Can't connect to any server

[Neptune]

I got ark in steam and epic both but I got all expansions on steam. Whenever I download game on epic the patch version says "358.24" but on steam it says 358.25. Epic is working just fine but steam one showing weird servers with block letters. Probably in Chinese or something and wont let me join anything either. Other people are playing just fine on steam though And no reinstalling didn't work and I do not wish to purchase all the DLCs on Epic. Like I mentioned I have all the DLCs on steam but steam patch 358.25 is NOT letting me play at all for some reason. I cannot join via links nor can I find the servers even with the IP. Google doesn't have the issue listed. I checked again and again. Any fix?

[🦊 Hermit]

Are the servers you are trying to join modded? The in-game server browser is...well, frankly, terrible...and when you try to join a modded server and it tries to download the mods before joining, it'll often disconnect you and fail before the process is complete. If you want to join a modded server, try to dl and install all of the mods from the Workshop beforehand, then you can just join straight in without sitting in the browser for too long and causing those problems.

358.25 is the correct version of the game, the latest update was primarily just to add a new advert to the main menu and wasn't released on Epic. But because nothing changed about the core game, joining servers should still work smoothly.

https://ark.wiki.gg/wiki/Patch_Notes

As to adding servers, have you tried doing it via Steam's server browser? In the Steam browser, select 'View' from the menu at the top, then choose 'Game Servers'. Click on the 'Favourites' button, and bottom centre of the smaller window you should see a + icon. Click that, and it will allow you to manually add in a server IP address. These added servers will appear in the 'Favourites' list in-game, so start up Ark and change the drop down menu to display your favourites, and it should show up there.

And if you need to look for servers, as mentioned above the in-game browser is lacking, so it's recommended to use a third-party listing site such as Battlemetrics instead.

[Dr stalin]

my game can't load unofficial server and dont show friend nor favorite server even when i join via friend on steam game will launch but not the server and steam browser doesn't work at all it say the server is not fonctionning will my friend play on it

[william_es]

Originally posted by Dr stalin:

my game can't load unofficial server and dont show friend nor favorite server even when i join via friend on steam game will launch but not the server and steam browser doesn't work at all it say the server is not fonctionning will my friend play on it

what in the world does this have to do with the original poster's question?

Please create your own threads.

[Boots]

If your server is using build version 358.24 and your game is 358.25, you won't be able to join. SteamCMD servers are still not updated to date. Try downgrading your game version to match the server build version 358.24 using the SteamDepotDownloader.

Your game build must always match the server build. Mods will be automatically downloaded when the builds match when joining a server.

[skyguard]

Originally posted by Boots:

If your server is using build version 358.24 and your game is 358.25, you won't be able to join. SteamCMD servers are still not updated to date. Try downgrading your game version to match the server build version 358.24 using the SteamDepotDownloader.

Your game build must always match the server build. Mods will be automatically downloaded when the builds match when joining a server.

That is incorrect information, the correct Client version is 358.25 and the correct server version is 358.24.

Client and server version are not always (sub-version), the number that matters is the main version 358, 98% of the time the sub-versions will not always match.

[Boots]

Originally posted by skyguard:

Originally posted by Boots:

If your server is using build version 358.24 and your game is 358.25, you won't be able to join. SteamCMD servers are still not updated to date. Try downgrading your game version to match the server build version 358.24 using the SteamDepotDownloader.

Your game build must always match the server build. Mods will be automatically downloaded when the builds match when joining a server.

That is incorrect information, the correct Client version is 358.25 and the correct server version is 358.24.

Client and server version are not always (sub-version), the number that matters is the main version 358, 98% of the time the sub-versions will not always match.

I see what your saying, so how do you fix this issue?

[skyguard]

Originally posted by Boots:

Originally posted by skyguard:

That is incorrect information, the correct Client version is 358.25 and the correct server version is 358.24.

Client and server version are not always (sub-version), the number that matters is the main version 358, 98% of the time the sub-versions will not always match.

I see what your saying, so how do you fix this issue?

The OP's problem was almost a year ago, is issue is not version related but more than likely something else and since he never came back with more details, nothing else we can do.

[Neptune]

Sorry about that sweetie. Just go to the community servers and copy the IP address and add it to steam favorite servers list. It might give error at first but keep on trying and it will work. After that you can connect to just any community server via steam normally.