Atlas is the pirate survival game from Grapeshot Games, a spin-off of ARK developer Studio Wildcard, published by Snail Games USA. It entered early access in December 2018 on PC and Xbox One with an ambitious idea: a world of islands and open sea split into a grid of connected regions, built to hold enormous numbers of players at once. You survive, build ships, form a company, claim land and sail out to see what is over the horizon.

Much of today's Atlas scene plays on unofficial servers, where owners build their own maps from those grids at a size they can actually fill, and set their own rates and rules. Those choices matter a great deal in a game this large and this slow.

Life on the High Seas

Survival in Atlas goes beyond hunger and thirst: you track hydration and four separate vitamin levels, so a pirate living on one kind of food soon falls ill. You gather, craft and build bases on claimed land, tame some of the animals you find, and work toward the real goal - ships. A good ship is a long project of hull, decks, sails and cannons, and sailing it well takes a crew.

Players band together in companies that claim land, run shipyards and sail as fleets. Treasure hunting gives a reason to explore, and the sea is where the drama happens: storms, sea monsters and, on PvP servers, other crews who would rather take your ship than build their own.

What to Look For in an Atlas Server

PvP or PvE

On PvP servers other players can attack at any time, and naval battles, boarding and raids on land claims are part of everyday life. PvE servers let you explore, build and sail without that threat. Some PvP servers add protection windows or rules against attacking offline companies, so read the details before you build a shipyard.

Map and Grid Size

Unofficial servers run maps of very different sizes, from a handful of grids to large multi-region worlds. A map that is too big for its population feels empty, while a compact one keeps companies in contact and makes trade and conflict happen. Check the grid count against the number of active players.

Rates and Shipbuilding Pace

Progression in Atlas is slow at default settings. Servers often raise gathering, experience and taming rates, and some speed up ship construction. Boosted rates get you sailing sooner; settings close to default make every finished ship feel earned. Choose the pace you can keep up with.

Company Size and Claims

Company caps and claim limits decide whether small crews can hold their own. Large companies with no claim limits can lock up the best islands; tighter limits leave room for newcomers. Look at how alliances are handled, too.

Fleet Limits, Wipes and Admins

Fleets, bases and tamed animals all cost server performance, so good servers set limits on ships and structures and restart on a schedule. Ask how often the server wipes and whether it announces wipes in advance. Then look for admins who answer on Discord and restore ships lost to bugs.

Getting Started

Choose PvP or PvE first, then a map size and rate level that suit your crew. Join a company early, since Atlas is hard alone, and learn to sail a small boat before you sink your resources into a galleon. Read the server's rules on claims and raids on its Discord. The ranking below lists the Atlas servers players vote for here. Vote for the server you sail on - rankings start again every month, so the list follows where crews are active now.