ARK: Survival Evolved Updated April 22, 2026

How to Force Ride Flyers in ARK

Enable flyer mounts on maps and in caves where they're restricted by default. Toggle Force Can Ride Fliers and Force Allow Cave Flyers in your server settings — plus a client-side launch option fix for Fjordur and similar maps.

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Why Are Flyers Restricted?

Certain ARK maps and cave interiors disable flyer mounts by design to preserve gameplay balance. Common examples:

  • Fjordur caves — flying mounts are blocked inside cave entrances
  • Some custom maps — may restrict flyers in specific zones
  • Aberration — no flying creatures at all by default (this is intentional map design)

Two server settings override these restrictions.

Enable Flyers on Restricted Maps/Zones

In your AMP panel, open the Configuration for your ARK server:

  1. Search for "force" in the settings to filter quickly
  2. You'll see two options under the Flyers category:
Setting Effect
Force Can Ride Fliers Allows flying mounts on maps that normally restrict them
Force Allow Cave Flyers Allows flying mounts inside caves — essential for maps like Fjordur
  1. Enable the setting(s) you need
  2. Click Save & Reboot

Client-Side Fix (ForceAllowCaveFlyers)

If the server setting alone doesn't resolve flying issues in caves (some maps handle this client-side), players can add a launch option to their ARK:

Steam:

  1. Right-click ARK in Steam → Properties
  2. In the Launch Options field, add:
-ForceAllowCaveFlyers
  1. Close the window and launch ARK

Epic Games:

  1. Open the Epic Games Launcher
  2. Click the three dots next to ARK → Manage
  3. Under Launch Options, enable custom arguments and add:
-ForceAllowCaveFlyers

Notes

  • Enabling these options affects all flying creatures on the server — not just specific ones
  • Aberration has no native flying creatures; these settings won't add flight to that map's creatures
  • If you're using creature mods, check the mod documentation — some mods add custom flight restrictions that these settings don't override
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