Wiping an ARK Survival Ascended world removes the current save data so the server starts fresh.
Use this when you want a new season, a clean test server, or a fresh world after changing map or major gameplay settings.
Back up first if there is any chance you will need the old world again.
- Stop the ARK Survival Ascended server process.
- Take a backup: How to back up an ARK Survival Ascended server on a Windows VPS.
- Open File Explorer.
- Go to
C:\ark-asa\ShooterGame\Saved. - Open
SavedArks. - Delete the current map save, tribe files, and player files if you want a full world reset.
- Start the server again using your start batch file.
- Join the server and confirm it starts as a fresh world.
If you want a safer rollback path, rename SavedArks to something like SavedArks-old instead of deleting it immediately.
If you only want to change settings, do not wipe the world unless the setting requires a new save. Many config changes apply after a restart without deleting save data.
