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Move an ARK Survival Ascended save safely

Moving an ASA world means moving a consistent save set, not just finding one large map file. Plan a maintenance window and keep the original service available as a rollback until players have verified the destination.

Check that the move is compatible

Confirm both installations are ARK: Survival Ascended. An ARK: Survival Evolved save is not a drop-in ASA world. Single-player imports and cross-platform character ownership can also require additional handling; do not guess profile renames from an older ASE tutorial.

Record the source game build, map identifier, mod project IDs and order, configuration and any custom save-directory setting. Prepare the destination with a compatible ASA build and the same required content. Preserve its assigned network ports rather than copying the source's full launch line.

Locate the actual save directories

Start from the installation's ShooterGame/Saved directory. A common dedicated-server world location is ShooterGame/Saved/SavedArks, with an ASA map subdirectory. Inspect the current files and startup settings to identify the active location; AltSaveDirectoryName changes the save directory, and custom maps can use their own names.

ASA's server executable is the Windows build, ArkAscendedServer.exe. A service hosted on Linux can run it through a compatibility environment. That does not make ASE Linux paths correct for ASA: configuration may still be under Config/WindowsServer. Windows drive paths, container paths and the directories visible in Files are different views. Ask support if the active directory is unclear.

Copy while both sides are stopped

  1. Ask players to leave, allow the source to save and stop it cleanly. Wait until fully offline. Stop the destination too; never copy over a running world.
  2. Create a completed backup of each service and download independent copies. Back up the complete source Saved tree, configuration and any separately configured cluster or mod data. Protect passwords inside configuration files.
  3. Keep the destination's original data in a clearly labelled archive outside its active save path. Transfer a copy of the source save set into the destination's confirmed active location. Check that extraction has not added an extra nested Saved directory.
  4. Retain world, player and tribe information together, including companion files or subdirectories used by that build. Do not cherry-pick only a .ark file, merge unrelated saves or rename player identifiers without verified guidance.
  5. Compare transferred sizes and file counts; use checksums where available. Confirm upload completion and available working space before starting.

Validate before opening access

Start the destination once and inspect its loading messages. Join privately and check the map, established structures, tribe access, characters, inventories and important mod content. If a new-character screen appears unexpectedly, stop and investigate the save path and identity instead of creating replacement characters.

Keep the source stopped during validation so progress cannot diverge. If the destination fails, preserve its logs and return to the untouched source only after stopping the destination. Once accepted, take a new destination backup and retain the migration archive for an agreed period.

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