hours farming just to build a small base, which isn’t feasible for two people who only play a couple hours a week. I recommend setting harvest multipliers to 2-3x and XP multipliers to 1.5-2x for casual play. You’ll still have to work for your gear, but you won’t burn out grinding the same resource for an entire session.
Adjust dino difficulty and spawn rates to match your skill level. If you’re both new to ARK, turn down alpha dino spawn rates by 50% so you don’t get wiped out 10 minutes into your first session. You can also turn off friendly fire if you don’t want to accidentally shoot each other while fighting off a pack of raptors. I made the mistake of leaving friendly fire on my first 2 player lobby, and I accidentally killed our first tamed Parasaur while trying to shoot a wolf chasing it. Trust me, it’s not worth the argument.
Fixing Common Issues With 2 Player ARK Hosted Sessions
Even if you follow all the setup steps perfectly, you might run into a few common issues when hosting a small ARK lobby. Most of these have simple fixes that take less than a minute to implement, so you don’t have to waste an entire play session troubleshooting.
The most common issue is your friend being unable to join your lobby. 9 times out of 10, this is a firewall issue. Make sure you’ve allowed ARK through your Windows Defender firewall, and if you’re playing on console, check that your NAT type is set to open. If you’re playing crossplay between Steam and Epic Games, make sure both of you are logged into your Epic Games accounts, even the person playing on Steam. Crossplay won’t work if one person isn’t signed into the Epic ecosystem.
Lag is another common problem for 2 player lobbies, especially if you’re hosting on a PC that’s also running the game. Close any background apps that use a lot of internet or processing power, like streaming services or video editing software, before you launch the lobby. If lag still persists, lower your in-game graphics settings slightly, or reduce the number of active dino spawns in your host settings. Enable automatic save backups too, I learned this the hard way when a power outage wiped 12 hours of progress me and my friend had made building a treehouse base. Most hosting options let you set backups to run every 30 minutes, which is worth turning on even if you think you won’t need it.
If you’re using mods, make sure both you and your friend have the exact same mod list and mod versions installed. Even one missing mod or an outdated mod will cause the joining player to get kicked immediately. Most mod managers will let you export your mod list as a link, so you can send it directly to your friend to make sure everything matches.
Fun Customization Ideas to Make Your 2 Player ARK Session Unique
Once you’ve got your basic lobby set up, you can tweak it even more to fit your shared playstyle, and make your sessions feel more personal than any public lobby could. These little customizations are what make 2 player ARK so much fun, and you can mix and match them whenever you get bored of your current setup.
Try a themed challenge run if you get bored of standard play. For example, a primitive-only run where you can’t use any metal tools or guns, which adds a fun survival challenge for two people working together. Or a pacifist run where you can only tame dinos and build bases, no hunting or fighting any creatures unless they attack you first. My partner and I did a raft-only run once where we couldn’t build any bases on land, and it’s still one of our favorite ARK playthroughs we’ve ever done.
Add small QoL mods to make play smoother without breaking the core game feel. Stacking mods that let you carry more resources per inventory slot are a must for 2 player sessions, since you don’t have a large group to split storage and farming tasks. Dino cosmetic mods are also a fun addition, letting you find and tame dinosaurs with unique skins and patterns if you’re into collecting cool mounts.
Turn off structure decay if you only play once or twice a week. Default decay settings mean your base will start to disappear if you don’t log in every few days, which is a huge hassle for casual players. Disabling decay lets you take a week off to play other games, and come back to your base exactly how you left it. You can also turn off weather effects if you don’t feel like dealing with constant sandstorms or blizzard damage ruining your builds.
At the end of the day, the best part of ARK is getting to share those wild, unexpected moments with someone else, whether that’s narrowly escaping a rampaging Spino or finally taming that perfect flying mount you’ve been chasing for weeks. Now that you know how to host a game with 2 players ark, you can skip the chaos of public lobbies and build your own perfect dinosaur world tailored exactly to what you and your friend enjoy playing. Don’t be afraid to tweak settings and try new mods as you go, half the fun is figuring out what works best for your playstyle. Next time you log on, you’ll have a private, low-stress lobby waiting for you to jump right in.