Offline PvP Protection in ARK: Evolved

Offline Raiding Prevention (ORP) makes a tribe's characters, creatures and structures invulnerable while all its members are logged off. On your ARK: Survival Evolved server it is two keys in GameUserSettings.ini. Neither is on the Server Settings tab, though the free ARK server settings generator lists the first as Offline PvP protection and writes the line for you.

Checked against the ARK Wiki's Server configuration page, October 2026.

The two keys

Both go under [ServerSettings].

PreventOfflinePvP is a boolean added in patch 242.0, and the interval is a float, also from patch 242.0. The wiki adds that, despite the name, ORP works on both PvE and PvP game modes.

Two limits apply to the protection. Creature starvation still applies, and characters and creatures can still die if drowned.

Set a minimum interval

For performance reasons, the wiki recommends setting a minimum interval with PreventOfflinePvPInterval before ORP becomes active. The default of 0.0 adds no wait. The wiki also suggests an integer, even though the setting is a float in the code. It notes that ORP helps lower memory and CPU usage on a server.

Turn it on

1. Click Stop in the panel and wait until the server is offline. ARK writes GameUserSettings.ini back out when it shuts down, so an edit made while it runs is overwritten.
2. Open the File Manager tab and go to ShooterGame/Saved/Config/LinuxServer/.
3. Double-click GameUserSettings.ini, or select it and click Edit. How to manage your server files covers editing.
4. Add the lines under the [ServerSettings] header. The interval below is only an example, and it matches the 10 seconds the wiki mentions for official PvE servers:

[ServerSettings]
PreventOfflinePvP=True
PreventOfflinePvPInterval=10

5. Click Save, then Start the server.

To turn it off again, set PreventOfflinePvP back to False and restart the same way.

Common problems

1. Offline bases are still being raided: the server was running when you edited, or the line is under the wrong header. Both keys belong under [ServerSettings] in GameUserSettings.ini, with the server stopped.
2. The change disappeared: ARK wrote its own copy of the file at shutdown. Stop first, then edit.
3. The setting did not stick after a restart: a value on the launch line beats the ini. If you typed the key into Additional Arguments on the Startup tab, change it there. Nothing else on that tab sets it.
4. A character or creature died while its tribe was offline: the wiki says creature starvation still applies, and characters and creatures can still die if drowned.

See ARK ini settings explained for how the settings files work.