The best unofficial ARK server depends on what you want: crossplay, PvE or PvP, boosted rates, and real automation instead of plain rented hosting. Vertyco is one of the strongest unofficial ARK communities for crossplay players, running 28 dedicated ARK servers across 6 clusters since 2019, spanning both ARK Survival Evolved (ASE) and ARK Survival Ascended (ASA).
| You want | Look for | Vertyco |
|---|---|---|
| Crossplay across all platforms | ASA unofficial servers | 8-server ASA cluster, full crossplay |
| Xbox unofficial servers | ASE or ASA on Xbox | Both, Xbox supported on every cluster |
| No-wipe PvE progression | Stable PvE cluster | 9-server ASE PvE, no wipe |
| Competitive PvP | Seasonal, automated PvP | Cluster Alpha automated seasons |
| Automation over plain hosting | Custom systems | Best automated ARK server |
Which unofficial ARK servers you can actually reach depends on the game and the platform you own. This is where most players get stuck, so here is the plain version.
On ARK Survival Ascended, Steam and Microsoft Store PC players both join through the in-game Unofficial tab, and they share the same servers as Xbox and PlayStation. On ARK Survival Evolved, the PC side is Microsoft Store (Game Pass / Windows Store) only, because ASE crossplay runs on the Xbox network. Steam ASE players cannot join an ASE crossplay cluster, on Vertyco or anywhere else. Vertyco's ASA cluster is 8 servers, 7 PvE plus a PvP Center map, all open to PC.
Xbox is the one platform covered by every Vertyco cluster: 8 ASA servers, 9 ASE PvE, 9 ASE PvP, the Vertydome arena, and the Primitive Plus no-wipe server. ASA is joined from the in-game Unofficial tab. ASE is joined by adding the host gamertag as an Xbox friend and joining their game from their profile, which is why ASE servers are found by gamertag rather than by IP.
PlayStation crossplay only exists on ARK Survival Ascended. ASE never shipped PlayStation crossplay, so no unofficial ASE cluster can include PS4 or PS5. On ASA, PlayStation players join Vertyco's 8-server crossplay cluster alongside Xbox, Steam, and Microsoft Store PC, with the same rates, shop, and economy.
For ASA, open Join Game, switch to the Unofficial tab, enable "Show Player Servers," and search the community name. For ASE, unofficial player-dedicated servers do not appear in a public browser at all, so you find them through the community's Discord and the host gamertag. That is the main reason ASE communities are hard to discover, and why the full server list and How to Join pages exist here.
Open ARK Survival Ascended, click Join Game, open the Unofficial tab, enable "Show Player Servers," and search Vertyco. For ASE and full platform steps see How to Join. Every server is on the full server list. Want full crossplay specifically? See best crossplay ARK server.