You’ve just spawned on the beach. A Rex is barreling toward you, and frankly, you’re not ready. We’ve all been there. Ark Survival Ascended is gorgeous, but it is also brutal and, occasionally, a total frame-rate nightmare. That’s where ark survival ascended console commands come in. They aren't just for cheating; they are often the only way to make the game actually playable on a console or a mid-range PC.
Honestly, the game doesn't make it obvious how to use these tools. You have to go digging through menus just to find the "on" switch. But once you do, you basically become a god. Or at least someone who doesn't die to a Dilo every five minutes.
Getting the Console to Actually Show Up
First things first. You can’t just hit a button and start typing. Studio Wildcard hid the console behind a setting because they probably don't want you "accidentally" giving yourself an Alpha Rex.
If you're on Xbox or PlayStation, pause the game. Head over to the Settings menu, then the Advanced tab. On the left side, you’ll see an option for Console Access. Flip that to On. Now, when you're back in the pause menu, you’ll see a little button prompt in the bottom left corner. On PS5, it's usually the touch pad. On Xbox, it's the "View" button (the one with the two squares).
PC players have it easier. Just tap the tilde key (~). If that doesn't work, make sure you've enabled it in the settings same as the console folks.
When You Need a Password
If you're playing on a private server you don't own, these commands won't work unless you’re an admin. You’ll need to type enablecheats [Password] first. If you’re in single-player, you’re already the boss. You can usually skip the "cheat" prefix in single-player, but on a server, you almost always need to put cheat before every command. It's annoying, but that's the system.
The Big Ones: Performance and Visuals
Let’s be real. The main reason people search for ark survival ascended console commands is because the clouds look like flickering static or the frame rate is chugging at 15 FPS. Unreal Engine 5 is heavy.
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One of the most life-saving commands is r.VolumetricCloud 0. This literally deletes the clouds. Does the sky look a bit emptier? Yeah. Does your frame rate jump by 10 or 20? Absolutely.
Another big one is r.volumetricfog 0. It clears up that hazy, milky look that covers the map. It makes the game look sharper and, more importantly, helps the GPU breathe. If you're struggling with lighting that feels like a flashbang every time you look at the sun, try r.Lumen.Reflections.Allow 0. It turns off the fancy global illumination reflections.
- r.ShadowQuality 0 – Kills all shadows. It makes the game look like a mobile app, but it's a massive FPS boost.
- grass.enable 0 – Removes all grass. Great for finding that tiny dinosaur you just tranquilized in the brush.
- r.Water.SingleLayer.Reflection 0 – Disables water reflections. Useful if the ocean is making your console scream.
Essential Survival and Taming Hacks
Sometimes you just want to build a cool base without grinding for 40 hours. Or maybe a bug caused your favorite flyer to vanish into the mesh. It happens. This is Ark.
The "Golden Command" is GCM. It stands for Give Creative Mode. This one command does everything. It gives you infinite weight, makes you invincible, lets you fly, and unlocks every engram. You also get a "Creative Tool" (it looks like a rifle) that can instantly destroy structures or blink-teleport you across the map.
If you don't want to go full creative, you can use surgical strikes. God makes you invulnerable to damage, though you can still drown. InfiniteStats keeps your hunger, thirst, and stamina pegged at 100%.
Taming is usually a chore. If you're looking at a dino and don't want to wait three hours, type ForceTame. It tames the creature instantly and lets you ride it without a saddle. If you want it to look "legit" with the taming bonus levels, use DoTame instead.
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Spawning Specific Items
The GFI command is a bit of a headache because you need to know the internal names. The syntax looks like this: cheat gfi [ItemName] [Quantity] [Quality] [Blueprint].
If you want 100 pieces of wood, you’d type: cheat gfi Wood 100 0 0. The "0 0" at the end means you want the actual item, not a blueprint. If you changed that last 0 to a 1, you'd get a blueprint for wood, which is obviously useless, but it’s vital for spawning high-tier Ascendant saddles or weapons.
Managing the World
Dino spawns can get messy. Sometimes the map gets overpopulated with useless fish, and nothing cool like a Giga will spawn. That’s when you use the "Nuclear Option": DestroyWildDinos.
It wipes every untamed creature off the map. Don't worry, your tamed pets are safe. Over the next few minutes, the game will start fresh spawns. It’s a great way to "reset" the ecosystem if things feel stale.
Teleporting is another big one. If you’re stuck in a rock—which happens way too often—type Ghost. This lets you walk through walls. Type Walk to turn it off. Just make sure you aren't inside a mountain when you type Walk, or you'll be in for a bad time.
Quick Reference for Admin Duty
- Fly – You can fly.
- Walk – You stop flying.
- EnemyInvisible true – Creatures ignore you even if you punch them.
- SetTimeOfDay 08:00 – Changes the time to morning.
- SaveWorld – Forces the server to save right now.
The Downside of Using Cheats
There is a catch. Using ark survival ascended console commands will often disable your ability to earn achievements or trophies for that session. If you’re a completionist, be careful. Usually, restarting the game fixes this, but once you've used a command to give yourself an advantage, the "purity" of that save is kinda gone.
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Also, over-relying on performance commands can make the game look pretty ugly. It’s a balancing act. You want the frames, but you also want to see the beautiful Unreal Engine 5 lighting that you paid for. I usually recommend starting with just the cloud and fog commands. They give the most "bang for your buck" without making the game look like it’s running on a toaster.
Actionable Steps for Players
If you're ready to start using these, don't just go wild. Start by fixing the game's performance so you can actually play. Open the console and type r.VolumetricCloud 0. See how the game feels. If it’s still stuttering, add r.volumetricfog 0.
For those looking to build, enable GCM and use the flying ability to get those high-angle shots for your base walls. It saves a lot of frustration with the snapping system. If you ever lose a body in a weird spot, remember the Ghost command; it’s the only way to get your loot back from under the map.
Keep a notepad or a phone app handy with your most-used GFI codes. Typing "MetalIngot" or "Electronics" over and over is a pain, and many consoles will remember your last typed command, allowing you to just press up on the D-pad to repeat it. Use that to your advantage.
The world of Ark is glitchy and unforgiving. These commands aren't just cheats; they’re the toolkit you need to keep the game running smoothly and stay sane while surviving the Island.
To get the most out of your session, try combining the performance commands into one string using the pipe symbol (|) if your platform supports it, or just enter them one by one at the start of every login. You'll notice the difference immediately.